The Adventures of Josip & Melanie

Josip and I have always wanted to experience traveling Croatia in the summer time and truly see all that it has to offer. So we took advantage of our time off this summer and made our way to the Croatian coast. We started in Split and hired a car for our month long holiday. Josip had not driven for around fourteen months and the fact that he had to drive on the opposite side of the road made us a bit nervous. But in true Josip style he was driving like a pro within minutes. We had not booked any accommodation besides the one week where we will be sailing on the Adriatic Sea in a boat, so this holiday really will be an adventure.

For our first stop we landed in a little town called Omis. The first thing we did was eat a big lovely meal of cevapi with onions, fresh bread and salad. It was so delicious and I was looking forward to all the great food Croatia has to offer. Everyone just has to visit Croatia in the summer time as the sea sparkles, moods are high and the whole place just has a relaxing feel. If you come here looking a bit pale you might feel out of place. Almost everyone has an amazing tan and a lot of people look like models.

This town is known as the Omis Rivera as it is a beautiful seaside town which has a river going through a valley of mountains. Being an old town on the Adriatic coast Omis has ruins of an old fort which of course require a hike up many stone steps. But the views from the top were rather amazing. Omis really was very beautiful and we definitely recommend a visit as the views are fantastic and the town is buzzing with energy. Also for those of you who love a bit of adventure they offer rock climbing, river rafting down the Cetina River, paragliding and hiking.

We managed to find some accommodation late that night. Lucky for us we speak the language and the locals are even more helpful when you know a few words. It is now the peak of the summer season and the place is crawling with tourists. But there is no need to worry too much about money as private accommodation is the way to go in Croatia. You must look for signs that say ‘sobe’ which simply means ‘rooms’. At this time of the year you are looking to pay around 180 to 300 Kuna per night/per room depending on which city you are staying in. Expect the rooms to be very clean and reasonably comfy, if you are lucky you might get a view of the sea.

The next morning we continued our journey down the coast and stopped at a few places during the day to eat some ice-cream and enjoy the sun. For our first swim in the Adriatic Sea in summer time we stopped in Brela. Brela is also surrounded by the mountains and is placed at the foot of Mount Biokovo. The water is so pristine that I could see clearly down to the sea bed.

We decided to go to the Island of Korcula. First we had to drive all the way to a town called Orebic and make our way across by ferry which took around 20 minutes. When driving along in a country as small as Croatia it makes you realize just how big Australia is. When you look at the map of Croatia, Split to Orebic looks like Melbourne to Sydney but really it is only a 2 hour drive apart.

The first thing that strikes you about Korcula is that it resembles Dubrovnik but on a much smaller scale. The town is built inside fortress like walls and centers around a tower. We tried to get accommodation in a hostel but it was full. There are not many hostels in Croatia but who needs them when you have such great cheap private accommodation. We found a bargain just outside the city walls which took about 5 minutes to get to by car. It was a one bedroom apartment with a bathroom and kitchen for 200 Kuna a night.

Korcula is a very pretty Island with narrow cobbled streets and colorful harbor. It is also the greenest of all the Islands in the Adriatic Sea. Unfortunately we missed out on the traditional Moreska sword dance that is a world famous folk drama/dance. It used to be played all over the Mediterranean but is now only performed in Korcula. Another interesting fact about this place is that Marco Polo the famous Venetian traveler/writer, was supposedly born here and they are going to turn the house of his birth into a museum. After our wonderful time in Korcula it was time to move on and make our way to our next stop, Dubrovnik.