Croatia - unbelievably beautiful country!!

Friday, 18 July 2025

Sarah and I wrapped up our Eurail adventure (see previous post) in Zagreb, Croatia, where we met Josh at a nearby airport hotel (Hotel Cool). We were so excited to explore Croatia!

Saturday, 19 July Zagreb

The next morning, we picked up our rental car at the airport and drove into Zagreb. Compared to Morocco—and even England—driving in Croatia was a breeze. The roads are well maintained, and the drivers are generally quite civilized. Zagreb itself isn’t very large or overly touristy since it’s inland, but it’s a fun place to explore for half a day. We stopped by the main square, Ban Jelačić Square, and visited the nearby church with its wonderfully colorful roof.

Wow, what a roof!

Afterwards we stopped by the Lotrščak Tower to hear the famous canon shot, that happens every day at noon since 1877 (people used to set their clock based on that cannon shot).

Zagreb is famous for it's vast array of weird museums, such as the museum of ties, and the museum of broken relationships. Since Sarah and Henry broke up before the summer travels started, we had to go to that museum of course. It housed a collection of sad, and sometimes hilarious break up stories. It was a very weird museum. Haha. For us it was a nice respite from the heat, since it was Very Hot on that day.

Museum of ties: (We skipped that one)

Next, we drove to the place we were most excited about: Plitvice National Park, a 2 hour drive from Zagreb. The drive there was very pretty. We stopped briefly in Rastoke, a small village with a beautiful cascading water fall that gave us a preview of Plitvice NP:

Near this waterfall, was a very relaxing swimming spot, one of many that we saw on our drive:

Rastoke was so pleasant, we stayed there for dinner (one of many fish dinners I had in Croatia - all very tasty and quite inexpensive):

After dinner we continued our drive to the Guest House Kolic (13 min. north of Plitvice Park entrance 1 - there are 2 entrances). It was a nice, very inexpensive guest house (about $60/night) in a beautiful location; however, without AC we were quite hot!

Sunday, 20 July Plitvice NP

The next day was the one we’d been looking forward to the most on this trip: our visit to Plitvice National Park—and it absolutely lived up to the hype. It was easily the most stunning national park I’ve ever seen; walking through it felt like stepping into the Garden of Eden (crowds aside). We had to book our entrance tickets weeks—maybe even months—in advance because they sell out quickly, even at around $50 per person. We arrived fairly early to try to get ahead of the rush, but plenty of people were already there. Thankfully, once we ventured deeper into the park, the crowds thinned out a bit. Still, even the line for the boat took about 40 minutes.

First sight of the Garden of Eden:

A boardwalk encircles the entire park.

On the boat that is included in the entrance fee:

There are four route options (see map below) - we chose option C, which included the boat ride and a train back to Entrance 1. Our actual moving time was about three hours, but with all the photo stops we ended up spending nearly six hours in the park. We even walked the first section twice—the sun came out the second time, and it was so beautiful we couldn’t resist doing it again.

After returning to the guest house, we decided against staying another night and drove on to our next stop: Zadar. Finding a new place in Zadar last minute was no problem —we booked a comfortable guesthouse, Apartment Sandra, this time with air‑conditioning, for $110 a night.

From there, it was about a 15 minute walk to Zadar. We strolled through the small town and visited the Sea Organ and the “Greeting to the Sun” solar installation by the water. The Sea Organ’s wave‑powered sounds were pretty cool, and we loved wandering around the glowing solar installation and soaking up the atmosphere.

Zadar City gate:

The old town looked lovely during the blue twilight hour:

Here we are at the "Greeting to the Sun" - circular solar installation with cool light show:

Listening to the Sea Organ (can't see the pipes - but we could hear the sea's music):

Monday, 21 July Zadar

After a solid night’s sleep, we headed back into Zadar to explore the city and the beaches in day light:

Interestingly, the beaches in Croatia aren’t sandy—but covered in small pebbles. That’s actually the reason why the water is so incredibly clear. There is no sand to mud the water.

In the afternoon we joined one of the many 3‑Island boat tours. The trip was refreshing—we swam around the islands, explored a bit, and just enjoyed being out on the water. Sarah loved practicing her backflips off the boat, to the captain's and our amusement.

Sarah practicing backflips, haha:

We visited 3 islands, and each one of them was unique.

First Island:

Swimming near the island felt great!

The first island was tiny—we circled it by foot

in about half an hour.

Nearby second Island:

and larger third Island:

Exploring each island was quite interesting since they are all so different:

After the boat tour, we drove past famous Split to Podstrana and stayed there for two nights. Podstrana is just 20 minutes south of Split and was way cheaper than staying in Split. The downside was the traffic—getting in and out of Split was pretty rough, so I’m not totally sure the savings were worth it. But the Perina apartment was spotless, and that was our favorite place we stayed at in Croatia. It was a bit pricier than the inland Airbnbs at about $150 a night, but the owners were so sweet—they even brought us fresh veggies from their garden. In fact, everyone we met in Croatia was incredibly friendly.

The drive was very picturesque:

Our Airbnb Petrina Apartment:

Tuesday, 22 July

The next day we drove to Bela, according to the internet one of the most beautiful beach in the area.

Another beautiful drive:

Finding parking near the beach was nearly impossible, so we left the car by a grocery store and walked about 20 minutes down the hill to get there. We soon found out why the beach is so famous: the water was unbelievably clear and beautiful.

After a very relaxing swim, we headed back the steep hill back to the car.

On our way back to the car, a remarkable 60‑year‑old woman cruised past us on her bike—she had ridden all the way from Denmark to Croatia and was now on her way back home. After seeing that, walking uphill in the heat didn’t feel so bad anymore.

Our next stop was whitewater rafting on the Cetina River ($60 per person, booked through GetYourGuide)—easily one of our favorite activities in all of Croatia, if not the favorite.

We drove to the Go Adventure office in Šestanovac, about half an hour from Bela Beach. The tour took forever to get started, but eventually we were shuttled to the launch point and things finally got exciting. They put us in inflatable kayaks—three people per boat—and anyone who seemed nervous got a guide in theirs. The ride was wild and incredibly fun. We shot down small waterfalls, squeezed through narrow passages, and watched several kayaks flip over since many people had little experience. Our yearly Provo River runs paid off, though—we never flipped once. In the trickiest sections, up to three guides stood in the water to push the kayaks in the right direction. The guides were well organized and so helpful.

There was even a spot for cliff jumping. Josh went for it; Sarah would have too, but she was a bit too cold for that.

The guides took lots of pictures and shared them with us without any extra cost:

We rafted for about 3 hours - and at the end we were quite ready to get warmed up. However, like I mentioned already, it was the best adventure we did in Croatia. The only downside was having to wait for the shuttle before and after the rafting. That seemed to take forever. But finally, we made it back to the office and drove back to Podstrana.

Wednesday, 23 July Split

The next day we swung by Podstrana Beach for a quick look—another spot with super clear water.

Then we made our way to Split. It’s gorgeous, even if it’s really touristy and crowded. We still enjoyed it a lot, and I’d say it’s one of the prettiest cities in Croatia.

We even ran into some Roman soldiers!

The visit ended with a very interesting "burger":

Next, we continued on to Mostar in Bosnia‑Herzegovina—with a quick stop at Klis Fortress, where several Game of Thrones scenes were filmed. We didn’t go inside since we’re not really fans of the series, but the view from the outside was lovely.

We arrived in Mostar towards the evening and found a UNESCO-listed village that looked straight out of a storybook. We were all so glad we made this extra drive there - it was such a unique, beautiful place with a very sad history as we soon learned during the guru walk. Basically, a lot of the village was destroyed in the Bosnian War in the 1990s, including the iconic Stari Most (Old Bridge built in 1566) and Unesco rebuilt/reconstructed the village and bridge in 2004.

The Stari Most (originally built in 1566, reconstructed in 2004):

Much of the damage from the Bosnian War has been repaired, but here and there you can still spot bullet holes and a few remaining ruins.

Mostar at night time was stunning:

We happened to be there on a soccer celebration night, and the Stari Most bridge was lit up beautifully.

Here is the "mini Stari Most" or crooked bridge (from the 16th century):

Thursday, 24 July Mostar and Krka NP

The next day, we joined a guru walk - and this walk was by far the most interesting guru walk we have ever attended. The history and personal stories that Sheva shared were extremely touching!

A reminder to never forget the atrocities of war:

In the afternoon, we drove about two and a half hours to Krka National Park. We’d seen so many ads for it that we figured we had to check it out. The waterfalls were absolutely gorgeous, but the area itself was pretty small, so the crowds felt a bit overwhelming with not much space to spread out. The upside? You’re actually allowed to swim there—and jumping into that cool water was insanely refreshing.

The place was beautiful, but the heavy commercialization was a bit of a distraction.

On the way back to Mostar we checked out a very old village called Počitelj, one of the oldest village in the country:

At the top of the hill, we enjoyed both the view and exploring the inside of the tower.

As we explored the tower, we noticed an older couple wearing a black name tag - yes, surprisingly we ran into a missionary couple on their P-day who knew our friends, the Labrums!! Of course, we had to take a picture together!

Afterwards, we made our way back to Mostar for another seafood dinner and one more night in town.

Friday, 25 July Dubrovnik

The next day, we drove about 2.5 hours to Dubrovnik, our last stop. Dubrovnik is another beautiful, historic city, surrounded by a very old wall, and pretty views of the Adriatic sea:

Inside the City walls, we joined another guru walk to learn about the history, and again, it was very fascinating.

Fun to observe some cliff jumpers:

We spent the night at Apartment Raguz in Cavtat, about 25 minutes south of Dubrovnik. At $175 a night, it was far more affordable than anything we found in Dubrovnik—this area is definitely on the pricier side.

Saturday, 26 July 2026

That day was Josh and Sarah’s last day in Croatia before they flew back to England. I stayed one more night and caught a flight to Switzerland the next day. Sarah got us up super early so we could squeeze in one more famous beach—Pasjačan—and it was totally worth it. The water was probably the clearest of all the beaches we visited, and we enjoyed our final swim in Croatia immensely.

Check out this water!!:

After Josh and Sarah flew back to England, I spent one more day enjoying Dubrovnik. I took the Adriana Cavtat ferry (about $15 round‑trip) into the city and back. I grabbed a Dubrovnik Pass, walked along the top of the city walls, and hit eight museums. Definitely not something Josh and Sarah would’ve signed up for, but I loved it.

The Cavtat Ferry:

Approaching Dubrovnik:

Inside the walls:

Rector's Palace:

One of the oldest Pharmacies in the world:

Views from the wall:

Maritime museum:

Fortress:

View from the fortress of the old town:

And the highlight of the day: I found Jaffa Cake Ice-cream!!! (Jaffa's my favorite English Cookie)

Good bye to Dubrovnik:

Celebration at one of the ferry stops:

Sunday, July 27 Cavtat

Last day in Croatia. I had just a few hours in the morning before catching the flight to Switzerland. I used the time to explore the coast and am so glad I did. What a beautiful place: