In case you’re trying into a visit to Europe in 2024, I believe Croatia must be on the prime of your listing.
My current 10-day journey round this scenic nation alongside the Adriatic Sea opened my eyes to what rapidly grew to become one among my favourite international locations on the earth. Like close by Italy and Greece, I knew Croatia could be stunning, full of fantastic meals and wine, and supply an idyllic journey expertise.
What I did not count on concerning the pretty nation is why I am writing about it now: Croatia is inexpensive, amazingly simple to navigate, and is without doubt one of the most handy journey experiences overseas I’ve ever skilled.
I’ve boiled it all the way down to 4 explanation why Croatia ought to transfer up your journey want listing.
Croatia is Extremely Scenic and So A lot Enjoyable
That is the straightforward half, and the half you in all probability already know: Croatia is beautiful and a brilliant enjoyable place to journey.
My time in Dubrovnik, Hvar, Cut up, Pula, Plitvice Lakes, and Zagreb, Croatia took me to some unbelievably scenic vistas that regarded straight out of a film or TV present.
The Previous City of Dubrovnik was one among them. The centuries-old metropolis made newly common by HBO’s Recreation of Thrones collection is a lot greater than an epic filming location, although. It is a one-of-a-kind historic metropolis with fashionable eating places, bars, and points of interest.
You may stroll the highest of the partitions (tickets from $35) all the best way across the metropolis for sweeping views of town carved out of the aspect of a mountain. After which you’ll be able to take the cable automobile (or make the hike!) to the highest of Mt. Srd for a dramatic sundown over town and the encircling islands. I put collectively a full information to Dubrovnik final month that may reply your whole questions, however spoiler alert: I cherished it.
Up the coast on the island of Hvar, you may discover extra of a laid-back, coastal vibe and a few extra beautiful views.
Hvar City, only a ferry journey away from Dubrovnik, is the principle port for one of many nation’s most well-known islands. It is often known as extra of a celebration city, however up within the excessive hills of Hvar is a quieter ambiance, too.
Among the best methods to see what the island has to supply, nonetheless, is by boat.
Whenever you tour the island from the ocean, its beautiful rocky outcrops create some particular swimming holes.
Up the Adriatic Coast into the northern a part of Croatia is the olive oil and history-soaked metropolis of Pula. It is not the primary metropolis that exhibits up on most Croatia journey guides, however is a quieter oasis for vacationers and residential to a shocking amphitheater.
It is not simply the coastal cities of Croatia which have all of the enjoyable, although. Regardless of being a really skinny nation that principally hugs the coast, the capital metropolis of Zagreb is a tremendous cease when you’re flying in or out of the principle metropolis.
The crown jewel of the nation, nonetheless, was Plitvice Lakes Nationwide Park. It requires a little bit of a drive to get to, nevertheless it’s price each second behind the wheel to see this wonderful spot.
OK, yet another simply because I really like waterfalls…
My iPhone digital camera was placing in time beyond regulation on this journey, and you may see why. Even probably the most ham-handed and unstylish photographers like yours actually can collectively a memorable digital camera reel up and down this pristine nation.
Additionally price noting: Croatia was spotlessly clear and well-maintained in all places we went.
Regardless of the warmth and the proximity to the tough sea, each inch of each metropolis we visited in Croatia was pristine. I am going to always remember the picture of a employee hand-scrubbing the aspect of a trash can close to the gates of Dubrovnik’s Previous City – a really admirable consideration to element.
There’s an infinite sense of pleasure Croatians really feel towards their stunning nation, and so they’ll do something to maintain it that means.
Croatia is Very Inexpensive
Croatia is not absolutely the most cost-effective nation you may discover in Europe. These distinctions go to locations like Portugal, Spain, and most of Japanese Europe. However what Croatia does is mix the bougie, fancy aesthetic of Greece and Italy with the costs of Japanese Europe.
Croatia makes use of the Euro, which is fairly new to the nation that solely just lately joined the Schengen Space. And what I discovered touring all through the nation is that excursions, eating places, and particularly grocery and comfort shops are very inexpensive.
I am going to admit, I am evaluating costs in Croatia to how costly every part is within the U.S. proper now. However we spent many dinners at Michelin-starred eating places that got here out effectively shy of the standard invoice I get at my neighborhood bar in Minneapolis.
I traveled all through Croatia with a gaggle of 9 and was ready for the entire expertise to be insanely expensive, particularly throughout the peak summer time journey season. As an alternative, listed here are some examples of what we paid for meals, experiences, and extra:
(Be aware: We had bottles of wine fairly freely flowing in any respect of those meals and that is included within the costs right here.)
- Wine tasting in Dubrovnik at D’Vino: ~$20 per individual
- Contemporary caught, further fancy seaside seafood dinner on the Rixos Premium Dubrovnik: ~$75 per individual
- Tapas dinner in Dubrovnik: ~$28 per individual
- Michelin information restaurant Bistro Tavulin: ~$80 per individual
- Michelin information brunch restaurant Gradska Arsenal: ~$25 per individual
- All-day Hvar boat rental (probably the most bougie factor we did): ~$182 per individual
- Olive oil tasting and tour on the Museum of Olive Oil in Pula: $26 per individual
- One evening on the 5-star Esplanade Zagreb Lodge: ~$200 per individual
That is to not point out the hilariously cheap Ubers and Lyfts we used to get round more often than not, which ranged from $7 to $20 per journey. Extra on that later.
These costs flew within the face of what I might heard about Croatia. For years, it was often known as one of many most cost-effective trip spots in Europe. However as its recognition has soared lately, I heard these costs weren’t as aggressive as they as soon as had been.
Possibly it was the expectations of a pricier journey moving into, however I used to be blown away by how cheap issues had been in Croatia, even when they are not the most cost effective nation on the earth.
Getting Round Croatia is Straightforward
This was maybe probably the most stunning a part of our voyage up the Adriatic Coast: Croatia is straightforward to navigate.
For one, Uber and Lyft are plentiful on the Adriatic Coast, and so they’re insanely low-cost, too.
Ubers to and from the airport in Dubrovnik and Zagreb will run you about $25-35, however every part inside Dubrovnik, Cut up, and Pula was proper round $7-15. We by no means waited greater than 10 minutes for a journey, and all of the Ubers are additionally taxis, making for a secure and safe expertise, too.
For that reason, we didn’t hire vehicles in Dubrovnik. We did need to get automobiles in Hvar as a result of our Airbnb was means up within the mountains and out of city, and we additionally picked up a one-day rental in Pula to make the three.5-hour drive to Plitvice Lakes Nationwide Park for a day journey.
However even the rental automobile expertise was distinctive and that is as a result of the roads, highways, and tollways of Croatia had been extraordinarily simple to navigate. The tolls ranged between $2 and $4, which we had been greater than keen to pay due to how good the roads had been and the way simple the signage was for a hapless American like myself to know.
When not on the street, an enormous community of ferries additionally connects the islands. We ferried from Dubrovnik to Hvar and Hvar to Cut up on our journey.
Each of these journeys had been on massive, snug, smooth-sailing ships outfitted with comfortable seats, restrooms, and concessions. Our ferry rides had been each on the operator Jadrolinija. Whereas my earlier ferry experiences are restricted to a couple Lake Michigan crossings and the Lengthy Island Sound, these voyages had been surprisingly simple and cozy.
Lastly, I additionally obtained to pattern Croatia’s most effective transport firm 5 totally different instances on our journey: Croatia Airways.
Croatia Airways’ fleet of propeller planes crisscrosss the nation like a subway system day by day. Croatia would not have prepare choices on account of its rugged terrain, however Croatia Airways strikes folks across the nation with ease.
As a member of the Star Alliance, the identical airline alliance as United, I earned an excellent chunk of United miles taking 5 totally different legs of flights on Croatia Airways touching 4 totally different airports. Flying with Croatia Airways is fairly no-frills, nevertheless it’s simple and cheap. Our Pula (PUY) to Zagreb (ZAG) flights had been ~$40 one-way.
Croatia is Straightforward for Individuals
It is stunning, it is cost-effective, it is easy to navigate, nevertheless it’s additionally simply simple to exist in Croatia, interval.
For one, practically everybody in Croatia speaks nice English. It made navigating as a gaggle of 9 fairly simple, particularly as a result of the Croatian language is not any stroll within the park. After all, studying easy phrases like please and thanks goes a great distance when interacting with locals in any nation, however I by no means felt judged or obtained any eye-rolls when strolling right into a enterprise with my Midwestern English.
Croatia additionally extensively accepts American bank cards, so you do not have to fret about taking out a bunch of money (somewhat bit helps for tipping in some circumstances, although). I used to be even ready to make use of some American Categorical playing cards in Croatia, which is fairly uncommon overseas. It was good to rack up a number of factors on my journey, principally as a result of I burned nearly all of my factors getting us there.
Plus, Croatia makes use of the Euro as its foreign money, making it simple to do the psychological math of changing costs to U.S. {dollars}. In case you’re a finger counter like I’m, that is actually necessary. For all you truly sensible folks on the market, I can really feel your eyes rolling by means of the display…
Lastly, one thing that shocked me about Croatia is that it has a number of the most secure ingesting water on the earth.
On our first day, I went to purchase a number of jugs of ingesting water on the grocery retailer, and the clerk instructed me to show round and put them again on the shelf. “The water is sweet right here. One of the best,” he instructed me.
He was proper! Croatia has plentiful water reserves, and the general public water fountains and faucet water are all completely secure to drink. Individuals had been filling water bottles at public fountains everywhere in the nation. I even observed beach-goers utilizing a seashore bathe spigot to fill their bottles in Cut up one afternoon. Convey a refillable water bottle to Croatia and do not pay for a plastic one.
Backside Line
Croatia is gorgeous, cheap, simple to get round, handy for Individuals, and a lot extra. That is why I believe it deserves a spot in your journey listing this yr or subsequent.