Week 16

Croatia: Dalmatia

The beautiful, narrow corridor that is the South.

When

19.01.2020 - 26.01.2020

where

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Split, Croatia

The island of Pag, Croatia

Nin, Croatia

what

After what can only be described as a rough ferry ride from Italy and feeling pretty worse for wear, we were glad (if not a a little green) when we passed through passport control and into Split just before dawn. The roads, like home, only contained tradesmen and a handful of cars at this early hour and we resolved to hit the highway south, for Dubrovnik.

A stunning drive through the frosted mountains and along the sea led us to the border check at Bosnia and Herzegovina where their only costal access lies, only 20 km long. Our van was checked thoroughly for the first time since we started travelling; toilet and shower, bed, handbags, cupboards. They asked us repeatedly if we used or were carrying drugs before relaxing and recounting hilarious encounters with foreigners in the high season before we knew it we were just standing around having a chat with a border security agent who was our age or maybe younger. With a smile and wave we continued down the highway, only to be pulled up for the same routine when entering back into Croatia 15 minutes up the road.

Approaching Dubrovnik from the north proved unimpressive, but passing the city on the way to our campsite was 8 km of postcard beauty, looking down to the old city walls and terracotta tiled roofs within. Although tired and a little unwell from the ferry, the sunshine and blue skies forced our hand and we headed into town for an afternoon explore. We had the city to ourselves mostly, bar a few locals coming out of mass at the church and a handful of other travellers wandering around with eyes up and mouths gaping. Pat has written a little post about the insanity of tourism in the old town in Summer and we even know people who arrived and left early due to the crowds.

After a tummy settling couple of beers (for more on where to get coffee, eat and drink click here) we headed back to the van for a well deserved rest. The next couple of days in Dubrovnik were spent doing a lot of walking inside, outside and on top of the old city walls revelling in the warm temperatures, blue skies and sunshine.

If you like our photos of Dubrovnik, there is a guide to where we took them here for a list of what we got up to specifically you can check out our post here or check out the Buza bar guide here. We had one night of brief rain but woke to another blue bird day, marvelling at the fact that nearly 4 months into our ‘winter trip’ we have seen very little of the European winter we were bracing so heavily for.

On the way up to Split we couldn’t help but feeling Dubrovnik was such a fairytale start to our time in Croatia that we may have peaked too soon. We arrived in the afternoon to our super cheap, waterfront camping spot just south of Split and gave ourselves some down time and did a few little chores. We had read that Split was was a little more vibrant with a good food and wine scene and that there was a chance we could actually get an Australian level coffee.

So of course us being us, we started the next day accidentally walking through all of the historical landmarks, in search of coffee. The first place Kava, like many things this time of year, was closed for the season but after a brief exchange with the absolute legend of an owner on instagram he kindly directed us to the second place D16 which was open and lived up to all of our wildest coffee dreams. He also gave us a few other recommendations for our time in Split and we have complied those as well as a few other gems we found in our post here.

As we wandered around the pedestrian-only old city we quickly fell for its meshing of historical charm and modern vibe. Lots of trendy bars, breweries and restaurants mixed with antique stores, traditional food and fish markets. Each different part was similar to places we have been before, but as a whole, we had never really experienced a city like it. We spent our days doing long walks to view points, eating local fair and enjoying the beautiful city slowly. Pat has written a great post on how to spend a perfect day in Split here. We were recommended a really cool restaurant by a local (see our list of the best restaurants in Split here) and treated ourselves to a meal out which was outstanding as well as the waiters who were really cool and willing to give us recommendations as we head north.

Sad to leave Split and feeling like we could easily live here, we got up at the crack of dawn to head to Krka national park to spend the day exploring. After a quick pit stop for fuel we drove north about an hour, reaching the park just as it was opening. It was a brisk morning but promising to be another sunny day we were pleased to be amongst the first people there. At the ticket gate the national parks officer sat beaming at as as we approached and before we got a word out she burst out proudly in English that today was the 35th anniversary of the park and so it was free entry to the public. I’d like to say I planned this, I did not. There is something extra sweet about getting something for free when you are quite prepared to pay for it. Almost skipping down the hill towards the booming waterfalls we enjoyed the park all morning with only a handful of other keen naturists. We have written a post on what to expect at Krka in winter here. As 2pm approached the crowds to families and tour groups started pouring into the park and, happy to have missed the rush, we left the park and headed to a secluded, seaside wild camp just near the small town of Nin. This was definitely one of the more questionable ‘roads’ we have driven down on our trip. All gravel with big grooves and dips where the water must run in when in rains and when we say ‘down’ we mean a nice steep incline rolling toward to the sea. Only 900m of holding our breath was so worth it for the location.

Waking up to our first overcast day in recent memory, we decided to spend the weekend exploring the Island of Pag, before our appointment to get some new front tires for Ziggy the van Monday morning in Zadar. Pag is a stark and sparsely populated island. Driving across the impressive bridge, Pat described the landscape s ‘lunar’. The rocky and barren hills leave little room for vegetation and the only life to be seen across the island was a spattering of marked sheep and the occasional olive tree. As we headed up the island to the aptly named ‘Pag’ the main village on the island, it was drizzling, making it hard to believe that in summer accomodation is fully booked and its long coastline is renowned for its party and nightlife. We enjoyed the solitude and natural beauty of the low season, explored Pag and Novalja before parking up at another seaside location with not a soul to be seen. Pat has written all about our island adventure here.

Content with our rest from cities for a couple of days, we headed into Zadar Monday morning to get our new tires (After 16,000km or 10,000 miles our front tires were close to bald) and sit now in thee old town having a coffee and planning our next couple of weeks as we edge our way toward Slovenia! Until next week!