DUBROVNIK TRAVEL GUIDE || OUT AND ABOUT

And finally we have the last post about my time in Croatia. Our last four days were spent in Dubrovnik, a very beautiful town that was unlike any other place I had ever visited. The big city walls made it seem like you were in the Middle Ages or in Games of Thrones, and the many many many stairs made you reevaluate your fitness regime. 

Here's what I did, what I ate and what I photographed. 

HOW I GOT THERE

If you've read my previous post about Croatia you'll know I spent some time in Zadar. We took a bus from Zadar to Dubrovnik which was about £10 and it took about four hours. It was very long and by the time you get to Dubrovnik you will be so done with buses, but it's the most practical way to move around Croatia unless you want to take a taxi. Something worth mentioning is that you'll have to go through Montenegro to get to Dubrovnik from Zadar and other cities so make sure to have your passport ready!

WHERE I STAYED

We stayed in an AirBnB which was a bit outside the Old Town which could have potentially been very inconvenient but, as many other times, Uber came to the rescue. We managed to get into town in 10-15 min and it was fairly cheap (around £10) and we found the drivers were quite chill there and would usually let us be five in a regular Uber which is pretty great when you're a group of 5 and there's no UberXL.

Staying outside the Old Town makes the price drop significantly, so if you don't mine not being right in the middle of everything, it is definitely worth it!

WHAT I DID

I'm going to start by saying that we didn't do much in Dubrovnik. We were all tired, sleep deprived, done with the heat and hangover. However, we still tried our best to enjoy the city. 

The first day we decided to just walk around the Old Town, exploring the beautiful narrow streets, the architecture, and admiring the city walls. We also decided to book an island tour for the following day. It was a very chill day. Later that day we decided to go out, as we hadn't had a night out yet in Croatia. We had heard about this club called Revelin... O M G, best club I have ever been to. I don't even like clubbing that much, but I had the time of my life. You literally party inside of a castle and the music was the perfect mix of dance, R&B and hits. It usually is free entry before midnight if you have a flyer, otherwise is £15. If you fancy a night out, you HAVE to go to Revelin.

The following day, after about two hours sleep, we hopped onto a boat and explored the coast and some islands. We visited the a blue cave where we got to snorkel in crystal clear blue water. After that, we visited three islands: Lopud, Šipan and Kokošar. They were all kind of similar and, whilst they didn't have the most paradisiac beached I've seen, they were nice and it was great to swin after exploring cities for so long. I have to say though that the water was incredibly clear, it kind of seemed fake. It was the perfect place to snorkel!

The final two days were spent chilling and swimming just outside of the Old Town and wandering around. As I said, our energy levels were very low at that point and we didn't really had the will to be proper tourists. Even then, I loved Dubrovnik and it was by far my favourite city in Croatia! 

WHAT I ATE

Seafood, seafood, seafood and more seafood. I had so much of it. I love seafood so freaking much, but even I got a bit sick of it. Croatian food is mainly based on fish and meat, so being vegan or vegetarian there is not the easiest. I had some incredible grilled fish, amazing ham and even better fruit. My favourite thing though was the watermelon juice I had one morning - it was from a smoothies and juices place called Mr. Fresh and it was incredible. Exactly what I needed to survive in that heat.

SPLIT AND KRKA WATERFALLS IN 48HRS TRAVEL GUIDE || OUT AND ABOUT

After spending a day in Zadar, we packed our bags again and headed to Split. On our way there we made a stop at the Krka National Park. Whilst the park in general was not as stunning and impressive, in my opinion,  as the Plitvice Lakes National Park, the waterfalls were astonishing and more interesting that the ones in Plitvice. 

After that we made our way to Split where we spent the night and the following day exploring the Old Town, eating delicious seafood, refreshing ice cream and trying not to melt in the heat. 

DAY 1: KRKA NATIONAL PARK

How to get there

The cheapest and easiest way to get there is either from Split or from Zadar by bus. The bus is only about £10 and it only takes a couple of hours. You can also take Uber - which is way cheaper in Croatia than in the UK - but since it's quite a long journey it would end up being quite expensive.

What to do

The park isn't too big so if you follow the marked path you will get to explore all of it in about 2 hours depending on how fast you walk or how many times you stop to get that perfect Insta. There are loads of gorgeous viewing points along the route and it's very easy to follow, you won't get lost! 

The best thing about the park is that you get to swim by one of the main waterfalls. It is VERY crowded and because of that the water is not as clear as in other parts of the park but it was one of my favourite things of the entire trip. I am used to swimming in the sea in salty water, so it was cool so swim in a lake by a massive waterfall. 

Where to eat

As you walk around the park you'll find a few cafes and places that serve food. A lot of people seemed to take their own lunch, and we did too, as the food there was quite overpriced (as expected) and it didn't look too appetising. 

DAY 2: SPLIT

How to get there

Again, the easiest and cheapest way to get to Split from the national park is by bus. The ticket is also about £10 and takes about an hour if I remember correctly. 

What to do

My favourite thing to do was wander around the Old Town and explore the narrow and historic streets. If you are a fan of Games of Thrones you will love Split, I don't really watch it but I felt like I was in Games of Thrones all the time. 

It's also worth visiting the Dioclestian's Palace, as well as the Cathedral and Bell Tower of St. Domnius where you can climb the tower and get great views of the town. By the bell tower there is an underground market which is a great place to buy some souvenirs or to wander around. 

Finally, in the afternoon/evening walked along the sea front and had a drink or two at one of the bars which are not exactly very cheap but the view is cool and there is a very lively and upbeat environment. 

Where to eat

Croatian cuisine involves A LOT of meat, fish/seafood and cheese. So after a few days of eating fish for every meal of the day pretty much I was craving some vegetables. We ended up at Marta's Veggie Fusion where I had quinoa salad which is exactly what I needed. 

Ice cream is the perfect snack when it's 30˚C outside, and there are plenty of ice cream shops all around town so you won't have any trouble finding one. 

For dinner we didn't feel like a big meal so instead of going to a restaurant we went to the supermarket and bought some gnocchi and tomato sauce and cooked a delicious meal (which was also way cheaper than any restaurant would have been).

24HRS IN ZAGREB, CROATIA || OUT AND ABOUT

If you've ever spent a summer in London you'll know that, whilst London is absolutely beautiful in the sunshine, it doesn't really feel much like summer. Highs of 20˚C and only sporadic days of sunshine are not the representation of the well-known quote "summer, hair gets lighter, skin gets darker, water gets warmer, drinks get colder, music gets louder, nights get longer, life gets better".

Which is why after coming back to England from Spain, I escaped the clouds once again and run off to Croatia with a friend for about 10 days. I visited different cities and a couple of stunning National Parks. Instead of doing one massive post, I decided to do one for each place so that I can explain everything in more details. 

We flew from London to the capital, Zagreb where we spent the day. We didn't have much of a plan and everything we wanted to see seemed to be vert close together in the Old Town so we took an Uber there and wandered around. If you visit Croatia I would definitley recommend using Uber instead of public transport as it is similar prices and obviously much more convenient. I only spent about £20 in 9 days and we took at least two-three ubers per day.

We took an Uber to the Railway Station and then walked from there towards the Zrinjevac Park. After walking to the Trg bana Josipa Jelacica (Main City Square) we went to the Dolac Market where we got some incredible fresh fruit to snack on and a pastry for lunch. And that was the day we discovered Croatians love cheese in their pastries, I love cheese but not even I would eat that much cheese. 

We also visited the Cathedral and then walked to the Upper Town where we got some breathtaking views of the city and stumbled upon the Giant Whale Mural by the French artist Etien.
Since neither of us knew much about the history of the country we decided go visit the Croatian History Museum, which was only 5HKR (about 50p), and taught us all we needed to know about the recent war and how it affected Croatia.

After that, we walked around the Upper Town for a bit before going to the Museum of Broken Relationships which to be honest wasn't as cool as we were expecting but still worth visiting if you don't know what else to do.

 After all that walking and our 6:30AM flight we had been on earlier, we were quite tired and hungry so we went on the hunt for some good Croatian food. We ended up going to a place called Nokturno where I had some incredible Black Risotto for a very decent price, the restaurant was located in a very lively and cute uphill street with many other restaurants.

Overall, I would say I enjoyed Zagreb more than I expected but I also think a day is more than enough to visit everything and to enjoy the city without getting bored. It is also the cheapest city we visited in Croatia so if you want to get some nice seafood for a good price do it there!