Week Croatia Trip

by Keri Brown
(London)

Hi, My parents & I are traveling Europe this summer and are looking at coming to Croatia from Venice for a week or so around 12th August. We would have been traveling and site-seeing for a month already so are looking for some relaxing, chilled beach time. In the short time we have what would you recommend we do??

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Hi Keri,

I am not sure whether you will arrive in Croatia via ferry, car or other public transportation.

Depending on your mobility - the Istria region with cities like Pula, Rovinj and Porec might be an option IF you do not want to drive long distances.

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A week is not that long for a Croatia vacation so an island could also be an option. Generally speaking, there are fantastic beaches, restaurants and a couple of things to see. Not too much and since you already come from Venice a relaxed week on the beach might be exactly what you are looking for.

Two islands that are great for a one week vacation in Croatia:

1. Hvar island

If you have a car you can reach Hvar island via ferry from Split or Drvenik. Hvar city is really amazing! It's charming and has what I call "this special mediterranean flair. Depending on your budget there are some excellent hotels like the Hotel Amfora Grand Beach Resort which has a fabulous beach area just for hotel guests.

The pool area of the Amfora is also a dream as you can see on the photo below.

(Sorry, the quality is not the best. It was night and I didn't manage to get a sharp photo).

2. Brac island

Brac is also reachable via ferry from Split. One of the most beautiful places on Brac is the so called "Zlatni Rat beach" - this might be a top choice if you are really looking for beach time, a hotel room and a couple of restaurants. If that's all you want I would personally choose Brac island.

Hope that helps!

All the best,
Tobias
croatia-travel-guide.net

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Week Croatia Trip

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Jun 03, 2011
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Croatia
by: Keri

Thanks for your suggestions Tobias. I have an idea of our trip but it's not set in stone as we'd like to be quite flexible through Croatia. Do you think it will be ok to find accommodation mid-August without pre booking?? Here is what I've planned so far and could you give me suggestions on whether this is feasible??:

9th: ferry from Venice to Porec (arrive 7:30pm). Pick up rental car + 1 night accommodation in Porec.
10th: drive down the coastline via Rovinj and end in Pula +1 night accommodation.
11th: Drive early morning to Plitvice (aim to arrive midday) & do the walks around lakes + 1 night accommodation.
12th: drive to the Split early morning (maybe see Trogir??) drop car off in the Split afternoon +1 night accommodation.
13th Ferry to Brac Island stay 1 night.
14th Ferry to Hvar island stay 2 nights.
16th: ferry to Mljet stay 1 night (might pass on this and have an extra night on one of the previous islands).
18-20th: Dubrovnik
20th: Fly to Berlin at 2pm.

It seems the first few days will be a lot of moving around but we are happy with that as we can then head down south and spend the time relaxing on the beaches there. Do you think my itinerary is feasible?? Any suggestions??

Jun 06, 2011
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Your Croatia Trip - Answer part one
by: Tobias

You are welcome, Keri!

Regarding your first questions "Do you think it will be ok to find accommodation mid-August without pre booking?"

Generelly I recommend to book in advance. Nevertheless, you intend to stay no longer than two days or so in a specific place which makes pre booking harder (and you are also not so flexible because of your "specific hotel dates" etc.).

My personal experience is that you will get an accommodation even during high season basically in every major spot in Croatia (yes, sometimes you have to lower your requirements and sometimes you have to pay a lot more than you expected - like 5-star hotels). Also, please note that my girlfriend and I know a lot of top spots in Croatia and we also have what I call a "local plus point"...at least sometimes :-).

One more hint about acommodations: Depending on your preferences, do not only focus on hotels. There are also nice private apartments (were the bang-for-your-buck is a lot more than if you are only looking for hotels).

Ok, one last tip: Also look outside of the major tourist spots. An example: If you want to spend two days in Dubrovnik it can get really hard to find a good hotel room without pre booking (in high season). But, if you are willing to stay 10 or 20 km outside of Dubrovnik you can make some pretty good deals (those hotels are cheaper - most of the times) and you won't have that many tourists there.

Summing up (accommodations during high season): If possible I would recommend to book in advance. Nevertheless, if you think you can adapt to your requirements (and payment) - it's possible. Also bear in mind that you can end up spending a couple of hours just finding a hotel room or so. I think you know the consequences ;-)

I think I digress...

---Please see my second part of the answer in the next comment (technically my Q&A system doesn't allow more than 3000 characters per comment - so I split them)---

Jun 06, 2011
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Your Croatia Trip - Answer part two
by: Tobias

Welcome back to part two of my answer:

Some thoughts on your time-table:
First two days are absolutely do-able, Porec, Rovinj and Pula.

Third day: Plitvice. Visiting Plitvice Lakes is a MUST Do in Croatia, by the way. It's beautiful and you won't regret it. Just a hint: Pula to Plitvice Lakes is someting around 300 km and with some breaks you can easily calculate half a day. You could be a bit "exhausted" if you also want to hike in the afternoon. Just wanted to mention that.

Split: Absolutely worth a trip - the palm trees along the promenade are amazing! And yes, a trip to Trogir during the day is also possible. Click here to see some photos from Trogir.

Brac, Hvar, Mljet: That is true "island hopping". There are some people who like that (sometimes it can get a bit stressful - for example if you need to chatch a ferry at a specific time). But if you like that - it's also possible (and you will see a lot of the natural beauty that the Croatian islands have).

Last but not least: Dubrovnik. I think two or three days in Dubrovnik are perfect. As you might know, Dubrovnik is also called "the pearl of the Adriatic". It's a wonderful city - and yes, it's a pearl. I think I don't need to say more here :-)

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Keri, as you already mentioned you would need to move around and I think that there will be some situations on your trip were it could get a bit stressful. But you will see A LOT from Croatia! I would say: time well invested as you will have memories for life :-)

Hope that helps!
All the best,
Tobias
croatia-travel-guide.net

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