Sun, Swim & Sail – Croatia!

In August 2018 – during the European Summer, my husband and I travelled through Croatia on a Sail Tour then finished off our visit by journeying inland to visit some of the Beautiful National Parks and Waterfalls this country has to offer.

We spent our first night in Split staying in the centre of the Dolciens Palace at the Banica Apartments – I highly recommend this hotel, the staff were extremely helpful and it was in an awesome location surrounded by countless eateries, shops, bars as well as it being right across the road from the Cruise Port, so this is the perfect place to stay before any Sail trip!

Our first day of Contiki Croatia we set sail to Makarska, we wondered the markets on the streets here and walked along the water enjoying the scenery – a mountainous backdrop and beautiful blue water. The following day we awoke already sailing to the next island, we had daily morning and afternoon swim stops which gave us a chance to jump off the back of the boat and enjoy swimming the Adriatic Sea with just our group.

We arrived in Korcula that afternoon – walked through Marco Polos house and enjoyed some delicious Squid Ink Pasta (a Korcula favourite!) overlooking the water on a cliff. Most of the foods we ate in Croatia are seafood based – all so delicious and fresh!

The following day we sailed to Dubrovnik – this was my favourite town! We kayaked to a secluded beach for a swim, watched some of our group cliff jump, then later that afternoon found another great beach where we chilled out on deck chairs drinking cocktails with music playing in the bar behind us – it was the perfect way to spend the afternoon before heading to Skybar that night! The next morning, we walked through the town with a local guide learning about the history of Dubrovnik followed by a walk on the wall that surrounds the old town – being midday it was the hottest time of the day for this but an absolute amazing experience as the views were beautiful! The atmosphere in the old town was fantastic, the people are lovely, the restaurants and bars are all fabulous, especially as you wander out of the main square and start walking through all the smaller streets and ally’s for a more authentic experience – No trip to Dubrovnik with Contiki is complete without having a cocktail from a bucket and checking out Culture Revlin Nightclub!

We awoke sailing to the tiny town of Tristenik, the beach here is lovely and peaceful with gelato shops close by, it is not a busy tourist area so the perfect just to relax! Being such a quiet town Contiki organised a few boats to all arrive on the same day for a Private Captain’s Party under the stars.

Our last stop before finishing up was Hvar – this town has a mixture of culture and excitement! There are markets close to the main square with almost anything you can think of made from lavender, jewelry and so many other little nik nax, there are delicious restaurants as well as a few beach bars along the coast where you can spend the day swimming, eating and drinking all in the one spot – my favourite one was Hula Hula!

As we arrived back into Split we travelled with Busabout Tours to visit a few more of the natural beauties this country has to offer. Our first stop was Krka National Park – we walked along the boardwalk through the national park before arriving and swimming in the Waterfalls, then finished off our morning with a walk and an amazing view of the falls! After this we stopped for lunch in Zadar where we had a quick dip in the ocean listening to the Sea Organ!

Our next stop the following day was Plitvice National Park, one of the world’s great natural wonders – the views here are absolutely stunning! We picked up a map and started our walk! Beginning over on a hiking trail for the first half, and jumped on a boat to get across to some the walkways winding across the stunning turquoise water viewing the waterfalls flowing over the limestone canyons… defiantly a ‘must see’ for any travel to Croatia!

We loved our trip to Croatia – from every town being unique in it’s own way, every delicious meal we enjoyed, the awesome people we met and the stunning beaches were all perfect for a European Summer!