We spent around 10 days in Croatia and explored its beautiful old towns, nature and beaches as well as great food.

Dubrovnik

Best known for its scenes in Games of Thrones, Dubrovnik is a stunning place with the amazing Old Town and it’s beaches.

The first morning, Liz and I got up early to hike up Srđ Hill. It took around 40 minutes up from the start of the trail and the views from the top were rewarding. We had views to the Old Town and the whole coastline. I was also glad we got there early (by 7am) to beat the heat.

We headed to Beach Sulic to go for a swim. It was too hot to even tan so it was refreshing to just go in the water.

For lunch, we went to Dalmatino Restaurant – we shared the black rice risotto and hand made pasta with slow cooked beef cheek. They were both were really good!

We then went around the Walls of Dubrovnik which were really cool but it was SO hot given it was 2pm and in the sun!

It was Football World Cup Finals and so the city was raging and bustling with both tourists and locals alike. We luckily found a small alley with steps to watch the game and Justin and Tegan also joined. It was an incredible atmosphere to be in and even though Croatia lost to France, everyone was in high spirits.

After the game, Liz, Justin, Tegan and I caught a taxi up to Panorama Restaurant for dinner. The views from here were amazing and Liz and I shared the king prawns and squid which was great too. We could hear Old Town going off even from this far up!

We went back to the city after dinner and the party was still going. It felt like the Croats had won as everyone was so happy and still ecstatic that they got this far!

Makarska

From Mostar, we got a bus to Makarska. However, we only stayed one night here and there isn’t a lot to do here apart from the beaches. We went to Pape for a late lunch and shared the squid and capricciosa pizza.

Afterwards, we walked around the coast and explored the area.

Bol

From Makarska, we caught a ferry to the small island of Brac. There are limited taxis from the ferry port to Bol so it’s best to get the shared service and negotiate.

We hung out at Zlatni Rat Beach which is one of the most famous ones in Croatia. We tanned and went swimming but it was fairly windy!

For lunch, we went to Mali Raj and had the black cuttlefish risotto and squid – both were very good! In the afternoon, we went to Stina Winery to do the tastings and tour. Afterwards, we enjoyed another glass of wine outside, in the sunshine. For dinner, we headed to Taverna Riva and had the meat platter, shrimp and zucchini risotto and the fried calamari.

The next day, we went stand up paddle boarding in the morning for a couple of hours which was fun. We then relaxed by the beach and had a nice lunch by the water at a restaurant called Ribarska Kucica. There were seats outside right on the beach so you can enjoy the views. We had an amazing seafood stew and gnocchi.

Hvar

Hvar was a great place to spend to enjoy the beaches, nearby islands and nightlife.

The first evening we arrived, we had dinner with Justin and Tegan at Restaurant Palace Paladini. We shared a whole fish, prawns, scallops and sides. We then walked around the bustling squares and streets but called it a night fairly early.

The next day, Liz and I went up to the fortress called Fortica Španjola. It had great views over the city.

For breakfast, we went to Nonica, a cute little bakery/café where all their handmade cakes looked amazing. We shared the raspberry cheesecake brownie and the olive oil cake which were both delicious.

We were deciding what to do for the day but decided to jump on one of the boats for a day out in the islands. It was nice to hang at the boat, jump off into the water and explore the islands nearby. It made for a good day out!

We got back around 5:30pm, freshened up at our airbnb then for dinner, we went to Bepo. It is located just outside the main harbour and main square so the prices were much cheaper. We shared the bass fillet and the spaghetti with prawns and mushrooms in a creamy sauce. They were both delicious! Afterwards, we went back to our Airbnb and had a few drinks then headed out. The nightlife here is insane. There are some nice chilled places such as Hula Hula but that ends fairly early. We went to Kiva Bar and ended up staying the whole night which was a lot of fun.

On the last day, we were not feeling fresh but walked around and stopped by at Kava 37 and Liz had an iced coffee and I had a fresh orange juice. We had lunch at Dalmatino which was great but after a heavy night, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I usually would. This restaurant is always packed so make sure you make a booking at dinner but lunch time seemed more quiet. We shared the black gnocchi with shrimps and the caprese salad. They also brought out a couple of welcome complimentary shots/drinks and another drink after the meal too. I couldn’t stomach it since I was still feeling a bit ill from the night before but Liz was able to power through!

Split

My favourite part of Split was definitely the Old Town as well as the culinary scene here.

We arrived in the evening and went to our Airbnb then met Tegan and Justin for dinner. We went to Bokeria Kitchen & Wine Bar and it was fabulous. We shared the charcuterie platter and the burrata with fresh tomatoes and nectarines. Liz and I then shared the homemade truffle pasta with prosciutto and mushrooms and the octopus.

Afterwards, we went to Luka for their amazing gelato. They change flavours daily so it’s a chance to try some new interesting flavours, or to stick with the classics.

The next morning, we woke up relatively early and walked up Marjan, which has nice views over the city and sea. We also went to check out the beach but we weren’t fans. It was super crowded, and the water looked quite murky and dirty – I guess this is what a city beach is like but because we are from Sydney which has spectacular beaches, we only hung out for a little bit and went for a quick dip before leaving.

For dinner, we went to zinfandel which was another great place. We had the prawn ceviche which was so fresh and a great summery dish, the duck risotto and the home made spinach agnolotti with prawns. Their rose was very nice too and their wines are also meant to be good but when in Croatia, you should also try the orahovac (walnut liqueur).

On our last day, we relaxed then went to Bota Sare for lunch, which is a Japanese/Croatian fusion restaurant. I did some shopping and went to Kruščić Artisan Bakery and had the famous cheese and zucchini filled pastry. We chilled the promenade for a while then went to MakaMaka for early lunch. We shared the tuna and salmon poke bowl. As always, we went to Luka and had another gelato.

Krka

We hired a car and drove from Split to Krka National Park. Unfortunately, on the day we went it was overcast, cloudy and raining a bit as well so it wasn’t the best experience. Skradinski buk is meant to be the longest and largest in Croatia but it wasn’t as impressive as I thought as I have seen some amazing waterfalls in my travels. The colours you see in photos are also less vibrant when cloudy so our experience would be different. Further, we didn’t spend much time here as it was too cold to go swimming and again, it would have made the experience better if we could enjoy the time in the water. We drove to another waterfall called Roski Slap but again, it was less impressive.

Croatia is so beautiful and we had a really great time here! I can’t wait to be back!