Options for travel routes around Croatia - advice needed. Independent travel around Croatia
Road trip route 2017 - St. Petersburg - Narva - Warsaw - Fazana (Croatia, 8 km from Pula) - Slunj - Plitvice Lakes - Olomouc (Czech Republic) - Kaunas - St. Petersburg. In Croatia, we visited the three coastal cities of Porec, Rovinj, Pula, Lima Canal, Slunj Rastoki, and Plitvice Lakes.
The goal of our road trip was the Adriatic Sea and Plitvice Lakes; we selected the remaining stops to take a break from the tiring journeys. This year we almost repeated the path of last year (), so we knew very well what awaited us on the road. For those who have not traveled this road, I recommend reading the report for 2016; I will not repeat myself here.
This year we deliberately went through Narva, because we decided that it would be easier for us. Firstly, everyone is allowed there, at the Latvian border one of my friends was not allowed in (he has two passports, one has a visa, the other is stamped), and secondly, it is better to slowly trudge along empty Estonian roads than to slowly trudge along a very busy road to Pskov.
Croatia was an unknown country for us. We initially knew that it had its own currency, there was a border crossing and it was not a Schengen zone, but at the same time, the country was a member of the European Union. Even when applying for a visa, we included Croatia in our insurance policy; be careful, insurance for obtaining a Schengen visa is not valid there.
Everything in one article. Cost, features, where is the best place to buy, how not to buy a fake. What to do in case of an accident.
We went on vacation for the first time this year in August. This is not the most favorable month for a vacation in Europe, since in August most Europeans also have a vacation, and they all rush to the sea with their families in cars, but nothing can be done due to personal circumstances, we could only go in August. I must admit right away that it was very hot, up to +37ºС, and there were a lot of people.
On this journey, for the first time I kept a short diary on Instagram, subscribe to my account and like my photos. If you don’t have an Instagram account, then photos from there are also automatically posted on VK and Facebook. Likes on other social media networks will also be very pleasant for me and will help me continue to maintain this site.
| day on the road | CITIES | TRAIN LENGTH | DATE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stage St. Petersburg → Warsaw | 1243 km, 18 hours, excluding border | 29.07.2017 |
| 2 | The whole day and the center of Warsaw, to relax after a tiring journey, we spent the night in a rented apartment for 2 nights | ----- | 30.07.2017 |
| 3 | Warsaw → Fažana (Croatia), stayed in 8 km from Pula, spent 10 nights there | 1282 km, 14 hours | 31.07.2017 |
| 4 | We didn’t go anywhere, swam in the sea, sunbathed, explored grocery stores in the surrounding area | ----- | 01.08.2017 |
| 5 | We went to Pula to see the dentist, our | 9 km from the campsite, 15 minutes | 02.08.2017 |
| 6 | We went to Pula just to look at it. | 9 km from the campsite, 15 minutes | 03.08.2017 |
| 7 | We spent 2 days at the campsite due to the mind-blowing heat, and went on foot to the fish festival in the evening | ----- | 04.08.2017 05.08.2017 |
| 8 | We went to see | 29 km, 30 minutes | 06.08.2017 |
| 9 | We went to | 30 km, 37 minutes | 07.08.2017 |
| 10 | We went to | 51 km, 45 minutes | 08.08.2017 |
| 11 | We went to Pula, in the evening we visited the folk crafts festival in Fažana | 9 km from the campsite, 15 minutes | 09.08.2017 |
| 12 | Driving from Fažana on the coast to Slunj, 30 km from Plitvice Lakes. We stayed in an apartment. We looked at it in the evening. | 240 km, 4 hours | 10.08.2017 |
| 13 | We walked around the whole day. | 25 km from the apartment one way, 30 minutes | 11.08.2017 |
| 14 | Driving from Slunj to Olomouc (Czech Republic) | 693 km, 12 hours due to traffic jams in Croatia, without traffic jams drive 7 hours | 12.08.2017 |
| 15 | We walked all day, stayed in a rented apartment in the city center | ----- | 13.08.2017 |
| 16 | Driving from Olomouc to Kaunas (Lithuania), we ran in the evening, didn’t have time to see almost anything, stayed in a rented apartment for 1 night. | 903 km, 12 hours | 14.07.2016 |
| 17 | Driving from Kaunas to St. Petersburg | 846 km via Narva, 12 hours | 15.07.2016 |
In total, during the entire trip, according to the speedometer, we drove 5580 km, to the main vacation spot it turns out to be about 2525 km, and compared to last year, we significantly reduced the mileage at the vacation spot, we didn’t go far at all, everything was nearby. The red dots indicate the sights we visited along the way and in Croatia. It's better to enlarge the map to see the route better.
The base for our trip was chosen two-star camping Pineta for a more or less reasonable price for accommodation - 53 €. In Croatia, as in Slovenia, campsites on the coast are very expensive; in the vast majority of campsites in Istria, the price of accommodation per day for our company ranged from 80 to 90 euros. In my opinion, this is a lot for the right to live on the seashore in your own tent. This year Pasha is already 13 years old and we are not entitled to a child discount; we paid for 4 adults. I wrote additionally, we spent 10 days there, in general the campsite is worthy of two stars, but some purely Croatian features of the campsite appeared. You can read about ours in a separate article.
From last year’s ours, which stands on the border of Italy and Slovenia, the Pineta campsite is only 100 km away.
Road conditions
We started from St. Petersburg at 22-00, back on July 28, i.e. on Friday after work, bearing in mind our numerous trips, it will still not be possible to fall asleep before a long journey, so why waste time lying in bed for the sake of order.
The entire Baltic states and part of Poland were dragged along slow regional roads at night and early in the morning. Our path ran through the small Polish town of Suwalki, right through the very center, through cobblestone streets. On Saturday on main square There was a fair with a stage and artists performing on it, with many stalls with various local products. We stopped there for half an hour to stretch our legs and have a snack.
Main street in Suwalki, fair on the other side 
One of the stalls at the fair An unexpected traffic jam awaited us near Warsaw. The Poles are building highways, as a result of which now everything has been excavated on a section of the road about 70 km long, traffic goes along single-lane bypasses with an average speed of 30-40 km/h.
Because of this, we were late for the agreed time of check-in at the apartment in Warsaw, the owner left us the key in a designated place, and it so happened that we did not see the owner of the apartment at all. This was our first experience with Airbnb, I will write about it later.
After walking for one day in Warsaw, we moved to the sea. At 5 am we left the capital of Poland and in the evening we arrived at the Pineta campsite in Fažana. Everything was normal on the way, after Warsaw the motorways already begin, average speed 100 km/h. In the Poysdorf area, just over the Czech-Austrian border, the motorway is still under construction and there is a slight traffic jam. There was a bit of chatter on the bypass around Vienna; the Austrians were repairing their ring road.
The border with Croatia was crossed on a secondary road near Portorož. There was no queue at all; the Slovenian border guard immediately spoke to us in Russian. The only complaint is that both Slovenes and Croats put stamps in their passports as God pleases - upside down, across the page and even in the middle of a blank page, hot southern people!!! What more can be said about this?
From the Slovenian border we drove along the toll highway almost to Pula; we did not notice any gas stations or currency exchange offices on this section of the route. We drove along the same highway to Porec; we got to all other towns using local free roads; it was very interesting to see how everything was organized there.
Cajuns - national Croatian barns On the way from Croatia we got stuck in big traffic jams. Perhaps because it was Saturday and it started to rain, many Europeans rushed home, and we stood in traffic jams for 4 hours. It was on the Zagreb - Maribor highway (E59, A4), we were driving from Plitvice Lakes. The first part of the traffic jam was in front of the road toll point in front of Zagreb - 1.5 hours, the second part of the traffic jam was in front of the road toll point in front of the border with Slovenia, another hour, this traffic jam smoothly flowed into a traffic jam at the border, another 1.5 hours. Croatian road toll booths are unable to cope during the peak tourist season. Croatian border guards don’t look at anyone at all, we ourselves knocked on the window and asked them to give us stamps about crossing the border, to which the border guard angrily joked: “One stamp 5€, two stamps 10€...” And he put stamps in all 4 passports in the middle of the empty one pages.
The rest of the road passed without incident. Except for the fine for speeding in the Polish town of Suwalki. Polish gays stood along the entire highway with radars. And in Suwalki they stood in front of the main police headquarters, just opposite the currency exchange office, prudently believing that foreign tourists might not have cash Polish zlotys. The fine was 50 zlotys, which is about 800 rubles, they issued a receipt, everything seemed to be legal. The policeman spoke to us in Polish, but we understood each other, 50 zlotys and a cantor with directions, very clear words. To each receipt he attached a piece of paper worth 50 zlotys with a paper clip, this is the reporting form in Poland.
Crossing the Estonian-Russian border in Narva was complicated by an unexpected two-hour queue. The fact is that we booked the border crossing, usually everything happens quickly in this case, but this time we were unlucky. Before us, the border had been closed for an hour without explanation, so the entire queue for the previous hour was in front of us and it was arranged by Russian border guards; only one person was leisurely inspecting private cars, showing with all his appearance how tired he was of us and of this life.
Detailed both ways. How to sign up, when to go, to avoid queues. My entire three-year experience in one article.
Tolls for roads
This time we bought a Czech vignette for a month, since we were going to stop on the way back in the Czech Republic, and a Slovenian one for 7 days, since we were traveling on the way back through Slovenia for only 1 hour, and we also bought an Austrian one for 10 days. Our entire windshield is covered with various vignettes for this and previous years; at a speed it is not possible to understand for how long they will last. The validity period of the vignette can only be checked on secondary roads or at gas stations; when the car is stopped, they will not stop on the motorway.
They didn’t pay for roads in Poland at all; our route did not go through toll sections. Most likely, such a freebie will not last long at all; future road toll points are already clearly visible on the sections under construction.
In Croatia, fees are charged per mileage; this is the least profitable option. You can pay in kunas, euros or by card; change will be given in kunas.
So driving on Croatian toll highways is not the cheapest thing. And we only traveled around Istria, the region of Croatia closest to us.
Intermediate overnight stays in Poland, Czech Republic and Lithuania
This time we have to admit that we are lazy, we are too lazy to set up a tent for one or two days, with the price for an apartment at 60 € and you can easily leave the apartment at 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning, but you won’t be able to leave the campsite so early, It is forbidden to make noise there until 6-7 am; it takes about 2 hours to get ready and have breakfast. For 60 € in Eastern Europe you can rent a luxury apartment for 4 people with two bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room during peak season. Wi-Fi is included in the price of the apartment.
Last year we rented a house for 40€, and it had some shortcomings; for 60€ there are practically no shortcomings. During the low season, the price of quality housing decreases significantly. In autumn and winter you can rent the same apartment for 40 €.
Apartments in Warsaw
We booked the apartments in Warsaw Apartment 6. floor for the first time through the Airbnb website. And we were very pleased. The location of the apartment is wonderful - 10 minutes walk to the most wonderful historical park of Lazienki. Apartment with a large kitchen-living room and two separate bedrooms. Two separate beds in one of them, which is very important for us. I definitely recommend it.
Apartments in Slunj
We rented an excellent house - not far from Rastok. The hostess is very sincere, baked a strudel with cheese in our honor, and treated us to homemade mint liqueur. The house is completely new, all the furniture is new, all the dishes in the kitchen are new. Next to the house there is a grill, a sun umbrella, a table and chairs, we spent two unforgettable evenings there.
The house, the entire first floor is ours 
BBQ area We talked with the hostess about life in Russian-Croatian. Many words are very similar, incomprehensible words were translated using Google translator, from Croatian to English, directly from Croatian to Russian the translator produces some nonsense. The owner doesn't speak English, she taught at school German, so she calls her daughter to check in to communicate with tourists. We highly recommend these apartments.
Apartments in Olomouc
In the Czech Republic we were also lucky. We rented an excellent designer apartment - in the very center of the city with free parking near. The house is old, the ceilings are high, the decoration is all new, I really liked the bathroom.
This old house houses apartments We were very late with check-in due to traffic jams in Croatia, we wrote an SMS to the hostess to warn her that we were delayed, but for unknown reasons technical reasons SMS did not arrive. Despite all these circumstances, the hostess waited for us, she was very kind, she speaks Russian. She explained everything to us and gave us a map with the marked attractions. I highly recommend these apartments. The photos on the booking are completely true.
Apartments in Kaunas
Things didn’t turn out so great with Kaunas. - an old Soviet high-rise building in a residential area of Kaunas, there is no street lighting in the courtyard. The apartment is newly renovated, has new furniture, but the laminate flooring is very creaky. The hostess was very welcoming, she also baked a pie with apples in our honor, talked about life, explained everything to us about the sights of Kaunas, called a cheap taxi to the center - the fare was 4 €, 4 tickets for public transport would have cost us more. In Kaunas it turned out not great, but acceptable. Curious what exactly this photo collected greatest number responses on Instagram. If you post something good, you get zero response, if you post something negative, you immediately understand that this is exactly what the people need.
The house where we spent the night in Kaunas Rating of attractions
What I liked most was the Adriatic Sea in Croatia, it’s so warm that you can just live in it, very clean, the water is clear, you can see the bottom even at depth. Pine and cypress trees grow along the shore, the air is simply superb.
Of the Croatian coastal towns, Rovinj evoked the most emotions, mainly because it stands on a mountain above the sea, the streets are narrow like in Venice, and there are very spectacular descents to the water from the city itself.
Classic view Old city Rovinja 
Descent to the water in Rovinj with designer decoration It’s not a big town at all, except for the Euphrasian Basilica, there’s nothing to see there, just houses with windows in the Venetian style, an insane number of expensive cafes, and an equally insane number of shops for tourists.
Entrance to the Euphrasian Basilica and the Porec pavement polished by the feet of tourists Pula it is famous for its amphitheater, this cannot be taken away from it, but the landscape is significantly spoiled by industrial buildings and a large, not beautiful port. The promotional photos don't show any of this.
Most best view access to the Pula Arena is accessible from the parking lot In general, these three most famous and visited cities on the coast - Rovinj, Porec, Pula are very similar to each other. Each of them is not large; the inspection will take no more than 2-3 hours.
We really liked the events in the village of Fažana, neighboring our campsite. I was simply surprised how the Croatians try to please tourists and organize such festivals in a very small village. I wrote about this in more detail in an article about Fažana.
Festival of folk crafts. Glass blower's work. The Lim Canal is, of course, called a fjord, but before Norwegian fjords it is far from picturesque. We honestly took a boat ride, looked at oyster farms, but didn’t try the oysters themselves, there are no oysters there for 1€. In restaurants, oysters are sold for 2€ and prices for other dishes are very high. Perhaps we chose the wrong time to visit, during the day everyone died there, siesta.
These boats take tourists around the Lim Fjord, it’s clear that this is far from Norway Rastok is good, but you have to be aware that this is a very small place. Again, one can see the Croatians’ ability to make a tourist attraction out of everything and squeeze out a little money from tourists. There is a fee to visit the mills, and after that they will take more money for a demonstration of the mill’s operation.
Rastoki. River, bridges, waterfalls, mills. Plitvice Lakes are super, it turned out that these are phenomena of the same series, the relief was formed on the same karst plateau, only located on the surface. But I didn’t expect that there would be so many people, we stood in line to enter for 2 hours, before that we drove around the parking lot for 30 minutes, trying to find a free space.
Plitvice Lakes, estimate the number of people There is just a sea of people in the park, they walk along the walkways in one continuous stream. I think that it is much more interesting to explore Rastoki and Plitvice lakes in the spring, the waterfalls are fuller, there are fewer people.
Plitvice Lakes, if you don’t take pictures of people, everything is fine We were already in Warsaw for the second time and for the second time I liked the capital of Poland. There are no crazy crowds there, everything is very clean, cozy, the prices are good, the food is very tasty, you can afford a cafe. This time we walked around the city center and again had lunch at Restauracja Zapiecek. This time too, the Poles staged a demonstration near presidential palace, police again, posters. This year the speeches were under the slogan of respecting the constitution. It feels like they do this either every Sunday or in honor of our arrival.
Another demonstration in front of the presidential palace in Warsaw Olomouc caused mixed reactions. Yes, the city itself is beautiful, clean, cozy, but on Sunday it was completely empty, where are the people? Why did everyone leave this paradise town? What's the catch? All the small shops in the center were closed, many cafes and restaurants were also closed. Three people in the photo are my family and two are still visible in the distance. This is all in the main square of the city at 19-00.
Column of the Holy Trinity, the city's most prominent monument We had a blast in mall on the outskirts, the majority local population it was right there. Czech prices promote shopping, unlike Croatian ones. I recommend making a stop in the Czech Republic, they have very good locally made shoes at reasonable prices. Poland is also suitable for shopping.
You could say we didn’t see Kaunas at all, we only had 2 hours at sunset and really wanted to eat after a whole day in the car, so we again indulged in the Forto Dvaras establishment. Last year we had lunch there in Vilnius, it turned out that there is one in Kaunas too, located on the main square in front of the town hall.
Forto Dvaras in Kaunas Impressions from Croatia
In August there are a lot of people in Croatia and it’s very hot, the prices for everything are maximum, eating in a cafe was expensive by our standards, we didn’t use the catering establishments there at all, we cooked for ourselves and shopped in stores - Konzum, Plodine, Lidl. Everything is cheaper at Lidl, as always. Everything is expensive both on the coast and in the Plitvice Lakes region, which is also a very touristic place.
Nectarines in the stall at our campsite were sold for 35 kunas, which is about 350 rubles, which is fantastically expensive. In St. Petersburg, nectarines now cost 120 rubles. in fruit stalls, and St. Petersburg is a northern city, here all the fruits are imported. Last year in Slovenia, nectarines were priced at 1€ in stores, and at 2.5€ on trays; these amounts also cannot be converted into 350 rubles. Watermelons for 5 kunas (50 rubles) and many fruits in the same spirit, the price is clearly inflated for tourists. There is a lot of tension with fish in stores, there is very little choice, it is not always available, sea bream costs 68 kuna per kg (680 rubles), this is the lowest price we found, everything else was more expensive.
We really liked Croatian pastries, there are a lot of private small bakeries in the country, and the prices for delicious buns are lower than in St. Petersburg. Here a maple pecan costs 80 rubles, and in Croatia it costs 40 rubles. The national Croatian bread - burek - is very large and very filling, it comes with meat, cheese, apple and cherry and costs from 6 to 12 kuna depending on the size, filling and place of sale. If you eat a big burek, you won’t want to have dinner anymore, this is a woman’s opinion, men did not refuse dinner after burek.
Burek - national Croatian pie - 225 grams Many Croatian local small shops do not write prices for their goods; ask, the seller will tell you the price based on his understanding of your solvency, in this case it is not a sin to haggle. IN tourist places Croatian villages look very good, there are new houses and villas all around, apartments for rent, everything is beautiful. In less touristy places the houses are poorer. In cities on the outskirts there are panel high-rise buildings from Soviet times; Croatians also make sheds out of balconies, glass them as best they can and store all sorts of rubbish.
In every city, in the very center, there is always a monument in honor of the struggle of the Yugoslav people against fascism; many of these monuments list the names of the fallen, red stars, flowers all around, and everything is very well maintained. There are even such monuments in every Croatian village, in Fažana, for example, or Peroja.
Monument to the memory of those killed in World War II. Porec There are also monuments to those killed in the last war. Here in Pula we photographed one of these monuments. As a rule, such monuments are decorated with fresh flowers and wreaths; the relatives of the victims are still alive.
Monument in Pula, commemorating the victims of the Yugoslav wars of the late 20th century Well, the most important advantage of Croatia over ours Black Sea coast— there is no rotavirus infection. Perhaps due to the fact that the water in the Adriatic Sea is saltier than in the Black Sea, or perhaps due to the fact that the wastewater is not discharged directly into the sea. We have only 2 weeks of vacation and there is no desire to waste a few days on “acclimatization,” as this phenomenon is diplomatically called in our south. Our son went on a second shift to the Tuapse region, the whole squad got sick, no one made a true diagnosis. The problem is usually hushed up.
More and more modern people want travel around Croatia on your own and with the onset of the spring-summer season, friends and acquaintances turn to us asking for advice on how best to organize a vacation and advise on prices.
Let's consider the following initial data: month - July, period - 2 weeks, vacationers - two, form of vacation - traveling around Croatia with a rented car.
Car rental and road toll costs in Croatia
The cost of renting a small car (Fiat Punto, FW polo with a 1.2-1.4 liter engine and similar) for two weeks is up to 500 euros. You can agree to rent a car both at the arrival airport (list and contacts of Rent-A-Car at Zagreb airport, Rent-A-Car at Pula airport) and at your place of residence. In Istria, the car is driven directly to the apartment. Let's take an average mileage of 1200 km during the trip. (~100 liters * 1.5 euros = 150 euros).
If you fly to Zagreb, then the distance to the Istrian sea coast is 350 km. It’s already 700 km there and back, and you’ll also be riding every day - that’s why you rent a car. If you are heading from Zagreb to Dolmacia, then the distance grid looks like this: to Zadar 230 km, to Split 430 km, to Dubrovnik - 700 km. So figure out what kind of forced march you would like to take on your vacation. To the costs of renting a car and gasoline, you should add the cost of travel on highways.
You will get to Pula (Istria) by paying 108 kuna (60 kuna to Rijeka + 48 kuna for the Učka tunnel and Istrian epsilon), i.e. approximately 561 rub. (if you want to convert kuna into rubles, then you need to multiply the kuna by 5.2, and if in euros, then divide by 7.3, that is, 108 kuna / 7.3 = ~15 euros). If you are planning to travel to Dalmatia, you can check the fare yourself on the HAK website. Select the direction of the road and the point of arrival (for example Zagreb (Lucko), then look in the table for your destination, that is, exit from the road and see the amount in category I. The highway has not been built to Dubrovnik, along the highway you will reach the Makarska Riviera, the final destination Vrgorac, and then you will take a regular road that winds along the sea through the mountains. It should be noted that the average speed drops significantly - to 50-60 km/h. The road is picturesque and the plus is that you can stop at the place you like and swim. There is one more subtlety on the way to Dubrovnik. Small area roads you will drive through the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the tourist season, there is a continuous flow of cars through the checkpoint, so if you are not stopped, do not wave your “red-skinned passport”, drive through easily and naturally. Transit travel is free, but the mood of customs officers can be different, and they may even examine you with partiality. So, renting a car 500 euros + (150 - 200) euros for gasoline + (40 - 60) euros for tolls = we get from 690 to 760 euros for the trip. Of course, the cost will depend on how far you plan to travel and what route you take. Now about the next component of your journey - this is a rental property in Croatia.
An axiom known to all travelers: the longer you live in one place, the lower the price per day. But July (we took this month for calculations) is an active tourist season. Based on a price of 45 to 55 euros for an apartment for two. Here we take average, real prices, of course, they may differ for each specific case, either up or down, but on average this is an adequate cost for July. If you are willing to stay in rooms with a shared bathroom, then the price will be from 13 to 20 euros per person. In Croatia, when staying in apartments and rooms, it is not customary to offer breakfast to clients. This is due to the fact that catering requires obtaining an additional “permission” for food. You can only count on breakfast at the hotel. So, it will cost you from 630 to 770 euros for accommodation.
Some tips on how to look for places to stay for yourself and your car when traveling around Croatia.
1. It is better to start looking for a place to stay overnight before dark.
2. In the towns there are information points for tourists, they are marked with the letter (i), if you do not want to go to the apartments and ring the doorbell, you can contact such an information point, and they will tell you which apartments are free and contact the owner, so that he can accompany you and show you the apartment. In this case, the price will be about 10% more expensive than if you contact the hosts directly, since they pay a commission to the information agency.
3. You can walk around the village yourself, looking for nice places to stay for the night and ask:
“Imate li slobodan apartman (sobu)?” - Do you have a free apartment (room)?
“Za dve osobe” - for two people. Cjena - price.
It’s better to write the numbers on paper so as not to make mistakes. Payment is usually requested immediately. They should also ask for your documents for registration.
4. If you are staying in a fairly large town, be sure to ask the owner of the apartment where you can park your car for free. This is especially true for Dubrovnik, the Makarska Riviera, Trogir, Split, Sibenik, Zadar, Zagreb and all cities on the Istrian coast, where the availability of free parking spaces is either very limited or non-existent.
Gas stations in Croatia.
At gas stations in Croatia The procedure is different from what we are used to :). You pull up to a gas station, take a gun and first fill the tank with gasoline, at the same time, you can independently regulate how much gasoline you fill, focusing on the display, where the numbers of displacement and the cost of gasoline in kunas run. And after you have poured gasoline into the tank, you go into the gas station building, give the number of the gas station and pay. Such a trusting attitude towards customers! :) At most Croatian gas stations you can also have a cup of coffee with a pastry, and at some you can have a snack or even a full meal in a self-service restaurant. I especially recommend Tiffon gas stations, where you can drink excellent coffee with delicious cakes and eat free wifi. On the route Zagreb - Pula or back, there are two Tiffon gas stations that have self-service restaurants, where, depending on the season, you can even try game that is found in the local forests. Prices are quite reasonable.
Parking in Croatia. If in a populated area you see parking spaces marked with paint (usually blue), then look for a payment point. The parking payment machine has information about payment hours (for example, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and the cost per hour. In addition, parking lots are divided into zones (1, 2, 3). The highest cost per hour is in the first zone; it may also have a limit on the number of hours of “standing” (one or two hours). This is due to the high attendance of the city center. Under no circumstances should you park in parking spaces with yellow markings - these are parking spaces for the disabled and are strictly monitored by parking attendants.
There are two ways to pay for a parking space. First, we pay with metal coins in the machine for the required number of hours, after which we must place the receipt received from the machine under the car glass on the passenger compartment side. I wouldn’t specify it that way, but Russian drivers are such “naive inventors”: they will either pay and take the receipt with them, or put it under their windshield wipers (and the people around are different..., some are too resourceful...))), and then they are surprised that they have another receipt under their wipers - for a fine! The usual fine is 60-80 kuna, but it can reach 700 kuna, depending on where you leave the car. Payment of the fine is made at any bank.
The second payment method is sending SMS from a Croatian mobile phone.
We always recommend that our guests, especially those traveling by car, purchase a Croatian SIM card. You can buy it at any newsstand or gas station. “Molim karticu za mobiletel” - please give me a card for a mobile phone. It costs 25 - 40 kn.
The parking payment machine has a four-digit number for sending SMS (for example, 8402). In the SMS, indicate the full letters and numbers of your car's license plate number and send it to the four-digit number indicated on the parking machine. Within 2 minutes you should receive a response SMS confirming that payment for such and such a car number, at such and such a tariff, and in such and such a zone has been accepted. You pay for every hour of parking via your phone. You will receive a notification SMS 15 minutes before the end of payment. In short, everything is reasonable, very convenient and humane.
It’s difficult to guess how much money it will cost you to pay for parking. I can only inform you that hourly payment varies from 3 to 6 kuna, depending on the city and parking area. Another important cost item is food.. This is a purely individual matter, so I’ll just give you some prices in restaurants and prices for some products in Croatian stores.
Breakfast: coffee - 10 kn, pastries - 10 kn, yogurt - 7 kn, scrambled eggs in a cafe - 15-20 kn. Let me note that Croatians are loyal if you come to their cafe with your pies, that is, you buy pastries at the bakery and sit down in the cafe to drink tea and coffee. If you live in an apartment, you can save money on breakfast because you can buy groceries in the store and organize breakfast in your own kitchen.
Lunch at the restaurant: salad - 15-20 kn, soup - 20-30 kn, mussels - 45 kn, pizza - 45 kn, grilled squid - 60 kn, pasta with something - 60 kn, meat - 60, fish and seafood 60 - 150 kn. Juice, tea, coffee - up to 15 kn.
Thus, a full meal for two can cost between 200 and 300 kuna (30 to 42 euros). Or you can spend 100 kuna for two by eating Croatian pizza, which is sometimes better than Italian pizza.
Dinner at the restaurant: salad - 15-20 kn, hot seafood or meat 60 - 150 kn, dessert - 30 kn, tea, coffee - 15 kn, liter of house wine - 50 kn, bottle of wine - 80 kn. Dinner for two - 300 - 450 kn (42-70 euros).
Once again, I want to say that if you live in an apartment and the process of preparing food does not spoil your vacation, then you can save significantly on food, at least twice. Croatian markets and shops sell excellent fresh seafood and fish, vegetables and fruits, as well as absolutely everything you need for a nutritious diet.
Prices for some food products in Croatia:
Fish (these prices are for the freshest fish, not frozen): Dorada, Seabass - 50-80 kuna per kg, depending on the size of the fish, the smaller the fish, the cheaper it is. River trout (Pastrva) - 25-35 kn per kg. Navaga (Oslic) - 40-50 kuna per kg.
Meat: Beef 45-60 kuna per kg. Pork 35-60 kuna per kg. Chicken 25-35 kn per kg.
Sausage, ham 80-150 kuna per kg.
Cheese - from 60 kuna per kg. and higher.
Milk - 6 kuna per liter,
cottage cheese 30-40 kn per kg,
yoghurts - 2.5 - 5 kunas per piece,
sour cream 7-9 kn per 250 gr.,
butter 14-20 kn per 250 g.
Eggs - 12-15 kn for 10 pieces.
Flour - 4 kuna per kg
Sugar - 7 kn per kg
Table wine - 20-30 kn, dessert or varietal wines 40-120 kn per bottle 0.75. Croatian beer 5.5 - 8 kn per 0.5 liter.
But I recommend that you go to a restaurant for dinner at least sometimes; it creates an unforgettable atmosphere of a resort vacation.
Traveling around Croatia by car both convenient and pleasant, since Croatia has excellent roads and by car you can visit a lot of interesting and amazing places, not covered by mass excursion tourism, such as, for example, the town of artisans and creative people - Groznjan, whose cozy streets you can see in the photographs for this article.
September 8th, 2010 , 04:52 pm
In preparation for our trip to Croatia, we only had tickets to Pula and a reserved car. We didn’t make any precise plans for a two-week trip, but in the end we drove through the entire country from north to south, covering 3,000 km.
You can view a map of our trip with all the key points here:
When approaching Pula, the plane descends and offers stunning views of the islands and coastline Istria.
Pula airport is small, the two-story Boeing looks like a spaceship here.
We were there during the hottest season, in mid-August. And even so, we didn’t experience any particular problems finding housing. In two weeks we changed 6 places of residence. All of them are spacious and nice apartments in private houses. Almost everything is for rent here. The cost ranges from 30 to 50 euros per day for double apartments.
First we drove towards the city of Rovinj and stopped 3 km short of it in the village of Cokaletto. On houses where tourists are always welcome, there are blue signs with three stars.
The search for available and suitable apartments took about 30 minutes. It cost 35 euros per day.
We didn’t see any scary or wretched housing; everything was very clean and beautiful.
So there are no problems with living in Croatia.
But, in my opinion, there are problems with the beaches. There are very few good ones, mostly all rocky, just concrete, a mixture of sand and stones, a rarity - good pebble ones. To find nice beach you need to know exactly where it is. It is not possible to go down to the water anywhere along the coast.
Therefore, when a good one appears, there is great amount of people. So lovers of the solitary beautiful beaches will be disappointed.
One of the most beautiful and ancient cities on west coast Istria is Rovinj. It is beautiful both day and night.
There are stunning quiet streets, old houses with colorful shutters, between which ropes are stretched and laundry is hung.
In general, you can fall in love with Rovinj. Although there is not a single good beach here :)
Parking in Croatia is not as scary as they say. Yes, sometimes finding free space is not easy. But there are still a lot of parking lots. Parking costs on average from 40 to 80 rubles per hour, depending on the distance from the center. Parking lots are mostly automatic, powered by solar panels. You pour change into them, and the screen shows the time until which you paid. When the time is right, you print out the receipt and place it under the windshield.
The roads are narrow, so small cars are especially popular.
Banks here are not shy about honest and accurate names.
Moving north from Rovinj, we go around the Lima Canal. Those who wish can go down and ride boats along it.
Since Istria was under Italian rule, there are a lot of similarities here. But the further north you go from Rovinj, the more and more new buildings there are in the cities and the smaller the old part of them.
The small town of Vrsar. The beaches are concrete. There is a sea of people.
The main marine inhabitant is the sea urchin. People swim here, both because of it and because of the stones, mostly in rubber slippers.
The next city on our way is Porec. The beaches are the same, there are more new buildings.
Here a Croatian nicknamed Picasso Junior was added to the collection of my project “What Foreigners Know About Russia”. He hasn’t been to Russia, he’s busy lying in wait for unwary tourists and cutting out their profile on paper, of course, then he can’t be refused payment :)
He knows about Russia: big country, beautiful girls, a strong and respected power.
Those with Schengen status can travel to Venice on a boat like this.
The proximity of Italy also affects local catering. The main tourists in these places are Italians. Therefore, there are a lot of pizzerias and Italian restaurants here.
There are not just pictures on the wall, but real-size pizza. If you think that no one orders a 120-centimeter pizza, then in vain, while we were sitting, the waiters brought three of them.
Five of the guys ate it.
In general, Porec is good, but Rovinj is better!
Without particularly straining, we reached Novigrad and Umag. Further north there is the border with Slovenia. Both towns are quiet and calm. It’s good here, but I couldn’t fall in love with them.
Having looked at the entire western coast, we decided to see Pula itself and the resort of Premantura located behind it.
Pula is an old port city, one might say the capital of Istria.
There is an impressive Colosseum built in the first century AD.
Often multi-storey buildings are adjacent to ancient excavations.
In general, there is something to see.
Beyond Pula there are three resorts, one of which is Premantura. By the way, Croatia is a country of camping. There are a lot of places for them and a lot of cars with houses on the roads. Here is one of the largest in Premantura. The beaches are stone, but not so crowded.
And then we realized that we had already seen everything and on the third day of our trip we went to East Coast Istria.
Initially we thought of staying at the Opatija resort. But, having passed it and the next one, Lovran, we stopped in a beautiful quiet place- Medvey.
Looking at the mountains, we chose the most beautiful houses and went to look for housing, which we immediately found. Beautiful apartment with a wonderful sea view, called Konoba Kali. If anyone needs it, here is their website - http://www.konobakali.hr/
As it turned out later, we liked it here the most. I could easily spend a week's vacation here.
There are two beaches in Medway. One is small and unkempt, but still with big amount of people.
The second is the best pebble beach on this coast.
This is how it looks from the sea. Our Konoba Kali is on the hill on the left side. The best way solution to the problem of beach overcrowding - a pedalo, rented for a few hours.
A helicopter from KRK Island flew to this Medveya hotel every day.
The main city in this part of Croatia is Rijeka. This is a large port city where ships are built. We liked it.
This is where the remarkable toll highway begins, which runs across the entire country to the south.
After passing through Rijeka, we went to see the island of KRK. From Rijeka there is a beautiful view of Istria. This is Opatija, followed by Lovran and Medveja.
On the way we came across a cute Italian-style town.
There is a fee to enter the island and there is an airport. As usual, there is plenty of space for camping.
Our path lay to the farthest point of the island, the Bashka resort.
This is, of course, very interesting.
Great wind and stunning sandy beach.
But, alas, there is not even anywhere to put half a towel. I haven't seen so many people for a long time. Except in photographs from Sochi.
We were able to nail ourselves to some wall close to the sea, but we were quickly washed away from there in every sense :)
And the beach, of course, is wonderful.
The best view is from the nearby mountain.
Here is the chapel and cemetery of Baski with this view.
We went from here to the town of Punat in search of a less crowded beach. We found only concrete with shallow water and sand.
The capital of the island, the town of KRK, was not impressive :)
A day later we realized that we had seen everything here too and decided to move on to northern Dalmatia. But more on that in the next part!
Vacation! Where to conduct it is in most cases determined, if not by desire, then by financial capabilities. But how to carry it out is up to everyone. But if you happen to go to a country you’ve never been to, then you definitely need to see how it lives, what it breathes, and what’s going on on its roads. So, we are exploring the resort Croatia by car.
By a strange coincidence of random and non-random life circumstances, it was the countries of the former Yugoslavia that your humble servant managed to travel far and wide, and more than once. Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and even Slovenia amazingly revealed their beauty and originality the more often they were visited. And this was largely due to the car, which was able to go places where no plane flies and no tourist bus can take you.
How to get from Russia directly to Montenegro by car -.
As always, every rule has an exception. This is such a pearl Adriatic coast, like Croatia, for some reason hid, hid, dodged my attention, but, in the end, gave up - “Dobro došli u Hrvatsku”!
First of all, it’s worth saying that you can get from Russia to Croatia different ways, including directly by car. Since we have similar experience behind us, it is worth warning that the path ahead is long and difficult - at least three thousand kilometers and three to four days of travel in one direction.
And although such a trip gives simply a huge amount of impressions and is rich in events, we can only recommend it to true adventure lovers. And as practice has shown, due to the cost of fuel in Europe, financially this method is not particularly more profitable than a trip with a plane ticket. So, let's fly!
To visit Croatia, Russian citizens require a national visa, which must be issued in advance. The country is a member of the EU, but is not part of the Schengen or European zones. Therefore, with a Croatian visa you cannot enter other countries of the European Agreement, however, with an already open “multischengen”, additional entry permits are not required. There are no restrictions on the use of Russian driver's licenses in Croatia.
The territory of modern Croatia (especially the Adriatic coast) has the oldest and rich history, dating back to the third millennium BC. Who hasn't left their mark here! The country managed to witness the flourishing and power of Ancient Greece, the Roman and Byzantine empires, having visited different time their colony, as well as go through all the stages of medieval European strife.
Despite this, Croatia is overwhelmingly inhabited by Slavs, who first began to develop these lands back in the seventh century AD. Perhaps it is for this reason that our compatriots so love to go on vacation to visit their fraternal people.
One of the signs of this ethnographic relationship is the national language, which, in general, is spoken in all Balkan countries. And although, written in Latin, it may seem alien and incomprehensible to Russians, in fact, in the Croatian and Russian languages there are many words with the same root and similar meaning. Thanks to this, even in remote areas resort areas regions, it is almost always possible to explain yourself and understand at least the meaning of what is being asked or answered.
The national currency is the Croatian kuna (HRK). Roughly equal to six Russian rubles or a little more than one sixth of the euro at the exchange rate at the end of May 2014. However, throughout tourist area In Croatia, they accept euros for payment without any problems, not to mention credit cards.
But let's get back to cars. As you might guess, renting a car in a tourist country is easy. Companies providing this service are a dime a dozen. If you want, book a car in advance via the Internet with a meeting right at the airport; if you want, pick it up upon arrival at the same airport or at the hotel. Moreover, you can rent a scooter or even an ATV. We only note that early booking is noticeably more profitable - prices in hotel offices are quite high.
The minimum cost for which you can rent a car is about 20-25 euros per day. Prices for convertibles start on average from 50-60 euros. However, during the peak summer season, prices double or triple!
From our point of view, the optimal car for Croatia is a compact hatchback with a diesel engine. Having a good supply of torque, the engine easily goes uphill along numerous serpentines, while consuming a minimum of fuel. And its compact dimensions will allow you to squeeze into narrow streets and tight parking lots of resort towns.
Traditionally, there are three resort areas in Croatia: the coast of the Kvarner Bay, Istria and Dolmatia. We will focus on getting to know the latter.
The capital of this region and the second largest after Zagreb is beautiful city Split. If you are going to actively travel around Dolmatia, this particular locality should be considered as starting point, since Split has an extremely advantageous location, being the center of the intersection of main roads and routes diverging throughout the country.
From here you can easily reach southern Dubrovnik, northern Zadar, and Zagreb, the capital of the country, via the A1 highway. In addition, ferries run from Split to numerous inhabited islands, where there is also something to see.
The quality of roads in Croatia is excellent in most cases. In remote areas, of course, there are subdivided areas. However, even such rare islands of potholes do not cause the need to sharply brake or urgently move to the side. A separate story is serpentines. Of all the Balkan countries in Croatia, they are the most well-groomed and wide, although breakers on the side of the cliff are also rare - be careful.
And compared to its neighbors, Croatia has the most disciplined drivers. In Serbia and Montenegro local residents on mountain roads sometimes they drive as if they have several lives left.
Police are rare on Croatian roads, but there is no need to relax. When necessary, it can appear as if out of the ground. I must say that the locals have strict rules traffic do not comply, but adhere to the minimum error, because fines can reach several hundred euros.
The responsibility of Croatian drivers is such that it allows the use of fairly flexible restrictions on the amount of alcohol consumed. However, under 24 years of age you cannot drink and drive – strictly 0.00 ppm. But after reaching this age - up to 0.5 ppm, which allowed the author of this text to safely drink a couple of glasses of red wine at lunch.
Like any Mediterranean country, Croatia is famous for its wine production. Even ordinary table wine has a good taste. However, the average cost of inexpensive wine is higher than in Germany or France - about 10 euros in a store. Mass produced, but considered higher quality wines reach 20-30 euros per bottle. By the way, if you are going to export wine from Croatia, buy it in advance in local stores and check it in your luggage. IN Duty Free the same wine is one and a half times more expensive.
Croatian cuisine, along with others, cannot but please Balkan countries. It’s interesting that both fish and meat are excellently prepared here, in all types! Therefore, ideally, order both at dinner to try everything.
Keep in mind that Slavic generosity allows you to order one dish for two - the portions are very large, not counting the fact that almost every main dish comes with a traditional side dish - a plate of boiled potatoes with spinach. However, the cost is appropriate: for example, a tray of hot seafood will cost 60-70 euros for two.
It is pointless to describe the beauty of old Split, headed by the main attraction - Diocletian's Palace built in 305 AD - it must be seen, studied, listened to and admired. Let's put it this way: the ancient Roman city will allow you to plunge headlong into its 1,700-year history and stay here for a few days before moving on.
And then I recommend going to the city of Trogir, located 30 kilometers from Split. It is, of course, not so large-scale and impressive, but with its comfort and historical diversity it is worthy of spending at least a day here.
In the intertwining narrow streets of the Old Town you can see both Roman heritage and Venetian architecture. And also - listen to folk songs of local talents performing works exclusively a cappella.
Of course, you need to visit one of the many islands that literally cover the entire coastline. Interestingly, local residents essentially use them as summer cottages, which they get to every season either on their own sailboats or yachts, or on ferries.
But there is also large islands, where there are quite large settlements with permanent residents. One such place is the island of Hvar. You can get there by ferry from Split.
Keep in mind that after studying the departure schedule and choosing a convenient time, it is better to arrive about half an hour before. Since space on the ferry is limited, and the queue is long summer season may turn out to be quite big. You will have to pay separately for the car and separately for each passenger. The total cost of tickets from Split to the Old Town, located on the west coast of the island of Hvar, for a car and two people will be 304 kuna or about 40 euros one way. Travel time will be about three hours.
Let’s say right away that for those who don’t really like sailing on ships, you can get to the island or return to the mainland with east side islands. From the island village of Sucuraj to the town of Drvenik it is less than an hour by ferry. By the way, in the huge and comfortable cabin of the ferry, not only do you not feel any rocking at all, but you can also easily sleep, have a drink or snack, or play something.
You can safely stay on the island for a couple of days, fortunately there are hotels here too. The main attraction of Hvar is the majestic fortress Fortitsa (construction began in 1282) - the main defensive structure of the surrounding areas. From here you can enjoy magnificent views of the Adriatic, and the atmosphere of the fortress immerses you in the era of medieval naval battles.
On the way to the east of the island, you should not pass by the so-called eco-farm, but in fact - just an ordinary village farm, where you will be fed with locally grown and prepared products. Don’t refuse a glass of homemade schnapps – it’s very good!
The farm will be especially interesting to those involved in agriculture in Russia. For example, seeing tomatoes growing outside a greenhouse, instead of an apple orchard - an olive and grape orchard, a chicken coop under open air and southern varieties of vegetables are very unusual. Eh, the climate allows it.
A typical “vehicle fleet” of local peasants: a small tractor for rural work, a minibus for all family members, which, if necessary, acts as a truck, and, although old, a ceremonial car to the capital. As they say, for all occasions.
You can finish your trip around the island in the fishing village of Suchurai on the eastern edge of the island (80 km from the western one). While waiting for the ferry, you should definitely try the freshest fish and seafood in almost home-style restaurants and talk about life with the local fishermen, who make up the main population of the town.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to stay longer in Croatia. But I really wanted to! There was still so much left unattended that I was seriously thinking about spending a couple of weeks of vacation here someday. Without any discounts, Croatia is the pearl of the Balkans.
The most beautiful, most interesting and most versatile country, if you compare it, for example, with Adriatic Montenegro and Slovenia or mainland Serbia. But also the most expensive of them. Average prices for tours, as well as prices in the country itself, are one and a half times higher than in Montenegro... True, it’s worth it!
We are planning to visit Croatia in the summer. 2 adults + 2 children (7 and 4 years). I really want not only a beach holiday, but also to travel around the country at least a little. That's why Central Dalmatia with its coastal villages there is no need, as I understand it, it’s more difficult to get out from there. The children are small, we don’t plan to take a car, all travel is public. transport. It’s clear that we won’t go far, but still... We came up with three routes. Criticize, advise something, please!!!
1. We are based on the island. Ciovo, from there to Trogir, Split, Plitvice Lakes (overnight there).
2. We fly to Pula, there for 1 day, then we live for a week in Rovinj, from there to the island of Krk, Plitvice Lakes (with an overnight stay). Then we move to Medulin (friends seem to have an apartment there) and sit by the sea.
3. We live on the island. Korcula, we explore the nearest islands, Dubrovnik.
Travel time - second half of June - early July, 2 or 3 weeks, haven’t decided yet, we rent apartments everywhere, cook mostly ourselves, a relatively gentle descent into the water is important for children.
podarka,
I'm for the second option.)
Rovinj - unforgettable city, Croatian Venice, the most romantic city in the country.) I published several photos here.
Krk is the most large island Croatia. Look at the capital too - ancient city Krk. Famous beach Baska - 1.5 km of sand and pebbles.) 20 minutes by car to Rijeka (you will go by bus if you do not plan to rent a car). Beautiful Kvarner. You can ride one day to Opatija.)
In my opinion, a rich program.)
Now I'll criticize everything... :)
As I understand it, the main thing is here:
The children are small, we don’t plan to take a car, all travel is public. transport. It’s clear that we won’t go far, but still..
In my opinion, not a single option is suitable... And you need to take into account that without a car you will have to walk a lot... :)
Oddly enough, but maybe the best option- Korcula... But, in order...
1. This is a good option if you are flying to Split. You can go to: Trogir itself, Split, Omis, Sibenik, Krka waterfalls. Plitvica is also possible, but with children it is quite tiring. If you are used to a long journey of 4-6 hours, then you can... You can go to the same islands (Brac, Hvar, Korcula) by ferry from Split... Ciovo is good, but to travel you will first have to take a bus to the bus station get there, then go somewhere, and also return... It will take the whole day...
2. My beloved Istria - wonderful! :)And there is something to see - Pula, Rovinj, Porec, Pazin... Plus medieval towns of inland Istria...
Problems: From Pula and Rovinj it is not a problem to get to Pazin, Rovnia, Porec... To the cities of inland Istria - Groznjan, Motovun, Buzet, etc. You won’t be able to get there by bus anymore... Either by car or excursions (I can help with organizing individual ones). The same goes for Krk and Plitvice... To Krk there is a bus from Pula with a transfer in Rijeka. To Plitvice from Pula with a transfer in Karlovac...
Those. problems in transport, everything else is good...
3. It’s relatively difficult to get to Korcula... Most likely you should fly to Dubrovnik, or maybe to Split... You can’t really get away from the islands, but they themselves are worthy of interest.
If you are based near the city of Korcula itself, then you can see the city itself, be sure to visit Moreshka, go to the other end of the island in Vela Luka (from there you can take a ferry to Split), and the neighboring islands - Hvar and Mljet. Again, getting to Dubrovnik by ferry is not a problem... The only thing is that I was looking for a place in Korcula... The beaches there, frankly speaking, are not very good... I mean, there are stones everywhere... There are suitable ones in the Vela Luka area, but then from the city. Korcula is far away... And about bus service on the island I don't know. I think it is there, but not too busy...
Now try to choose an option... :)
Now I'll criticize everything... :)
Yeah... Thanks for the reasoned answer. Maybe you can recommend some other route? How much can an individual excursion to Krk from Rovinj cost, for example? to Plitvice? Now that I have seen (even on the Internet) such beauties of Croatia, I cannot just sit there by the sea and not see anything. Children are small, of course... But they love to travel.
Maybe you can recommend some other route?
My words about criticism should not be taken literally... :) Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages, and I tried to analyze them... A matter of choice...
How much can an individual excursion to Krk from Rovinj cost, for example? to Plitvice?
I won’t tell you the exact prices, I can only give a tip... But, to Plitvice from Rovinj in the region of 300-350 euros...
This is an individual car... Considering that by bus it costs around 80-90 euros/person, not so much... On Krk it is somewhat cheaper, of course... It’s still about 330 km to Plitvice from Rovinj...
Is this an excursion or a transfer? We probably just need a transfer. We would spend the night there. Don’t know if it’s possible to find accommodation for 1 night locally? Or do I also need to book in advance?
We have no desire to see everything, but in a quiet mode at least something... But we really want to go to Plitvice...
Excursion...
Don’t know if it’s possible to find accommodation for 1 night locally?
Really... It's a matter of price...
We have no desire to see everything, but in a quiet mode at least something... But we really want to go to Plitvice...
Understand... :)
Despite my love for Istria, it’s still more convenient to get to Plitvice on your own from the Sibenik-Zadar region... Or on the way to the coast from Zagreb...
What to expect?
In terms of spending the night in Plitvice? Everything is different, depending on the proximity to the park and other incoming... In principle, from 15 euros / person to 50-60 euros for an apartment, sometimes this includes breakfast... There, as at the sea, there is something in every house for rent, + there are several hotels.
Why do you need an individual excursion to Plitvice?...
Take the descriptions of Plitvice, a map, look a little... Ask a few questions here... And off you go!...)
Take a car in Rovinj... In the morning you leave at 6 am... we'll tell you the route... Along the way, 2-4 km from Plitvice, you will rent accommodation - if you really want... There will be banners on the houses... The further you get from Plitvice , the cheaper the housing...
If you’ve walked around Plitvice and don’t want to stay, you can return home the same day by a different route...))
Going by car yourself is undoubtedly cheaper and more convenient... If you leave at 6-7 in the morning, then you can slowly do it in one day. A couple more interesting places On the way, visit, for example, Rastoke in the town of Slunj and the castle of Nehaj or Bosilvo...
Excursions are only for horseless people, because public transport difficult...
It’s still more convenient to get to Plitvice on your own from the Sibenik-Zadar region.
Also from this area it is convenient to Trogir, Split and the Krka waterfalls. These waterfalls can be seen as similar to Plitvica.
It’s better to go to Plitvice, especially with children, for a couple of days, or maybe more. There are hotels at the very entrance to the lakes. You can reserve your seats there in advance. Locals are quite active in renting out rooms, but the closer you are to the entrance to the lakes, the less chance you have of finding vacancies during the season. Therefore, it is better to book in advance.
In summer, it is best to go to the lakes early in the morning or late afternoon, because... During the day on a sunny day it is a bit hot in the basin. And there are a lot of people, which gets in the way. Don't pay much attention to the fact that the routes are quite long and over rough terrain. The landscapes are so beautiful and change so often that fatigue does not accumulate. Moreover, if you don’t have to rush to leave at a certain time.
There is no point in taking excursions to Plitvice - it’s like going to a park with a guide. It's clean natural object, which should be considered at a pace convenient for you, and not adapt to someone else’s uncle/aunt. And information about Plitvice fits into a dozen sentences.
Such a transfer is of course beneficial for tourists, but I don’t know of a single such case... But a taxi will simply be expensive, and hardly anyone will go...
In Korcula, everything is not so bad with the beaches, but they are small, in coves and there are quite a few of them... The coast is not like Makarska... rocky and rather steep. In some places there are ladders, in others there are small platforms, and in the coves there are pebbles. It’s just that if there is a bay and a village, then almost the entire bay is occupied with berths for boats, and if the bay is free, then the housing is a bit far away...
I'll criticize you a little:
3. Korcula. The place is super, but for you (for us) it can’t be worse.
You only need to fly through Dubrovnik. There is no need to go through Split - it will be a lot of headaches to get there - it is very expensive by taxi, plus you still need to get to some kind of ferry - the end result will be that the arrival time will not coincide - and you will also have to spend the night somewhere along the way there and back. The ferry from Split takes a long time, check me out, study the schedule - but all this is an incredible burden - these ferries.
From Dubrovnik there is also an expensive and relatively short transfer via Orebrich (a town on Peljesac opposite Korcula) - there are options by rocket from Dubrovnik to Korcula, but again everything will depend on the arrival.
My advice to you is to forget about Korcula, take pity on yourself and your children.
If you do go to Korcula, you will fall into a trap. You won't get anywhere from there in one day - check the ferry schedule.
Even going to Dubrovnik in one day is problematic - it was discussed a lot last year - you can search for it using the word “Korčula”.
There's just beach holiday. It is very popular there among naturists - to live in the city and go boating on dalmatian islands(which have spots on dogs) - this is the place for them. You will get tired of the charming, breathtaking Korcula on the third day - because it is a hundred steps from north to south and also from west to east.