Croatia is most famous as a summer destination, with its coast bathed by the Adriatic's amazing blue waters. It's also known for its medieval cities, with walled old towns dated from the Middle Age.
But Croatia has many other attractions, for every type of tourist. In an area of approximately just sixth thousand square meters, you can find a rich history, a thriving nature, modern and ancient architecture, art, museums, tasty food and a kind people. Due to its relatively small area, it is possible to experience all of that in a short amount of time.
In our trip we went, by bus and boat, from the capital Zagreb, on the north, to the city of Dubrovnik, on the south, making stops on other cities along the way.
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☆ Zagreb
Art Pavilion
Arrival and Day 1
We reached the Croatia's capital Zagreb by plane, coming from Rome. We arrived later at night and on the next day, in the afternoon, we had to catch a bus to Plitvice Lakes, our main destination on the country. So, having only half a day to explore the city, we went to see the main attractions near the hotel we were hosted.
Adjacent to our hotel was the King Tomislav Square, where there are the Fontana kralja Tomislava and the Art Pavilion.
Fontana kralja Tomislava
Then, we headed to Ban Jelačić Square, the city's main square, where there is a statue in homage to Josip Jelačić, a Croatia's national hero.
Jelačić Square
The city is divided in Lower Town and Upper Town, the former being the newer and the latter the older, where there are the historical buildings. There is a funicular, the shortest in the world, connecting the two parts.
Zagreb's Funicular
In the Old Town we saw the city's two main churches, the St. Mark's Church and the Zagreb's Cathedral.
St. Mark's Church
Along the way
Zagreb's Cathedral
Going back to the hotel, we passed in front of the Croatian National Theater and the Museum of Arts and Crafts and crossed the Botanic Garden.
Croatian National Theater in Zagreb
Museum of Arts and Crafts
Botanic Garden
Zagreb is a very interesting city, with many other historical buildings, museums and cafes, which unfortunately we hadn't time to visit. A curiosity is its public transportation, with all the buses, trams and even the funicular in the color blue.
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☆ Plitvice Lakes National Park
Sastavci Slap, Lower Lakes
Days 2 - 4
After a short one night stay at Zagreb, we went to our main destination in Croatia, the Plitvice Lakes National Park, one of the top places in our bucket list. We reserved three full days for it, to deal with any unforeseen events, like rain, and to have plenty of time to explore the park. This became a right decision, because the weather was cloudy and rainy on the first two days and although this doesn't prevented us of visit the park it weren't an ideal condition.
Walkway on Lower Lakes, first day
Galovački Buk, Upper Lakes, first day
Lower Lakes, second day
Gavanovac Jezero, Lower Lakes, second day
But in the third day the clouds gone away and we were able to see the park in all its splendor
Lower Lakes, third day
Slapovi Milke Krnine, Lower Lakes, third day
Prošćansco Jezero, Upper Lakes, third day
Lakes Milanovac and Gavanovac, Lower Lakes, third day
Upper Lakes, third day
Gradinsko Jezero, Upper Lakes, third day
Jezero Gavanovac, Lower Lakes, third day
Jezero Kozjak, Upper Lakes, third day
Lower Lakes, third day
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☆ Zadar
Zadar city
Day 5
Our next destination in Croatia was the city of Šibenik but we decided to make a half way stop in Zadar, where we had our first sight of the Adriatic Sea.
We left our luggages at the bus station and went to spend an afternoon in the old town.
St. Mary's Church, Old Town
Sea Gate, Old Town
Near the old town is one of the main attractions of the city, the Sea Organ, a very interesting stepped structure that "plays music" as the sea water waves enter on it.
Sea Organ
They say that Zadar has the most beautiful sunset in the world, but unfortunately we couldn't see if this is true, as we had to take another bus to Šibenik at the end of afternoon.
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☆ Šibenik
Šibenik cityscape
Days 5 - 7
We chose Šibenik as base to visit Krka National Park, but the city was a grateful surprise. It is not so crowded as other touristic cities and have a charming old town, with a magnificent cathedral, the Cathedral of St. James.
Cathedral of St. James, Old Tow
The Old Town has many alleys and it is particularly pleasant to wander through them at night.
An alley in Old Town
It has also four fortresses: Barone, St. John, St. Michael and St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas Fortress
This fortrees is the only one that is not inside the city, being located on the islet of Ljuljevac, currently accessible only by boat through the St. Anthony Channel.
Arriving at St. Nicholas Fortress
Interior of St. Nicholas Fortress
The fortresses is very interesting and the boat ride is very pleasant, as the channel is beautiful and you have awesome views of the city at the return.
Returning to the city through the St. Anthony Channel
This short trip lasts about 2 hours and is a highly recommended tour when visiting Šibenik.
Krka National Park
This park is cut by the Krka River and is located at less than 20 minutes by bus from the centre of Šibenik. There are two main entrances reached by bus, one on the city of Lozovac and the other on Skradin. From Lozovac, you get a bus inside the park to Skradinsk Buk, the main waterfall of the park, and where all the park infrastructure is located. But we chose Skradin, because from there you take a boat ride through the Krka River to Skradinsk Buk, which is an attraction on itself.
Krka River
Different from Plitvice Lakes, where swimming is forbidden, in Krka there is an area near the main waterfall where visitors are allowed to do it.
The main waterfall of Skradinski Buk, where visitors can swim
Another waterfall of Skradinski Buk on the Krka River
From Skradinsk Buk you can take a boat ride to Visovac Island, a small island on Krka River, where is located the Visovac Monastery. The ride takes about 2 hours with 30 minutes to explore the island.
Visovac Island on Krka River, where is located the Visovac Monastery
Krka is not as beautiful as Plitive Lakes, but is a nice place to spend a day. For those who practice hiking, there is also many trails in the park, with beautiful views from the Krka River's canyons.
Skradin
After leave the park we had some time to explore the city of Skradin before catch the bus to return to Šibenik.
Old Town
Skradin is a very small city, but is really charming and worths a short walking around when visiting Krka National Park.
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☆ Split
Split cityscape from the sea
Day 8
After leave Šibenik our next stop was on Split, for a short one night stay only to catch, on the next morning, a fast ferry to Dubrovnik, the last destination on our trip to Croatia. The city main attraction is the Diocletian's Palace, built for the Roman emperor Diocletian, and forming about half the old town nowadays. It is one of the most preserved structures of the Roman empire.
Diocletian's Palace
One other main attraction is the Riva, a long promenade along the shore and home of many restaurants, bars and cafes, being the heart of city's night life.
Riva
Split is the biggest city in Croatia after the capital Zagreb and is a good destination for those who enjoy buzzy cities and night life.
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☆ Dubrovnik
Pile Gate
Day 9
We arrived at our last stop, the walled medieval town of Dubrovnik, in the afternoon. We entered through Pile Gate and after we left our luggages on our accommodation and have a short walk on the old town streets we took the cable car to Srđ Hill from where it is possible see the entire city and the Adriatic Sea.
Dubrovnik Cable Car, Srđ Hill
It is really a breathtaking view!
View of the Adriatic Sea near sunset from Srđ Hill
Back to Old Town, we spent the night wandering through its streets and alleys, specially Stradun, the amazing main street paved entirely with marble.
Stradun
Day 10
We had a rainy weather on our second day in Dubrovnik, so we decided to do some "indoors" activities. On the morning we visited the Lovrijenac Fortress, which is adjacent to the walled town, over a very steep hill. It is a must visit attraction, as the fortress interior is very interesting and from there it is possible to have an awesome view of the walled town and the Adriatic.
Lovrijenac Fortress
Interior of Lovrijenac Fortress
Walled Old Town seen from Lovrijenac Fortress
In the afternoon we visited the Rector's Palace, where there are exhibitions about the past of Dubrovnik and the lives of its inhabitants. Its atrium, with its marble columns, stairs and other items, is a separate attraction.
Rector's Palace atrium
Days 11
In the next day the sun came back and we used the morning to walk the City Walls, a must do activity when in Dubrovnik. The entire walk lasts about two hours but it is not a hard activity, in fact, is much more lighter than the steep hill of Lovrijenac Fortress. The walls have three entrances and the hint is to enter through the not well known one near Ploca Gate, as the main entrance, near Pile Gate, has a very steep ladder to reach the top of the walls, besides being much more crowded. Also, at the exit you can visit the Maritime Museum and get to know a little of the maritime past of Dubrovnik, with many artifacts and ship models.
Old Town, seen from City Walls
City Walls and Lovrijenac Fortress
Old Port and Srđ Hill
The afternoon was dedicated to explore the Old Town again and visit the Lokrum Island, in a short boat ride from the Old Port. It is a good place to escape from the crowds in the town.
Lokrum Island
From August to September, it happens the Dubrovnik Late Summer Festival, with many musical attractions, specially of the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra. We spent our last night watching a piano concert performance at Rector's Palace. It was an amazing musical experience, specially in that amazing place, and it was a perfect ending for our trip to Croatia!
Rector's Palace facade and pianist Jasminka Stančul rehearsing at the atrium before concert with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra
Day 12
Unfortunately our journey in Croatia came to an end. There is much more to show and say about this amazing country than it is possible here. Croatia is truly unique, with a lot of attractions, many of them we weren't able to visit on the time we had. But the time we spent traveling through the country were certainly one of the best of our lives and will stay with us forever.
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Trip done between Sep 9 and Sep 21, 2019