Croatia. Anyone been?

[View From The Top]

Looks great but family friendly holiday destination?

 

Anyone been for a holiday and any recommendations for places to stay out there?

[swannymere]

My sister has been about three times and raves about it, prefers it to Italy or Greece. I'll try and get some info out of her for you.

[saintscottofthenortham]

Been thinking about a holiday to Croatia for a few years now so I shall be keeping an eye on this...

[Jonnyboy]

Heard good things but if you do scuba diving, go with the most professional outfit, heard bad things.

[stupandus]

Ciovo ,Went last year,With my family .Not far from Split Airport.Next to Trogir which is very nice,good food etc

[stupandus]

ps ,Dont miss Krka national park which is spectacular!

[scotty]

Porec and Rovinj are very nice. If you fancy it out of the summer season, try late October when the truffle season starts, thats an experience worth having. Excellent seafood as well.

[Saint_Jonny]

I went last year while on a loooooong tour of eastern europe. Went all down the wonderful coast and ended up in the ancient roman town of Split. Wonderful country, friendly people and the weather was amazing. Beaches are lovely too (millions of them), thats saying a lot as I'm not a fan of sitting on the beach! Highly recommend it.

[Jonnyboy]

Is it cheap?

[stu0x]

Went two years ago but was sailing out of Split so didn't see a great deal of the country itself, but did like what we did see. The sailing was terrible, incidentally! If you go to the north of the country there is a very strong Venetian influence (obvious why if you look at a map!) in the food and culture. Gets blisteringly hot in the summer months. Nowhere near as cheap as it used to be, although still cheaper than Italy. I'd like to go back there for a land-based holiday, but equally there are a lot of other countries that I will visit before I do, if that makes sense.

[benjii]

I have been to Zagreb, Split, Brac, Hvar and Dubrovnik.

 

Zagreb is a cracking city: dirt cheap and a good laugh but inland so doesn't benefit from the awesome climate of the Dalmatian coast. Beer less than a £1 and a massive pizza in the city centre for £3. Happy days. The journey from Zagreb to the Dalmatian coast is a bit of a ****er though and probably not great with young nippers in tow. Not sure about getting to the Isthmian peninsula from there (the north-western Croatian coastline - I didn't visit that bit).

 

Split is an interesting place. Some Roman history, some nice views along the coast but probably not worth more than a couple of nights. Again, pretty cheap though if you avoid the obvious tourist traps. Home of Goran Ivanicevic. Fact. Depending on the time of year you might fancy a trip to watch Hadjuk Split in their strange Armadillo-like stadium.

 

From Split you can sail to several islands including Brac and Hvar. Brac is a very quiet, peaceful place although it also has some great bars and restaurants. I stayed in Bol, in a guesthouse, which was very pleasant.

 

Hvar is probably the most "upmarket" of the islands (you will see £70m yachts coming in to berth - I saw this monster coming in and later on saw it again off the coast of Dubrovnik: http://www.charterworld.com/images/framework/334/force%20blue-680.jpg) although, at the same time, it attracts a young party set in high season. A sort of "Jack Wills / Abercrombie and Fitch" yachty type place, although don't be put off if that's not your scene as it's not too in your face and it's all very pleasant. As is common in the Med though, the real night scene doesn't kick in until the very small hours so you can still have nice evenings out with your family without being confronted by too many puking yanks. I'm talking about Hvar town, which is on Hvar island. There are also quieter places you can stay on the island. From Hvar there are also lots of day boat-trips to other nearby islands with secluded beaches.

 

You can get a boat (about 6 hours) to Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is an amazing place. The beautifully preserved (yet incredibly, heavily bombed during the Balkan conflict) mediaeval old town is quite enchanting and sits proudly jutting into the sea, abutting the more modern city (which is a popular cruise stop-off). Dubrovnik was noticably more expensive than anywhere else I stayed but was not expensive by UK standards. In the old town you can expect to pay around £3 for a beer (or more in the trendier places or the obligatory "Irish Bar"s) but you can still get a good pizza for about £5 in a restaurant. There are a couple of great bars which hang off the outside of the mediaeval walls and are virtually in the sea.

 

As you might have guessed, the food is heavily Italian influenced and is generally good value and comes in large portions.

 

There are not a million and one things for kids to do so it would probably depend on how happy your kids are playing in the sun, sea etc or whether they need in-your-face entertainment.

 

One thing to note is that the beaches are rocky, not sandy. The water is beautiful though.

 

Oh and local birds will get their tits out. And they are fit.

 

I've enjoyed writing this; happy memories!

Edited 1 June, 2011 by benjii

[View From The Top]

Thanks.

 

We often spend time in Italy (my wife and kids are at Lake Garda ATM) and my kids are used to spliting their time between beach/pool & site seeing, which they enjoy but I've always fancied Croatia and my wife fancies Slovenia.

 

We usually rent villas so we have no issue doing split weeks.

[Dog]

Went to Porec 12 years ago and it was great. Food was outstanding, sea was warm, beach was pebbles and bullet holes everywhere...

[SoccerMom]

Stayed in an outstanding villa (half-board) on Brac last summer - took the nipper and his mate (both age 10). There was a pool at the villa, and it was about 30 metres from the sea. Hired a car at Split airport (flew from Soton = WIN), which was essential for getting around the island during the day. Snorkeling was brilliant, the food at the villa was totally amazing, the kids were fascinated by being able to clamber all over the ancient ruined churches, which were everywhere. Day out in Split was great . Not a single complaint, no bickering. In the evenings we drank wine while the kids played in the pool, watched Hadjuk Split on the telly with the villa owners, got invited to a village ox roast. I can't remember a holiday with kids that I've enjoyed more. I have the contact details for the villa owner if you want - he's happy to book direct without going through the agent.

[suewhistle]

Sailed there as part of a round Italy trip and made landfall and anchored just south of Dubrovnik which I visited by local bus: definitely worth a visit. I didn't think it was cheap and the bureaucracy and mooring costs for yachts were a bit of a rip-off, but I'm sure it would be cheaper in slightly lower season and less touristy areas. Good snorkelling and some interesting old Nazi E-boat bunkers to explore on the outer islands.

[richie]

Stayed on a Island called Loped just a stones throw from Dubrovnick.

 

Very nice. The best sea I have ever swam in. So clear. Great food and weather. Well recommended.

 

Went in 2009. Cheaper than here but not dirt cheap.

[View From The Top]

Stayed in an outstanding villa (half-board) on Brac last summer - took the nipper and his mate (both age 10). There was a pool at the villa, and it was about 30 metres from the sea. Hired a car at Split airport (flew from Soton = WIN), which was essential for getting around the island during the day. Snorkeling was brilliant, the food at the villa was totally amazing, the kids were fascinated by being able to clamber all over the ancient ruined churches, which were everywhere. Day out in Split was great . Not a single complaint, no bickering. In the evenings we drank wine while the kids played in the pool, watched Hadjuk Split on the telly with the villa owners, got invited to a village ox roast. I can't remember a holiday with kids that I've enjoyed more. I have the contact details for the villa owner if you want - he's happy to book direct without going through the agent.

 

That would be fantastic. I can be reached on ST16SFC@gmail.com

[rednrednredandwhite]

Went to Makarska two years ago, best european holiday I've had. Flew out of Southampton (dont think they fly from here any more) to Split transfer time was about 90 minutes. Food and drink was very reasonably priced and the croation people are genuinely nice.

[lettuce]

Went to Dubrovnik about 7 or 8 years ago, lovely place. The whole "Dalmation Coast" is beautiful coastline. Gets hot though, we went in September and even then it was still blazing during the day.

 

As Benji mentioned above, Dubrovnik old town is beautiful - despite being heavily shelled during the balkan conflict, it's still in fantastic condition for a medieval city. There are no motor vehicles allowed inside the walled town, which makes it very pleasent to stroll around. You can also walk around the city walls and get fantastic views of the coastline or looking down into the city. The hotel we stayed in was average, and the food was a bit ropey (they didn't cater for vegetarians very well, as my missus found out to her cost) I got the feeling that the tourism/hospitality industry was still in a period of recovery following the conflict, but this aspect may have improved a lot since then.

 

I can't comment on whether or not it would be a good "family holiday" destination, but you and the missus would probably love it. It's certainly somewhere I'd consider going back to and would recommend to others without hesitation.

 

P.S. There's a small island just off the coast by Dubrovnik (I think it's called Lokrum?) which can be reached by boat. It includes a beautiful nature reserve and nudist beach!