Plitvice Lakes and Hvar Island, Croatia
About halfway between Zagreb and Split is one of the most incredible natural phenomena, the Falling Lakes at Plitviče Lakes National Park. You could, if you had to, squeeze it into a day trip from either city, but since we have the time we decided to spend two nights and take things at a more leisurely pace. We rented a car and headed to the small village of Korenica where we checked into the most adorable guest house, Plitvice Hills. It was modern and comfortable, with two balconies in our room, views of the hills, and a hot tub. What more could we want?
We cozied up the first night, watching Netflix and relaxing after dinner at one of the (nearly empty) restaurants nearby. In the morning, we drove ten minutes to the park where we discovered a very well-planned experience waiting for us. This park is Croatia’s oldest and largest national park and it truly sets the bar high. They outline for you different recommendations of hiking routes through the park, with clear signage throughout and estimates of how much time it will take you. We opted for the 4.5-6 hour hike following path H, which included a bus ride and a water taxi, all included in the ticket.
The paths and trails are all built from wood and its really amazing the work that’s gone into it. Some of the stairways are built right over the water, even as its rushing downhill, which was a very cool sight. The park is made up of over 16 lakes, which vary in elevation, so you get each one pouring and flowing down into the next via over 400 waterfalls. It’s really impossible to do it justice with words alone, so we found ourselves taking an insane amount of photos and videos to try and capture the beauty. The clean turquoise waters are tempting but you can swim in them, which is honestly ok because I have to support any measures to protect this natural wonder.
Our hiking route concluded at the tallest waterfall in Croatia, which was quite the finale. After our epic day we were happy to unwind in the hot tub with a bottle of wine back at the guest house. The food in this area was very traditional, so nothing too remarkable, but we enjoyed our last meal and then headed back to relax. In the morning we would be driving back to Split to return the rental car and then hopping a ferry to Hvar Island.
Hvar is known as somewhat of a party destination, but since its not the high season, we got to enjoy its other accolades as one of the most beautiful islands in the world. There are two main towns in Hvar, Hvar Town (where we stayed) and Stari Grad which is one of the top 5 oldest cities in Europe. The ferry took us to Hvar Town where we were staying in the heart of the main square, St Stephen’s Square.
Our host met us near the port to lead us on the short walk to the place. As she checked us in, she gave us a run down of things we needed to see and do, restaurant recommendations, a walking tour, and more. We have found a lot of this brand of hospitality in Croatia. The locals all want you to see the best of their city and are super kind and helpful with recommendations and tips. At her advice, we hiked up to the fortress overlooking the city where we could take in the best views of the town and the Adriatic Sea.
Hvar is known for its beach clubs, so we took a stroll on the promenade to check them out but found that most are still closed doing prep work for the season. A few brave visitors were swimming in the chilly water, and others were laying out, but the crowds were sparse which just meant more for us. As you walk along the shore, there are tiled steps that lead right down into the water. No sandy beaches here, just jump right in or enter from a rocky beach. We put swimming on our to-do list for the next day and headed to dinner at Gurme.
Again with the hospitality, the server/chef/all-in-one working was so friendly and gracious with recommendations. Since it’s a Tapas and Wine bar, we opted for a 4-wine/4-tapas deal where we let him surprise us. After the first course of tuna tartare and second course of bruschetta with marinated shrimp, he went around the corner for a bit and came back with two massive legs of cured ham and wheels of cheese. You couldn’t get fresher charcuterie if you made it yourself. The rest of the meal, and wines, were awesome and he kept the libations coming with a fruit wine and a grappa, and then another glass of red. By the time we said our goodbyes the sun had set and we had made a new friend.
With the beach clubs closed, there wasn’t much of a nightlife scene but we found all the willing revelers at Lolo. There was a DJ and people sitting in every nook and cranny you could find outside the tiny restaurant/bar. The folks next to us turned out to also be from the west coast and also keen on shots of some Croatian liquor so we made fast friends. A few rounds and a few shots and we were having one of the more wild nights of the trip so far. We didn’t get too crazy though, and luckily our guest house was just a short walk away.
In the morning, we rented a scooter for two days, to explore the island, check out the beaches, and catch the sunset. Needless to say, the rental guy at Antonio’s was thorough with the recommendations (so much so that we bumped into the other renters from the office at nearly every stop we went). On the south side of the island there were three main beaches you can visit, though there are likely many others in between. We made a quick stop at the first, Milna Bay, just to check it out, but then continued on to Dubovica beach. A short hike down and we were in the most secluded and beautiful cove. We laid in the sun before braving the water, a cool 60 degrees Fahrenheit. I was pretty proud of myself for swimming out, but didn’t need to stay in too long to say I did. A little beach nap to dry off and we headed to our next stop, Vrboska.
Vrboksa is a little fishing village on the north side the island, is the smallest town on Hvar. It’s actually on an island in a bay, and it’s called Little Venice because of the bridges. When in Vrboksa, you’ve gotta eat seafood, so I ordered the prawn pasta at Skojic. Expecting shrimp, I was surprised to get 5 giant crustaceans and my own shell cracking tool. I was brave (by my standards) and put in the work to crack, shell, etc the little aliens. On our drive back to town we took the long way, going through Brusje where the lavender fields were not yet in bloom and catching a beautiful sunset from the road.
The rain clouds were taunting us the next day, but we took to the scooter once again to visit Dubovica Wines in Jelsa. This family run winery still makes wines on a small scale and hosts intimate candlelit tastings in their wine cellar. We were welcomed with bread, cheese, and their own infused olive oils to enjoy with our 11 wine tasting. We found two that we really liked and got bottles to take with us. Later at lunch, we would see those same wines on the menu at a 5x markup, so we were stoked to have gotten them for a steal. The winemaker himself hosted the tasting and was so knowledgable and kind, and we even ended up talking about Croatia history and politics before heading back to beat the rain.
We had a late lunch on the promenade back in Hvar Town after returning the scooter. For our last night on Hvar, the skies opened up, but luckily we were stocked with wine, Netflix and cards to enjoy in our guest house. In the morning, we would be taking an early ferry to our final stop in Croatia - Dubrovnik!
