A big ol' viking ship in the Dubrovnik harbour
I can’t believe I forgot about doing a Croatia Comparative. It seems so long ago now but it was only in June. Ah the days of hot warm weather. And that is certainly one thing I remember. Croatia is second to Greece in its archipelago status and number of islands. I did not get a chance to visit the islands but from the words of my friends whom I have met in my travels, they say they are amazing, clean and exceptionally beautiful.
Coast and islands
I did not get a lot of time in Croatia and wish I had had a chance to visit more of the country. However, at the time, it seemed so expensive. After leaving Montenegro and entering Croatia which uses the kuna as its currency, it was so much more expensive. Almost twice as much. Of course since then I have been in Europe and Scandinavia and now Croatia seems cheap in comparison but certainly compared to the rest of the eastern Adriatic countries, it was very expensive.
The beautiful coast
So like Montenegro, this country is visually amazing. There is still evidence of the war from the 90’s outside of the obvious places – that being the medieval walled city. The people were kind enough. Certainly their standard of living is improving ahead of their neighbours. Tourism is definitely critical. I would have liked to have visited the other areas. Unfortunately I only was able to see Dubrovnik. And Dubrovnik was amazing. But it was totally and completely overrun by cruise ship tourists. As you know, I am not the biggest fan of cruise ship tourists. Especially when you have three ships’ worth (AKA approx. 6000+ people) descend on a small area. But if you can look beyond that it was still stunning and beautiful.
the walled city
I was definitely overwhelmed and enthralled by the walled city. I was saddened to read about the bombing but it has been lovingly restored. If you can get past the tourist traps and just walk up and down the narrow streets and challenge your fitness by the multitude of stairs, you have an experience. I did enjoy and appreciate the eastern Europe charm, food, creativity but feel limited as to what I can say. I have been told that the best way to find accommodation is to wait until you arrive and their a tonnes of individuals at the bus or train asking if you need a room. I had booked ahead of time but I sort of wished I had taken the advantage of these accommodation offerers. Generally they are older ladies, motherly like figures, and you want to help them. They offer rooms right in the centre, so in future I would leave my accommodation up to this chance.
One of the marinas right outside the walls
Even though my visit there was short, I would return to Croatia for more exploration and after the cost of Europe I don’t think I would find it so overwhelming. It is a gem worth visiting.
For the love of stairs in Old Dubro