Dubrovnik Done
Dubrovnik ticked off and what a way to kick off our trip. I felt sad to leave even though it meant we could begin the next part of the journey. We were doubling back on ourselves returning to the airport to pick up a hire car. It’s worth mentioning that even though this was predominantly an inter-railing trip the trains were few and far between. In Croatia, the bus service reigns supreme through the rocky mountainous scenery. The bus timetables just didn’t work out for what we had planned either so after a fair amount of head-scratching we decided to hire a car. Picking it up was straightforward enough and before we knew it the sat nav was set and we were off.
(A quick disclaimer. I have added a few royalty-free images in this blog as our photography skills and cameras were a bit dated shall we say. Credited appropriate image authors)
The Road Trip Begins
We cruised passed Dubrovnik, said one last goodbye and took the Adriatic Coast road to split. The sun was shining, the views of the coast and islands in the distance were stunning and that addictive feeling of pure freedom was washing over us once more as we sang our hearts out to classic ska-punk tunes. An interesting fact about this road is that you briefly leave Croatia and cross through a part of Bosnia. There is a random chunk of Bosnia that cuts through Croatia called the Neum corridor and claims 12km of coastline.
A few hours later we arrived in Split, a popular back-backers town located about a 3rd of the way up the coast road. We checked into a really cheap but gorgeous Airbnb for a night. The place was a huge ground floor 3-bed apartment a short walk from the centre, insanely good value for money. It was around mid-afternoon so we just had enough time to have a quick explore and paid a visit to the nearby beach and toss a ball around for a while.
We’d built up an appetite and after a quick refresh at the apartment we set out to find a nice restaurant. So we ordered a table full of mixed meat platters, grilled vegetables, a variety of potatoes and of course washed it down with a couple of bottles of lovely Croatian wine. The restaurant was typically European, inside was empty but the tables that had spilt out onto the dimly lit street were all full of bubbly patrons enjoying the setting. We found the restaurants to offer extremely good value food, simple fare but always fresh and delicious with plenty of options. We’d often buy one main dish each and then get lots of sides to share around the table.
Next Stop, Plitvice Lakes
It was only a brief stop in Split but we could see why it was so popular with backpackers, cheap hostels, restaurants and a large beach makes a perfect rest stop to chill for a few days. Also just an hour or so away from the amazing Krka National park and its waterfalls are begging to be explored. But for us, it was a different national park that was luring us in. I’d seen pictures of Plitvice national park a couple of years prior and since then it has been high up on my bucket list with the likes of Maya Bay, Machu Picchu, Petra and the hundreds of other must-see places in the world. The park hosts 16 lakes on multiple levels, many waterfalls and a huge canyon.
True Paradise
Needless to say, I was super excited as we hopped back into the car to start our journey to the centre of the country. The scenery changed quickly from rocky cliffs and ocean views to lush green countryside and quaint villages and before we knew it the 3-hour journey was over. Now surrounded by woodland we found the entrance to the park and were immediately greeted with a bright sparkling turquoise lake.
There were two routes to take that go in opposite directions so to do it all completely you’d be rushed to squeeze it all in in a day. We only had a half-day so we picked a route and stuck to it and luckily picked the one which hosted a majority of the photo opportunities I’d poured over in recent research. We took a quick boat ride across the lake to pick up one of the trails and began weaving around the boardwalks past small pools and multi-level cascading waterfalls as dragonflies whizzed around us, this place is absolute paradise…
After an hour or so we came across a huge waterfall that just appeared almost out of nowhere, we stopped for a breather and grabbed a few photos and took it all in. It looked as if it was straight out of a Jurassic Park film! We then took a steep and sweaty path to the top and were rewarded with stunning views of the lakes and boardwalks below before heading back to the car.
The Pit Stop In Rijeka
We’d spent a few hours at Plitvice and could’ve stayed all day but it was a 3-hour journey either side and we wanted to get to our next destination, Rijeka, before nightfall. Rijeka was just a stop-off destination for us before we dropped the car off at Pula. I’ve heard good things about Rijeka since we stayed there but as we visited just outside of the peak season, we found it pretty empty at the time with only a few bars and restaurants open. We’d split off in couples for some dinner and Pip and I found a nice restaurant down an alley where we tackled some huge ribs and sides and a few cold beers. After that we rejoined our team and prepped for Pula the next day.
We got up early to head to Pula airport to drop the car off and although the journey had been stressful Pip had done an amazing job of negotiating the tricky roads and ruthless Croatian drivers. Just before arriving at the airport and so close to the end, as we pulled into a petrol station to fill up a tire blew out. Luckily my brother managed to change the tire and we were back on our way soon enough.
No More Hold Ups
We dropped the car off and found our way to our Airbnb just in the centre of Pula. Our Airbnb was amazing again and by this point I was fully impressed by the concept. Also, the hosts were so welcoming even though their impression of British tourists and festival-goers had been thoroughly tainted with recent bad guests. We went out of our way to break the stereotype and were the best guests we could be. My brother’s girlfriend, Freya, even made them a beautiful thank you note before we packed up and left which they were over the moon with.
We were in Pula not only as our final port of call in Croatia but also for Outlook Festival which is held annually in an abandoned fortress a few km away from the town. (The location has changed since we went, a shame as the location was awesome and truly unique)
Time To Get Loose At Outlook Festival
Pula itself is worth a visit anyway with a big roman amphitheatre as its biggest selling point and ruins around the town we found it quite cosy and welcoming. (The amphitheatre was used as the opening ceremony for the festival and provided an epic setting to kick things off and one of our favourite hip-hop groups Jurassic 5 headlined). But as it was festival season the town became rowdier as hundreds of people from various countries came together to enjoy the music and unique festival grounds.
I won’t write about the festival too much but to summarise we chilled on the stony beach daily sipping beers and cocktails, whilst DJs spun reggae, hip-hop, grime and drum & bass. Come evening time some of the biggest artists and DJ’s in the world would take to stages around the fortress and we were blown away each night. An incredibly unique experience and there was even an actual sit-down restaurant with a real toilet where you could get a proper meal and a cold beer in a glass. A very rare and welcome treat at a Festival!
The Festival Hangover
After a quick and tiring few days the festival was all but over but before the post-festival blues had a chance to start kicking in we were up at the crack of dawn to catch our bus to Pula and then from there we would take our last bus of the trip towards a new country and the first leg of our inter-railing trip. While the others slept on the bus even after 4 days of barely any sleep I was still wide awake not only because of the relentless excitement that runs through me when travelling but also because I was reflecting on the last 10 days and how much I had loved Croatia and the experiences it offered us.
This country is so unique and criminally underrated, whenever someone asks for a holiday recommendation Croatia is often at the top of the list. Like everywhere else we can’t wait to go back.