A brief holiday review of South Dalmatia, Croatia
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13 Jul 2011, 08:36
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Journals
Good morning,
As some of you know I just got back from South Croatia and I thought I'd write a brief review of my stay incase anyone wants to go (which I would recommend).
Firstly Croatia is a very pretty country, where we stayed there were big mountains next to the crystal clear Mediterranean and many wooded islands. If you just go for a 'beach holiday' and stay in one place, then you'll miss out on alot. I'm told that there are even better places to see such as the Island of Bol which was too far north for us to visit.
Unfortunately this beauty is mixed with scars of the break up of Yugoslavia. The villa we rented was damaged in the war and forced the owner to move out. Some of the houses in the town where we stayed were gutted from shelling and there was still a sense of tension in certain towns. Nevertheless, Croatia is moving on and there is alot of rebuilding work especially in tourist areas.
Near to where we stayed Dubrovnik and Cavtat were the main tourist areas. Cavtat is a beautiful town with beaches, a harbour, mountains etc... and was visited by several millionaires whilst we were there. However its covered in Tourists, hotels, restaurants and people asking you to go on their glass-bottomed boat. Personally I wouldn't want to stay there.
However, Cavtat is very good for things to do in the day time. You can relax on the beach of course or you can catch a boat to the many islands and towns around. Travelling by boat, especially to Dubrovnik is 10000x better than getting the bus or driving. Croatian roads are sub-European standard and the drivers are even worse (they don't seem to look where they're going at all). Bus drivers are just as bad - we nearly had several accidents. Going by boat is more direct, more comfortable and is worth the extra cost.
From Cavtat we did a '3 island tour', which included the best sea food meal I've ever had, and went to Dubrovnik. The tour goes round several islands just off the coast and you get a short time to explore them (probably not long enough really) except for the Island of Lopud which we got to spend 2 hours on swimming in the sea.
Dubrovnik is also a town worth visiting although its maybe not as great as some of the tour guides make out. To me it was exactly as I expected, narrow streets, big city walls, the coloured roofs etc.. The ET map shows the character of the town quite well I felt. However, it was SOOOO hot and SOOO full up with tourists that you couldn't move. We wanted to do the walk around the walls but it was too hot. After seeing a couple of sights we went home early to cool off.
However, we went there again (unexpectly) at an earlier time in the day and the streets were emptier. This gave us a chance to explore some of the more hidden parts of the town and was alot more enjoyable. We also came back later in the day (17:00) when the town was empty of tourists and the tempature had dropped. I would highly recommend visiting the town by catching a boat to the harbour, then catching another boat for a day out, then exploring Dubrovnik in the evening.
Aside from Cavtat, Dubrovnik and chillin' on the beach; there were a few other places to visit including a restaurant in a river - however the area is lacking in attractions at the moment so it may be better to visit for a few days then move north to Split or into Montenegro.
Nevertheless I really enjoyed my trip and I would recommend the country to anyone. Check the bottom for some pics.
Oh and one more thing: the local food is really great. The fish tasted so much better than England, the tomato's were just fantastic and the fruit unbelievable. The locals also seem to love Brandy - we received a big bottle from the owner of our apartment when we arrived - try it its very good.
- Ethr
As some of you know I just got back from South Croatia and I thought I'd write a brief review of my stay incase anyone wants to go (which I would recommend).
Firstly Croatia is a very pretty country, where we stayed there were big mountains next to the crystal clear Mediterranean and many wooded islands. If you just go for a 'beach holiday' and stay in one place, then you'll miss out on alot. I'm told that there are even better places to see such as the Island of Bol which was too far north for us to visit.
Unfortunately this beauty is mixed with scars of the break up of Yugoslavia. The villa we rented was damaged in the war and forced the owner to move out. Some of the houses in the town where we stayed were gutted from shelling and there was still a sense of tension in certain towns. Nevertheless, Croatia is moving on and there is alot of rebuilding work especially in tourist areas.
Near to where we stayed Dubrovnik and Cavtat were the main tourist areas. Cavtat is a beautiful town with beaches, a harbour, mountains etc... and was visited by several millionaires whilst we were there. However its covered in Tourists, hotels, restaurants and people asking you to go on their glass-bottomed boat. Personally I wouldn't want to stay there.
However, Cavtat is very good for things to do in the day time. You can relax on the beach of course or you can catch a boat to the many islands and towns around. Travelling by boat, especially to Dubrovnik is 10000x better than getting the bus or driving. Croatian roads are sub-European standard and the drivers are even worse (they don't seem to look where they're going at all). Bus drivers are just as bad - we nearly had several accidents. Going by boat is more direct, more comfortable and is worth the extra cost.
From Cavtat we did a '3 island tour', which included the best sea food meal I've ever had, and went to Dubrovnik. The tour goes round several islands just off the coast and you get a short time to explore them (probably not long enough really) except for the Island of Lopud which we got to spend 2 hours on swimming in the sea.
Dubrovnik is also a town worth visiting although its maybe not as great as some of the tour guides make out. To me it was exactly as I expected, narrow streets, big city walls, the coloured roofs etc.. The ET map shows the character of the town quite well I felt. However, it was SOOOO hot and SOOO full up with tourists that you couldn't move. We wanted to do the walk around the walls but it was too hot. After seeing a couple of sights we went home early to cool off.
However, we went there again (unexpectly) at an earlier time in the day and the streets were emptier. This gave us a chance to explore some of the more hidden parts of the town and was alot more enjoyable. We also came back later in the day (17:00) when the town was empty of tourists and the tempature had dropped. I would highly recommend visiting the town by catching a boat to the harbour, then catching another boat for a day out, then exploring Dubrovnik in the evening.
Aside from Cavtat, Dubrovnik and chillin' on the beach; there were a few other places to visit including a restaurant in a river - however the area is lacking in attractions at the moment so it may be better to visit for a few days then move north to Split or into Montenegro.
Nevertheless I really enjoyed my trip and I would recommend the country to anyone. Check the bottom for some pics.
Oh and one more thing: the local food is really great. The fish tasted so much better than England, the tomato's were just fantastic and the fruit unbelievable. The locals also seem to love Brandy - we received a big bottle from the owner of our apartment when we arrived - try it its very good.
- Ethr
Have u been to the waterfalls?
:p
dubrovnik looks rly like the map :o
SO yes, this journal helps ;D