Dalmatia - Croatian dot to dot.

How to have a great time hopping round Hrvatska.

Croatia, land of a thousand islands, a country just over the water from Italy and fast developing a reputation for cities of similar elegance, landscapes of equatable beauty and yet a spirit entirely of its own. I was keen to find out for myself just what Hvratska was made of. After looking at possible stays in both Split and Zagreb, I eventually opted for a fortnight on the Dalmatian coast, a trip that would be divided between a few days on the Island of Hvar and a few more in the coastal city of Dubrovnik.


Dalmatia 101


In Dalmatia 101, I'll give you the skinny on the most memorable moments from my trip to Croatia - bars, restaurants, shops and sun spots - as well as recommendations on more practical headaches, such as where to stay and how to get around, especially relevant if you're planning a trip that's not going to break the bank.


Hvar

Quick sketch from one of our swimming spots on the rocks

The beautiful island of Hvar and its eponymous capital town was to be our first port of call, a turn of phrase particularly relevant to a holiday spent hopping around the local littoral. If you don't like stunning coastline, beautiful water and fantastic seafood at incredible prices, look away now.


Getting there


Our journey to Hvar began in London. On the advice of a Croatian friend, I booked our flights through Wizz Air from Luton Airport. We reached the airport taking the shuttle service from Kings Cross to Luton Airport Parkway and then a shuttle bus from there to the airport itself. It did take a while and our flight was an early one, but the upside was we got to sunny Hvar with an entire afternoon in front of us. Within half an hour of arriving on the island we were free to explore and swim, and swim and explore again. From Luton, Wizz Air offer flights to three Croatian airports: Dubrovnik, Split and Zagreb. I opted for Split, owing to its proximity to Hvar and the regular ferry service to the island. Although we didn't stay long in Split, the palm-dotted waterfront avenues proved a pretty backdrop to a quick coffee during the short wait for the Jadrolinija catamaran. The boat was quite busy, but there were seats for everyone and the journey took around 50 minutes. The only downside was not being able to go out on deck, but it meant an opportunity to catch up on a bit of shuteye before we arrived at our destination.


Accommodation in Hvar


I've used Hostelword for previous trips to Barcelona, Morocco and Verona and wholeheartedly recommend the website not only for its impressive, well-reviewed catalogue of hostels, but also to anyone looking for anything from a campsite to a luxury apartment. It's because of the depth to the variety of accommodation offered through Hostelworld that I was confident in finding a handful of great places to stay with my girlfriend in Croatia. Happily I was proved right, first of all by Apartment Iris, our home from home in Hvar.


We were met at the port in Hvar town by Iris's mother and promptly whisked up two or three minutes of very negotiable slope to the apartment which sits in the low hills that skirt the town. I was confident in the research I'd done, nevertheless I breathed a secret sigh of relief when we stepped into Apartment Iris for the first time. Alongside the fully-equipped kitchen, large double-bedded bedroom and immaculate ensuite, we had a private section of terrace that looked across to the hills and down to the town.

St. Stephen's Cathedral

5 minutes downhill (a leisurely 10 minutes back) and we were in the main square, a wide promenade flanked by a treasure trove of inconspicuous shops and a handful of nice bars and tasty restaurants. St. Stephen's Cathedral stands at the back of the square like an immaculate, paper-thin stage-setting looking out across the medieval flagstones to the drama of the port and sea.

Hvar Town is quite small and although unspoiled, offers all the general conveniences of a place well used to an international array of tourists. This said, nothing imposes on your vision and detracts from what is a truly exceptional port town, peppered with enchanting boutiques that flaunt fine local jewellery, cloth and handicrafts, some excellent restaurants looking out under leafy eaves onto the water, and a veritable flotilla of boats-for-hire, tour boats and moored up even more boats. 

By night, a gossamer network of warm lights and torches hang around the square like a parliament of enchanted owls, glowing and guarding and bringing a whiskey-hue-glow to the world-famous karst of the buildings and the hustle and laughter of the walkers and talkers and drinkers and dancers. Lavender and sea salt merge with the murmur of talk and music, and as if by magic you succumb to the singular inebriation hanging in the night time ether. Hvar Town with good company and a bottle of wine is a truly dreamlike place to wile away a summer's night.


Dubrovnik rises

Of the many treasures dotting the Dalmatian coastline, the jewel in the crown is undoubtedly Dubrovnik, a UNESCO World Heritage Site enjoying a golden rebirth akin to the majestic sunsets that gild the medieval city walls.

Getting there


From Hvar Town we took the Jadrolinija catamaran back to Split and then caught a coach from near the port South-East to Dubrovnik. The grand voyage took around four and a half hours, following the coast and cutting a swathe through the peaceful monotony of the rocky Dalmatian countryside. The highlight of the journey was passing by a huge lake about three hours in. The water was hemmed by banks of deep green hills and the surface itself was pocked and dotted with an infinite minefield of lobster pots and fish traps. The image ran on and on for a good five minutes at 40mph; on such a sunny day and after the distinctly average scenery of the previous three hours it was truly something. I just wish I'd taken a photo.


Upon arrival at Dubrovnik's main coach station, we took a city bus from just outside the car park in the direction of Pile - the terminus to the majority of bus services and conveniently located just outside the eponymous gate to the Old Town.  


Accommodation


Our stay in Dubrovnik was to be split between two apartments, the first of which was located about a hundred yards from Pile Gate. Hostel Marker is a wonderfully run collection of rooms and apartments clustered around the walls of the Old Town. Marco, the owner, is a charming, gregarious man, with a fantastic energy and enthusiasm. He met us as we stepped off the bus and immediately guided us up to our new abode. We had a really nice little apartment two minutes from Pile Gate. Cosy double room, decent bathroom and a cool little kitchen-cum-lounge. Also a lovely little vine-shaded terrace inside the front gate which we shared with the house next door. Marco was extremely helpful all through our stay, penning suggestions all over our city map. We were extremely lucky and I only popped into the main Tourist Office once - a rare occasion where Marco was out.


Immaculate as a Venetian daydream

Notwithstanding its breathtaking seaside setting, the beauty of Dubrovnik lies in its magnificent architecture and the epic perfection of its limestone squares, churches and civic buildings. Red roofs top the sea-scented criss-cross of cobbled streets and bar-crammed alleys in this Croatian Kasbah that hoards a host of excellent restaurants. We thoroughly recommend Orhan, a fish and steak spot perfect for a treat, located on the water just outside Pile Gate, in the lee of the dramatic Fort Lovrijenac. For truly authentic indulgence though, look no further than the bizarrely titled Taj Mahal, whose Bosnian specialties and intimate atmosphere are a favourite with discerning locals and informed tourists alike.

Island hop till you drop

Once hailed as the fifth Maritime Republic, Dubrovnik’s old port now harbours vessels bound for the nearby islands. We loved Lokrum, ten minutes by ferry and we’re sure you will too. A place where nature reserve meets unreserved naturism, prudes should nevertheless rest assured, nudity on Lokrum has its designated limits and the peacocks and botanical gardens are well worth the odd flash of bare-faced cheek.

Picking our way through the peacocks and pine trees, we were struck by the slightly eerie, abandoned feel of the woods. Indeed, Lokrum has something of a 'Lost' feel about it; an arbitrary old well, plenty of bare foundations and missing buildings and, to cap it all, a ghostly campsite complete with desolate volleyball court and godforsaken sunloungers. I awaited the predictable tumbleweed, but was disappointed. Just another peacock and a Danish nudist looking for his frisbee.


You get the impression a King of Old was marooned on Lokrum with his peacock circus. Maybe the peacocks killed the king; they sure look at you funny. And they can be intimidating. I thought I knew my peacocks, there's a small flock or brood or muster or whatever in Kew Gardens - majestic, regal creatures, very West-London - not these savage beasties. Sure, occasionally a cocksure male would corner a cowering peafowl against the breaking waves so as to fan and woo, but most of the time these gaudy pigeons seem to pass their hours hiding in the trees like Robin Hood's Merry Men or drifting around in aggressive, gracelessly nodding packs, herding unsuspecting tourists in the direction of the rugged rocks and breaking white water. You may have heard of a murder of crows, but to my mind a murder of Dalmatian peacocks would be a far apter designation for that particular collective noun. What's more they're everywhere. Peacocks appear to be no more than beautiful flying rabbits. A conifer island strewn with twigs and branches, there are nevertheless more peacocks on Lokrum than you could shake a stick at. Or throw stones at. God knows I tried.


My fictitious fear of our brother and sister peacocks aside, day-tripping to Lokrum was actually brilliant fun. For want of a hamper we packed a rucksack with a glut of finger-licking picnicking things and towels and that was about it.

Escaping the bloodthirsty peacock hordes

After ambling the length and breadth of Lokrum in search of some swimtime rockspace, we eventually settled for a stretch of rock not far from the ferry quay. As with the water in Hvar, we didn't have to wait long to spot a fish or twenty. The water was murkier here and quite choppy owing to the open gulf structure of its location but I told myself I love choppy water, "remember all those holiday on the Cornish coast" and swam out into the violent blue of the cold Adriatic. It was great. But I did get a little scared after a while so I swam back. We got a huge amount of use out of the snorkel we bought in Hvar, but the petrol in the water from the ferry service meant a rather potent and syrupy underwater experience. Truth be told that was our fault for picking the quietest section of shoreline. Quiet for a reason. We nevertheless had a great swim and the powerful, cathartic blend of salt and pine cleared my nose and lungs of anything unpleasant.


Next to the forlorn feel of much of the island, the wonderfully kept Botanical Gardens came as a bit of a surprise. A really beautiful collection of flora, the tall trees and bright flowers beggared belief. I was left searching the cacti beds and slender canopies of the eucalyptus for the poltergeist gardener in residence.




Dubrovnik by day

By day you'd be excused for thinking you were part of some elaborate joke. The Old Town of Dubrovnik is so inviting, so jaw-dropping and utterly flawless that at times I felt the whole place was a strange stage set, a mirage in tile and stone bound to disappear with the next blink of an eye or turn of a corner. Despite the high walls and towering edifices, the wide avenues and karst slab promenades drink in the light of the day, bathing the streets in a cool gold and illuminating the spiderweb of passages and alleyways that radiate from the main thoroughfares.

Small though it is, wandering, sightseeing and nosing about the Old Town can take it out of you. Happily though you'll never be more than a stone's throw from a cafe and although learning a bit of the local lingo is recommended (it's always massively appreciated), knackered anglophones will always be able to get an ice cream or coffee without fumbling around looking for a phrasebook.

Feel free to follow your nose, you'd do very well to get lost for long in a place as well-lit and obviously structured as this, but if you fancy a little more itinerary to your itinerancy, the headquarters of the Dubrovnik Tourism Board is just outside Pile Gate. They are extremely friendly, well-organised and offer excellent, comprehensive ideas on what to do in the city depending on your particular likes and fancies.

Dubrovnik's aquarium was well worth the entry fee. Strange though it sounds, on the one day the weather turned sour, drifting about the tanks and pools proved the perfect way to dry off and take a look at what our conservative snorkel sessions couldn't show us - the true extent of the mysterious marine life of the Adriatic.





The city by night

After a fancy meal by the sea or a great pizza at Tabasco, Dubrovnik at twilight is a maze of torch-lined towers thronged with reflective squares, great bars and humming with an intoxicating atmosphere.


Just off Buniceva Square next to the cathedral, the streets are suffused with the cool sounds of The Troubadour Hard Jazz Cafe. If crooning's your bag then this is your place and whatever your taste, the mood is nice and relaxed and it's well worth a look as you wander about the town in search of your next beer or bottle of plonk. 

Buza Bar


For a spot of 'oh so very very cool' that you won't find anywhere else, pick your way through the charming alleyways and residential backstreets of Dubrovnik's limestone labyrinth. Buza Bar is most definitely a hole in the wall with a difference.


Set in the incomparable drama of the old town's extramural rock face, there are in fact two Buza Bars, accessed quite literally through a couple of extraordinarily innocuous holes in the city's periphery wall. Word of mouth can be a wonderful thing and with next to no publicity, the Buza Bars are renowned as the places to kick back, relax and watch the sun set behind the sea.


Travelling on a shoestring or in the mood for luxury, magical Dubrovnik is guaranteed to have you spellbound.

Snow in Verona

La Dolce Vita

My third year of university was spent studying, working and living the life in the Veneto, North-East Italy. I stayed in the hill-bound city of Verona, the beautiful, enigmatic backdrop to Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' and home to L'Arena - one of the largest and best-preserved Roman amphitheatres in the world. Treasures in Verona abound, but my favourite include the still-vibrant frescoes topping the residential walls of Piazza Erbe, the excellent food and wine of the osterie and the capricious charm of the Adige, a river lined, stitched and knotted with a network of beautiful buildings and bridges, and coloured by the grapes that grow and grow around its winding banks, grapes that yield such world-renowned wines as Valpolicella, Bardolino, Prosecco, Amarone and Soave.

Le piazze


Owing to its exceptional structure and exemplary architectural development, Verona was awarded world heritage status by UNESCO in 2000. The stone-hewn city centre is beautiful, a maze of meandering alleys and cobbled streets that inevitably leads you into one of the three main squares or piazze.

Piazza Erbe

Piazza Erbe (built atop the old Roman market) is the hub of choice when time chimes for the post-9-to-5 aperitivo. Brimming with bars, cafes and balconied apartments that either stay in the family or outside your pay bracket, the square is beautifully lit and open to the sky. The drama of the frescoed façades and the pull of the free finger food is a difficult habit to leave behind. Remember, you're in Italy - dead of winter aside the weather is going to be great, wonderful or fantastic; you'll have evenings that turn into nights into mornings. A lot.

Piazza dei Signori

Piazza dei Signori is about 100 yards from the apartment block we were living in. And what a thing that is to be able to say. Quieter for the most part than Piazza Erbe, it has a more intimate, spiritual feel. Nicknamed 'Piazza Dante' due to the larger-than-life statue of the eponymous bard at the square’s apex, the square was transformed every Wednesday night, attendance becoming a bohemian ritual for the bongo-beating multitude of the students of the city. Sadly it was also the site of the most unsightly side to my year in Italy, which I'll talk about later on.

Piazza Bra

Piazza Bra (home to the Arena) is massive and wide and probably my favourite and least favourite of the three depending on the time of day and the time of year. For the most part it's home to the same brand of tourist-friendly, overcrowded restaurant that you find in most city centres. These take up an entire flank of a square which is more like a pentangular-circle-square than a real square. However, there are secret treasures to be found in the bright alleys that spin off this busiest part of the city...

Horses for courses - The nosh spots of the viccoli


As with all Itaian cities, Verona's cooking is at once reminiscent of the food found all over the peninsula and kitchen to a range of dishes entirely peculiar to the region. Maize-based polenta is a real Veronese staple. Often eaten as a porridge or mash, the versatile yellow cornmeal can also be baked, grilled or fried.


My first night in Verona was a lonely one and I resolved to fill my belly to compensate for my lack of company. The city is renowned for its osterie - taverns is probably the closest English translation - and I picked one in the old town, welcoming but modest considering its position directly opposite a couple of high-end tailors. The osteria represents the quintessential eating house of Veneto, a place where the food fills and great local wine flows by the pitcher. I couldn't believe the astronomical size of the gastronomy on offer. I went for something suitably adventurous to celebrate my first eve on Veronese soil - horse liver on polenta with green beans and a half-litre of red wine. A huge portion was shovelled onto my table with a smile and a basket of bread that could have fed a family of twenty for a month, but all this nervous sitting around had clearly worked up an appetite and I finished everything without breaking too much of a sweat.


As I got to know the city, meals out became rarer but far more social affairs. On the couple of occasions my parents came to visit we ate at a hugely atmospheric pizzeria called L'Arena, just a stone's throw from the eponymous amphitheatre.

Two wheels are better than none

Buying a second-hand bicicletta is something I wholeheartedly recommend. In my opinion there's no better way to discover the city and you can always sell it back at the end of your stay. That said, it's a great place to walk, but if like me you like swimming or football, or just having the ability to follow the river into the fields, then it's the way to go. I haven't got the contact details of where I got my bike from, but there are plenty of shops in the city and most Italian students will be in a position to point you in the right direction.

The Lega

The one down side was the politics. Don't let this sour your impressions, as it need only be as big a part of your experience as you allow it to be - suffice to say though that constant military patrols and patent racism are not my cup of tea. You can make your own mind up about Flavio Tosi, the incumbent mayor of Verona, a 'shining light' of Lega Nord. In any case it definitely keeps things interesting - as I referred to earlier, Wednesday nights in 'Piazza Dante' were a lot of fun, wine and juggling and candles and bongos. Legislation had been passed however, stating something along the lines of 'no unauthorised gatherings involving music in public places after 11'. At one point police began turning up to monitor the situation and one night it just kicked off, vans came hurtling into the square and pulled up behind the already excessive police presence. The doors opened and spewed out baton-wielding riot police who proceeded to firmly redress the balance of 'law and order'. A few people were taken to hospital. We were pushed back and one girl was hit around the head while trying to pull her friend away. This friend was clearly a major threat, wielding a STEEL STRING guitar and playing such sweet melodies that James Taylor singing Kumbayah in a corn field verges on apocalyptic in comparison.

Sorry to end on that note, it was a significant part of my year abroad so I don't think it would have been right of me to have omitted it. Despite this, I can't help but urge you to put Verona at the top of your list. You're an hour and a bit from Venice... I can't believe I didn't write about Venice(!) - wandering aimlessly is a must, as is considering the lago at night. It is the most extraordinary place. There is water and stone and colour and light where your eyes can see and well beyond. But night! Night in Venice tops it all. The clamour disappears in a flash. The streets clear and the spectacle, so fleeting during the day’s tumult, is revealed to be wondered at at your leisure. Remember though, stay in groups. With a bit of wine maybe. Bologna too and Pisa and Siena if you get the chances. My one regret is that I didn't get to travel that much. My rent was steep. I had a big room, we were central, big kitchen, balcony, roar of the Adige (Go to Sottoriva! The osterie live up to their Rough Planet/Lonely Guide billing)...TO BE CONTINUED SOON!