CROATIA - Travel Recommendation

22:06 Travel Bunny 0 Comments

My trip in Croatia lasted 10 days and I had many fond memories in Croatia. Croatia is a country that has a lot to offer: from charming European cities and grand fortifications to wonderful nature and beaches. Its capital city is Zagreb. Croatia’s Adriatic Sea coast contains more than 1,000 islands. Hvar Island is one of the most popular islands in Croatia.

Summer is the peak season for Croatia. Therefore, the hotel price is expensive compared to low season like winter. Below is the list of hotels that I’ve stayed in Croatia for reference:

Zagreb (17 July 2015) - Palace Hotel
Address: Square J.J.Strossmayer 10, Donji Grad, 10 000 Zagreb
Location: Next to old city park, 0.3 miles to Dolac (open market), 15-20 min walk to city centre
Room type: Comfort Double or Twin Room
Price per night: HRK 657
Breakfast included: Yes, buffet breakfast
Facilities: TV, private bathroom, free Wi-Fi, air conditioning, hair dryer, mini bar, safe box, baggage storage, crib provided
Review: Standard 4 star hotel room and service, a bit pricey, good location
Rating: 4/5


Exterior of Palace Hotel.
 
 


The interior of the double room.



 

Opposite the hotel is the Art Pavilion.
 
 


Nearby is the King Tomislav Square and main railway station.
 
Plitvice Lake (20 July 2015) - Apartments Bramado
Address: Seliste Dreznicko 5, 47246 Seliste Dreznicko
Location: 3.1 miles away from Plitvice National Park
Room type: Studio
Price per night: approx. $66
Breakfast included: No, but tea bag and instant coffee provided
Facilities: TV, private bathroom, kitchen pantry, stove, dining table, electric kettle, refrigerator, hair dryer, patio, baggage storage, outdoor BBQ facilities
Review: Spacious and comfortable room, quiet natural surroundings, the only downside is no fan or air conditioning for ground floor room (need to open window), temperature at night & early morning is cool, so it’s still fine for me
Special remark: if you prefer air conditioning, ask for the upper room, air conditioning only available for upper floor room
Rating: 4/5


This is the main signboard by the main road which shows the list of private apartments in the area.
 
   
Bramado is No.5.
 
 

It’s a two storey building.
 
 

Our unit is at ground floor. Coat hangers and shoe rack on the left once entering the room.



The room is quite spacious.



It has a kitchen pantry complete with stove, sink, kettle and even plates and utensils in the cabinet.


Zadar (21 July 2015) - Apartments & Rooms Andrea
Address: Tanzlingera Zanottjia 6, 23000 Zadar
Location: 5 min. walk to main attractions of Old City and Kolovare beach
Room type: Double Room
Price per night: approx. $110
Breakfast included: No
Review: Great location, friendly owner, clean & comfortable room, can hang clothes on balcony on first floor
Facilities: TV, private bathroom, balcony, free Wi-Fi, fully equipped kitchen pantry with stove, fridge, crib provided
Rating: 4.5/5


Apartments & Rooms Andrea is located among the local resident houses.



A staircase to reach the first floor.



It has 2014 Award of Excellence on booking.com



Our room is at first floor, the first door at the right.





Clean and spacious room with crib provided for my son.
 
 

Kitchen pantry with stove and sink.





The owner showed us the map of the Old City.



 
Split (22 & 23 July 2015) - Kastel Split
Address: Milhovilova Sirina 5, 21000 Split
Official Website: http://www.kastelsplit.com
Room type: Economy double
Price per night: approx. 111.2€
Room type: Double with sea view
Price per night: approx. 144€
Breakfast included: No
Facilities: TV, private bathroom, air conditioning, hair dryer, mini bar, safe box, crib provided
Pro: Great location (right inside the Diocletian Palace), plenty of bars and restaurants around
Con: Slanting floor in the double room facing inner square (3^rd floor) which caused my 2 year old son to lose balance and knock his face on the toilet door frame. Fully booked at that time and couldn’t change room until 2^nd day we moved to the originally booked room facing sea, was glad the floor wasn’t slanted this time.
Special remark: for direct reservations, they offer 10% discount for cash payment. Additional reduction if you stay longer or exclude breakfast
Rating: 3/5


The hotel is close to the Brass Gate of Diocletian Palace.
 
 

Walk straight into this side lane, Kastel Split is just right ahead.
 
 

Exterior of Kastel Split.
 
 

We booked two nights, first night is normal double room, second night is room with sea view. This is normal double room.



View from the hotel window.





The floor for this room is slanting to one side.



Luckily it wasn’t a serious injury.



Room with sea view. This room has levelled floor.



View of Split’s promenade from hotel window.



 

Kastel Split has no lift, so don’t bring big suitcase.
 
Hvar island (24 & 25 July 2015) - Violeta Hvar
Address: Biskupa Dubrokovica 22, 21450 Hvar
Room type: Double room with balcony
Price per night: Approx. $99
Breakfast included: No
Review: Clean & comfortable room, good location but need to walk a long stairs downhill to reach central square of Hvar
Facilities: TV, private bathroom, balcony, free Wi-Fi, air conditioning, fridge, baggage storage
Rating: 4/5


Exterior of Violeta Hvar.



Outdoor terrace.





I’m quite satisfied with the condition of the room.



View from balcony.




The only downside is that it’s a long way up to go back Violeta Hvar from the central square of Hvar.

Dubrovnik (26 July 2015) – Hotel Vis
Address: Masarykov Put 4, Lapad
Room type: Double room with balcony and sea view
Price per night: HRK 254
Breakfast included: Yes, buffet breakfast
Facilities: TV, private bathroom, balcony, free Wi-Fi, air conditioning, hair dryer, mini bar, safe box, baggage storage
Review: Standard 4 star hotel room and service, direct access to private pebble beach at Lapad bay, have to travel by car/bus to Old City
Special remark: No lift, but hotel staff will help to carry baggage to and from room
Rating: 4.5/5




Balcony view. I forgot to take photo of the room. The room was what you’d expected from a 4 star hotel.

 
Direct access to Lapad beach. We had a fun time at the beach. Recommended for a 1 night stay before shifting to somewhere near Dubrovnik Old City.
 
Dubrovnik (27 July 2015)
Alberto Apartments
Address: Svetog Šimuna 2, Old Town, 20 000 Dubrovnik, Croatia
Location: Inside the Old City of Dubrovnik
Room type: Comfort apartment
Price per night: approx. $186
Breakfast included: No
Facilities: TV, private bathroom, free Wi-Fi, air conditioning, fully equipped kitchen pantry, fridge, dining table, sofa, crib provided
Pro: Modern & comfortable room
Con: Difficult to locate, have to carry luggage a long way to the apartment (upstairs all the way), no view from window
Rating: 2.5/5


The private terrace inside the compound.
 
 

The living room of our suite. The staircase leads to the double bed. It has no railing so not suitable for young kids.



The double bed is on mezzanine floor.



There’s only one toilet in the suite. There’re plenty of accomodation options near Dubrovnik Old City, just outside the city walls. I would not recommend staying inside the Old City as there’s too many steps to climb before you can reach the hotel.

For those who is interested, my travel itinerary in Slovenia & Croatia is as follows:

Day 1 – Zagreb.
Exploring Zagreb in the afternoon. Overnight in Zagreb.
Further reading: CROATIA - Zagreb


 
Day 2 – Day trip from Zagreb to Lake Bled area.
Overnight in Ljubljana.

Day 3 –Ljubljana - Predjama castle - Postojna Cave– Piran.
Overnight in Piran.

Day 4 – Piran - Rovinj - Plitvice Lakes
Overnight in Plitvice.
Further reading: CROATIA – Rovinj and CROATIA - Plitvice Lakes National Park


 
Day 5 - Plitvice hiking tour - Zadar
Overnight in Zadar.
Further reading: CROATIA - Zadar


 
Day 6 - Zadar – Trogir - Split
Overnight in Split.
Further reading: CROATIA – Trogir and CROATIA - Split


 
Day 7 - Split city walking tour (by car to Salona and Klis)
Overnight in Split
Further reading: CROATIA - Klis Fortress and CROATIA - Solin & Salona


 
Day 8 - Split - Hvar island (Starigrad ferry)
Overnight in Hvar.
Further reading: CROATIA - Hvar Island


 
Day 9 - Boat trip to Pakleni.
Overnight in Hvar.
Further reading: CROATIA - Hvar & Pakleni Islands


 
Day 10 - Hvar - (Sucuraj ferry) - Ston – Arboretum Trsteno Gardern - Dubrovnik
Overnight in Dubrovnik (Lapad)
Further reading: CROATIA – Ston, CROATIA - Arboretum Trsteno Garden and CROATIA - Dubrovnik (Lapad)

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Day 11 - Dubrovnik city tour
Overnight in Dubrovnik.
Further reading: CROATIA - Dubrovnik (Old City) and CROATIA - Dubrovnik (Old City Wall & Lovrijenac Fortress)


Day 12 – Depart to Dubrovnik Airport



The tour guide that I engaged was the same tour guide I engaged in Slovenia. His name is Gorazd. Although he is a Slovenian, he can speak Croatian language and knows Croatia quite well. The price for his services is very reasonable. You can visit his website at www.slovenia-private-tours.com and he can be contacted at his email address slovenia.private@gmail.com.



Gorazd also prepared a car seat for my son. So if you’re traveling with a kid, you can request him to prepare a car seat for you. It’s a convenient way to travel since you don’t have to worry about transportation and your travelling time is flexible.

My posting on Croatia ends here. But my trip continued on to Greece. Stay tuned.