A travel bucket list essential

Featuring twice in the top 50 of Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travelist Top 500 and ranked a bucket list destination across nearly every reputable travel publisher, Croatia is without a doubt Europe’s answer to Bali.

Rising to fame through Game of Thrones, Croatia has been a film makers’ set destination for years and is the home of Kings Landing and the Red Keep. An already established festival favourite, Croatia is building a big following among house record label giants like Defected who took up residency in Tismo, August 2016.

Croatian culture and good vibes

There are still parts of Croatia that are untouched by tourism, but when my best friend and I travelled the length of the Dalmatian Coast from Dubrovnik to Novalja and back again, we found that most Croatians spoke impressively good English. It’s very easy to get by, it’s safe and the locals are extremely accomodating and genuinely happy to have you there. Everyone is polite and the service in bars, restaurants and public transport was far better than what you get in the UK and other parts of Europe. Locals are keen to hear your story, give you travel advice and share where the best undiscovered places are – the kind of stuff only locals would know.

I loved every Croatian we met, and there was many, people happily start conversations in restaurants. Some of the best chats we had were on the boats that hopped between islands and we never saw or heard of any crime or ‘bad behaviour’.

Great value for money

Croatia joined the EU in 2012 but kept their national currency of the Kuna.

Food

The quality of the food in Croatia is seriously unreal! Some of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life have been here and the average price per head for two courses and a bottle of wine to share was around £15. The wine is super tasty – which was a surprise to us – and cheap compared to other parts of Europe.

Transport

Public transport. Oh my gosh – this country knows how to run an efficient sea taxi service. Busses and boats are on time, well organised, ticketed and very well priced (and air conditioned, phew). The price of tickets vary depending on the operator and travel distance but it’s cheap, especially compared to public transport in the UK.

A word of caution when Island hopping – if you go in high season (June-September) try to get boat tickets a couple of days in advance if you know your travel plans. For one journey, we waited until the evening before we wanted to travel (in true ‘me’ last minute style) and the boat tickets were sold out.

Luckily, the operators joined forces and put together a rescue plan, a bus and boat combo, to accomodate passengers that had to get off the island that day. It was perfectly organised (two different boats and a bus) and arrived on time. The islands between Split and Dubrovnik are so stunning, especially the party island of Hvar, it may be a bonus if you end up stranded for an extra night.

Accomodation

Air B n B is the future. We Air B and B’d our way round Croatia and every place we stayed was lovely. Great hosts and great price. You also get a much more personal experience than staying in a hotel. I’m a massive Air B n B fan. The prices are variable based on location and standard but they are cheaper than hotels and also have way more room. It’s always nice to have the option of cooking your own meal or making your own breakfast and if you’re travelling around, free washing machine access for clean clothes is essential. Croatia is mad hot in the summer, you get super sweaty and we didn’t see any launderettes.

Knowledge nuggets

• Formerly Yugoslavia, Croatia left it’s union counterparts – Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia – in 1991
• The country has incredible history; grounding war stories that leave you full of respect. The last largescale conflict (Bosnia) lasted for 7 years and left absolute devistation, only ending in 1992 when the UN declared a cease fire.
• Courage and adventure in its blood, Croatia is the birthplace of Marco Polo
• Once part of the Roman Empire, Croatia has some of the best ampitheatre ruins in Europe
• Beyonce and Jay Z apparently got married on the island of Hvar

Here are some of my favourite finds and festivals in Croatia…………