As summer was coming to an end it was the perfect chance to soak in a bit of late summer sun and head to the Mediterranean islands and coastline of Croatia. I was joined by my sister (@stephsykora) from Canada as we decided to do some “dual” traveling together and visit some distant family.
httpvh://youtu.be/z5yv02k_38I
Dubrovnik
Where to first? Well, you can’t go to Croatia without visiting its most popular attraction: Dubrovnik! Thus we started our trip in this stunning town full of culture and staircase “roads” (which we found out the hard way after being dropped off by a taxi and trucking our luggage up the 20m flight).
The jewel of the Adriatic is, without a doubt, the 13th – 16th century old town. This UNESCO world heritage site is a spectacular city filled with marble streets, seaside guard towers and scenic city walls. So we did the #1 thing to do and walked along these gorgeous, but really hot (tip: don’t do in the middle of the day!), walls.
The defensive walls are stunning with the Adriatic Sea on one side and the baroque architecture building with orange brick roofs on the other side. And on top of that, we discovered that it was the location where they filmed scenes for King’s Landing for HBO’s Game of Thrones!
I love Dubrovnik, it is one of my most favorite places I have ever been to, and I have been to ALOT of places. It’s just so freaking beautiful! A word of warning, it is VERY touristy, all of old town is sadly, shops, restaurants, gelato stores and bars. However, if you ever find a small hole in the wall near the western wall where the locals are jumping off the rocks, crawl through to the lovely sunset bars perched up on the cliffs and grab a drink. Worth every penny. Blink and you’ll miss it.
After Dubrovnik we were in the ideal spot to head north along the coast, and what better way than to do some island hoping and visit the Croatian islands.
Hvar
We “hopped” to the party-happy island of Hvar. The host of copious yachts, but also beautifully clear waters and mini-islands that were wonderful to swim around.
Of all the island in Croatia Hvar is the “it” island, it’s where the rich and famous go to party and be seen. However, if you are like me and neither rich nor famous you can still enjoy Hvar via hostel life and pub crawls. This place is seriously a must if you want to get the best of Croatian island hopping.
Korcula
Another island we visited was Korcula, famous for its white wines and stronghold (sort of like a min-Dubrovnik). Marco Polo inscribed merchandise was everywhere, which we thought he must have been born there, but turns out he just lived there in the 13th – 14th century.
We only spent a day on the island of Korcula, and quite honesty out of all the places visited in Croatia this was probably my least favorite. It had beaches yes, it had strong holds and old town culture as well as trendy seaside restaurants overlooking the sea. It was kinda like a mixed grab bag of everything, however nothing spectacular in comparison to other places in Croatia: Dubrovnik for architecture, Brac for beaches, Hvar for parties, Split for city life, Zagreb for cafe culture. But I guess in a sense that kinda does make Korcula special, cause you can get a tiny bit of everything in just one place.
I does have wine though, yes let’s not forget about the wine.
I actually want to go to Dubrovnik after watching your video & of course after finding out that Game of Thrones was shot there + it’s really beautiful as a bonus! 🙂 It’s definitely on my to-go list now.
For sure! The pictures don’t even do justice to how beautiful it truly is. You will not regret it if you go 🙂
Incredible place. It seems so clean. Is it really as clean as it looks in these photos and your videos?
Sure is!
When i was staying in Germany, we kept trying to plan a trip to Croatia, but it never ended up happening since we never really had more than a few days off in a row. Now seeing it I really wish we were able to make it happen! Someday ill definitely have to go back with more free time to travel 🙂
You for sure will, it’s worth going back for and a week is not nearly long enough. 🙂
Nadine… You’re making me home sick! hahaha 🙁
Oh no!! That’s not good, I apologize, I just love your country so much 🙂
🙂
Me too! 🙁
I’m studying in the U.S. right now and I mus admit how beautiful my country really is! Can’t wait for summer to come so I can come visit:) I’ve spent my summers on the Islands of Hvar and Brač ever since I was born 🙂
Nadine,
I’m headed to Croatia in June. I’ve traveled to Europe a couple of times and wanted to go somewhere I haven’t been yet and kept hearing great things about Croatia so I figured why not! Seeing your videos is getting me excited. I’m curious what the hostels are like there and if you or anyone you ran into did any camping? I’ll be traveling by car and also possibly trying to go to Greece but I need to drive through Albania to get there. I’ve heard mixed opinions on Albania but I think most of the negative ones are biased. Did you travel through Albania or hear of any horrors stories from fellow travelers who went there?
I was in Croatia last year with my husband and kids, Croatia is absolutely stunning. I can say I haven’t seen such a beautiful place since the early 70’s, when we visited French coast before all the tourists discovered it. But you have to see Zadar, Šibenik and Istria. Šibenik looks even more like a set for Game of Thrones than Dubrovnik and it’s a lot less popular. So you can have a piece of mind while strolling through ancient streets. Cheers.
I agree about what have you said about Šibenik. That small town has a lot of potential.
What i would add about Croatia is that combination of pine forests, clean sea and clear sky on mostly rocky surface makes this coast unbelievably romantic.
And i have learned that rocky ‘beaches’ usually mean not devastated part of the coast 😉
Hey Nadine,
i like your Site and your Videos. Im a german men. We will visit Dubrovnik in May. We would like to visit one of the many Islands for a day. Which one would you recommend us and do you always have to stay there for a night?
Thank you very much in advance for your answer.
Greetings from Germany !!
Kai
Hi Nadine! I just came across your youtube videos and they are really great! I was wondering if you can recommend a hostel in Dubrovnik. I am going next month and I am not sure what to book. Thanks!
I just added so many Croatian places to my next Eurotrip, it’s crazy! I was only thinking about Dubrovnik, Hvar and Plitvice Lakes, but now I have so many… thanks for all the honest info!
Love your blog!
I’m going on a 12 day backpacking trip to Croatia in the summer and this got me hyped. I’m staying a couple of in Dubrovnik you’ve given me a couple of ideas. Just a question if you pick this up, how often are there flat roads or paths in Croatia as I’m not sure if I should bring my penny board along lol. Great video btw 🙂