Guide to Exploring Croatia

Croatia is certainly one of the few scenic country to explore when it comes to discovering Europe. In recent years, the Game of Thrones location tours which is shoot in Dubrovnik and scene of Adriatic’s famously clear waters had made Croatia ultimately “THE TRAVEL DESTINATION” , contributing much to their tourism scene. Here is a quick guide on how to explore Croatia.

Mode of transport in Croatia

While Croatia is a small country, it’s also pretty long – road distance from Umag, to the northwest to Dubrovnik to the southeast is over 700 km long!  We all know that travelling in Western Europe (E.g. France, United Kingdom) are rather easy with good train connections within the region. However, Croatia being located along the coast of the Adriatic Sea bordering Hungary, Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina would not be that accessible using train in this instance. The next question comes to mind to most would be travellers into Croatia: Should I rent a car or take the public transport?

If you have only less than 5 days in Croatia and plan to visit the major tourist cities / attractions like Zagreb, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Dubrovnik, I will recommend that one will be probably be better off without a car. Taking the intercity buses between major towns are convenient with regular frequency, reliable bus schedule and various bus terminals with booths selling bus tickets that usually can be purchased on the spot (unless is tourist peak season like Christmas, summer holiday period). The towns in Croatia can be easily covered by foot. Alternatively, it is relatively easy to use the public bus to get around in these towns. Moreover, if you rent a car, parking in a town can be another challenge. Not only that it maybe difficult to find parking space, one have to navigate expertly in the narrow streets found commonly in Croatian town.  Imagine having your rented car sitting in a parking lot while you explore the area and makes no sense that you have to walk back a distance to retrieve your car when you can easily embark on your next attraction visit.

When to Visit Croatia: 

The summer months of July and August are the peak travel period with accommodation prices skyrocketed esspecially in seaside towns like Zadar and Dubrovnik. The temperature during summer in Croatia southern coastal towns like Dubrovnik is around 26-30 degree Celsius, the heat was quite intense at some point when I was there in July. The best period to visit is from April to June as weather becomes warmer and daylight time are longer.

Things to do in Croatia: 

Croatia is blessed with a beautiful coastline, boasting over 2000km long of rocky, indented shore , glittered with more than a thousand islands along the Adriatic Sea.

1. Zagreb  

The capital of an independent Croatia only since 1991, Zagreb is fast transforming into a vibrant art scene. With a population reaching almost one million, there are a number of good museums and a varied nightlife nowadays.

St Mark’s Church: This certainly has to be the must visit attraction in Zagreb with its iconic colourful roof found on the church. Do remember to head to this site early, preferably around 8am when I was there in the summer. Otherwise, there will be large tourist crowds making photography a nightmare.

Museum of Broken Relationships: A rather unique museum space dedicated to the ending of relationships, together with the various objects leftover when a failed love relationships comes to an end.

Address: Ćirilometodska ul. 2, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

Operation Hours: Jun-Sep Daily 9am-10:30pm / Oct-May Daily 9am-9pm

Zagreb Cathedral: Twin spires of the church towers the Croatian capital.

          Lotrščak Tower: 13th-century fortified tower situated in the old town district of Gornji Grad. There is a                     funicular railway to ride to the top which I must admit that it offers spectacular 360-degree views of the whole            city. It costs around 20Kn for a ride. Alternatively, there is a passage way on the side which is free of charge to              climb up. The view on top definitely worth the effort to climb up!

         Dolac Market: Get a better understanding of the local life and the local produce by browsing through the                   market not far away from the main square. It is basically an open-air fruit and vegetables market.

         2. Plitvice Lakes National Park 

This can be done via a day trip from Zagreb. UNESCO-listed Plitvice Lakes National Park occupies a huge area and I made a mistake by allocating only 4 hours there. I had purchased my bus tickets for my onward journey from the national park to my next destination, Zadar town. Unless you plan to visit early in the morning, expect it to be on the busier side as the park had seen over a million tourist yearly. Spend the entire day or at least 7 hours to fully embrace the beauty of the waterfalls located there. Get a closer look at the crystalline lakes with an electric boat ride and hike the forest trails and be left speechless by dramatic lakeside views. Panoramic sightseeing bus or train tours are included in the ticket admission.

         3. Zadar 

I spent only 8 hours in this seaside town of Zadar as I had plan to use it as a transit point for my journey from Plitvice Lakes National Park to Dubrovnik. I arrived into the town around 7pm and my next depart from Zadar Bus Terminal to Dubrovnik at 3am. Zadar fish and seafood is top notch and to view the magnificent sunset at “Monument to the Sun” has been one of the highlight. Remember to catch the “Sun Salutation”,  a massive public pavilion filled with LEDs lights that burst into brightness when the sun sets.

         4. Dubrovnik 

Located in southern Croatia fronting the Adriatic Sea, this town became even more famous to the rest of the world with the Game of Thrones and Star Wars filming locations. Dubrovnik is King’s Landing. This city is one of the best Game of Thrones filming locations you can visit since so much of the city was featured in the show. Paved with limestone, the pedestrianized Stradun is lined with shops and restaurants. Good point to note if you want to avoid summer crowd is to roam the streets before 11am as it can gets very crowded after that.

• Dubrovnik Walls

Climb up the medieval walls and see the view with your very own senses. It maybe a long trail along the medieval walls, but every corner is worth a picture esspecially with the crystal clear water as its backdrop. Highlights include climbing the Minceta Tower and views over the Old Town.

• Old Town

The old town streets are filled with cafe,  perfect place to chill over a cold drink. Dubrovnik is compact and easy to walk.

• Lokrum Island

Just a short ferry ride away lies the Lokrum Island, a break away from the crowd at Dubrovnik. Spend quality time at the beach or wander around the gardens. Peacocks and large rabbits roam the island.

Below is my itinerary showing how I spend 4 days in Croatia. From Croatia, I crossed into the borders of Bosnia & Herzegovina, heading to the capital: Sarajevo.

For more information on exploring Croatia and its surrounding countries, please refer to link here.

If you are looking for money saving tips, you can read it here.

Day 1: Explore Zargreb 

Explore: St Mark’s Church, Museum of Broken Relationships, Zagreb Cathedral,  Lotrščak Tower, Dolac Market

Day 2: Zargreb – Plitvice Lakes – Zadar 

0900H: Explore Zargreb ; visit St. Mark’s Church

1030H: Take bus from Zargreb to Plitvice Lakes

1310H: Arrive Plitvice Lakes ; explore

1700H: Bus from Plitvice Lakes to Zadar (132km; travel time of 01:40h) https://getbybus.com/en/bus-plitvice-lakes-to-zadar

1845H: Arrive Zadar

2000H:  View magnificent sunset at “Monument to the Sun”

Day 3: Zadar – Dubrovnik 

0310H: Depart Zadar

1048H: Arrive Dubrovnik , free & easy

Day 4: Dubrovnik

0800H: Tour of the old walls

1000H: Take ferry to Lokrum Island ; walk around island and beach swimming

1400H: Ferry back to Dubrovnik mainland; chill

Day 5: Take the tour from Dubrovnik to Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina) 

Categories: Europe Region