A Croatian road trip

Croatia is my current favourite country. I have never been so excited just by the idea of preparing itineraries for a road trip. From coastal cities to old towns, breathtaking national parks to azure water - it has everything to make you fall in love with it in no time.

This is probably by far the best road trip I have had. We have driven almost 1500 km to cover all the major places in this Eastern European country and a small part in Slovenia.

Quickies:

1. We chose Easter holidays for this epic road trip. The weather was just right. We probably needed just a jacket/jumper, that too only in few places like Plitvice and Bled.

2. Ideally in Croatia a roadtrip should follow the below direction or vice versa:
Zagreb -> Plitvice -> Zadar -> Split -> Dubrovnik
However, we decided to start our journey from Zadar as there are cheap flights from London to Zadar on specific days (Tues, Thur, Sat).

3. We rented our car from Sixt. Since Slovenia was also a part of our itinerary, we had to notify them during payment. We also had to pay an extra amount as the drop location was not same as the pick up location.

4. The local currency for Croatia is Croatian Kuna (HRK), as opposed to Slovenia where only euro is accepted.

5. In Croatia you can pay for tolls on the spot. Don't forget to carry cash. In Slovenia, on the other hand, you need to buy vignettes. Please ensure to buy one from a gas station as soon as you enter the country. We bought a weekly vignette for €15.

6. You need to drive approximately 10 km in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the way to Dubrovnik from Split. You don't need a separate visa. However please keep the passports ready to be checked at the Border Controls. You will have to drive past a town named Neum. It is a beautiful coastal town with pretty houses and gorgeous sunset views.

7. Even though Croatia is not a Schengen country, you don't need a separate visa if you have a Schengen visa.

The Itinerary:

Day 1: 

We reached Zadar in the evening and picked up the car from the airport. We headed straight to the Sea Organ. There are few car parks near the spot. This place is ideal to enjoy sunsets. The Sea Organ makes music using sea waves.

We then checked into the apartment we had booked. This was the best apartment I have ever stayed in. It was spacious, clean, fully furnished and as cheap as €45 (for 6 people).

Day 2:

We parked our car at the city centre and entered the old town. There are many tiny cafes to have good breakfast. We started our day with some pancakes at Proto Food & More.

We then moved on to visiting the tourist spots which were all at a walkable distance:

Five wells square

People's square

Crkva Sv. Donata

Zadar Cathedral

Sveti Frane

From the Sea Organ you can take a walk along the seaside promenade (Riva in Croatian). You will find a lot of shops there to buy souvenirs. If you have time you can stay there for a day and enjoy a lazy sunset at the Sea Organ/ Greetings to the Sun.

We came back to the car park and it was time for another city - Split. It took us around 2.5 hours to reach the Riva of Split. There is a car park right before the promenade, near the entrance of Marjan park.

We were starving and wanted to have lunch first. There are many restaurants near the Riva. We went to Konoba Atlantida and it was pretty good. You will get a lot of options to eat in Split if you eat fish or seafood.

After a heavy meal with a few glasses of wine, all we wanted was to sleep. Sadly we had a whole city to explore.

There are lots of shops at the seafront. We walked past them to visit the tourist spots.

Venetian tower

Zeljezna Vrata

Diocletian's Palace

 Zlatna Vrata

Gregory of Nin (Statue of Grgur Ninskin)

It is believed to bring good luck if you rub his toe.

You can take random strolls in the narrow medieval streets. There are loads of ancient and roman architecture in that area to admire.

If you have more time in your pocket you can take a hike to Marjan Hill to get a nice view of the city and the port. The trail starts at Marjan Park. You can also take a ferry to the nearby island Hvar.

Next destination - Dubrovnik. Just when we thought it could not get any prettier, the drive from Split to Dubrovnik completely blew our minds. It was full of tiny coastal towns and surprise sunset views. I have already mentioned about Neum before. There were many such towns along the coastline. The first view of the city of Dubrovnik was also equally beautiful. I have uploaded a video of the journey here. I was so mesmerised, I forgot to work on the background music (LOL).

We were really lucky in this trip in terms of accommodation. The apartment in Dubrovnik was also good and absolute value for money. The owner was also extremely helpful and friendly.

Day 3:

We wanted to start the day with the bird's eye view of Dubrovnik. We parked our car before the old town, walked past the Minčeta Tower to reach the Dubrovnik Cable Car. You can buy the tickets there itself to reach Mt Srd by cable car.

We spent some time up there till I was satisfied with all the clicks. The Lokrum island was clearly visible from Mt Srd.

Before entering the city walls, we took a little detour to visit a tiny secret beach. Near the Ploce gate there is Komarda restaurant. We took the stairs down to the beach which gave us a great view of the Dubrovnik old port.

We finally entered the old city through Ploce Gate. There is another entrance Pile Gate, which is at the other side of the city. Our plan was to explore the city walls and exit through Pile gate.

When you hear Dubrovnik, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Well for most of us, it was Game of thrones, the obvious. This is the main filming location of King's Landing. Ploce Gate, stairs near Gundulic Sq (the famous walk of shame), Fort Lovrijenac, Dubrovnik West Harbour, Minčeta Tower (House of Undying in Qarth), Pile Gate are some of the places where the fantasy drama series has been shot.

We entered the city walls and walked past Dominian Monastary to climb the Minčeta Tower. We followed the city walls till we reached the Buza Bar. It was a nice place to enjoy ice cream with a great view of the Adriatic Sea.

We took the stairs down and visited the Cathedral. The next place was the famous stairs where the Walk of Shame (of Game of Thrones) had taken place. There were many open restaurants in that area and we had our lunch in one of them. We then continued visiting Rector's palace, Church of Saint Blaise, Clock tower and the old port. In the old port you can take a boat to the island of Lokrum.

Stradun is the main street and it was time for us to have another round of ice creams. There are loads of shops in this area to buy jewelries, scarves, souvenirs, gem stones etc. All the streets are interconnected and you can explore any random cobbled street even without following the map and you will not be disappointed.

Finally we existed through the Pile Gate and went to the West Harbour. You can visit the Fort Lovrijenac, next to it, to get a nice view of the city walls. If you have more time you can drive down to a tiny coastal town Cavtat.

In the parking board you should find details of how to pay for parking. We had to install an app to do the same.

After a lot of walking, it was time for a really long drive.Thanks to our skilled friend, who drove around 450 km and we finally reached Plitvice. You will notice an evident change in the weather as it will become a bit colder. Our accommodation was a few km far from the national park and we had a surprise view in the next morning. We had picked up takeaway on the way, as it was late by the time we reached and all of us were tired and ready to crash out.

Day 4:

We drove to the nearest entrance and parked our car in the parking area. There was a long queue at the ticket counter and also a cafe/restaurant next to it. So, we had our breakfast and packed some food for later. You need a full day to explore the park. You will be given the maps at the counter and they are self explanatory. Depending on the time you have, you will need to choose the places to cover.

This place is full of natural beauty and emerald lakes. Words fall short to describe places like this. I was lagging behind as there was a beautiful frame almost every now and then.

Please check the forecast and carry your umbrella/rain coats accordingly. You will find some restaurants inside to have lunch or snacks. On our way back to the exit we witnessed this breathtaking view from top. It was definitely one of those places straight out of a fairy tale.

We then headed towards the capital for a pit stop. We parked our car and walked to the Cathedral of Zagreb, followed by Ban Jelačić Square.

We did not want to spend much time walking. We, therefore, went to the observatory deck Zagreb 360° to get a panoramic view of the city, along with the upper town. If you want to spend more time in the city, you can walk around upper town which has places like Lotrscak Tower and Stone Gate.

Lake Bled was on my list for quite some time and being so close to it (around 200 km), I did not want to lose the opportunity to visit it. As a result, we extended our road trip and reached Bled that night. If you do not want to go to Slovenia, you can take a return flight from Zagreb.

Day 5:

We had a bittersweet feeling on the last day. We were excited to explore a new place, which had a completely different landscape from what we had visited in Croatia. At the same time we were sad as it was the last leg of our trip. The Bled Lake was at a walkable distance from our accommodation and we walked past some pretty churches and gorgeous landscapes.

You can walk around the lake or take a traditional Pletna boat ride to the Bled Island. The view of the Bled Island and Bled Castle with the backdrop of the Alps is mesmerising. You can also hike to the castle to get another view of the island.

And thus our holidays came to an end. We drove back to Zagreb and dropped the car at the airport. It was definitely one of the best trips ever and I would love to know if you agree with me.