Our perfect Split-Dubrovnik round trip itinerary
Its already been 3 months since the last big overseas trip! We escaped for a week to sunny Croatia with Ange & Geoff - a fantastic trip and if I had to do it again, I'd do it the same way! In fact, its such a special place that it deserves a more complete entry on my blog :)
Highlights:
- Korcula: our host Tony, his cooking, cruising on the little motorised boat
- Amazing views from the old fort 'off the beaten track' overlooking Dubrovnik
- All the dinners, especially seafood platter with whole grilled fish
- Regular coffee fix (Geoff lurves his coffee!)
- Catching hayfever on the first day; dusty sheets at apartment in Korcula
- Dodgy Split apartment
Day 1: Seafood splendour!
Arrival and lunch in Split, then on the ferry to Korcula via Havar.
After settling into Apartment Val, we ventured to Lombarda for dinner at More. First highlight of the trip was getting a taste of what's in store for the rest of the week....delicious seafood platter with whole flame grilled fish! Mmmm...highly recommended.
Day 2: The perfect day
Set off exploring Korcula, cycling for Alex & I and by scooter for Ange & Geoff. Such a great way to see it (except for those damn uphills!!). Korcula is such a cute little town, and fantastic at that time of year without many tourists.
Headed back to the apartment in the afternoon where our fabulous host, Tony had prepared his little motorised boat ready for us to explore the nearby islands. We ventured to an island with an abandoned monastery and were welcomed by deers - luckily Tony had packed us with some bread to feed them. Then off to explore some other little islands which we enjoyed all to ourselves. Ahh...it was heaven!
To top off the day, we returned for Tony's delicious Croatian stew on the patio overlooking the bay. We felt so lucky to be here and that we truly stumbled on a jewel...it was such a special experience. Ange did a fab job at finding this place out of town. Had we opted to stay at a hotel, the experience would not have been the same. (The only drawback back was all of us getting allergies from the dusty sheets, being the first ones to stay there in the season).
Day 3: Dubrovnik & Lokrum Island
An early rise to catch the bus from to Dubrovnik. We stayed within the amazingly well-kept roman walls in the old town of Dubrovnik. What a contrast to peaceful Korcula, but loved it. We managed to fit in a ferry ride to Lokrum island and spent a couple of hours exploring it. Not a must see after Korcula, but couldn't go to Dubrovnik and not check out an island. We finished the day with yummy muscles at a place in the square just outside our apartment.
Day 4: Wall walk & Lapad
Walking along the walls with an audio guide is a must do for any traveller to Dubrovnik. Its such a cool experience, taking in the magnificent views and all the history!
We then hopped on a local bus to Lapad, just to see what life was like outside the walls. The town itself was nothing to write home about, but the coastal walk back towards the old town was surely something.
Back in the old town, we had a few drinks at a little bar in a hole in the wall known for the sunsets views. Another special little place to spend the evening, although the sunset wasn't too good at this position during this time of year. Dinner was at the old convent near the entrance to the old town.
Day 5: Cavtat
Went on another half day trip on the local bus to the next town, Cavtat. Stopped for coffee and checked out the views of the little harbour. Would be a cool place to be based (much better than Lapad) and catching the ferry into old town of Dubrovnik would have been pretty cool. We always looked forward to dinner, this time it was at a restuarant overlooking the old harbour near Placa gate....ahhh, another deliciously satisfying meal!
Day 6: The Dalmatian Coast
Picked up our car and made one last stop before leaving Dubrovnik - drove up the steep cliff to the 'cross' on the hills. We discovered an old dilapidated fort, which Alex disappeared into and Geoff followed suit. It looked a bit freaky but Alex insisted we follow and when I did, was I sure greeted with a sight to remember! It took us to a spectacular birds eye view of Dubrovnik! It felt so refreshing that we had stumbled across another best kept secret. I would not be surprised to come back in 5-10 years time and find that someone has made a bucket load of money renovating and turning this into some kind of restuarant or big tourist attraction. But for now, it was ours to enjoy! We then walked to check out the cross and an old cable car station that was bombed during the Bosnian war.
Left Dubrovnik satisfied that we had seen the best of it. The drive up to Split was pretty cool, passing through the Bosnian border and back into Croatia again along the way.
But of course things can't always be perfect. We found ourselves checking into a dingey old apartment, that looked nothing like the photos online. It was full of things and felt like an old lady's house who was away for the weekend. It felt so unconfortable, we worked up a plan to check out first thing in the morning and having seen enough of Split, decided to change plans and drive up to Trogir for the last 2 nights.
Day 7: Trogir
Breakfast in Split and fit in a short guided tour in the morning including the flower show in the palace basement.
Then drove up to Trogir, an quaint old medieval town. We were so relieved to be out of Split. After seeing what we did of Croatia so far, Split wasn't really for us. Just a big city, worth stopping by for a day. Trogir however, was lovely and did not disappoint.
Day 8: Krka National Park
Krka National Park was another highlight. The only disppointment was that we missed the last round trip ferry around the monastery island. So we drove in search for a look-out with views of the island, and found ourselves fishing with some friendly locals...another special spot. One local in particular had a liking to Ange :P
We enjoyed our final day delicious Croatian meal in celebration of Geoff's birthday in Trogir, thinking how sad we were to be heading home the next morning...
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