Traveling to Croatia

Our two most predictable responses when we told friends we were going to Croatia were “Where’s Croatia?” and Oh, my ______(Fill in the blank with neighbor, cousin, co-worker, etc.) just got back from there. I do have a theory as to the polarization. Beyond the singular beauty of the rugged Adriatic coastline, I’m guessing that a significant number of the newcomers (Thronies) have Kings Landing in their lexicon. The majority of Game of Thrones is filmed in Croatia.

First of all, where is it?

West of Croatia are Slovenia and Italy. North is Hungary and East is Bosnia Herzegovina and Serbia. The most important geographical feature is the coastline along the Adriatic Sea.

While we have watched Game of Thrones, we were lured by the medieval cities, pasta with truffles, a coastline with over 1200 islands (albeit only fortysomething are inhabited), and national parks with pristine waterfalls and crystal clear turquoise lakes not to mention decent wine. *Note: Their white wines were often superior to their reds.

What was our strategy for Croatia? We divided our trip into two parts. The first week was a road trip. Landing in Zagreb, the capital, we rented a car and visited Ljubljana in Slovenia, Rovinj on the coast, Plitvise National Park in the North and on to Split, the beginning of our second part where we boarded a mini-yacht (don’t think Russian oligarchs) which would be our home for the week.

Stay tuned as I unfold the highlights and lowlights. As my son often intones, “It’s not an adventure until something goes wrong.”

We had our share of “adventures” but I would land this trip in one of our top five European excursions.

Click here for Zagreb, Is It Worth It?