Turkey

We were originally planning to sail for a few days on a chartered boat between the Croatian islands, but stormy weather led us to cancel and switch to ferry instead. We left Split on the 4:00 catamaran that stops at Hvar on the way to Korcula (pronounced “Core-chew-lah”). Tickets were only $7 each! The ferry…

Dubrovnik is so, so pretty…but I have to admit that I liked Split a bit more. We were only in the city for three days and two nights. Where Dubrovnik is strictly tourist, Split combines ancient history and tourist sites with real local life and good food. It’s a little rougher around the edges. Basics…

The Palace area of Split is so dense with history and hidden streets that taking a guided walking tour is almost required to understand it. We hadn’t done any official tours on this trip up to this point but signed up for the one euro, Penny Walking Tour. Our guide spent 90 minutes showing us…

We explored Split in reverse: the country and natural part first and then the historic palace core. Our first day, we headed off along the embarcadero waterfront west of the city. Like Bodrum, it is easy to tell that Split is a city that makes a living on the sea. There are busy marinas dotting…

Our “transit” day over the weekend turned out to be a great adventure in its own right. We rented a car from Hertz outside of the old city in Dubrovnik. One way for a single day car rental was just about $50 with insurance. We were upgraded to a fancy Peugeot at pickup. Getting out…

Dubrovnik is such a special place; so much history and natural beauty. Most people only spend a day passing through on a cruise ship, but it felt like a whole week was the right amount for us to really get to know it. Basics We booked airbnb apartments in the Gruz part of town, a…

This was my favorite thing to do in Dubrovnik! So much so, that we did it twice. After you’ve gone to see the old city and walked Dubrovnik’s fortress walls, spend the next day on the north side of the peninsula exploring Babin Kuk. The atmosphere down here is much more “Santa Barbara Resort” than…

If your legs aren’t too worn out from exploring the old city walls, head south past Ploce for a peek at Croatia’s natural beauty and recent war history. Walk for about a mile along a flat road lined with fancy boutique resorts and villas. Past a small church, there are stairs down to Sveti Jakov…

Taking a stroll along 14th century fortifications of the largest and most complete gated city in Europe? In Dubrovnik, it’s called “Thursday.” My friend Nicole arrived yesterday to explore Croatia with us for the last weeks of our trip! We geared up in athletic clothes for a day of hiking stone staircases on the city…

Another sunny and warm day in Croatia! Rob and I set out after breakfast for an adventure on Lokrum, the island nature preserve. The boat leaves from the old city harbor every hour, on the hour for 65 kuna (~$12 dollars) round-trip. We just barely made it and were the last people to jump aboard…