Seven whirlwind days full of activities, food, and cities could fill up multiple pages while I tried to describe Croatia. Instead, I thought it would be fun to share some of the core memories I made on the trip. A quick overview of the trip takes us from a flight to London, on to Dubrovnik, then a drive across the border into Montenegro. After two days in Kotor, Montenegro, we drove back across to Omis and continued to be in a new city each day following. The cities were Omis, Split, and Dubrovnik. We were jammed packed each day, but here are a few of the special moments in no particular order:
Diocletian's Palace
Split, Croatia, is a huge bustling city so we only got to explore the old town section. Our AirBNB was perched on the third floor of one of the many buildings packed into the ancient streets, giving us the perfect home-base to explore the lively town. While I have heaps of memories of the many gelatos, tiny book stores, underground artist shows, candlelit dinners, and more, the one crystalized in my heart is our evening at Diocletian's Palace.
The sun had set, lights illuminated the main marble square with white columns framing the sky, and live music drew Connor and I in. We sat in a nook against one of the pillars above the square to watch and listen to music as the evening settled in. As the crowd accumulated, the man singing and playing the guitar started up an iconic song. He sang Yellow by Coldplay! The best part was when a child ran across the square to his father who lifted him into the air during the song; it was one of those real life movie moments.
Then it got even better when the musician started into Hey Jude by the Beatles. The crowd quietly joined in on the lyrics while an older couple danced in the middle of the square. After the moment passed, everyone clapped softly as the couple laughed and returned to their friends. I could not stop smiling as we wound our way back to our cozy apartment.
Pomegranate Juice and the Ladder
You may be thinking, pomegranate juice? But buckle up because this story is a doozy, or at least the experience was for me and Connor. We started off the morning with a bright breakfast of eggs and crepes and headed up to the fortress of San Giovanni. You climb the well kept trail overlooking the bay to a crumbling stone castle where we explored the ruins for a little. Then we went through the secret-not-so-secret window with an old ladder on the other side leading to a small foot path. This connects to the Ladder of Kotor trail which we had researched months prior. We knew there were over 70 switch backs and an obvious elevation gain, but what we didn't know was that we would accidentally pass the lookout point and spend the next seven hours hiking the whole mountain. Once we reached the summit in our confusion, rain started coming down so we sought out shelter in this traditional restaurant Konoba Krstac. It felt very much meant to be since we were dehydrated, hungry and wet from the adventure so far. We got coffee and soup which gave us the strength to hike back down the whole mountain once the rain let up.
However, on the way down, there was a stop I had been looking forward to the whole day. It was this tiny outdoor restaurant with pomegranate juice, cheese, and liquor. I saw the sign earlier in the day and knew that if I could make it back, I would enjoy a glass of juice while knowing that I survived the trail. That juice kept my spirits and motivation up for most of the hike. The place is called the Cheese Shop and it is a must visit spot on the trail, overlooking the whole bay with a humorous owner and a bunch of goats.
Needless to say, Connor and I did survive, but I'm including a map of what we were supposed to hike versus what we ended up hiking. It has come to be an extremely memorable part of the adventure for us.
Octopus Dishes
We experienced a predominately Mediterranean and Dalmatian cuisine as we went from city to city, but I have to say my favorite staple was the octopus salad and grilled octopus. I could eat these every day, and pretty much did when we were there. It was prepared a variety of ways, but my favorite was at Galion Restoran, an exquisite restaurant in Kotor along the water. All of the food was delicious, but their grilled octopus with the black olive crisp was incredible. Definitely a highlight dinner! I wish I had gotten a picture of the dish, but it was so amazing that I spaced on snapping a picture. Overall, the food was 10/10 during the whole trip. We had scrumptious pizza, prosciutto, fish, soups, gelato and desserts. I can send recommendations for dining options if you are interested, just let me know!
Cetina River
Another adjusted adventure was when we visited Omis. Omis is a stunning town at the entrance of the Cetina River where it flows into the Adriatic Sea. There are activities galore from zip lining, to canyoning, to white water rafting, to ocean boat rides, and more. We picked our activity of choice months in advance, kayaking the Cetina River. Much to our surprise when we drove into town, the kayak shop had closed early that day, and we were so bummed since we had been looking forward to this for months. I thought maybe if we walked up the river, we would find another kayaking company, but no luck there either. What we did find was a motorboat rental shop with a young man cleaning the boats outside. He said we could rent one with permission from his dad, so once we spoke to his father, we were all set! The young man explained the basics and off we went. No paperwork for the rental or maps of the river, just took off upstream!
The stone canyon walls were massive and carved out by the smooth green water of the Cetina. Connor and I could've boated on the river for hours. The memory of being on the Cetina River during a beautiful glimmering day, just Connor and I zipping along in a little motorboat, is definitely a moment I hope to never forget. Getting to do that was so special.
Cliff Jumping into the Adriatic Sea
This trip just kept giving us these moments where time slowed down and we were suspended in a bubble of life. Cliff jumping into the Adriatic Sea was an unforgettable experience. To give a little background first, we were in Dubrovnik at this point. This was our second to last day in Croatia, and we stayed in the walled city which was an incredible experience in and of itself with thousands of people, shops, alley ways, clothing lines, cats, stairs, and life.
Once we had drug our suitcases across a few cobblestone squares, we found our room in an old historic building tucked away in one of the millions of stoned allyways. Shortly after, we headed out into the bustle and stumbled upon the entrance to the city walls. We had also planned this months in advance, so we were excited to walk along the 80 foot tall walls. I had a blast from beginning to end.
What I loved most about it was getting to look into the city to see all the small slices of life I wouldn't have been able to see on the cobblestones. A couple of my favorite were hidden vineyards, quiet churches, rooftop dinners, and a hidden basketball court. I could've stared into the city for days just soaking it all in.
Towards the end of the loop, we saw a group of people peering over the ledge of the wall. Of course we followed suit and saw a lively bar clinging to the rocks with a popular cliff jumping spot right below.
This hidden bar is actually the famous Buža Bar balanced on the rocks outside the walls.
With the combination of two once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, bar on a cliff and cliff jumping into an ocean, I immediately said to Connor, "We could do that!" which he responded to, "Yeah, we probably could!" Next thing you know, we hike back to the car outside the city to get our swim suits, hike back, and start the search. We walk around the walls until we see this hole where music is floating through. There weren't any signs, but when I saw people clad in swim suits walk through, I knew we found the spot. As soon as you walk through the hole, you are on a rocky cliff front with a breathtaking view of the Adriatic Sea and Lokrum Island.
Then you follow the stairs down into the party! The bar is busy and casual with upbeat music, but we made our way through the crowd to the cliffs.
We found a perch on a couple rocks where we could watch the jumpers. After a few went, Connor offered to go first. He climbed up to the jump spot and with no hesitation, took a running start and jumped into the sea. He went so quick I almost didn't get a video of his jump.
Then it was my turn, and I wasn't scared until I stood up on the rock to jump and only saw water. I've never jumped from something where I looked out and only saw deep blue water. My legs almost gave out, and they shook so bad I didn't think I could jump. But, I was the one who made us hike 30 minutes to the car and back to get the swim suits, so I took a breath and jumped! An adrenaline filled second or two later, I was welcomed by the warm sea.
I could've swam in the sea for hours, but my nose piercing sliced the inside of my nose so bleeding into the ocean didn't seem smart. It wasn't painful, just a lot of blood.
When I pulled myself out of the water, the group waiting cheered and smiled until they saw the blood. The look of panic was honestly hilarious. They were so worried and grabbed tissues before I could explain it was my piercing. Once the confusion died down, I got back up the rocks to Connor and we headed to the bar. We grabbed drinks and a table on the edge of the rocks and watched the sun set while the crowd partied. The view on the cliffs between the sea and the stone was perfect.
There are countless memories and moments from this trip that I could share such as walking through Hyde Park in London, exploring Krka National Park, 10 hour flights, delicious dinners, and more. However, there are also more memories to write about in the future so I will leave you with my core Croatia memories. The one bit of advice I will leave for you as well is to make Croatia at least a two week trip. One week between London, Montenegro, and Croatia was difficult, and I would do a two week minimum trip length if I did it again. Stay tuned on more trips to come!
