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How I had an idea to discover Croatia, but half of the world had the same idea at the same time.
I’ve heard so much about the beauty of Croatia over the years, that last year we’ve finally decided to road trip in this unknown to us part of Europe. It turned out that about half of the world heard the same stories and we all chose to visit it at the same time. It was super busy in August, by this I mean super extra duper busy, not a regular busy. It was way more busy that Italy or Algarve at the same time. So busy, that we could hardly find any spot on many campsites. If you want to be Mr Smartypants and you think about wild camping, I’ll stop you right there. It is illegal in Croatia, fines are very high and it may be a national sport to catch people not following this rule, as fines are often served.
Our first days were amazing though. There is this one camping that I love. You can park along the sea and you have the most beautiful view to wake up to. Also, it was the first camping with a free spot (lucky us). Each morning I woke up and to be able to work, I was walking right into a very cold sea to float and lower the temperature of my body. Lacking an air-conditioning when the temperature is close to 40*C even at night is not as much fun as it may sound. Especially, when you cannot park under a tree. We spent there a few beautiful days, when I was trying to stop my brain from boiling and Mia was the happiest little girl ever. Somehow Tomasz turned out to be way more tolerant toward heat than I was and his brain did not simmer.
WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT ROAD TRIPPING IN CROATIA
– this may not be the freshest news, but one thing is for sure – Croatia is very popular among holidayers. Imagine popular and then count it x 10.
– it is very hot in Croatia and places where you can stop are usually not next to a tree, so if you don’t have air con in your car, it may be tough.
– free camping is not legal over here. Police loves to give fines, so you know… it’s your choice.
– Croatia is more expensive than I expected, especially campsites.
– campsites are so busy, that it will happen, that you will have a problem with finding a spot on many of them during the season, as there won’t be enough space.
– that’s why DO NOT GO THERE DURING THE SEASON! I made this mistake and I will never repeat it. Like NEVER. This country is so beautiful, that sometimes you feel like crying. But I am sure that I would appreciate it way more off season with some air to breath, lower temperatures and way less people.
– you cannot park your van anywhere close to beautiful spots during the season.
– I had a feeling that locals were not very happy with tourists during the season and I can imagine why. I wasn’t either 😉
– islands are way more quiet than the mainland. Especially ones that are not so easy to reach.
– it is fun to use ferries which take you from island to island. These are not the cheapest, but worth using. Island life is way slower. Check the schedule of the ferry.
– Croatia produces one of the best cheeses in the world. This is what the professionals say (it is a fact) and from what I tasted, they are right.
– food is delicious, so eat a lot, especially sea food. Yum.
– Croatian wine is super good as well, so explore. You can visit many wineries.
– I had a feeling that there’s not that many road trippers in Croatia, or at least we did not meet many. But there are plenty of campers and caravans for a holiday purpose.
– Game of Thrones tourism is a thing in Croatia.
We spent around a month in Croatia, it was a lazy time, because of the temperature. All I did was swimming, eating, walking, playing with Mia, driving and working (I should start planning my “work free vacations”…). If you love the sea, Croatia is your place. What I enjoyed a lot over here was a board paddling. I did a fair amount of it almost each day. It was a great way to start a day.
PLACES WE ENJOYED
There is way more places to experience in Croatia, but at the time we’ve been there it was very hot and very busy (read: many, many people). In the end, some places were so crowded that it was too difficult to get there or it was impossible to visit by camper, or we just didn’t see a sense in going there at the time. We will definitely go back off season to see them. Meantime…
Povile – one of the coolest campsites we stayed at in Croatia. There is a small port with delicious restaurant and a beautiful vibe. We stayed there for a few days just to enjoy it.
Pag Island – I am a big fan. It is beautiful, way calmer than the mainland and they produce a great cheese over there. Go and try it, it is delicious. If we had a bigger fridge, or at least working fridge, we would buy way more.
Primosten – my favourite town. It is beautiful and there is a secret located just next to it. Ok, not a secret really, but an abandoned hotel. It is massive and you can walk around to see how it looks. You can also find a video on YouTube, where you can see how it used to look when it was still working. There is a spot just next to the hotel, where you can stop for a night. It was pretty interesting, yet scary to walk around.
KRKA National Park – quite a stretch to go there from the coast, but so worth it. The sunset was incredibly beautiful and my fantasy of living on a small island went live again. On the way there is a delicious restaurant. You will find it because there’s only one and in a middle of nowhere there are many cars parked.
Molunat – our last stop in Croatia, it was a very slow tiny town and I loved the vibe. Each morning I took a long walk and enjoyed watching how figs grow…
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You can always choose camper with air conditioning and plan ahead what you want to see and where you want to go 🙂 Season anywhere is usually busy. We did not plan, we just drove around the country and most probably this is why we had so many issues. And no zircon was difficult 😀
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I would love to go to Croatia but not during the summer ehehehh
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Croatia has been on my travel to list for a while now, but these pictures make it even more appealing! Just gorgeous! Too bad I only have time off work during July/August… I’ll have to figure that out.