Yeah most Italian cities are insane! But we were fine in Puglia and Tuscany. Definitely wouldn’t do Amalfi coast… But Croatia is super easy.
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We have been talking of going there (on a Rick Steves tour no less). Is it really crowded in the summer or very hot? Trying to figure out when to go. The October tours are full but maybe September?
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I returned from my trip about a month ago now. I had a fantastic time in both countries, and it made me want to visit other parts of the former Yugoslavia to compare. As mentioned by several above, Croatia does tourism in an exemplary fashion. It is safe, very clean, so historic, and people are impressively multilingual. Shopkeepers ask, English or Deutsch (I don’t look Italian, French or Spanish) and then launch into whatever language with great fluency.
Taking buses worked out very nicely, were cheap, efficient and the stations easy to find. Going to Plitvice Lakes from Split and on to Zagreb was simple and a great way to see the countryside. But I’d love to return to the Istrian Peninsula and explore some of the smaller towns by car. Cavtat and Rovinj were favorites. Paradise, as were many of the islands, which I saw from our 38 passenger boat tour. Ours was privately organized, with fantastic food as well as nights to eat in the towns where we docked. The seafood was wonderful. We had tours on all islands, most of which were excellent. I’d like to return to some of the islands for more time exploring and swimming. Swimming the Adriatic was incredible, clear, pebbly, and in September at least for this Arizona raised wimp, the temperature perfect.
Split and Dubrovnik were a bit overwhelmingly crowded on initial impression, but seemed to return to their historic beauty after 5 PM when the crowds dissipated. Dubrovnik was the most crowded place in Europe for part of this past summer, and is certainly a price point above other spots. But, so dramatic a setting. I missed one suggestion above, which was the Red History Museum in Dubrovnik. It sounded fascinating, but our single day was insufficient. Perhaps there will be another trip, in time!
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Summer sounds insane as well as hot. September was perfect, in terms of water and gelato eating temperature! While there were tourists, aside from Split and Dubrovnik mid-day, most places didn’t feel too crowded. Plitvice lakes was filled with tour groups hiking in formation mid-day, but we got there early and hiked a good bit before the crowds hit. There are other less used trails in the park besides the main suggested ones, which are mostly boardwalk.
When we were at Charles de Gaulle airport waiting in line, we got talking to a couple who were probably in their fifties. They had just come from Croatia where they did a boat and bike tour and said it was fantastic. They biked the islands. The tour was called boatbiketours. It sounded interesting. They did recommend electric bikes.
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I saw a few boats laden with bikes. Part of my group did a bike tour from the town of Hvar, through olive orchards, vineyards, and along the coast. It was fantastic, though having had recent knee problems, I was a bit anxious going into it and not as well prepped as desired. The bike was new, well geared for hills, and made the 18 or so miles far easier than anticipated.
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My last trip to Croatia was in September and while it was warm, it wasn’t uncomfortable; we went at the end of the month. My H surprised me and booked a an Adriatic cruise (small ship–90 people) for next June. It’s one of those alumni travel offerings, which starts in Dubrovnik and ends in Venice.
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September would be nice, maybe even better than October. We did a Rick Steves tour to Croatia/Bosnia/Slovenia in mid May and that was really nice.
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Whoa, nice!
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The Rick Steves Adriatic tour probably was my favorite out of the five tours we’ve done with them. They really pick the most interesting places to visit there, and you could never transport to all those places yourself. Such a fascinating mix of war history, beautiful scenery, to places I never would have gone on my own. Our guide was Bosnian, and was a refugee from the war, so we got a personal perspective from a survivor.
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Great idea as alumni trip. After our Viking river cruise, I started thinking that if everybody had sufficient money vacation time… it would be lovely for a family reunion or class reunion event.
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