Croatia? Europe's New 'in spot?'

[unclemick]

Straight scoop from Kansas City. Youngest nephew/wife are off on vacation/wedding of Navy buddies in Croatia next week. One sides parents are originally from Holland.

So is Croatia the new place? Replacing Spain/Portugal/Greek Islands of yore?

Anyone vacationed there recently?

heh heh heh - Pensacola to Croatia should be a interesting travel story. .

[Calgary_Girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclemick Straight scoop from Kansas City. Youngest nephew/wife are off on vacation/wedding of Navy buddies in Croatia next week. One sides parents are originally from Holland. So is Croatia the new place? Replacing Spain/Portugal/Greek Islands of yore? Anyone vacationed there recently?

Croatia (in particular Dubrovnik) has always been popular with Europeans. Not as expensive as Italy and much nicer in my opinion. My family is Croatian so I know what I'm talking about . It's just taken North Americans a looonnngggg time to realize how gorgeous Dubrovnik is.

[NW-Bound]

In the last few years, I have read several articles about Croatia in travel magazines such as CondeNast, Travel+Leisure, etc... Perhaps National Geographic too. Beautiful beaches and coast line, and prices weren't bad.

So many places in the world to visit, so little time and money ...

[Gworker]

Some people are complaining now that it has been discovered, it's starting to get crowded. There are many interesting areas in Eastern Europe, I traveled around there for work and really enjoyed it. I never made it to Croatia though.

[Calgary_Girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gworker Some people are complaining now that it has been discovered, it's starting to get crowded.

True. May to August is the busy season. DH and I were there in late September in 2004 and it was perfect. Prices were much lower since Sept/Oct is considered the off-season and the weather was still a very nice 80F.

[Calgary_Girl]

A view of the "Old Town" of Dubrovnik (aka the walled city):

Image:800px-Dubrovnik Croatia.jpg - Wikitravel

You can walk around the top of the entire wall which takes about an hour. Breathtaking.

[donheff]

I was considering a bike tour in Croatia but am going to Andalusia in Spain instead. Maybe next year for Croatia.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gworker There are many interesting areas in Eastern Europe, I traveled around there for work and really enjoyed it.

We have been to Prague. Many Brits fly there for a short vacation. My wife has also been to Budapest. Much less expensive than places like London, and these places have plenty to offer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calgary_Girl A view of the "Old Town" of Dubrovnik (aka the walled city): You can walk around the top of the entire wall which takes about an hour. Breathtaking.

I am seriously considering this. Generally, I like ALL places around the Mediterranean. Have not been to North Africa, or Turkey though. I prefer the coastal towns such as this. Got to prioritize. So many places, so little time and money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff I was considering a bike tour in Croatia but am going to Andalusia in Spain instead. Maybe next year for Croatia.

We have been to Seville. Did not have time to go further south.

[bbbamI]

Had some friends visit Croatia. They absolutely loved it! My woman friend didn't talk too much about the area...she mostly talked about the great looking men. I think she will be going back.

[Cruisinthru]

We visited Croatia on a cruise last summer. Spent a day in Split and a day in Dubrovnick. Dubrovinick was beautiful. The picture posted above in this thread doesn't do it justice. We took a tour into the countryside outside Dubrovnick and were impressed with that also. That said I don't think that Croatia is a place that I would want to go back to and spend much time there.

[mattymcmatt]

I lived in Zagreb (the capital) for a year. It's a great country to visit - I wouldn't live there again as I find the people a bit too negative. They have the most amazing sunsets I have seen anywhere. Any city along the coast has a perfect temperature and amount of sun.

The point about it being too discovered might be true. When I went to Dubrovnik, I thought I had arrived in Western Europe as almost everyone was either German, British or American. Stick to the other cities along the coast (and the islands) if you don't want the tourist atmosphere. They are just as beautiful.

[rs0460a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calgary_Girl You can walk around the top of the entire wall which takes about an hour. Breathtaking.

We were there two years ago. Here's another view (from our travelog ) - click to expand.

- Ron

[LOL!]

In 1986 I spent part of a long vacation in Yugoslavia. I've been to every place mentioned in this thread: Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb, Pech, Ljubljana, Belgrad, Skopje, Sarajevo, Pristina, ....

The folks there did't like their neighbors and were very suspicous of foreigners. Sure things have changes in 22 years, but the Croates, Serbs, Macedonians and Albanians that I know the best all have left the country.

Maybe I'm jaded from too much travelling, but there are lots of places I would go to (and back to) before I went back to Croatia.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL! In 1986 I spent part of a long vacation in Yugoslavia. I've been to every place mentioned in this thread: Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb, Pech, Ljubljana, Belgrad, Skopje, Sarajevo, Pristina, .... The folks there did't like their neighbors and were very suspicous of foreigners. Sure things have changes in 22 years, but the Croates, Serbs, Macedonians and Albanians that I know the best all have left the country. Maybe I'm jaded from too much travelling, but there are lots of places I would go to (and back to) before I went back to Croatia.

Many times prospective expats don't understand the new language, or the culture, or its history. And I don't mean the National Geographic or History Channel or Rick Steves' version of those, but what you might get from a serious reading of history.

If you don't have any idea what is going on, you really aren't likely to get beyond, "Gosh this is pretty!" Like a friend’s parent said after visiting Italy-“Aren’t these Eye-talians smart? Even the little bitty kids speak Eye-talian.”

The Balkans peoples have a long history of quite nasty treatment of one another.

Ha

[LOL!]

The reason I was in Yugoslavia was part of an "on-the-ground, in your face" history course given by a German professor who had been teaching the same course for about a decade. He knew where all the ammunition dumps were and where all the tanks were placed to make sure the local populace was pacified.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL! The reason I was in Yugoslavia was part of an "on-the-ground, in your face" history course given by a German professor who had been teaching the same course for about a decade. He knew where all the ammunition dumps were and where all the tanks were placed to make sure the local populace was pacified.

I am sure that was eye-opening!

Ha

[Gworker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha The Balkans peoples have a long history of quite nasty treatment of one another.

I was detailed to the UN a few years ago as an investigator. We would go to interview someone about an incident and they would start the story telling about their great grand parents and how the Serbs stole their land 150 years ago. Now we were trying to find out about something that happened the last month. It was very eye opening and interesting.

Don't get me started on the UN and their organizational structure!

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gworker I was detailed to the UN a few years ago as an investigator. We would go to interview someone about an incident and they would start the story telling about their great grand parents and how the Serbs stole their land 150 years ago. Now we were trying to find out about something that happened the last month. It was very eye opening and interesting. Don't get me started on the UN and their organizational structure!

I bet that was very interesting. Kind of like parts of Eastern KY, only more committed.

Ha

[Canadian Grunt]

I have spent a fair bit of time in Croatia. Once during the war and again in 2000.

If I was to visit I would do a vehicle tour of the coast from Pula to Dubrovnik.

Of note, be sure to see the Roman Coliseum outside of Pula, Diocletian's Palace in Split, and the old walled city in Dubrovnik.

People will be friendly enough if you stick to tourism talk and respect the people. If you talk about the war they will close up. They are trying to move on. It was nasty and best left in the past.

As for the coast, except for Dubrovnik, it was not caught up in the war so much and has good infrastructure but the interior is still recovering. In Dubrovnik you may see some spalling from shells on roadways at the south western wall but the damage is mostly repaired except for the odd roof.

Grunt

[oma]

Was in Zagreb in 1994 as part of UN mission. Used to go into the city even back then and always felt safe, welcome by the locals. Lots of culture as I recall. Symphony and opera were in full force even though the country just finished a war. Haven't gone back in over a decade.