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We continue our journey. Our next stop will be a place where we stay for several days, enjoying the sea at a relaxed pace, exploring nearby towns, taking an unforgettable river rafting trip, and falling even more in love with this beautiful country.
Then we head to Dubrovnik — the true pearl of the Adriatic. This picturesque coastal city captivates visitors with its medieval fortresses, narrow streets, and red-tiled roofs. It’s no surprise that the iconic TV series “Game of Thrones” was filmed here, turning Dubrovnik into the mythical King’s Landing. We spend several days in Dubrovnik, enjoy a cruise to three nearby islands, and then begin our journey back, stopping for a day in Šibenik to wander through the less touristy, yet equally charming streets of its old town
You can see Part 1 of the journey here
Days 6–7
We leave the city of Zadar and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way. In Zadar, there was a market right in front of our apartment, but since we left early in the morning, it was still closed. So we decided to drive through the town of Trogir, where we stopped at a market to stock up on fruits and vegetables
Trogir is a very pleasant town and definitely deserves a separate visit, but maybe another time...
After another hour and a half on the road, we arrive in the village of Podstrana. I chose this place because we wanted to spend time by the sea, but not in a large city in order to avoid the crowds. The village is also conveniently located about 20 minutes from Split on one side and 40 minutes from Omiš on the other. Both Split and Omiš are beautiful and interesting towns, and we will visit them as well.
These locations are also perfect for anyone wanting to take island cruises, explore caves, enjoy different water activities, attend music festivals, go rafting on the river, or try ziplining in the mountains...
We rented an apartment in a house in a wonderful location. Mountains on one side, the sea on the other. Clean, beautiful, peaceful
And here are the fruits we saw near our house — pomegranates, olives, figs, and grapes
We walk down the hill, and in just five minutes we reach the sea. The sea was absolutely magical — pleasantly warm, crystal clear, with small pebbles on the shore (we had water shoes).
By the way, water shoes are a must. We spotted sea urchins several times
Along the entire coastline, there were houses for rent as well as hotels. The beaches were busy, but there was enough space for everyone. Hotel beaches had umbrellas and sun loungers. Our hosts also provided us with an umbrella, beach mats, and towels, although we were well prepared and brought our own beach gear as well.
By the way, our portable cooler came in very handy. We always took it with us on trips, and it meant we had cold drinks and fruit with us at all times.
Along the beaches there were playgrounds and many families with small children. You could also rent kayaks, jet skis, or try surfing
We swam in the morning, during the day, and in the evening. And the sunsets over the sea were absolutely stunning!
One evening, we went to a restaurant that turned out to be high up in the mountains. We drove along a narrow, winding road, climbing higher and higher into the hills. If a car was coming the other way (and it was impossible for two cars to pass), we had to rely on some serious driving skills:) We would encounter quite a few of these “romantic” roads later on as well...
We had dinner at a very tasty family-run fish restaurant, and then enjoyed the sunset
On another evening, we went to the city of Split. It is probably the most youthful city in Croatia. At least, those who love to party definitely won’t miss it
And we only have one evening to explore the city. We arrive at the feet of Gregory of Nin, a bishop who fought for the preservation of the Croatian language and for Christianity in Croatia. People rub the big toe of Gregory’s statue for good luck
And now we enter Diocletian’s Palace — one of the best-preserved palaces from the Roman Empire period. The heart of the palace is the Peristyle, where the main palace building and the Cathedral of St. Domnius are located. The Peristyle is one of the few inner palace squares that has survived from Roman times
And all around are cozy little streets, beautiful squares, and delicious cafés
And this is a duck shop. Stores like this have recently started appearing in Canada as well, in all tourist spots. Rubber ducks in all kinds of themes and styles. I love places like this, so I’ll be showing more ducks along our journey:)
We stop by restaurants and souvenir shops. We see many lavender-themed souvenirs. Croatia has a very favorable climate for growing lavender. We also come across museums. Since the series “Game of Thrones” was filmed in Croatia, you can find many themed museums here
A concert is being prepared in the square, and we head to the waterfront
We watch the sunset there, and once it gets dark, we head back home
Day 8
Today we have a very exciting day ahead. We are heading to a village near Omiš for rafting on the Cetina River. The mountain road along the sea is so beautiful that we stop several times just to admire the views
In Omiš, there are many companies offering rafting tours. Based on reviews, I found a small company that I can confidently recommend, as we had an unforgettable experience! As we understood, larger companies take in many tourists, and several boats go down the river at the same time. These tours run twice a day, so they are shorter. This family-run company offers just one tour per day. We were lucky — on that day we were alone (the boat fits 9 people) and got a private tour. The price is roughly the same everywhere, around 60€ per person.
We tackled river rapids, jumped into the water from a rope swing, swam inside caves, drank spring water, and dived off rocks. All of this took place in stunning mountain canyons, with crystal-clear river water, fish swimming around, birds singing, and colorful dragonflies all around.
We arrive at the meeting point and find ourselves at our guide’s home. He welcomes us so warmly with a delicious breakfast (Croatian fritule doughnuts, battered zucchini, and fresh homegrown figs). Then we load the boat and head to the river entry point. We are ready!
And then, as I said many times during our trip, it was simply a fairytale!
We returned to our guide’s house, where he once again treated us to drinks and homemade food, and even offered us peaches from his own garden
And then, tired but very happy, we drove to the town of Omiš. The city is beautiful and set among the mountains. We walked through the town center and along the waterfront
We had pizza and cooled off with ice cream
We said goodbye to Omiš and returned to our village to watch the sunset
Day 9. Drive to Dubrovnik and arrival
We leave Podstrana
The drive to Dubrovnik along the coast will take us about three hours. We will make a few interesting stops along the way. First, we stop by the road to buy fresh fruit. It’s so convenient that you can even wash it right there on the spot in a little fountain
We are driving along the coast through the Makarska Riviera. This is a resort region with many small towns that are popular for seaside holidays. We pass one of these towns — Baška Voda. I realize we made the right choice staying in Podstrana. It’s not as crowded as the towns on the Makarska Riviera, where the beaches are packed with people. We pass by more beaches as well. What a beautiful sea!
We stop in the town of Ston. It is located on a peninsula and is famous for its oysters and mussels. We try them — delicious!
We walk around the town of Ston and see the fortress walls, which are among the longest defensive structures in Europe
If it hadn’t been so hot, we would have definitely climbed up and walked along the city walls. But by the second week of our vacation, the temperature had risen to 30–35°C, so we had to slightly adjust some of our plans going forward.
We are now very close to Dubrovnik. What a view!
We rented an apartment 15 minutes’ walk from the Old Town and 5 minutes from the beach. We went straight to the beach as soon as we arrived. It only took us 5 minutes to get there, but it turned out the beach was far below and we still had to climb down to it — and of course back up afterward. Gaining weight during this vacation is definitely not going to be an issue for us:)
The beach was wonderful — crystal-clear warm water and cliffs you could jump from. Later, we head to the Old Town. Down on the right is the beach where we swam
The narrow streets of the Old Town were crowded with people, and the closer it got to night, the louder and more lively everything became
Day 10. Dubrovnik
Given the intense heat and large crowds, we decided to start our day early and were already at the ticket office by 8 a.m. to buy tickets for the Dubrovnik City Walls. These walls, built between the 13th and 16th centuries, surround the Old Town and offer stunning views of the red-roofed houses, the Adriatic Sea, and nearby islands. The ticket price is 35€ for adults and 15€ for children. Tickets do not need to be purchased in advance. The walk along the walls takes about 2 hours (~2 km). Along the way, there are a few stops with cafés, restrooms, and souvenir shops. What an ncredible views opened up in front of us
By around 10 a.m., it was already very hot. We got lucky — about halfway through, there was an exit from the walls, so my daughter and I “escaped” and went to a café to cool off. Later, we rejoined the men near the end of the route. From here, the views were the most beautiful
It was impossible to get our son away from this basketball court
Game of Thrones tours are very popular in Dubrovnik. Since the city became one of the main filming locations for this famous series, many tourists want to see the places where key scenes were shot. If it hadn’t been so hot, we would have joined such a tour. Instead, we stop by the duck shop and add a couple more to our collection
On our way home, we stopped by a tourist kiosk offering various tours. I had actually planned for the next day to visit two nearby spots (Lokrum Island and the village of Cavtat), but because of the heat, we didn’t feel like spending too much time in the sun. We ended up choosing a cruise to three islands, which I’ll talk about next. For now, we go for a swim
Day 11. Cruise
So, the cruise. From Dubrovnik, as well as other coastal towns, many cruises depart to various islands. There are plenty of companies offering cruises, and even at the last minute you can always find options. We were picked up right from our home. The boat was beautiful, with sun loungers, unlimited drinks and wine, music, and a delicious lunch. And of course, stops for swimming at three islands. All of this for 60€ per person
The first stop was the island of Lopud
The island is famous for its sandy beach, which is very rare in Croatia. To get to the beach, we had to take a “taxi” — a golf cart. The beach was absolutely magical — soft sand, warm crystal-clear shallow water
The only downside was that sunbeds and umbrellas were quite expensive, as was even washing the sand off your feet:) Since we only had a couple of hours, we skipped all those extras. We swam a lot and even managed to build a sandcastle
When we returned to the boat, a delicious lunch was waiting for us. We sail on to the next stop
On the next two islands (Koločep & Šipan), we had about an hour on each. You could swim, jump into the sea from the boat, or take a cave tour. We just walked a bit along the coast, looked at the local produce, and relaxed on the boat
Day 12. Bye-bye Dubrovnik. Hello Šibenik
Dubrovnik is a very touristy city. You can only see the streets almost empty very early in the morning
It’s time for us to head back toward Zagreb, from where we will fly home. As planned, we stopped for one night in the town of Šibenik.
There is a national park near Šibenik — Krka National Park. It is famous for its stunning nature, a monastery, and cascading waterfalls, where you can even swim in one of them. However, since it was already very hot (~35°C), we decided not to visit the park. It would have required a lot of walking in the heat. Instead, we spent more time in Šibenik and enjoyed a peaceful break after the crowded Dubrovnik.
Šibenik is a small coastal medieval town. In the middle photo, you can clearly see turtles — they live on this rock. And on the right is a bookstore. We noticed how many bookshops there are in Croatia. Unfortunately, back home, since COVID, almost all small independent bookstores have closed
We head out for dinner. We pass by a bakery. As I mentioned before, Croatia is not really a place for dessert lovers — the baked goods are not very varied or tempting. And tonight, we’re going for an Asian menu
We also tried a raw cake. It’s a dessert that isn’t baked and is made from natural ingredients such as nuts, dried fruits, and fresh fruit
And then we walked through the Old Town until late at night
And when we woke up in the morning, we went out for another walk
It’s time for us to return to Zagreb and from there to head back home to Toronto.
My daughter and I had planned a shopping day there, and we even rented an apartment not only close to the airport but also near a large shopping center. But I didn’t take into account that it was Sunday, and all the shops were closed... In Canada, it’s the opposite — malls are full of people on weekends. So all that was left for us was eating:)
We return to the now very familiar Tkalčićeva Street (Tkalčićeva St). This time, we go for Indian food
The next day, we flew back to Toronto. It was an unforgettable vacation! It was a shame that our older son couldn’t join us. In almost two weeks, we only managed to see a small part of this beautiful country. I hope we will return to Croatia one day to discover even more new and interesting places...
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