Croatia

Right after 20 years of having travelled only in the UK, Purplenose is climbing aboard big metal bird and going behind the iron curtain to Croatia. I will be staying in close to Zadar.

Has anyone been?
Is beer and grub cheap and acceptable.
Can you get Golden Virginia Rolling tobacco and Lambert and Butler fags?
Are the locals friendly?
Is it a relatively rag free place?

As I will be flying with Ryan air is it best to bring my own flying hat and goggles?

Amazing Beautiful place and people .....foods good , beers good , everything is good.
 
I'm looking at going to either Cavtat or Srebreno in September. Seen a couple of nice hotels for the me and the Mrs, idea is we have best of boths world by chilling near the sea/ pool then having a few trips in to Dubrovnik. Also open to a day trip to Montenegro (if we are allowed in by then).

I have seen some positive comments re Cavtat so I'm quite sold on there. Are the prices for food and drink a little less than Dubrovnik in Cavtat?

Not much difference tbh...in the main turist area of the old town in Dubrovnik its a bit pricey...but thats to be expected....we ate/drank in our hotel a bit and the restaurants in Cavtat are really nice....its very quiet (tbf, we were there at end of October)...but its beautiful

we stayed in Hotel Croatia in Cavtat after a few recommendations from people...and id go back in a heartbeat....loved it

https://www.adriaticluxuryhotels.com/hotel-croatia-dubrovnik-cavtat/


*be careful as i think there is another hotel very close called Croatia as well...or very similar
 
Thank you all for the replies....this is a bit of a trial run for a far more extensive Balkan tour later in the year. On my todd.

Its 20 years since I went overseas and used to be a fairly fearless traveller. I am a different person now and have had a few health issues a big one being anxiety and all that nonsense. So despite it being an easy trip it will be a big test to see if its realistic to fulfil a lifetime ambition and explore Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Even going to the airport and all that seems quite daunting at the moment, all very silly and annoying.

So anymore observations and stories of visits to the Balkans will be gratefully digested and all being well I will be able to share my experience with someone else who needs it some day.

You are headed north, so less touristy and less overwhelmed with cruise ship hoards. Do prepare yourself for a bit of a culture shift, while all nice polite and totally friendly, as a Brit things we take for granted (queuing, smiling irrespective of mood, punctuality etc) might not be part of the priority daily routine, try embrace and enjoy that.

Why the ambition of touring eastern europe and that part out of curiosity?
 
Going to Dubrovnik in a couple of weeks, can’t wait. Never been before so any recommendations on what to do/see would be much appreciated. Also, going to be there for the Wolves game so anyone know where’s good to watch football there, preferably near the old town?

Not sure if you are staying in the old town ot out of it, but my top bit of advice would be, time walking around it outwith cruise ship people dump times. Assuming they are running due to covid obvs.

The wall walk imho is worth the price. The rest is probably self explanatory.
 
We stayed in Milini, in between Cavtat and Dubrovnik. A small village with a couple of bars and several restaurants and only a sort bus ride to Dubrovnik (or boat if you fancy it). Absolutely loved the place, you won’t be disappointed.
 
Was in Zadar last September with some mates...it's beautiful. Took a day trip down to Split by bus; if you do that, don't make the same mistake that we did. There were 2 different prices available and naturally being tightfists we took the cheaper one without looking too closely at the details. Turned out we had to get off the first bus practically in the middle of nowhere and wait 20mins by the roadside for another bus to pick us up and finish the journey! Weird. Fortunately, this wasn't repeated on the return trip.
We were there for the home game against Watford; now I was the only Blue but the others like good football and were happy to find a bar to watch it. Thought I'd made a total fuck up with the kick-off times though; when we found a bar showing the game it was already 5-0 but we'd only missed just over 20 mins!
If you will be eating a lot, then I hope you like Italian food because that was all we could. We were there 4 days; now we all like Italian but by the last night we were desperately looking for Chinese or Indian or anything else. Even asked in the Tourist Information office, but still ended up eating Italian!
 
Not sure if you are staying in the old town ot out of it, but my top bit of advice would be, time walking around it outwith cruise ship people dump times. Assuming they are running due to covid obvs.

The wall walk imho is worth the price. The rest is probably self explanatory.
Was the wall walk worth it? When i was there, last Oct/Nov they were looking £30 each....and it was me, Mrs and son.....wasnt gonna pay £90 for it!!!
 
Not much difference tbh...in the main turist area of the old town in Dubrovnik its a bit pricey...but thats to be expected....we ate/drank in our hotel a bit and the restaurants in Cavtat are really nice....its very quiet (tbf, we were there at end of October)...but its beautiful

we stayed in Hotel Croatia in Cavtat after a few recommendations from people...and id go back in a heartbeat....loved it

https://www.adriaticluxuryhotels.com/hotel-croatia-dubrovnik-cavtat/


*be careful as i think there is another hotel very close called Croatia as well...or very similar

Cheers pal, that hotel is now on my shortlist.

How easy is it to get to and from Dubrovnik from that hotel/Cavtat? Looking to have a few days relaxing and not leaving the hotel but would also enjoy eating out and trying different bars in Dubrovnik.
 
You are headed north, so less touristy and less overwhelmed with cruise ship hoards. Do prepare yourself for a bit of a culture shift, while all nice polite and totally friendly, as a Brit things we take for granted (queuing, smiling irrespective of mood, punctuality etc) might not be part of the priority daily routine, try embrace and enjoy that.

Why the ambition of touring eastern europe and that part out of curiosity?


Fortunately I am quite familiar with the differing view of daily life over there and dare I say much prefer it to how we are here. I normally fly to Zadar but those flights have been victim to Covid thought at least it might present a good opportunity to see Dubrovnik not rammed as I believe it usually is. I had not travelled anywhere for 20 years and then a couple of years back decided to do a cheap Ryanair and Airbnb for me and the Mrs who is disabled. We have become friends with the people we stayed with and try to return twice a year. We both fell in Love with Croatia. As you say brilliant place and brilliant people.

Being a child of the cold war I have always have had an interest in Eastern Europe and never thought the chance to go there would come. The Balkans in particular attract me because of the incredible history of the place and more so since finding Croatia and being told that visiting all the other Balkan countries is a great thing to do by the Croats.

I am hoping to perhaps even get to Russia next year to go looking at military aircraft.....who would ever have thought it.
 

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