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All of a sudden there has been a craze in the market to travel to Croatia’s coastline. It is absolutely no wonder, considering Croatia boasts some of the most stunning coasts in Europe. I came across this beauty a couple of years ago and loved it so much I went again this year.
What I loved most about the islands (especially the first time) is the serenity and lack of built up resort style beachfronts that can be found everywhere else in the world. No matter how spectacular a place is, if its panorama is filled with man-made constructions and obstructions that I could also find on the Gold Coast, Ibiza, Cancun etc., then it has lost the unique splendour and appeal that I love about Hvar, Mljet or The Elaphite Islands.
With the Croatian islands still being relatively untouched like this, my travel tip is to see this place yourself. Don’t pay a tour guide or company to show you around! You don’t need to! With fresh fruit markets and ample accommodation in the townships (no matter how small) you save yourself a fortune, compared to paying for your stock standard tour group, which hardly compares to exploring these islands using your own aptitude. The islands are small enough to see on your own and the transport between islands is common, cheap and only a short distance!
You can get a ferry in the morning and be at the next place well before lunch. Hire a moped or bicycle and see more of the islands then any tour could show you. On many occasions I found myself on a beach that was not only magical but I was the only person there. Travel this seaside paradise with no time limits, stay on the islands you love and move on from the locations that you don’t. Explore these islands, use only a small amount of effort and less money than you would spend on the weekend in London - and you can find so much more than you bargained for!
Just think of yourself in the Roman Empire. You are surrounded by beautiful pine trees and an ocean that is as blue as you can ever imagine. You are sipping a coffee in a café and you are contemplating an afternoon swim in the most crystal clear water that you have ever seen. You are surrounded by renaissance and baroque architecture and the sound of the bell towers is ringing in your ears as you dip yourself into the waters of a paradise. Welcome to the island of Rab.
Croatia
This is a restaurant in a newly refurbished hotel, with stunning views of the Kvarner Bay, Rijeka and the mountain of Ucka. Only half an hour’s drive from Rijeka, it offers splendid al fresco dinning on its terrace overlooking the sea.
The food is imaginative and based on the traditional regional cuisine (such as risotto with scampi and asparagus followed by fish baked in salt), deliciously prepared and served with style. The wine list features good quality local wines. Eating here is a memorable experience, but does not come cheap.
Lovranska Draga 1, 51415 Lovran, Croatia
Tel: 385 51 294 166
Fax: 385 51 291 826
Gsm: 385 98 327 093
e-mail hotel@dragadilovrana.hr
www.dragadilovrana.hr
Vrh is a small non pretentious restaurant in the hill village of the same name, about 40 miles from Rijeka in the heart of Istria and the ‘truffle region’.
This is a family run restaurant, which uses local ingredients and offers home-made wine, sparkling wine and all sorts of ‘rakija’ (grappa). We enjoyed locally made cheese (with truffles), prosciutto and home made bread, as well as home-made pastas with truffles filled with cheese, and traditionally prepared roast meat. The meat was the best Sunday roast we ever had! The lunch was completed with a wine and rakija tasting in the owner’s cellar. Good value for money (£10-20 per person, including drinks).
Vrh 2, Buzet, Hrvatska
Tel: 385 (0) 52 667 123
Fax: 385 (0) 52 616 708
restaurant@vrh.hr
www.vrh.hr
Head to Caffe Bar Talir, a few streets west for drinks with Dubrovnik's young and beautiful. It's an artists' hang-out and the walls are covered with pictures of rowdy nights gone by, as well as some Croatian C-listers and Goran Ivanisevic. Drinks are well priced and everyone spills outside to sit on the steep steps leading up towards the town walls.
Caffe Bar Talir prides itself on the fact it was one of three places that remained open throughout the Serbs' 1991 siege of the city and is nowhere near as commercial as the Troubadour Jazz Cafe now (sponsored by T-Mobile!)
Caffe Bar Talir - Antuninska, 00 385 20 323 293 open till 3am weekends
Konoba Dundo Maroje is a tiny restaurant down one of the narrow streets leading north from the main street, Placa. Virtually every restaurant in the old town claims to specialise in fish, but as a seafood fanatic who's travelled to Dubrovnik on a budget in both 2002 and just this summer, Dundo Maroje really made an impression on my tastebuds - four times now.
The grilled squid seem to be twice the size of anywhere else and unbelievably succulent, all beautifully presented and dripping in garlic-infused olive oil. The lobster carpaccio is an unusual dish worth trying there too. What the restaurant lacks in views it certainly makes up for in atmosphere. Sippng an ice-cold Istra bitter (like Campari), your bare feet cooled by the marble pavement, watching people file past is a nice way to start your evening.
Konoba Dundo Maroje - Kovacka, 00 385 20 321 445 (Dinner for 3 with drinks £30)
It is a few years since I was there, but it was a splendid place, situated on a peninsula south of Dubrovnik. The building itself is magnificent, with superb sculptures in the huge entrance lobby. I could not discover the artist. The hotel has an enormous free form swimming pool indoors.
The village of Cavtat was a friendly place, with regular buses to Dubrovnik.
Hotel Croatia, Cavtat 20210
+385 20 475 555
www.hoteli-croatia.hr
Lopud is perhaps not the best choice-unless you make it that way yourselves. There are a few bars and restaurants and that's really it. We
were treated to in-hotel entertainment, folk music, quizzes and some dancing.
Part naturist on the other side of Lopud, it’s idyllic and has good facilities in a sheltered, shallow bay - safe for swimming and the sea is clean and turquoise. It warms quickly and there's only the occasional jelly fish to vex.
There's a small choice of accommodation on the island, but for those like us with young children, the Lafodia Hotel is ideal. It provides a kids club
where the children's creative side is encouraged and they are taken on little fishing trips. We travelled earlier this year when the weather was rather mixed, the children were kept occupied with activities for about 90 minutes in the morning and afternoon.
Food is hot and cold Mediterranean buffet style with plenty of salad and fruit and the hotel is all inclusive so you could get house red/white; beer and some spirits all day to 11pm.
Lopud island is about a one hour ferry journey from Dubrovnik.
Lopud is reached via a one hour ferry crossing from Dubrovnik. Unusually for Croatia, it has sandy beaches; that was part of the appeal to us. The other was that the island is completely car free. Indeed there is little traffic at all aside from some little tractors and buggies carting people and luggage about. Each morning, locals cluster round the port to unload produce and supplies from the ferrys - everything comes to the island from the mainland and everyone living there seems to know each other!
My recent trip to Dubrovnik was absolutely fantastic! We explored the hidden beaches, visited the botanical garden on the island of Lokrum and had the most delicious meal at the Proto restaurant right in the centre of the old town.
Restaurant Proto - www.esculap-teo.hr/restaurant_proto.html
It is a spectacular drive, with mountains on the left and blue sea on the right, though you also head into the mountains in places. On a hot sunny day in a convertable motor and a partner at your side, it is a joy. Set off after breakfast and you'll be in wonderful Dubrovnik by mid-afternoon. Stay a day or two in Dubrovnik, then take the afternoon ferry back to Split. By doing this you get to see the coast and islands as the sun goes down. Bliss!
You can reach Split by bus or plane from Zagreb, or fly directly from UK. Hire a convertable motor car there, and head south. If not in a convertable make sure you get a car with air con or you'll boil!
We rented a house in the old town and the owner recommended the little restaurant in the harbour. I can't remember the name but it's through the wall around the corner from the palace where the launches leave from. The squid is great and the risotto, but you do need to get there early. Cheap and cheerful and a great place to people watch.
Keep an eye out for concerts in churches around town that are also interesting and easy to get to.
Taking buses to the main ferry port is also very simple and means you can take excursions to islands futher north. They leave from the north side, just outside the walled town.
Not as you might think an Indian restaurant but a Bosnian eaterie. You can sit alfresco and choose from the interesting menu which includes several vegetarian dishes including spinach strudel, mushroom salad with cheesey bread, a tasty Greek salad and everything seems to come with a delicious baked potato.
Nikole Gucetica 2
00385 (0)20323221
See the stunning coastline and islands on the coastal ferry, enjoying life in the slow lane. The full trip involves an overnight which you could spend on the deck or pay a bit more for a cabin. Otherwise enjoy part of the route between the major cities and islands along the coast - the ferry calls at Split, Hvar and Korcula amongst others.
Get tickets and timetables at any Jadrolinja or Atlas Travel office found in ports and towns all along the coast - and inland. Or visit Via Mare for bookings crossing from Italy - www.viamare.com.
Almost every village and town along the Croatian Coastline has a summer festival of some sort, in July or August or both. Omis, half an hour's drive from Split is one of the heartlands of traditional Klapa music and has a festival devoted exclusively to it every summer. It’s multi part harmony singing, normally male only and without accompaniment, and the sweet stirring tones of the harmonies belie the physique of the singers.
Both excellent restaurants for fresh fish. You sit outside in the lovely old streets of Hvar. Listen to the waiter for the days catch and he'll put together a wonderful platter of fish tailor made for how hungry you are!
Walk up from the town square and waterfront and you will find these two places close together on Niksa Budrovic.
At the Krka National Park, there is a set of waterfalls and cascades called Skradinski Buk. The scenery here is absolutely fantastic and when you arrive at the bottom of the cascades you can take a dip in the freshwater - the only place in the park that allows swimming. A grand day out!
www.npkrka.hr
About and 11/2 hour drive from Trogir
A short ferry ride from Dubrovnik, Mljet, which comprises a stunning national park and lakes, is perfect for a day trip. You can swim in the freshwater lakes, walk and cycle round them or get something to eat at the beautifully preserved monastery. A steep hill separates the lakes from the ferry port, so if you're planning to cycle it's a good idea to use the mini-bus service included in the park entrance fee, and then hire bikes at the lakes themselves.
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