But my holiday in Croatia was fantastic despite the colder weather - full of sea, sand (it's EVERYWHERE!), thunderstorms, Milka chocolate, ferries, cheap food and really lovely people. From swimming at sunrise to listening to the sea organs at sunset, this holiday was a fusion of Mediterranean and East European culture. So, prepare for a photo explosion.
Our first stop was Zadar, an old Roman town with a beautiful sea coast. This was the view from our "hostel" - which was actually more of luxury hotel - which overlooked the old Roman forum and the sea (and Edward!).
We were there two nights, experiencing some really nice pizza, sunsets and the famous Zadar sea organ (which were holes in the pier which made beautiful organ-like sounds whenever the sea pushed air into them. A beautiful place to be with your thoughts).
And those clean streets - so beautiful!
The view from the Zadar bell tower was spectacular. You had a 360 view of the city - it is just dotted with little red roofs and yachts.
Two days later, we headed to the largest island in the Zadar archipelago, Dugi Otok. Not the most inhabited island in the world (okay, rather uninhabited - there was one hotel for the entire island), it was definitely one of the most gorgeous. We stayed in Bozava - which had more people staying in its hotel than in its village - and the staff at the hotel couldn't be nicer. We found our own little secluded beach along the coast walk and had our first dip (it was really, really cold!)
We spent a few days at the beautiful Sakarun beach - a little piece of unspoiled, uncrowded paradise!
And lads, they have BLUE. FANTA.
The sunrise the morning we left the island was fabulous. Well worth getting up at 4am for (although we were cursing the early start later on...)
You wouldn't know I liked photos of sunrises eh? :)
So, we took the ferry back to Zadar and hopped on the bus to Split - another Roman town - which was also very clean and beautiful. The Rivera is full of little bars and coffee shops opposite the harbour and is lined with palm trees - gave me a glance as to what Los Angeles could be like (don't spoil it, I'll be there some day!).
The old town was also very lovely.
We were barely in Split a day when we took our ferry to the island of Brac (much more inhabited - yay!). We stayed in the touristy town of Bol which was home to several bars and restaurants. There was always something going on!
And we took a little bit of a dip!
Another sunset (I really like sunsets!)
We headed to the beautiful beach of Zlatni Rat for a day - before the rain came! What I loved about this beach was not the shallow, warm sea but the fact that small fish happily swam underneath you. It all seemed touristy and yet, so natural and local. And not to mention the gorgeous colour of that beach ('zlatni' meaning gold)!
Obligatory beach selfie! Zlatni also had some of the nicest fries ever courtesy of Surf N' Fries (these guys need to get to Ireland stat!)
And we couldn't miss the the first Croatian World Cup match but the power was cut thanks to this:
We were there three days when it got a bit cloudy...
We headed back to Split and took a flight to Copenhagen (the hour and a half there was very exciting altogether) and then back to Dublin.
It was a holiday with its fair share of travelling and relaxing and even though I am home less than 12 hours, I am already feeling a bit blue. I will miss the beautiful ice cream, the cheap food (seriously, Croatia shows up just how expensive things are at home!), the friendly people and those crystal clear waters. My favourite part though? A delicious chocolate-wafer snack called Jadro. I wish I had brought some home!
Any plans for summer? Let me know below! x
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