Traveling around Croatia by car. Review about holidays and traveling by car in Croatia. Where to rent a car in Croatia or Hungary

A little background. Every year my friends and I go somewhere in Europe in our cars. Over the past 5 years, we have explored Belarus (yes, this is not Europe), Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. Italy was in the plans, but it didn’t work out.
The choice fell on Croatia, but absolutely by accident. Somehow I saw some gorgeous photos of waterfalls with friends and a caption for them - Plitvice Lakes. Croatia. Impressed is not the right word! I began to look for information about this place and at the same time google other vacation options in Croatia (and is there anything else interesting to see there). There are so many interesting places that a whole month would not be enough to see all the sights. For a long time I tried to include in the route all the most interesting and varied things for our active holiday, but so that we would spend only 2 weeks. The route has been drawn up, the company has been found, the reservations have been paid (I always pay in advance and 100%).

Next came the question of visas. I called the Croatian embassy. They said that we must have either a Polish (Schengen) transit visa + a national Croatian visa or an open Schengen visa (at least a double-entry visa, since we are leaving the Schengen country of Hungary, spending time in Croatia, and this is not a Schengen zone, and then again we enter the Schengen zone in Hungary). All my hotels have already been paid for in advance both in Budapest and Croatia. What to do? I don’t want to pay twice (me and my husband) 35 euros including the consular fee! We make fake reservations in Hungary for a week (plus add the already paid 2 nights in Budapest), add paid reservations for 3 days in Croatia (as if we will only go to the waterfalls and return to Hungary again) and request a Hungarian multiple-entry visa for 2 years. There were 8 of us, six of us already had Schengen cards from different countries. The Hungarians screwed us over and gave us 2 times exactly the date of the trip. It's a shame, of course, but what can you do? We continue to prepare our bodies for beach photo shoots with diets and gym classes)). Let's hurry up the time so we can start packing our bags and heading out!
This is what we ended up with:
June 1, 2018 – late evening departure from Russia to be at the Polish border at about 16-00, and at the hotel for the first night at about 20-00.
We took another married couple into our car (it’s more fun and cheaper to travel with friends, because all expenses for the car during the trip are divided in half). The second car with the guys caught up with us on the way. We filled our beautiful Skoda Octavia 1.8 turbo 152 hp with a full tank. 2012 and off we go. The mileage is 183 thousand km (all trips to Europe are on it, that’s why these numbers are there).
June 2 – we fly through Belarus in transit (M1 highway), with stops for homemade snacks in cooler bags and gas stations. In Belarus, the cost of 95 for 1 liter is 1.37 Belarusian rubles (in our case, about 44 rubles). Payment was always made by card, there were no problems. But it’s very funny at some gas stations. First, you pay as much as you name (approximately, because you don’t know exactly how much you need), and then what doesn’t fit into the tank is returned to the card. So everything is fair, but a little inconvenient. But this is not the case everywhere!
Well, as always, we fill up again just before the border, because in Europe gasoline is much more expensive. We arrived at the Domachevo checkpoint at 15-00. We crossed the border in just 1 hour. Checking documents, asking to open the trunk and that’s it. But they asked the second car to get all the bags and suitcases. It’s not clear what caused them to mistrust.
In Poland we have a favorite place to stop for lunch – Karczma Goralska. Address: Wisznice, Wlodawska 4a. This is a cool restaurant-hotel near the border, with good service and incredibly delicious food. We often took one dish for two, because the portions were huge. We recommend taking the duck and Zurek soup, but the knuckle was too small even for one, although we ordered the size for two.
After a delicious late lunch we drive towards Lublin to our first overnight stay. Osrodek Wypoczynkowy Forest. An amazing place to relax. Reminds me of a children's camp. With one-story houses in the forest, hammocks on the territory and birds singing at night.

June 3 – the day before we set the clocks back 1 hour and were glad that we could sleep longer. But for some reason everyone jumped up very early (it wasn’t even 7 in the morning). As a result, we were ready to depart even earlier than I had planned. So much the better, because you never know what adventures you might have on the road.
On the way to Hungary we made practically no stops, only in Kosice (Slovakia), which is very close to the border with the Hungarians.
From Lublin we drove along highway No. 19, then it turns into E 371 and E 71 almost all the way to Budapest.
I forgot to write that in Slovakia and Hungary there are toll roads, before the trip you need to buy electronic vignettes (as before there were those that were glued to glass, now they have made electronic ones). I did this at home, ordered it on the Internet (14 euros Slovakia and 18 euros Hungary). We rented for a month, because 10 days was not suitable for us. Just in case, I saved all the payment receipts and SMS messages on my phone and took them with me (it wasn’t useful, but it’s better to be on the safe side!) You can get a Hungarian vignette right before the border, but it will cost 20 euros and you will be surrounded by a bunch of beggars. Feel free to drive them all far away. If you turn off the function in the navigator - toll roads, then you can use free roads, but we didn’t take the risk, because there are 2 cars and 8 people, we simply didn’t want to look for detours and waste time.
The Slovakia-Hungary border flew quickly and unnoticed. The quality of the asphalt has noticeably deteriorated, as if we were back in Russia. We were in Budapest at 20-00. During the day we drove about 640 km. Just before Budapest we stopped at a gas station. It cost us 18,900 forints (4,350 rubles).
We settled into a luxurious apartment, or rather the apartment was an ordinary one with 3 bedrooms, but the courtyard of this house is simply magnificent!
After that, of course, walk around the city at night. The impressions are terrible, to be honest. Magnificent architecture surrounded by homeless people and the disgusting smell of dirt, drunken fumes, spilled beer on the asphalt, and garbage lying everywhere. Horror!
June 4 – Early in the morning we went on a walking tour throughout the city. Well, what were we able to cope with at a temperature of + 28. We lived very close to Heroes’ Square (Széchenyi Baths, Vajdahunyan Castle). We walked along Andrássy Avenue to the embankment.
There they crossed the bridge to the other side to climb Mount Gellert to the Statue of Liberty. The views of the Danube and the whole city are beautiful, but cannot be compared with Prague!

After admiring the views and taking plenty of photographs, we descended and walked towards the Royal Palace.
Next to it is the Fisherman's Bastion, which is a must see because it is very beautiful.

During the whole day we walked about 13 km, so our plans were to visit the Széchenyi Baths to have a good rest and relax in the saunas and pools. We were there from 19-00 until closing at 22-00. The price of one ticket is 4,900 forints (about 1,200 rubles) or 16 euros. We paid by card.
We had a very good time in all the saunas and swimming pools, of which there are a huge number for every taste (water temperature from +16 to +38). We liked it most in the entertainment pool with surprises, with a vortex flow (we practically didn’t get out of there), underwater bubbles, a jet back massage and a neck shower, the water temperature was up to 34 degrees.
Nearby there was an outdoor “sedentary” pool with thermal water cooled to 38 degrees. I was too hot, so I sat there for about 10 minutes and ran away.
Inside the building there are 11 indoor baths with thermal water, water temperature from 18 to 40 degrees, choose any one. My husband went to explore the saunas, and the girls and I spent more time in the pools.
In order to protect our belongings, we left everything at home (phones, cameras, money). We only took swimsuits, towels, rubber slippers and credit cards. During the 3 hours of visiting we got a lot of pleasure and relaxation. But at the same time they completely forgot that all stores are open until 21-00. So we were left without dinner. I had to order pizza (quite tasty).
This is how our second day of Budapest vacation ended.
June 5 - in the morning everyone ran to the nearest SPAR, because the day before they were unable to buy food for breakfast and for the trip.
The route to Croatia passed through Lake Balaton.
Of course, we did not fail to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to finally swim!!!
After some 135 km we plunged into the turquoise waters of Lake Balaton. Time flew by, but these 2 hours remained in our memory and the memory of our camera for a long time. I wanted to stay here, but there are still 500 km to overcome.
We reached the border with Croatia at 13:00. There were 5 cars in front of us. They only checked our passports and that’s it. After 20 minutes we were already in the land of the sun!
Toll sections have begun. The first time we paid 6 euros (44 kunas, multiplied by 10 for convenience, approximately 440 rubles). We paid in euros, because the local currency had not yet been exchanged. And here is the first gas station in Croatia. I wonder how long a full tank will last? 490 kuna (4900 rubles).
It’s time for afternoon snack, I wanted to eat normal hot food, and not sandwich snacks. On the way we stopped in Rijeka.
Parking is cheap. Only 6 kuna per hour. In 2 hours we paid about 120 rubles. Ridiculous money for the city center.
We immediately started looking for ATMs and exchangers to withdraw cash (toll roads, parking lots, etc.) At the exchangers and in souvenir shops they always asked to give us small coins, because not all parking meters gave change for parking. We changed 50 euros (at first we thought this would be enough for us, since in many places you can pay by card), it came out to 355 kunas.
We ran through the city itself, one might say, without looking, because our eyes were only looking for cafes. But we tried delicious pizza there, made according to ancient Neapolitan recipes. The only thing we didn’t understand was the language barrier and ignorance of local traditions. When we explained to the waiter what kind of pizza we wanted, he seemed to understand us. But then they bring us TWO pizzas, not one. And wow what sizes! At first we thought of refusing, but it smelled so delicious that we decided to arm ourselves with knives and forks and eat it! It turns out they have a custom of bringing pizza for each guest. We then looked around, there were families with children and each child had one of these pizzas. We were stunned, of course, but we ate it because it was incredibly delicious. I feel full and wouldn’t want to eat for another three days!))
We didn’t make any more stops until Pula itself. We checked in and went to Lidl for groceries. A huge advantage of a large company (there were 8 of us in 2 cars) is that I rented entire houses for us. This was much cheaper in terms of money and convenient because we could easily prepare ourselves a delicious breakfast and dinner.
During this day we drove 635 km. Not difficult, not boring, interesting! The paid section was 55 kn.
June 6 – Plans for this day were to visit the Colosseum in Pula and drive to Rovinj.
In Pula we found very cheap parking in the courtyards for 4 kuna per hour (40 rubles). We paid immediately for 3 hours, because we didn’t plan to stay longer. We walked to the Colosseum and found out the price was 50 kuna (500 rubles) per person.

I didn’t really want it for that price, so Andrei went, as the main photographer of our company and the representative of our family, and I agreed at that time to just relax and take a walk along the embankment. Of the rest of the guys, there was only one girl who kept my Andrey company. We walked along the embankment, rested in the shade of palm trees, and bought souvenirs while Andrei and Tanya walked around the Colosseum. Nobody is offended. Poole was not impressed.
After that we drove to Rovinj in an hour.
Absolutely everyone liked this city.
A small, but kind of cute and cozy town with narrow “Italian” (as I call them) streets and labyrinths of them. Everything is made of stone everywhere - walls, stairs, paths. Amazing! From the main street there are exits directly to the sea.
Some of these exits were equipped as cafes with a table for two! So cute, mmm!!! But what you should definitely pay attention to is the choice of shoes. The paving stones, polished by millions of tourists, are so slippery that even in dry weather (I’m afraid to imagine its condition in the rain) we almost slipped a couple of times.
We reached the main cathedral, climbed the bell tower for 20 kunas per person (the height is only 57 meters, but this is enough to admire the city and the sea with snow-white yachts).


After such walks I wanted to freshen up. They began to look for descents to the sea. We didn’t see the beach as such, but that didn’t matter to us (sand, umbrellas, sun loungers). The main thing would be a place where it is normal to go into the water, without touching sea urchins with your feet, of which there are so many in Croatia (although I know that many beaches are cleaned of these urchins). Such a place was found. We received a dose of relaxation. Well, after the salty sea swims, of course, I wanted to eat. We found a restaurant with a beautiful view of the sea. Once again I hit myself in the head that there is no need to try to find a tasty soup in Europe, well, they don’t know how to cook it.
Vacation is good, but you have to go to the next owner in a new home. We had to travel 260 km. The navigator suggested that we would cover this distance in 4 hours, but we didn’t trust it much, because the girl behind the scenes often deceived us, calling the road to the right - continue moving STRAIGHT!!!
I chose the town of Otočac on the principle that we would like to be closer to the Plitvice Lakes, beautiful, but inexpensive! As a result, we got an amazingly beautiful, spacious, stylish house with 4 bedrooms, an amazingly huge living room with a fireplace and a very large kitchen for just 15 thousand rubles for 2 days! Plitvicka is 30 minutes by car. Quite normal.
For this day, only 300 km, toll sections cost 47 kunas (470 rubles).
June 7 – we woke up in a good mood, had breakfast and drove towards the waterfalls to Plitvicka. Regarding clothing, we read different reviews that it might suddenly rain there and strong winds could blow, so we dressed in jeans and jackets, but put shorts in our backpacks, which were much more useful to us than jackets and jeans.
The parking lot is large, there is enough space for everyone. Price 56 kuna for the whole day. The ticket costs 150 kuna per person, but this includes not only a walking tour of the reserve, but also travel by boat on the lake and transportation to the top by bus. The reserve is huge, so expect to spend the whole day exploring.
Our entire walk through the Plitvice lakes and waterfalls took us about 8 hours. What beauty there is from the cascades of lakes, smoothly and not very flowing and suddenly descending into each other.
Along the entire road, now to the left, now to the right, you can see large and not so large waterfalls, gradually turning into transparent turquoise waters.

This is amazing, amazing, incomparable, bewitching and many other similar epithets! As we were told, there are 16 lakes and about 140 waterfalls! What a number! The water in the lakes is MEGA clear. Even the smallest fish, twigs and leaves on the bottom are visible. You can talk for a long time, it’s better to go and see this miracle of nature yourself.


June 8 – I love mountains! And so on this day I had a “mountain hike” planned. Near the town of Starigrad there is a gorgeous place - Paklenica.
The highest peaks of the park are Vaganski Vrh - 1757 m and Sveto Brdo - 1753 m. Rock climbing lovers will have plenty of fun here.
Entrance costs 60 kn + parking 10 kn. The toll section of the road cost us 50 kunas.
We started climbing to the peaks around 10 am. I would call the route easy; personally, I didn’t have enough physical activity.

There are several hiking routes, but we chose the road to the underground cave Manita Pech. It goes serpentine upward to a height of 550 m above sea level. The depth of the cave reaches 500 m; for safety reasons, a section of 175 m is open to tourists. Unfortunately, it was closed. But we were not upset, because the views that we saw while climbing there were worth making the hike up! The entire walk through the mountains with long photo sessions on the rocks took us only 4 hours.
It was a great vacation, we are moving on to a new house in Tribune, near Sibenik. A small, little-known town left us with the warmest memories of it! Firstly, peace and quiet. Secondly, a well-equipped beach. Thirdly, our house and the view from the huge terrace of the sea with yachts. Fourthly, the amazing LUNA restaurant with excellent service and excellent cuisine.
We drove 210 km in a day. We stopped at a gas station (oh, moms, what crazy prices). Again almost 5 thousand to a full tank.
June 9 – we went to see the cities that were near our house. We chose to visit Zadar first and then Sibenik. How did we guess everything correctly)))). We arrived in Zadar, parked our cars for 6 kuna (60 rubles) and went to the old part of the city. We see some kind of holiday, because women in national costumes are dancing in the square, and the watching crowd of local townspeople is singing along to the songs.
But the trick is different! After the performances, EVERYONE who was in this square was treated to free national Croatian hot dishes, homemade wine and pastries. We didn’t hesitate and also stood in line to hand out treats! As a result, we ate a very tasty and varied meal, saving a lot of money on the restaurant.
Zadar is famous for its original musical promenade, so we went looking for this amazing place.
The Sea Organ is a structure that converts wave energy into sound. It was fun to sit and listen.
After that, we walked around the city a little more, bought souvenirs and drove towards Sibenik.

I liked Sibenik right away!

Again these influxes of Italian architecture, Venetian balconies appear everywhere. We climbed a bunch of them, imagining ourselves as Juliet at each one)).
Beautiful narrow streets of snow-white stone. The city is leisurely, there are not as many people as in Split or Dubrovnik. A beautiful, sophisticated, stylish city. We recommend!
We recommend!
There are no long roads during this day, only 185 km. Paid section 17 kn.
June 10 is a day of laziness and bliss. As I wrote earlier, in the city of Tribune, where we lived for 3 days, there are very good beaches. You can go to the rocks (wild beach), you can enter the water through shallow water, or you can dive from the pier or enter from a ladder (as they do in swimming pools) so as not to step on hedgehogs at the bottom. We bought hedgehog slippers in advance, but did not test them for durability (whether the needles will pierce them or not).
After such a relaxing time, we went to the supermarket. Again, I was surprised that they don’t sell rice and buckwheat. But there are kilometer-long display cases with pasta (of course, it’s understandable why). Prices for food: potatoes 1 kg 200 rubles, eggs 1 dess 150 rubles, bread from 60 rubles, frozen French fries 100 rubles (I had to take it because I was already tired of pasta). Meat, cheese and sausages are about the same as ours. But the quality, of course, is incomparable! If you have fried a cutlet, you can feel that it is made from minced meat (I make cutlets myself at home, that’s why I know this taste)! We spent 2,000 rubles a day for two, but at the same time we prepared a full dinner and breakfast with salads and hot meat! Sometimes we took yoghurts and muesli with milk so that we could quickly eat in the morning and go on our way.
June 11 – we leave at about 8:30, because we need to be in Dubrovnik this evening. First we stop in Trogir.

There were repairs going on on the road in two places, so we lost about an hour in traffic jams.
For some reason I expected more from this city.
Not impressed, sad thing((. Maybe we just didn’t get to some beautiful places because we were in a hurry to get to Split. But we bought a bunch of inexpensive souvenirs (mugs, lavender, a pirate T-shirt for our little daughter, a Croatian football uniform with number 10 for our eldest). Satisfied with our purchases, we went to Split.


Parking in Split cost us 40 kuna, which was basically fine with us. The first thing we did was run to look at the well-known Diolectian's Palace and took an excursion inside for 25 kuna per person. Honestly, it's not worth going there, even if it were free!
We couldn’t afford to walk around the city for a long time, so our acquaintance with the city was casual. There are a lot of people and it's not the season yet.
Our D8 highway goes along the coast to Dubrovnik. The beauty around is incredible. I didn’t have time to photograph everything from the car window. On one side there are mountains, on the other there is a spacious sea with yachts.

And so on all the way.
Approaching the border with Bosnia, we were worried about our double-entry visa. We thought they would put stamps on us and that’s it, they wouldn’t let us back into Hungary. It turned out that there was just transit, they checked passports and that’s it, they didn’t make any notes. Just in case, we clarified whether we could return not through Croatia, but through Bosnia, to Hungary, because we wanted to get to Mostar. But it turned out to be impossible. On the way back through the Bosnian checkpoint, we were already stamped with foreign documents, but they reassured us that everything was fine, this was transit and the Hungarians knew about it.
On the way home in Dubrovnik, we stopped at the beach in Omis. The views around are very beautiful.
I dreamed of not only swimming in the sea, but also climbing somewhere, but alas, no one from the company wanted to exchange swimming for active physical activity when taking the fortress.
The beach in Omiš is a great option for those with children. It is shallow for a very long time from the shore and there is sand everywhere. You can lie in the sun or hide in the shade under the trees. There is also a children's playground. There are plenty of changing rooms and showers.
After a relaxing beach holiday we drove to Dubrovnik.
On the way we refueled again. It turned out to be 511 kuna (5110 rubles, a record for our trip). Paid section 35 kn.
We did not live in Dubrovnik itself, but next to it in Mokosice (10 km in total). We met with the owners, quickly threw our suitcases into the rooms and ran to the car to take a walk around the evening Dubrovnik.

It’s so good that we did just that! We arrived in the city center and began to look for parking so that the next morning we would know where it was cheaper. In one place 750 kuna, in another 450 kuna. It's crazy, and all these crazy prices are because of some series Game of Thrones. We drove around the city and took a sightseeing tour.
Absolutely by chance, we drove along the upper part of the city, where the funicular goes. And there they calmly left the car on the side of the serpentine road, among the cars of local residents (I have attached the coordinates: 42.645151,18.111141. In the morning we left the car there without any problems). We began to think about how we could get down between the house and the fences from such a height. The walking navigator showed - go down boldly and in 10 minutes you will be happy! Didn't deceive!!! And what views were revealed to us!!)) WOW!!!
We were within the walls of the old city around midnight. There were very few people, the cafes were already closing. But it was still very warm, so we took blouses in vain. The most favorable time for walking, so that no one and nothing distracts you from admiring and contemplating the city landscapes.
June 12 – after breakfast we jumped into cars and went for a walk around Dubrovnik. Here we are all a little divided in our interests. Andrey and I decided to take a boat ride (10 euros per person). I wanted to look at the city and photograph it from the water surface, so to speak!

Olya and Sasha said that they just wanted to relax on the beach and swim. And our other four from the next car just went for a walk.

A walk along the wall costs 150 kn (1500 rubles). The weather is gorgeous, the impressions will last a lifetime, the pleasure is through the roof!

June 13 – no matter how much I would like it, it’s time to get ready for the return trip. We left Mokoshitsa at 9:30. At 10:30 we were already at the border with Bosnia. As they say, in the end we wanted to swim to our heart’s content, so we went to the beach in Omiš, where we had already been (on the way anyway). In the parking lot in Omiš, our parking meter malfunctioned and did not want to accept coins for payment. I only took 10 kuna for an hour and a half and that’s it. I had to fit in within the allotted time. We quickly swam, sunbathed a little and did memorable photo sessions.

I don’t like it when the light in the car lights up indicating that there is still gas left in the tank, so we went to a gas station (387 kuna). Our toll section of the road cost a record amount of 181 kunas. We had such a great ride! We spent the night in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Honestly, I wasn't impressed by the city at all. There's nothing to see there. Therefore, you can safely not include it in your plans for inspections and drive past. It was simply the most convenient option for us due to travel time. Parking near our house was free from 21:00 to 7:00. We had to pay a little extra, but these are minor things.
We drove 640 km in a day.
June 14 - Woke up at 8 am, had breakfast and drove towards Budapest. We paid the Croatian tribute of 44 kunas for the last time.
We dreamed of having one more swim before returning to cold Russia (they constantly wrote to us that while we were basking in the sun, it was raining, windy and only +10). We drove along and discussed which part of Lake Balaton we would swim in this time. But the plans were not destined to come true, because we were covered in heavy rain almost immediately after the border of Croatia with Hungary. Before Budapest, we filled up the car for 19,877 forints (approximately 4,600 rubles).
Coming back is always a little sad and boring. We entertained ourselves as best we could on the road - we sang songs, sang along with them on the radio of another car, actively danced in the open windows and made faces at our neighboring car. We arrived at the hotel in Poland around 23-00. We spent the night in the same forest hotel as at the beginning of the trip. The hosts were friendly and were waiting for us. They recognized us, which was nice! We fell asleep without our hind legs instantly.
June 15 – Poland.Lublin. We stocked up on goodies for the trip and gifts for our loved ones. We refueled for 128 zlotys (2,200 rubles) and went to the Domachevo checkpoint (we like it there the most).
This time all the cars were checked carefully. They asked to open all the glove compartments, seat pockets, suitcases and bags. Everything is polite and calm. We crossed the border in 1 hour 15 minutes. Fast enough. Last year in May we stood for 7 hours, so there is something to compare with.
In Belarus we had to refuel again (54 Belarusian rubles, 1720 our rubles).
On the road I really wanted tasty and hot food. We were thinking about where we should go. They began to look for signs on the road and see how many cars (and most importantly, trucks) were parked in the parking lots of roadside cafes. We found an excellent option and even took a business card from the girl so that we could come and eat with them on our next trips. I’ll write the address in case someone wants to try the awesome kharcho and delicious kebabs and lula kebab. Cafe "La Gascintsa" 302nd km of the Brest-Minsk M1 E30 highway, open from 10-00 to 23-00.
At about one o'clock in the morning we were already at the border with Russia. They just looked at the passports and wished them a safe journey. Finally, reasonable gas prices. A full tank was refilled for only 2 thousand rubles! In connection with the World Cup, there were a LOT of traffic cops and they stopped us often. Although, when I got behind the wheel, they simply waved - drive by!
That's it, the end of our great journey.
What I want to say. Don't be afraid to travel by yourself by car. This is a certain romance, this is adventure, a special atmosphere and a completely different experience than when you arrive by plane to some country. And if you have a couple of other equally cheerful and active adventurers with you, then the road will not be boring and tiring and the whole trip will seem like a fun stroll!

In this article I will tell you the main points about traveling around Croatia on your own. You will learn several facts about the country that any traveler definitely needs to know and that will prepare you for a great vacation without surprises.

Traveling around Croatia on your own: interesting facts

Fact 1: There are no sandy beaches in Croatia

Classic beach of classic Croatia

Yes Yes exactly. 99% of the entire coastline is either rocks, pebbles, or concrete embankments. There are no sandy beaches here as a class. If you like to bury each other in the sand by the sea, then Croatia is definitely not suitable for this. On the other hand, the absence of sandy beaches has many advantages:

• Very clean and clear sea with water transparency of 30-50m. Venice, which is located 200 km from Croatia, is washed by an already muddy and dirty sea.
• Amazing color of water.
• Excellent conditions for diving and snorkeling.
• Don’t drag sand into your apartment on your feet, which is then everywhere

It is important to know: Very often hotels write that they are located on a sandy beach. Double-check this information, read reviews and look at other sources. Among the Croats, fine pebbles are often considered sand. And what a surprise it is to come and relax on a sandy beach, which essentially consists of pebbles 1-2cm in diameter.

Fact 2: the entire coastline in Croatia is state property

This means that on your trip to Croatia you will not find hotels with closed private beaches at all. 100% of the country's coastline is open to anyone and with free access. This is a huge merit of the country’s leadership, who chose to leave the sea in the ownership of every Croatian, rather than reach for economic benefits by selling tasty areas at a very high price.

What you need to know about it before traveling:

• It is prohibited to erect any fences 50m from the sea.
• All hotels in the country, even those with closed areas, have only a common municipal beach. And if you are a guest of an expensive and elite hotel, in order to lie on the beach or swim, you will have to go outside the hotel to “ordinary” people :)
• In principle, there are no paid beaches. But there may be umbrellas and sun loungers on the beach, the rental of which costs money (about 10-20 Kuna per day).
• There may also be sun loungers on the hotel premises, they are already for guests, but the distance to the sea will be 50-100m.
• In all cities of the country, many kilometers of walking paths and cycling paths stretch along the sea. They pass right along the edge of the sea.

Fact 3: Expensive seafood

A typical fish market in any city in Croatia

A little preface: in 2014, the next season of the mega-popular series “Game of Thrones” was released on TV screens. The entire season was filmed in Croatia, specifically around the cities of Split and Dubrovnik. Hundreds of millions of people learned about this beautiful country overnight. And as a result, the number of tourists increases exponentially every year, and prices rise accordingly.

Interesting fact: the government of the country paid the creators of the series “Game of Thrones” 7 million euros to film the series in Croatia.

As of 2019, Croatia is not a cheap country, that goes for everything. But what is very disappointing is that Croatia is a maritime country, where the sea borders are larger than the land borders, and the abundance of sea creatures is simply off the charts - and the cost of seafood on the market is more expensive than in Moscow stores.

For example:

• Shrimp 1kg – 20 euros
• Tuna fillet 1 kg – 20 euros
• Regular fish 1kg - about 10 euros

Fact 4: in the footsteps of “Game of Thrones”

Castle 5 kilometers from Dubrovnik

As you already understand, “Game of Thrones” was filmed here, and if you are a fan of this series, then in Croatia you can dive deeper and feel the atmosphere that was in the series. And selfies against the backdrop of castles and landmarks from your favorite TV series will get a ton of likes on social networks.

So, what objects from your favorite TV series can you visit or capture live in Croatia:

• King's Landing - Dubrovnik's old town
• Battle of Blackwater - St. Lawrence Fortress near Dubrovnik
• Red Castle Garden - Tresteno Arboretum
• Scene of the crucifixion of the Great Lords of Meereen - Klis Fortress
• City of Braavos - Sibenik

And a huge number of iconic places (more than 50) where filming took place. If you are a fan, then your trip to Croatia will definitely be unforgettable.

Fact 5: Very cheap car rental

Perhaps this is the only thing that pleasantly surprised us in terms of prices in Croatia. Renting a car in this country is easier and cheaper than in the rest of Europe. And the deposit is three times less than, for example, in neighboring Italy.

The country has excellent and high-speed roads, a low crime rate, a high culture of other drivers on the roads - all this makes car rental pleasant, affordable and safe, and traveling independently around Croatia is amazing.

For details on how we rented a car in Croatia and how much we paid (spoiler: less than 200 euros per week), read the article: car rental in Croatia, all the details and our own experience.

Fact 6: The official currency of Croatia is not the euro

Although Croatia is in the Schengen zone, it is not yet a member of the European Union and integration has not yet been completed. This means that you can come here with a Schengen visa, but the currency in the country is not yet the Euro.

In Croatia, the national currency is named after a tree and an animal.

Paper money is called Kuna. In honor of the marten, since previously the skins of this animal were used as a means of payment.

The coins in Croatia are called Lipa. In honor of the tree of the same name.

Today in 2019, there are already places where you can pay in euros: for example, in a taxi or for renting apartments by the sea. But still, 90% of all payments take place in Kuna.

Fact 7: The most beautiful place in the world

One of the lakes in the national park

There are a million ratings on absolutely any topic on the Internet. And there is a rating “the most beautiful places on the planet”, this rating was compiled a thousand times by completely different people, publications and agencies with different ideas about beauty and beauty.

This is truly a magical and amazing place. Hundreds of waterfalls create the atmosphere of a fairy tale. Only the crowds of Chinese do not let us forget that all this is happening in real life.

A detailed report about our independent trip to Croatia to this national park is in the article: Plitvice Lakes.

Fact 8: Real truffles grow here - and I’m not talking about candy

Cross-section of Croatian truffle

In Croatia, not only grapes are grown and wine is made. In the north of the country, since the end of August, thousands of people have been looking for this terribly expensive mushroom in the forests. The truffle here grows wild, which makes it even more valuable.

In northern Dalmatia you can find restaurants that will serve you pasta with truffle. Or you can buy 10g of this mushroom at a souvenir shop and bring it home for your culinary masterpieces.

And what’s most interesting: although this mushroom costs 1000 euros a kilogram. But one mushroom weighs on average 10-15g and is enough to cook excellent pasta for four, which means haute cuisine is quite accessible to you.

Fact 9: The real and first Colosseum was not built in Rome

Colosseum in Pula. Very similar to one building in Rome, isn't it?

In the Croatian city of Pula, the Colosseum was built for gladiator fights, which is perfectly preserved today. And in the summer months, events, concerts and creative evenings are held right in the Colosseum arena, which are not at all difficult to attend.

Historical information: after the Colosseum was built in Pula, 20 years later the construction of the Colosseum in Rome began. And looking at the photo, it’s not difficult to guess from the design of which structure the Roman amphitheater was built.

Croatia is a magical country.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: below are the main resources that help us organize any independent travel (immediately add what you need to your bookmarks):

Air travel:– the largest meta search engine for air tickets in RuNet. Search 100 airlines including low-cost airlines.

Discounted hotels:- high-quality and convenient hotel search engine. Compares prices from all booking sites, including booking, ostrovok and shows where it is cheaper. Personally, we always book accommodation only here.

Ready tours: and - two largest aggregators of ready-made tours to all countries of Europe and Asia without going to the office.

Car rental:— convenient car rental service. — quite cheap car rental in Europe. Any service of your choice.

Medical insurance for tourists:— convenient insurance for those traveling abroad. $4-5 for extended insurance in the Schengen area. Insurance works even in Zanzibar - verified personally :)

By a strange coincidence of random and non-random life circumstances, it was the countries of the former Yugoslavia that your humble servant managed to travel far and wide, and more than once. Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and even Slovenia amazingly revealed their beauty and originality the more often they were visited. And this was largely due to the car, which was able to go places where no plane flies and no tourist bus can take you.

How to get from Russia directly to Montenegro by car -.

As always, every rule has an exception. So such a pearl of the Adriatic coast as Croatia, for some reason hid, hid, dodged my attention, but, in the end, gave up - “Dobro došli u Hrvatsku”!

First of all, it’s worth saying that you can get from Russia to Croatia in different ways, including directly by car. Since we have similar experience behind us, it is worth warning that the path ahead is long and difficult - at least three thousand kilometers and three to four days of travel in one direction.

And although such a trip gives simply a huge amount of impressions and is rich in events, we can only recommend it to true adventure lovers. And as practice has shown, due to the cost of fuel in Europe, financially this method is not particularly profitable than a voucher with a plane ticket. So, let's fly!

To visit Croatia, Russian citizens require a national visa, which must be issued in advance. The country is a member of the EU, but is not part of the Schengen or European zones. Therefore, with a Croatian visa you cannot enter other countries of the European Agreement, however, with an already open “multischengen”, additional entry permits are not required. There are no restrictions on the use of Russian driver's licenses in Croatia.

The territory of modern Croatia (especially the Adriatic coast) has an ancient and rich history, dating back to the third millennium BC. Who hasn't left their mark here! The country managed to witness the heyday and power of Ancient Greece, the Roman and Byzantine empires, having been their colony at different times, and also went through all the stages of medieval European strife.

Despite this, Croatia is overwhelmingly inhabited by Slavs, who first began to develop these lands back in the seventh century AD. Perhaps it is for this reason that our compatriots so love to go on vacation to visit their fraternal people.

One of the signs of this ethnographic relationship is the national language, which, in general, is spoken in all Balkan countries. And although, written in Latin, it may seem alien and incomprehensible to Russians, in fact, in the Croatian and Russian languages ​​there are many words with the same root and similar meaning. Thanks to this, even in regions remote from resort areas, it is almost always possible to explain yourself and understand at least the meaning of what is being asked or answered.

The national currency is the Croatian kuna (HRK). In rough rounding it is equal to six Russian rubles or a little more than one-sixth of a euro at the exchange rate at the end of May 2014. However, throughout the entire tourist territory of Croatia, euros are accepted for payment without any problems, not to mention credit cards.

But let's get back to cars. As you might guess, renting a car in a tourist country is easy. Companies providing this service are a dime a dozen. If you want, book a car in advance via the Internet with a meeting right at the airport; if you want, pick it up upon arrival at the same airport or at the hotel. Moreover, you can rent a scooter or even an ATV. We only note that early booking is noticeably more profitable - prices in hotel offices are quite high.

The minimum cost for which you can rent a car is about 20-25 euros per day. Prices for convertibles start on average from 50-60 euros. However, during the peak summer season, prices double or triple!

From our point of view, the optimal car for Croatia is a compact hatchback with a diesel engine. Having a good supply of torque, the engine easily goes uphill along numerous serpentines, while consuming a minimum of fuel. And its compact dimensions will allow you to squeeze into narrow streets and tight parking lots of resort towns.

Traditionally, there are three resort areas in Croatia: the coast of the Kvarner Bay, Istria and Dolmatia. We will focus on getting to know the latter.

The capital of this region and the second largest after Zagreb is the beautiful city of Split. If you are planning to actively travel around Dolmatia, this particular locality should be considered as a starting point, since Split has an extremely advantageous location, being the center of the intersection of main roads and routes diverging throughout the country.

From here you can easily reach southern Dubrovnik, northern Zadar, and Zagreb, the capital of the country, via the A1 highway. In addition, ferries run from Split to numerous inhabited islands, where there is also something to see.

The quality of roads in Croatia is excellent in most cases. In remote areas, of course, there are subdivided areas. However, even such rare islands of potholes do not cause the need to sharply brake or urgently move to the side. A separate story is serpentines. Of all the Balkan countries in Croatia, they are the most well-groomed and wide, although breakers on the side of the cliff are also rare - be careful.

And compared to its neighbors, Croatia has the most disciplined drivers. In Serbia and Montenegro, locals on mountain roads sometimes drive as if they have several lives left.

Police are rare on Croatian roads, but there is no need to relax. When necessary, it can appear as if out of the ground. It must be said that local residents do not strictly adhere to traffic rules, but adhere to the minimum error, because fines can reach several hundred euros.

The responsibility of Croatian drivers is such that it allows the use of fairly flexible restrictions on the amount of alcohol consumed. However, under 24 years of age you cannot drink and drive – strictly 0.00 ppm. But after reaching this age - up to 0.5 ppm, which allowed the author of this text to safely drink a couple of glasses of red wine at lunch.

Like any Mediterranean country, Croatia is famous for its wine production. Even ordinary table wine has a good taste. However, the average cost of inexpensive wine is higher than in Germany or France - about 10 euros in a store. Mass produced, but considered higher quality wines reach 20-30 euros per bottle. By the way, if you are going to export wine from Croatia, buy it in advance in local stores and check it in your luggage. In Duty Free the same wine is one and a half times more expensive.

Croatian cuisine, along with other Balkan countries, cannot but please. It’s interesting that both fish and meat are excellently prepared here, in all types! Therefore, ideally, order both at dinner to try everything.

Keep in mind that Slavic generosity allows you to order one dish for two - the portions are very large, not counting the fact that almost every main dish comes with a traditional side dish - a plate of boiled potatoes with spinach. However, the cost is appropriate: for example, a tray of hot seafood will cost 60-70 euros for two.

It is pointless to describe the beauty of old Split, headed by the main attraction - Diocletian's Palace built in 305 AD - it must be seen, studied, listened to and admired. Let's put it this way: the ancient Roman city will allow you to plunge headlong into its 1,700-year history and stay here for a few days before moving on.

And then I recommend going to the city of Trogir, located 30 kilometers from Split. It is, of course, not so large-scale and impressive, but with its comfort and historical diversity it is worthy of spending at least a day here.

In the intertwining narrow streets of the Old Town you can see both Roman heritage and Venetian architecture. And also - listen to folk songs of local talents performing works exclusively a cappella.

Of course, you need to visit one of the many islands that literally cover the entire coastline. Interestingly, local residents essentially use them as summer cottages, which they get to every season either on their own sailboats or yachts, or on ferries.

But there are also large islands where there are quite large settlements with permanent residents. One of these places is the island of Hvar. You can get there by ferry from Split.

Keep in mind that after studying the departure schedule and choosing a convenient time, it is better to arrive about half an hour before. Because space on the ferry is limited, and the queue in the summer season can be quite long. You will have to pay separately for the car and separately for each passenger. The total cost of tickets from Split to the Old Town, located on the west coast of the island of Hvar, for a car and two people will be 304 kuna or about 40 euros one way. Travel time will be about three hours.

Let’s say right away that for those who don’t really like sailing on ships, you can get to the island or return to the mainland from the eastern side of the island. From the island village of Sucuraj to the town of Drvenik it is less than an hour by ferry. By the way, in the huge and comfortable cabin of the ferry, not only do you not feel any rocking at all, but you can also easily sleep, have a drink or snack, or play something. The farm will be especially interesting to those involved in agriculture in Russia. For example, it is very unusual to see tomatoes growing outside a greenhouse, instead of an apple orchard - an olive and grape orchard, an open-air chicken coop and southern varieties of vegetables. Eh, the climate allows it.

A typical “vehicle fleet” of local peasants: a small tractor for rural work, a minibus for all family members, which, if necessary, serves as a truck, and, although old, a ceremonial car to the capital. As they say, for all occasions.

You can finish your trip around the island in the fishing village of Suchurai on the eastern edge of the island (80 km from the western one). While waiting for the ferry, you should definitely try the freshest fish and seafood in almost home-style restaurants and talk about life with the local fishermen, who make up the main population of the town.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to stay longer in Croatia. But I really wanted to! There was still so much left unattended that I was seriously thinking about spending a couple of weeks of vacation here someday. Without any discounts, Croatia is the pearl of the Balkans.

The most beautiful, most interesting and most versatile country, if you compare it, for example, with Adriatic Montenegro and Slovenia or mainland Serbia. But also the most expensive of them. Average prices for tours, as well as prices in the country itself, are one and a half times higher than in Montenegro... True, it’s worth it!

We are planning to visit Croatia in the summer. 2 adults + 2 children (7 and 4 years). I really want not only a beach holiday, but also to travel around the country at least a little. Therefore, Central Dalmatia with its coastal villages disappears, as I understand, it is more difficult to get out from there. The children are small, we don’t plan to take a car, all travel is public. transport. It’s clear that we won’t go far, but still... We came up with three routes. Criticize, advise something, please!!!
1. We are based on the island. Ciovo, from there to Trogir, Split, Plitvice Lakes (overnight there).
2. We fly to Pula, there for 1 day, then we live for a week in Rovinj, from there to the island of Krk, Plitvice Lakes (with an overnight stay). Then we move to Medulin (friends seem to have an apartment there) and sit by the sea.
3. We live on the island. Korcula, we explore the nearest islands, Dubrovnik.
Travel time - second half of June - early July, 2 or 3 weeks, haven’t decided yet, we rent apartments everywhere, cook mostly ourselves, a relatively gentle descent into the water is important for children.

podarka,
I'm for the second option.)
Rovinj is an unforgettable city, Croatian Venice, the most romantic city in the country.) I published several photos here.
Krk is the largest island in Croatia. See also the capital - the ancient city of Krk. The famous Baška beach - 1.5 km of sand and pebbles.) 20 minutes by car to Rijeka (you will go by bus if you do not plan to rent a car). Beautiful Kvarner. You can ride one day to Opatija.)
In my opinion, a rich program.)

Now I'll criticize everything... :)
As I understand it, the main thing is here:

The children are small, we don’t plan to take a car, all travel is public. transport. It’s clear that we won’t go far, but still..

In my opinion, not a single option is suitable... And you need to take into account that without a car you will have to walk a lot... :)
Oddly enough, there may be a better option - Korcula... But, in order...
1. This is a good option if you are flying to Split. You can go to: Trogir itself, Split, Omis, Sibenik, Krka waterfalls. Plitvica is also possible, but with children it is quite tiring. If you are used to a long journey of 4-6 hours, then you can... You can go to the same islands (Brac, Hvar, Korcula) by ferry from Split... Ciovo is good, but to travel you will first have to take a bus to the bus station get there, then go somewhere, and also return... It will take the whole day...
2. My beloved Istria - wonderful! :)And there is something to see - Pula, Rovinj, Porec, Pazin... Plus medieval towns of inland Istria...
Problems: From Pula and Rovinj it is not a problem to get to Pazin, Rovnia, Porec... To the cities of inland Istria - Groznjan, Motovun, Buzet, etc. You won’t be able to get there by bus anymore... Either by car or excursions (I can help with organizing individual ones). The same goes for Krk and Plitvice... To Krk there is a bus from Pula with a transfer in Rijeka. To Plitvice from Pula with a transfer in Karlovac...
Those. problems in transport, everything else is good...
3. It’s relatively difficult to get to Korcula... Most likely you should fly to Dubrovnik, or maybe to Split... You can’t really get away from the islands, but they themselves are worthy of interest.
If you are based near the city of Korcula itself, then you can see the city itself, be sure to visit Moreshka, go to the other end of the island in Vela Luka (from there you can take a ferry to Split), and the neighboring islands - Hvar and Mljet. Again, getting to Dubrovnik by ferry is not a problem... The only thing is that I was looking for a place in Korcula... The beaches there, frankly speaking, are not very good... I mean, there are stones everywhere... There are suitable ones in the Vela Luka area, but then from the city. Korcula is far away... But I don’t know about the bus service on the island. I think it is there, but not too busy...
Now try to choose an option... :)

Now I'll criticize everything... :)

Yeah... Thanks for the reasoned answer. Maybe you can recommend some other route? How much can an individual excursion to Krk from Rovinj cost, for example? to Plitvice? Now that I have seen (even on the Internet) such beauties of Croatia, I cannot just sit there by the sea and not see anything. Children are small, of course... But they love to travel.

Maybe you can recommend some other route?

My words about criticism should not be taken literally... :) Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages, and I tried to analyze them... A matter of choice...

How much can an individual excursion to Krk from Rovinj cost, for example? to Plitvice?

I won’t tell you the exact prices, I can only give a tip... But, to Plitvice from Rovinj in the region of 300-350 euros...
This is an individual car... Considering that by bus it costs around 80-90 euros/person, not so much... On Krk it is somewhat cheaper, of course... It’s still about 330 km to Plitvice from Rovinj...

Is this an excursion or a transfer? We probably just need a transfer. We would spend the night there. Don’t know if it’s possible to find accommodation for 1 night locally? Or do I also need to book in advance?
We have no desire to see everything, but in a quiet mode at least something... But we really want to go to Plitvice...

Excursion...

Don’t know if it’s possible to find accommodation for 1 night locally?

Really... It's a matter of price...

We have no desire to see everything, but in a quiet mode at least something... But we really want to go to Plitvice...

Understand... :)
Despite my love for Istria, it’s still more convenient to get to Plitvice on your own from the Sibenik-Zadar region... Or on the way to the coast from Zagreb...

What to expect?

In terms of spending the night in Plitvice? Everything is different, depending on the proximity to the park and other incoming... In principle, from 15 euros / person to 50-60 euros for an apartment, sometimes this includes breakfast... There, as at the sea, there is something in every house for rent, + there are several hotels.

Why do you need an individual excursion to Plitvice?...
Take the descriptions of Plitvice, a map, look a little... Ask a few questions here... And off you go!...)
Take a car in Rovinj... In the morning you leave at 6 am... we'll tell you the route... Along the way, 2-4 km from Plitvice, you will rent accommodation - if you really want... There will be banners on the houses... The further you get from Plitvice , the cheaper the housing...
If you’ve walked around Plitvice and don’t want to stay, you can return home the same day by a different route...))

Going by car yourself is undoubtedly cheaper and more convenient... If you leave at 6-7 in the morning, then you can slowly do it in one day. Also visit a couple of interesting places along the way, for example Rastoke in Slunj and Nehaj Castle or Bosilvo...
Excursions are only for horseless people, because public transport is difficult...

It’s still more convenient to get to Plitvice on your own from the Sibenik-Zadar region.

Also from this area it is convenient to Trogir, Split and the Krka waterfalls. These waterfalls can be seen as similar to Plitvica.

It’s better to go to Plitvice, especially with children, for a couple of days, or maybe more. There are hotels at the very entrance to the lakes. You can reserve your seats there in advance. Locals are quite active in renting out rooms, but the closer you are to the entrance to the lakes, the less chance you have of finding vacancies during the season. Therefore, it is better to book in advance.

In summer, it is best to go to the lakes early in the morning or late afternoon, because... During the day on a sunny day it is a bit hot in the basin. And there are a lot of people, which gets in the way. Don't pay much attention to the fact that the routes are quite long and over rough terrain. The landscapes are so beautiful and change so often that fatigue does not accumulate. Moreover, if you don’t have to rush to leave at a certain time.

There is no point in taking excursions to Plitvice - it’s like going to a park with a guide. This is a purely natural object that should be viewed at a pace convenient for you, and not adapt to someone else’s uncle/aunt. And information about Plitvice fits into a dozen sentences.

Such a transfer is of course beneficial for tourists, but I don’t know of a single such case... But a taxi will simply be expensive, and hardly anyone will go...
In Korcula, everything is not so bad with the beaches, but they are small, in coves and there are quite a few of them... The coast is not like Makarska... rocky and rather steep. In some places there are ladders, in others there are small platforms, and in the coves there are pebbles. It’s just that if there is a bay and a village, then almost the entire bay is occupied with berths for boats, and if the bay is free, then the housing is a bit far away...

I'll criticize you a little:

3. Korcula. The place is super, but for you (for us) it can’t be worse.
You only need to fly through Dubrovnik. There is no need to go through Split - it will be a lot of headaches to get there - it is very expensive by taxi, plus you still need to get to some kind of ferry - the end result will be that the arrival time will not coincide - and you will also have to spend the night somewhere on the way there and back. The ferry from Split takes a long time, check me out, study the schedule - but all this is an incredible burden - these ferries.
From Dubrovnik there is also an expensive and relatively short transfer via Orebrich (a town on Peljesac opposite Korcula) - there are options by rocket from Dubrovnik to Korcula, but again everything will depend on the arrival.
My advice to you is to forget about Korcula, take pity on yourself and your children.
If you do go to Korcula, you will fall into a trap. You won't get anywhere from there in one day - check the ferry schedule.
Even going to Dubrovnik in one day is problematic - it was discussed a lot last year - you can search for it using the word “Korčula”.
It's just a beach holiday. It's very popular with naturists - living in the city and sailing on boats to the Dalmatian islands (which are speckled with dogs) is the place for them. You will get tired of the charming, breathtaking Korcula on the third day - because it is a hundred steps from north to south and also from west to east.

Some time before my birthday, my husband began to persistently ask me about my wishes regarding a gift. After thinking about it, I came to the surprising conclusion that I don’t want anything material. I want to travel. In the hot summer, to the sea, to a country with beautiful nature and many attractions. “Give me Croatia,” I asked.
No sooner said than done. And since we always travel on our own, without purchasing standard tours or the help of travel agencies, the format of the trip emerged by itself: wild, by car, along the entire Adriatic coast of Croatia. Travel time is strictly limited to 11 days at the end of June.
First you need to decide how to get into the country. Croatia and Ukraine have a strange visa regime. To obtain a visa, you must have either an original hotel reservation with paid accommodation, or an original invitation from a Croatian citizen on the prescribed form, certified by the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Both options are, in principle, achievable if you have enough time and the Internet. You can book a hotel on the coast and ask for confirmation to be sent by express mail. You can book a private apartment and ask its owner to send an invitation (often they agree to this, knowing our visa regime). But neither one nor the other is suitable for free artists like us, since it ties us to one place by living. And I want to see a lot.
I started calling travel agencies asking about visa support for additional money without purchasing a tour. The reaction was different - from indifferent to indignant - but always negative :) Quite by accident, on a Ukrainian automobile forum, I read a message from one participant who used the services of a travel agency friendly to the Croatian embassy. According to legend, the owner of this travel agency is a Croatian who enjoys the favor of the ambassador :). I called there, and a nice girl answered that they were ready to provide us with visa support without anything else. Only the prices were not encouraging - 140 euros for a one-week visa and 170 euros for a two-week one. The two visas we need will cost 340 euros, despite the fact that if we purchased accommodation from a travel agency it would cost a maximum of 100 euros more. But we decided that freedom is more expensive and agreed to issue visas :) We must also take into account that a Croatian visa takes 2 weeks (10 working days), and a Hungarian transit visa takes 1 week (5 working days). Everything went without delay, and on the appointed day we received our passports. We also purchased health insurance there. We were satisfied with the services of the travel agency; everything was completed not only on time, but even a few days earlier. In addition, we were given a voucher for accommodation in a hotel on the coast that we allegedly booked and paid for, in case anyone at the border was interested. Of course, no one demanded this, but the concern of the travel agency was pleasant. And there they gave us a map of Croatia, although by that time we had already acquired our own. My husband issued a “green card” for the car from his insurance company, although it is also possible from a travel agency.
Two guidebooks were purchased at the Petrovka book market: one is the Croatia Polyglot series, the other is the Croatia series The World Around Us. The first one is completely stupid, as, indeed, are most domestic guidebooks. The second one is better, more detailed, but it lacks any practical information. Only descriptions of cities, attractions, national parks. Two car cards were also purchased (Croatia and Hungary). Looking ahead, I will say that a lot has changed in the couple of years since the cards were released. In Croatia, a massive construction of roads, highways, interchanges, etc. is underway. This is not yet on the map. For example, there is no highway to Split. Fortunately, the signs on the roads are very informative, so we often relied only on them.
A common part of preparing for a trip on your own is searching online for reports on holidays in a given country. Typically, this is practical and valuable information. There are not many reports on savages in Croatia. All of them have been carefully studied.
After reading preliminary information from guidebooks and notes from experienced tourists from the Internet, the following route began to emerge: Kiev – Uzhgorod – Zagreb – Kvarner Bay – Istrian Peninsula – Krk Island – Zadar – Split – Dubrovnik – Plitvice Lakes – Zagreb – Uzhgorod – Kyiv.
It was decided to book accommodation only in Zagreb. We planned to arrive there late in the evening, and we might not have had enough energy to find accommodation after a whole day of driving. We planned to stay there for the night, spend the entire next day getting to know the capital of Croatia, then spend the night there again, and head to the coast in the morning. I emailed the owner of Pecas Apartments and booked two nights in a double room for 300 kuna (approx. 42 euros) per night. We were not required to pay in advance.

THE ROAD THERE

This part of the story will be of interest only to those who intend to travel to Croatia in their own car, like us. The rest can immediately move on to the next part.
For those traveling by plane, I can only say that a charter to Croatia can also be purchased separately from the tour at travel agencies, for which this country is one of the leading destinations. The prices I have met are 190-250 euros for a round trip flight. Planes fly to Pula, Split, Dubrovnik, perhaps somewhere else.

The initial plan was to hit the road immediately after the end of the working day, get to Uzhgorod by nightfall, spend the night there, and the next day get through all of Hungary and part of Croatia to Zagreb. However, life made its own adjustments. My husband was late at work, and we managed to leave the house only after eight in the evening.
The first time we refueled at Lukoil in Zhitomir, the second time also at Lukoil at the entrance to Lvov.
Around two o'clock in the morning we no longer had the strength to continue the journey, so we turned into the first motel we came across on the road. It turned out to be a Viking near Lviv. However, the price is 190 UAH. 5 hours of sleep seemed too wasteful to us. In the price list we noticed a price of 20 UAH/person. It turned out to be a room with two beds in a nearby parking lot. Her inspection satisfied us, and we spent the night there.
We left around eight. Near Chop we stopped at Natalie's motel to get something to eat. The cafe of this establishment pleased me - expensive interior, delicious food, large portions. As a result, they paid 100 UAH, although they expected the amount to be at least twice as much.
Right at the border we filled up a full tank of gas at OKKO.
We arrived at the Tisa checkpoint at half past two. The line of cars impressed with its length and immobility. We spent the next three tiring hours languishing in the black car under the scorching sun. It turned out that on this day the Hungarians showed special zeal in inspecting cars. The passengers in the car in front even had their cigarette packs counted. And an unopened block of LD could be seen from the nearest trash can.
Finally the border is behind us. We entered the territory of Hungary. Here everyone drives with their headlights on low beam. For the first 30 km Pasha tried to control the speed, but soon we got on the tail of the local “pilots” and continued our journey faster.
In Nyiregyháza, at the first gas station, we bought a pass to all highways in Hungary for 12 days for 2,500 forints (about 13 euros). We paid by card, so we didn't have to change money. The brand was glued to the windshield of the car. Its presence is monitored on the roads by special vehicles equipped with reading devices. We saw one of these bright orange colors with the inscription Control near Lake Balaton.
The autobahn to Budapest has begun. This is our first experience of traveling around Europe by car, so we were on the autobahn for the first time. The coverage is ideal, the maximum permitted speed is 130 km/h. All cars are driving on the right. Left lane for overtaking.
100 km before Budapest, a huge black cloud appeared on the horizon, and the day instantly turned into night. The rain started unexpectedly heavy. Large drops drummed on the glass with such force that even the wipers turned on at the highest speed could not cope with the flow of water. We could only navigate by the barely visible red lights of the car ahead. However, there is not a hint of puddles on the asphalt, so we, of course, slowed down, but continued driving.
In Budapest, the rain ended as unexpectedly as it began.
Following the signs in the city, we somehow got onto the highway leading to the Croatian border. We had a snack at one of the many gas stations. Driving on the autobahn is an extremely tiring task :) The ideal road surface and cruise control in the car instantly lull both the driver and passengers to sleep. Therefore, we held on with all our strength, and when we ran out of strength, we simply stopped at a gas station and took a nap for about 20 minutes. It helped:)
We reached the Croatian border by midnight. At the checkpoint there was not a single car in either direction. We completed all the formalities in a matter of seconds and entered Croatia. At the border we exchanged some money for Croatian kuna (the exchange rate was 1 euro = 7.04 kuna, if I’m not mistaken).
In Croatia, the highway payment system is different. When entering a toll road, a ticket is taken at the checkpoint in front of the barrier, and at the end of the journey it is paid depending on the number of kilometers traveled. In addition, in Croatia this pleasure is much more expensive. Over 10 days, we paid a total of about 100 euros for the use of toll road facilities (autobahns, bridges, tunnels).
Immediately after the border, I sent an SMS to the owner of the apartment we had booked with information that we would be in Zagreb in about an hour. He replied that he would wait for us at the house.

DAY 1. ZAGREB

Having reached Zagreb, we asked some guys driving a car for directions to our apartment. They kindly showed us the way, driving there with us. A young guy with whom we corresponded was waiting for us near the house.
Our accommodation turned out to be a rather large three-room apartment, with guests living in each of the rooms. With us, one of the rooms was free, and two girls lived in the other. However, they were already asleep. The room seemed good to us, although quite ordinary.

We woke up quite late, at 9.00. Road fatigue took its toll. We slowly got ready and left the house around 11.00.
From our house there are exactly 10 steps to some major street. On it we saw a large TO CENTER sign pointing to the left. That's where we headed. On the way we stopped at a bookstore and bought a map of Zagreb.
Vlasta Street led us straight to Kaptol Square. On it is the symbol of Zagreb - St. Stephen's Cathedral. It rises above the city with two towers over 100 meters high. Part of the facade is in scaffolding. In front of the cathedral there is a column with a golden statue of the Virgin Mary.
After examining the cathedral, we turned into a narrow street and ended up at the most famous Donak market. Here we bought a couple of souvenirs at the souvenir stall. At the market itself, we couldn’t resist buying large, ripe apricots (marelki in Croatian). We ate them right there, unwashed, from a huge paper bag :)
Then we looked around Ban Jelacic Square, where we met two Odessa residents - fisherman of fisherman... :)
In one of the nearby narrow streets we sat down at a table under an umbrella to drink tea and coffee. In Croatia, there are no such street cafes. The streets are lined wall to wall with umbrellas from nearby establishments. Moreover, there is a clear division into establishments where you can eat and where you cannot. In most of these street cafes, the menu only has drinks - tea, coffee, juices, mineral water, cola, and occasionally ice cream. Food is less common.
We are on our way to Verkhniy Grad. We go up the street, consisting only of steps, and find ourselves on a platform with a stunning panorama of the city. Not a single person around!
We approach the Lotrscak City Hall. I raise my head and notice people at the very top. So there is an observation deck there! We climb up an inconspicuous backyard staircase, past people's apartments and terraces, wondering if we'll end up in someone's place instead of a tower. An employee meets us at the top and asks us for 10 kuna (1.4 euros) for visiting the observation deck. If you have an ISIC student card, the price is halved. By the way, this is the case in many places. The view from the observation deck is amazing! The whole city is at your fingertips. There is a bell at the town hall, and every day at noon a cannon fires from the town hall. But we didn’t find this - we got there much later.
In general, in Croatia, every little self-respecting town has a tower, or a town hall, or a bell tower, to which tourists climb to look and photograph the bright orange tiled roofs, the sights of the town, the blue sea and white yachts in the distance. Zagreb marked the beginning of this entertainment of ours :)
Further along the route is St. Mark's Cathedral. It is easily recognizable by its tiled roof, on which two coats of arms - Croatia and Zagreb - are laid out in colored tiles. On the same square is the residence of the President of Croatia and the People's Assembly.
We go down a little to the Stone Gate of the city and the statue of St. George.
Tired. Let's return to the market. Here on the market square we have lunch at one of the many bistros with rice, fish and green salad for an affordable 100 kuna.
Now we will explore the Lower City - the so-called Green Horseshoe. This is a long green square (or several squares), divided by the letter P. Fountains, a meteorological column, a pavilion of Science and Art. We approach the station. From here the view opens up, familiar from numerous photographs of Zagreb: in the foreground is the equestrian statue of the first Croatian king Tomislav, behind it is the Pavilion of Science and Art, and in the distance the two spiers of the Cathedral can be seen. Please take a photo of the two of us at this place. The woman tries it on for a long, long time and finally takes a photograph. We look at the results of her work and can’t help but laugh—the picture only includes the two of us and a piece of the monument’s foundation. The photo was dubbed “The horse turned out especially well” :)
After the obligatory sightseeing program was completed, we simply walked around the city. We drank drinks under umbrellas in cafes, bought souvenirs in shops (in Zagreb, by the way, the prices for souvenirs are the lowest, as it turned out later), and bought some small things in shops. We returned home quite early - around eight. We also planned to go out to a nearby establishment for dinner, but we didn’t have enough strength.

DAY 2. TsRIKVENICA

We woke up at eight. By nine we leisurely got ready, drank some tea, left the keys on the refrigerator and drove towards the coast.
Driving around Zagreb is not easy even if you have a map - there are a lot of one-way streets. Somehow we headed in the direction we needed. But the difficulties did not end here either. We drove strictly according to the signs with the number of the Zagreb-Rijeka highway we needed. We arrived at a fork in the road with two left turns. The sign hangs between these turns - on the bridge. We decided that our turn was the second one, since it was behind the sign. We turned it off. Almost immediately we realized that we were mistaken. But in order to return, I had to make a huge detour of 30 km :) There was no exit anywhere.
The Zagreb-Rijeka highway costs 56 kuna (about 8 euros). Today is Saturday and it's quite busy. We pass through many tunnels. In some places, the construction of a road or tunnel continues, but everything is organized so clearly and correctly that it practically does not interfere with traffic. The ride is easy and fun. The sun is shining, vacation is ahead, today we will swim in the sea :)
From that moment on, at all gas stations in Croatia, Bosnia (on the way to Dubrovnik) and Hungary (on the way back to Ukraine) they paid for gasoline only with a plastic card. Convenient, fast and no need to exchange money for the currency of another country.
By one o'clock in the afternoon we went down to Rijeka. This is a large port city. We arrived in the very center, but could not park the car anywhere nearby. There are visible problems with parking in all coastal Croatian cities. The narrow streets, often one-way, are lined with small cars. In general, we somehow immediately realized that our car did not fit into Croatian standards either in terms of gasoline consumption or dimensions :) The most common car brands here are Peugeot 206, Opel Corsa, Ford Fiesta and so on. Both men and women ride them, while in our country they are considered exclusively “female” models.
We parked quite far from the center. We walked down to the embankment and had lunch at one of the lunch bars. While we were waiting for our order, we looked through the guidebook and saw that we were located not far from the market. After lunch we went there. We bought an insane amount of fruit at the market, missing apples from the new harvest, apricots, which we didn’t have when we left, and nectarines and peaches.
We left Rijeka and continued along the coast in the hope of finding a place to stay for a couple of days. Soon we saw a sign for the town of Crikvenica, and I remembered two stories I had come across on the Internet mentioning this town. Since we, by and large, didn’t care where to stop, we turned towards it.
We drove off the highway to the very bottom of the town, towards the sea. And then we saw a sign saying Sobe / Apartment – ​​50 m. We walk these 50 meters in the indicated direction to a three-story white villa with lush pink flowers in pots. There is a woman standing on one of the balconies, whom we ask if there are any free rooms or apartments. She replies that there is both. Apartments for 40 euros per night, room for 22 euros. We examine the room and instantly agree to live here for the next three days, agreeing with the hostess on a price of 20 euros per night plus 3.5 euros for breakfast. The room is quite spacious. It has a large double bed, an additional sofa, bedside tables, and wardrobes. The room is in twilight, but when the hostess opens the dark wooden blinds, we see a large French window, and behind it a long, spacious balcony with a table and chairs. All the windows of the villa face the sea, but we can’t see it because of the greenery - we are on the first floor. True, for us with our plan of movement along the coast this is not important. The car was parked under the house.
They didn't unpack their things. We quickly changed into swimming trunks/swimsuit and went to the beach. The beach is really no more than 50 meters away. The beach consists of small coves, rather than a long coastal strip. Rocky. Not many people. The sea is clean, transparent and very salty! There are a lot of pine trees on the shore, which makes the air thick and pleasant. I'm starting to like it here. Pashka grumbles: “Typical Crimean landscape... And was it worth coming all this way for this?” :)
We sunbathed in the sun for a short time, then moved into the shade under the pine trees. There they fell asleep like babies and slept for two hours. With difficulty we pulled ourselves out of nirvana and trudged home :)
After showering and changing clothes we headed into the city. The first positive impressions are reinforced by what we see now. Neat white villas, bright pink flowers on the balconies, narrow winding streets, turquoise sea, white yachts... This is exactly how I imagined Croatia :) If we were planning to lead a more sedentary lifestyle, I would have stayed here without a shadow of a doubt.
There are practically no people in June - it’s not the season. All the tables in the cafe are empty; the houses have Sobe / Apartmani / Zimmer / Room signs. They all mean the same thing – free housing. We sit down in an empty cafe to have dinner, and the owner of the establishment serves us personally.
Croatian cuisine cannot be called diverse. Usually the menu is quite limited: grilled meat/fish/seafood, fries or rice on the side, fresh salad. But we are used to eating this way in Southeast Asia, and we don’t experience any discomfort from the lack of complex salads or gourmet dishes. The menu also includes the usual pasta and pizza (we haven’t tried it). Among other things, my husband is on a diet, so he doesn’t drink alcohol. Me too - out of solidarity :) We usually finish the meal with tea with lemon or mineral water with lemon. This lunch/dinner costs around 25-30 euros. I repeat - no alcohol. However, the portions are huge! As a rule, grilled fish is a rather large fish carcass, fried whole. And when you order a pork chop, there will be two or three of them on your plate, not one. Of course, I don’t eat that much food, and Pasha always gets one and a half servings. Which makes him incredibly happy :)
After dinner, we went out onto the main street. There are thousands of tables under umbrellas here! In each of these outdoor cafes there is a TV screen showing the World Cup. The people sitting at the tables are watching with interest what is happening on the screen. Back in Zagreb, we noticed the crazy passion of the Croatian people for football. The windows of all stores are hung with football symbols. People walk around in red and white checkered T-shirts and caps. In all the cafes, people of all ages enthusiastically follow the development of the game, no matter which team is playing. It’s amazing to see excited fans not with a bottle or glass of beer, but with ice cream or a cup of coffee :) Girls also show a keen interest in the game.
While Pasha was glued to the screen, I walked through the souvenir shops and poked my nose into the nearest pastry shop. We returned to our place around eleven along the sea. No, the first impression was not deceptive. I definitely like it here!

DAY 3. ISTRIA PENINSULA

I woke up from a strange feeling of absolute peace and happiness. Daylight slanting rays penetrates through the slightly open blinds into the room; because of the wide-open balcony door, the air is filled with the smells of the sea breeze and pine forest, silence. You rarely find such peace on vacation. On the South Coast at this time you can already hear the hubbub of children, the clinking of dishes, the sizzling of a frying pan with breakfast...
We had breakfast on the balcony at a table served by the hostess. We didn’t stay long - today we have plans to explore the Istrian Peninsula.
In Rijeka we were lost again for a long time. Even with a map and very informative signs, driving is not at all easy. We drove and followed the signs, and suddenly they disappeared :) It turns out that we needed to take a different road :) Finally we got out of the city. But upon entering the peninsula, we got a little lost again :) Pasha tells in emotional terms how unlucky he was with the navigator :) I can only mumble that “it’s not my fault...” (c) :)
In the depths of the peninsula we pass through the longest tunnel we have encountered - 5 km. It costs 28 kuna one way. In addition, there are many bridges on the peninsula. Some of them are also striking in their length and grandeur.
Finally we arrived in Pula. It is located in the very south of the peninsula. We just went down the upper road into the city and immediately came across the amphitheater. “This is what we came here for,” I say to my husband, who did not bother to ask why we are here beforehand.
The Roman amphitheater Colosseum amazes with its size! It is the largest outside of Italy and one of the five largest surviving buildings of the Roman Empire. Accommodates 23 thousand people. Part of the stage has been restored and festivals are held there in the summer. When we were there, there were posters everywhere about Jose Carreras coming to the Coliseum.
We park the car right next to the amphitheater. Today is Sunday, and on Sunday, according to the signs, parking is free. We pay 20 kuna for entrance to the Colosseum and go inside. You can also get an audio guide in Russian at the ticket office, but we didn’t.
Usually, attractions of this scale always have crowds of people. Countless buses arrive and many excursion groups travel. Surprisingly, here two or three other people are visiting the Colosseum with us... Advantages of “low season” :)
We spend a long time climbing through the ruins, taking photographs of this gigantic structure, and reading historical information about it in the guidebook. Then we went down to the semi-basement. There is a small museum with finds here.
After the Colosseum we walked close to the ancient city gates. We draw attention to the deserted streets. I photograph hundreds of tables of working cafes on the streets where not a single person sits. And again we repeat to ourselves – it’s not the season.
We quickly got tired of the sweltering heat. But we couldn’t find a place in the city where you could swim :) It’s all port and marina. On the way we came across a market. Again we can’t pass by and buy ourselves a large amount of fruit.
The husband begins to be capricious. He doesn't want to go further and insists on returning home. I’m trying to convince him and use an obscene word: “Well, think for yourself - we’ve spent so many kilometers. And what? Shall we sit at home and read books? And suddenly the only people on the street walking in front of us turn around and start laughing: “Where are the books? We haven't found a single one here in Russian. We're dying of boredom." They turned out to be Russian :))) And we once again thought about how different people’s holidays are. 10 days for Croatia are so few for us, and someone is yawning from boredom :)
In general, Pasha agrees to go to Porech. Rovinj, which was also planned, had to be crossed off the list :)
There are still 50 km to Porec, which we covered without incident. We entered the city with the firm intention of swimming first, because the heat was completely tormenting. We can see the beach to the side, but it’s a long walk to get to it, and we’ve already parked the car – with great difficulty, as usual. We are located on a stone embankment, and immediately behind it, behind a massive wall, is the old city. And suddenly Pasha saw these desperate tourists swimming right from the embankment. Of course, this served as a signal for my husband to take action, and two minutes later we were already descending from the stone slabs into the water, having previously changed into a swimsuit and swimming trunks right there, “without leaving the cash register” :)
The famous Euphrasian Basilica is located in Porec. It is one of six Croatian monuments included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. The cathedral was built in the 6th century. It's very beautiful inside. In some places ancient mosaics and frescoes have been preserved.
Pasha immediately found out that it was also possible to climb the cathedral tower, and he dragged me up. The city is small - everything is at your fingertips. Combined with the blue sea and seagulls on red tiled roofs.
After visiting the main attraction, we simply walk around the city and get great pleasure from it. Narrow streets paved with stone, quaint window openings of centuries-old houses, wooden shutters with indecently lush flowers in pots, tiny tables of empty cafes...
There are many Russian-speaking tourists.
We had lunch at the cafe with delicious risotto and fresh salad and went home to Crikvenica.

DAY 4. KRK ISLAND

There are islands along the entire coast of Croatia. Very different - hilly, flat, green, rocky. Their presence doesn’t make you feel like you’re at sea – there’s land on all sides :) All the big islands are inhabited. They contain cities, resorts, beaches, marinas - in general, everything is the same as on the Croatian coast itself. One day we decided to go to the island of Krk.
The island of Krk is located very close to Crikvenica. It is connected to the Croatian mainland by a large bridge. Entry fee – 30 kn.
We headed straight to the capital of the island – the city of the same name, Krk. And then go straight to the beach to swim in the sea after the heat of the road. We drove away from the city center and found ourselves on a quiet street. On one side, white two- and three-story cottages, surrounded by bright vegetation, stretch towards the sea itself. On each of them hang familiar signs about housing for rent. On the other side, right among the pine trees there is a car camping site. There are cars with awnings, tents, and tables attached to them. We park the car in the shade, immediately change into a swimsuit/swimming trunks and walk towards the sea. A marvelous view awaited us on the beach - finally we see the open sea, and to the side we can see the city of Krk with neat medieval houses, the unchanged tiled roofs above which rises a tower with a round dome.
While I’m settling down on the beach, Pasha manages to swim. He comes out of the water suspiciously quickly and says: “Now I understand why June is not the season in Croatia!” I walk ankle-deep into the water and, it seems, I also understand what he meant. The water is noticeably cold, despite the fact that the air is 32 degrees. Until this moment, we swam in the Kvarner Bay, the water there is much warmer. Here, on the island, she is, apparently, the way she should be in the Adriatic Sea in June. Nevertheless, we swim, sunbathe for an unusually long time and even sleep in the shade under the pine trees. We're not in a hurry.
A couple of hours later we returned to the car, changed clothes and walked to the city center. According to the guidebook, there are also some attractions here, but we did not see them. I just wanted to walk along the streets, lazily examining the buildings along the way, defensive structures overlooking the embankment, and yachts.
On the embankment we sat down at one of the restaurants for lunch. And again they became victims of huge portions. Pasha was brought three (!) bone-in chops for one serving, and I was given two large tuna steaks. Without exaggeration, I can say that we would have been completely full if we had ordered just one of these dishes. But there was also a side dish, salad and... terribly tasty bread :)
After a hearty lunch and the heat, I didn’t really want to go anywhere else. But the idea of ​​returning home in the midst of the heat was also not the best. It was decided to stop by the town of Baska on the same island.
Bashka turned out to be a typical resort town with a beach where there was nowhere for an apple to fall. We were scared by so many people and moved away. There were fewer people here, but still quite large. There is a long embankment along the coast, and just below there is a narrow strip of beach. Directly onto the beach there is a row of houses standing close to each other, in whose apartments people live and vacationers rent housing. Healthy housing! In one of the gateways we changed into a swimsuit/swimming trunks again and swam. However, we didn’t have much fun on the crowded beach.
We sat down in a cafe, drank a cup of coffee and headed back. On the highway we bought calendula honey for relatives as a souvenir - it’s excellent here!
At home, we paid the hostess for the accommodation (74 euros for 3 overnight stays and 2 days of breakfast) and went out to the evening promenade in the center of Crikvenica. Before they had time to take even a dozen steps, Pasha, glued to the TV screen in a nearby cafe, grabbed his head and shouted: “Yulia, I completely forgot! Today Ukraine is playing with Switzerland!!!” And he grabbed me by the hand and dragged me to the main street to watch the match. Here, among the many spectators, we were the only Ukrainian fans. Two Russian-speaking guys happened to be next to us, living in Germany, but nevertheless rooting for Ukraine. The four of us experienced quite emotionally all the acute moments of the match, attracting the attention of those around us. And when they scored a penalty, they screamed all over the street, no longer embarrassed by anyone :)

DAY 5. ZADAR, KASTELA

Today we are leaving the northern part of the coast and moving to the central part. To the city of Zadar. Therefore, we got up early, at six in the morning, collected all our things, said goodbye to the hospitable hostess and left.
Initially, along the way there are the same resort towns and villages like Crikvenica, but beyond the town of Senj the virgin coastline begins. The mountains here come almost close to the sea, forming cozy coves, which, however, are inaccessible due to stones and rocks. The bright blue transparent sea and green islands in the distance accompany us throughout the journey. The magnificent views will take your breath away! However, the narrow serpentine road with one lane in each direction leaves us no chance to stop even for a couple of minutes and capture these beauties with a camera. At that moment I realized that Croatia deservedly enjoys the reputation of a very beautiful country in terms of nature.
Occasionally here and there you can see lonely houses, quite decent looking, with the same signs Zimmer / Room / Apartmant. For lovers of privacy - an ideal place!
At one place we stopped for a swim. With great difficulty we went down the rocks to the sea, undressed and... didn’t dare to swim. The entire bottom is strewn with sea urchins. Although we bought special swim slippers with hard soles, they remained upstairs in the car.
Zadar turned out to be a big city with new buildings, car showrooms and hypermarkets. Its old part is located on a peninsula extending into the sea and is surrounded by stone walls. Outside the walls by the sea there is a large port with ferries, boats, and yachts. We had no chance to park here. We drive into one of the gates of the old city and with difficulty park right next to the wall, millimeters from other cars. We had lunch at one of the restaurants.
Armed with a guidebook, we go sightseeing. The first thing we did was what? Right! We climbed the tallest tower:) The tower is 56 meters high, and a narrow iron spiral staircase leads to the top. It was scary! I crawled on bent legs, shuddering with every vibration of the stairs. I cursed and shook, but didn’t change my mind about climbing. It's also uncomfortable upstairs. But it's beautiful! :)
Somehow we got downstairs. Near the tower we examine the Cathedral of St. Donatus. And near it is an ancient Roman forum, excavations of which are still ongoing. The sun is beating down mercilessly. We save ourselves only in narrow streets, where we can catch our breath in the shade. Next we visit the Romanesque Basilica of St. Anastasia, built in the 13th century. It's very beautiful inside! And then we indulge in our favorite pastime of wandering through the streets of an unfamiliar city, combining an exploration of beautiful places with a visit to shops that are visible and invisible here.
We spent about three hours here and decided not to stay any longer, although initially I had planned to spend the night in Zadar. But since no accommodation was booked in advance, nothing prevented our plans from changing. This is why I love independent travel with a flexible schedule so much!
Even before the trip, my husband contacted a couple of guys on the Internet who were interested in Croatia. We didn’t manage to go together, because... The guys did not have time to get visas for themselves under our program. So they went to an ordinary travel agency and bought themselves trips. In general, we ended up in Croatia almost at the same time. Naturally, upon arriving at the place, we called each other and agreed that we would stop by them on the way. They rested between Trogir and Split in a place called Kastela. They had at their disposal a two-room apartment with a kitchen, one of the rooms in which was empty. We were offered to spend the night there, and we gladly accepted the offer. In general, from Zadar we went straight to Kastela.
Approaching Kaštela, we stopped recognizing Croatia :) We were surrounded on all sides by Crimea in its worst manifestation. No landscapes, no inviting villas, no clear blue sea. “Don’t make hasty conclusions,” my husband told me edifyingly. But arriving at the place did not change the impression. The sea is muddy, the villas are shabby and not fresh, the beach is polluted and crowded. Nothing in common with the Croatia that we admired all the previous days.
We met the guys – Zhenya and Lena. The guys turned out to be sociable and absolutely adequate. They themselves understood that what they were given was not what they expected. Fortunately, they were not at a loss, rented a moped (in Croatia for some reason it’s called a scooter) and traveled quite a bit themselves, finding deserted beaches.
The apartments in which Zhenya and Lena lived turned out to be quite good, in my opinion. Although the villa itself had seen better days, everything inside was well equipped. The only thing we laughed about was the layout of the rooms. In the first there is a kitchen and for some reason a double bed. The second has two separate beds. It would be logical to move the bedroom to the second room :) We got the second room in which we settled.
We prepared dinner ourselves in the kitchen from products purchased at the supermarket. Late in the evening we went out to the sea and chatted there, looking at the dark water and the distant lights of Split. From the kaleidoscope of rapidly changing cities, places of residence, beaches, I have already managed to forget such unusually calm and homely evenings:)

DAY 6. SPLIT

According to the previously developed plan for our trip, Split is on the agenda today. The guys expressed a desire to come with us. And in the evening we will all return back to Castelo. Fortunately, it’s very close to Split.
But first we need to stop in Trogir. It was there that the guys rented a moped, and now they need to return it. We didn’t visit Trogir itself, we limited ourselves to the view from the embankment.
After everything was settled, we decided to go to the beach for a swim. The guys promised to show us one of the beaches that they found during their independent trips. We drove away from Trogir, but somewhere we took a wrong turn and ended up in a completely unfamiliar place. Some small village. Pasha decided to stop by and limit himself to swimming here.
We parked the car. There are only villas around! White houses are surrounded by greenery and huge bushes with pink flowers. The bright sun and turquoise sea at the bottom of the street complement the landscape. After two dozen steps we found ourselves at the sea. There is no beach here as we understand it. Huge boulders of stone go into the water. But they are more or less suitable for a beach holiday. In some places there are flat platforms on the stones, on which it is convenient to sit with a towel or even a sun lounger, and the entrance to the sea is facilitated by ladders, like in a swimming pool. There are almost no people, just somewhere in the distance. It's deep here. The boys and Lena jump straight into the water, but I don’t know how to swim, so I go down the steps. The water once again amazes with its blue and transparency! It's so cool and clean here that lying in the sun seems blasphemous. We can't get out of the water. It was the most beautiful Adriatic Sea we saw during the trip!
We arrived in Split. We drove around the narrow streets looking for parking, and finally parked the car.
Split is a city that is interesting, first of all, thanks to Diocletian's Palace. Remember the parable about the emperor who retired and settled in a village, and when a messenger was sent to him from the ruling emperor with a request to return to the throne, he replied: “It would be better for the emperor to see what kind of cabbage I grew!”? So, this is him - Diocletian, who built the palace in Split.
The palace is an entire square city block. In the old days it was the place where the emperor and nobles lived. And then, gradually, local residents began to move there, completing the construction of their little rooms near the ancient walls. They still live there. Right within these historical walls. And a unique calling card of Split is the laundry hung on lines in courtyards and streets right above the heads of tourists :) We saw it everywhere. Maybe residents never take it off to maintain their image? :)
The walls of the palace were entered through the northern entrance. Near it stands a tall bronze statue of the religious preacher Gregory of Nin. His huge feet are visible from under his dress. And the big toe shines in the sun from the numerous touches of tourists. They say it's for good luck :)
We had lunch at the Grgur restaurant of the same name right next to the entrance and headed towards the center of the palace. In the central square there is the Cathedral and the bell tower. That's where we headed first :) I thought that the stairs in Zadar couldn't be worse. It turned out, maybe in Split. From below to the upper “floor” there are high stone steps, like in the Cambodian temples of Ankor. And then - my “favorite” narrow iron spiral staircase, which vibrates unpleasantly from the steps of mine and my companions. It rises higher and higher, and below you there is space for flight :) Brrrrr... But the view compensates for the trembling in the knees and the chill in the chest:)
After the tower we went into the cathedral. Taking photos and videos inside is strictly prohibited, which is a pity! Very beautiful! Previously, the cathedral served as a mausoleum for Diocletian and his wife, however, over time the sarcophagus was destroyed. The cathedral's valuables are displayed in the vault. For example, the Gospel of 580-600. with leather pages. The inspection was interesting for us.
In addition, on the main square there is an entrance to the Vestibule - a stone room with an open vault. And underneath there are wide basement rooms, where the Sea Gate leads. Now there are numerous shops with souvenirs. Through this gate we go out onto the embankment.
Then we wander for a long time through the narrow streets of Split. The white stones of the pavement are polished to a shine by the feet of tourists. On the way we stop at other temples - Jupiter, for example. We sit under umbrellas in a cafe. We look into the shops we meet.
On the way back we stopped at a supermarket. At home we cooked trout and fresh salad, had dinner and, tired, went to bed.

DAY 7. DUBROVNIK

The last two days in Croatia were the most intense experiences. And, probably, this is correct, although we did not specifically take this into account when planning our route. Our impressions of this country increased day by day and ended in absolute delight.
We left Kastela around seven in the morning. The road to Dubrovnik almost everywhere goes along the coast and is a rather narrow and winding serpentine. Having become accustomed to high-speed driving on autobahns, it was not easy to change lanes to the traffic of buses and other cars. 70 km from Dubrovnik there is a piece of territory that belongs to Bosnia. Its length along the coast is quite short. The only Bosnian town on the sea, Neum, is located here. The Croats and the Bosnians have an agreement to freely allow Croatian and tourist cars through the border. But in order to cross it, you need a passport. They compared photographs with our faces in our passports, and also checked for Croatian visas. A lazy customs officer sitting on the side looked at our numbers for a long time, then his face lit up and he shouted: “Oh! Shevchenko!”:) The recent football matches were not in vain:)
In Bosnia, the price of gasoline is 25-30% lower. Therefore, on the way back we refueled using a plastic card for payment.
Having left Bosnia, we stopped in a picturesque place, went down the rocks to the sea and swam. There are sea urchins here at the bottom - visible and invisible! We look at them up close with interest. We went swimming in special slippers that supposedly protected our feet from needles. But when Pasha carelessly stepped on the hedgehog, the tips of the needles, passing through the sole, remained in his leg. They were removed with tweezers, and now we show the ones stuck in the soles of the slippers to the guests :)
We entered Dubrovnik around one o'clock in the afternoon. And they immediately started looking for housing. This was the main mistake. Then, after the inspection, at about 7 pm, we kept coming across women inviting us to stay for the night. Alas, we no longer needed it. By this time we had already settled in disgusting Crimean-style apartments for 200 kunas per night. The only consolation was the view from the terrace of the Old Town, which was below in full view. However, finding good housing for reasonable money is not a problem there. In the absence of a tired and growling husband :)
We arrived in the Old Town in the hottest sunshine. It's unbearably hot to walk on it! For now, we sat down at the table of a restaurant we liked, located in a narrow street between the stone walls of houses. It seemed that only Russians were sitting at the tables :) Russian speech can be heard from everywhere. After lunch, we went to explore the city.
Dubrovnik is rightly considered the pearl of Croatia. We absolutely agree with this statement. It charmed us from the first minutes of our stay!
Dubrovnik is a completely unique city, which in the old days was the most important port of the Adriatic, a center of shipbuilding and trade. For many centuries it managed to maintain independence from the states that conquered their neighbors. They acted by cunning, payoff, and diplomacy. The Republic of Dubrovnik had its own government, prince, Senate, laws, Constitution.
The old part of the city, surrounded by stone walls, is located in a ravine. The main street of Dubrovnik, Stradun, runs along its bottom. And from it the streets run perpendicularly up the hill to the city walls. Often these streets consist of only steps! The main street is crowded. On both sides there are countless souvenir shops. Nearby cafes opened their large umbrellas right on the street. An endless stream of people goes back and forth. The audience is incredibly diverse. These are groups of Japanese tourists in headphones, and European hippies with well-worn backpacks and bedding, and decorous Europeans, and restless Russians. I enjoy photographing an American child wearing only shorts. He eats ice cream, and it steadily drips onto his stomach, where a solid puddle has already formed :) Dad watches this indifferently, and when mom comes out of the store, she just exclaims with a smile: “Oh! You have your ice-cream all over!”:)
Almost immediately we were lucky to meet a Russian-speaking excursion. And what a guide! With a person who loves his job and cares about its quality! We listened to the tour from start to finish and were very pleased. We toured the Franciscan Monastery, the Church of St. Blaise, and the Cathedral. We refreshed ourselves at the Big and Small fountains. We visited one of the oldest pharmacies in Europe (13th century), which is still used for its intended purpose. We went to the Sponza Palace - one of the most beautiful buildings in Dubrovnik. The customs house and mint were located here. Now in one of the premises there is a memorial exhibition in memory of those who died during the defense of Dubrovnik in the 1990s. Then Dubrovnik suffered greatly from bombing. The photographs from that time showing the ruins shown on the big screen have nothing in common with what can be seen now. Only the new tiles on the roofs reveal the fact of the painstaking restoration of the city from the consequences of the war.
The prince's palace is also interesting. The prince in the Republic of Dubrovnik was elected for only a month. During this month, he lived alone in the palace and had no right to leave it, so that nothing would distract him from state thoughts :)
While exploring Dubrovnik, you can climb its city wall and walk around the perimeter. For some reason we didn't.
We gradually leave the walls of the Old Town and head towards the sea along its outer walls. The place here is not intended for swimming, but many people do. Naturally, we were among them :) It’s deep here, but there are steps with handrails leading into the water, like in a swimming pool. We swam near the walls of the fort.
Our companions went to the beach, and Pasha and I returned to the Old Town. Now we have left its central parts and are exploring the farthest corners. Along the way, we wander into typical “Odessa” courtyards, the inhabitants of which are themselves living attractions, no worse than the houses in which they live :) We shamelessly look into the windows of tiny apartments. One of them is currently undergoing renovation. The ceilings are 2 meters high :) Pasha would definitely hit it with his head :)
A door was found in one of the walls facing the sea. And behind it is a cafe area, perched right on the outside of the wall. Sitting at a table, you can see the best panorama of Dubrovnik!
We left the city through the opposite gate and went up the city. We took pictures of the Old Town from afar and walked along the city streets. And they came back again. The third time. It pulls us here like a magnet! It's already dusk now.
As darkness falls, the city transforms. The street lights gradually turn on. Summer cafes with umbrellas turn into prim restaurants with the same prim public. The buildings, already familiar to us from the day's excursion, look completely different thanks to skillful lighting.
Suddenly we heard the sounds of a bugle and marching steps. Guards dressed in suits walk along the main street. They approach each of the gates and leave two on guard :) Then our attention was attracted by a couple of knights who came out to the main square and, to the delight of tourists, acted out a scene with a battle with maces. As a reward, the winner was sent the smile of a beautiful young lady in a dress appropriate for that time. It is local artists who entertain visitors every summer evening.
We bought the last souvenirs in souvenir shops. It's time to go to bed.
We had dinner outside the walls of the Old Town. I took probably the thousandth photograph of the Old Town. The last time - illuminated by a thousand spotlights in complete darkness.

DAY 8. PLITVICE LAKES

We left Dubrovnik at the beginning of seven in the morning. At the Bosnian border no one stopped us or checked us. There was no one there at that time :)
The road we know goes to Split. Before reaching the city itself, we stopped at some place and plunged into the Adriatic Sea for the last time. The beach this time was sandy and the sea was shallow. Now we turn onto the highway, which takes us from the coast inland. This fact makes me sad.
This highway is not yet on our map, purchased in Kyiv. But the signs are very easy to navigate. The only thing that bothers me is that I constantly fall asleep :) I have to stop at gas stations and drink coffee.
The coast sees us off with the usual 33 degrees of heat. But as soon as you drive into the mountains, the car computer shows a gradual decrease in temperature outside. First, clouds appeared in the sky, then clouds. As we approached the park itself, the temperature dropped to 19 degrees. And when we got out of the car at the gas station, we were frankly frozen. Fortunately, we have all our things with us, because we are then going home, so we quickly change shorts to jeans and take raglans with us in our backpacks. They say that such a temperature difference between the coast and the park is common. To avoid freezing, it is recommended to have warm clothes with you.
Before entering the park, the information desk found out the bus schedule to Split, because our friends needed to return to Kastela in the evening. The girl listed the time for us, adding that you need to brake the bus with your hand and pay the fare directly to the driver.
Plitvice Lakes is a national park consisting of a cascade of 16 lakes connected by 92 waterfalls. In 1979, it was included in the UNESCO list of world natural monuments and is protected by it. The park is the pride of all of Croatia, and although it is located quite far from the coast, it is visited by a huge number of tourists every year.
The park has several entrances. We entered through entrance number one.
The entrance price to Plitvice Lakes Park is quite high - 85 kuna. With my student ISIC – 50 kn. At the entrance there is a huge poster with suggested routes for walking around the park. They differ in length and, accordingly, in the time spent on inspection. From the shortest, lasting 2 hours, to 7-8 hours. My husband, whom you don’t feed with bread, but let him climb routes and mountains, immediately decided that the first two of the proposed programs were uninteresting for us. Let's go along the third, which covers all the lakes and waterfalls and lasts from 4 to 6 hours.
To be honest, until the moment we entered the park, we were quite calm about the delights described in the guidebooks. No, we certainly expected that it would be beautiful there, but we arrogantly considered ourselves sophisticated enough tourists to be impressed by some ordinary lakes in the mountains :) The very first panorama that we saw frankly amazed us. We are standing on a hill near a deep gorge. Directly opposite us, noisy waterfalls fall from a great height, and far below transparent lakes with bright turquoise water sparkle in the sun. The guidebook says that these lakes contain a lot of copper salts, which is why the water in them is so unnaturally blue. Until that moment, I had only seen this color of water in the blue pool of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden.
Our legs themselves carry us down the path, where the next shock awaits us - there are apparently and invisibly fish in the lakes!!! Fish of various sizes swim at the very edge of the water, hoping for treats from tourists. And after you throw them a piece of bread, a real fight for it begins! The next inhabitants of the lakes we encountered were ducks with tiny ducklings. They live their own lives, not paying attention to people. Then we watched a turtle swimming imposingly among the fish.
Children in the park squeal with delight! They enthusiastically feed the inhabitants of the lakes, watch their lives, and leave the park only with a scandal :)
In the park, wooden boardwalks are laid along the routes; tourists can only walk on them. We approach the largest waterfall and take pictures against its background. We saw him from the very beginning.
The first part of the route took 1.5 hours. But while taking photographs, feeding the fish, and climbing into each cave, time passed completely unnoticed. We approached a large lake. Here we board a boat, which takes us to the other side in 20 minutes.
There are much fewer people here. Obviously, most visitors are limited to only the first, shortest route. And the path marked by our route leads us further into the mountains past other lakes and many waterfalls. We walk slowly, stopping every minute. I want to capture every centimeter of this miracle of nature!
Finally we came to the largest upper lake, which feeds all the other lower ones. It is very beautiful and calm here. Of the tourists who came here, we were the only ones.
It's getting dark. We remember the time and don’t believe the hands on the clock - we spent 5 hours here and didn’t notice it :)
Here, by the large lake, is the final tram station. We waited a couple of minutes, got into it, and it took us to the point where we started our journey.
We unanimously decided that Plitvice Lakes is the most unforgettable sight we saw in Croatia!
We left the park around eight in the evening, and a few minutes later we put our friends on the bus to Split. We got into the car and drove out of the park.
But we drove just a little bit away from the park and stopped at a cafe for dinner. On both sides of the road there are cottages with rooms for rent. We have dinner on the veranda of one of these villas. They bring us the most delicious dinner of our entire trip. And Pasha communicates with the waiter exclusively in Croatian :)
A slight digression is required here. The Croatian language has a lot in common with Russian and Ukrainian, because Croats are southern Slovenians. Many words have a similar sound: good afternoon - “dobar dan”, goodbye - “dovidzheniya”. You can guess the meaning of others: currency exchange - “menyachnitsa”, burn - “opeklina”, pork - “pork” :) From the very beginning of the trip, Pashka was so imbued with the Croatian language that he always walked around with a mini phrasebook, learning more and more new ones phrases. In shops, restaurants and on the streets it found such a positive response in the eyes of Croatians that it only encouraged my husband to explore further :)
In general, dinner at Plitvice Lakes was the apogee of Pasha’s knowledge of the Croatian language :) And he was extremely proud of this fact! :)
After a delicious dinner on a nice terrace, you don’t want to go anywhere else. There is such nature and air around! And tomorrow we have a difficult day of moving to Ukraine, and I want to have a good rest and sleep before that. But Pasha has already “turned on a program called Home” and does not agree to spend the night here. And then I remember that today Ukraine is playing with Italy! Our plans instantly changed, and we went to look for accommodation for the night :)
It didn't take long to search. In the first cottage we liked, we rented a wonderful room for 100 kunas per person (the standard price in those places). She was one of those people where you want to stay longer :) While Pasha was screaming with disappointment at the match, I was taking a shower and breathing the air on the terrace.

The next morning we left this hospitable place before dawn and drove towards the border.