Croatia, by Circumstance

In August 2021, at the height of the COVID pandemic, I found myself wandering through medieval streets that were literally used as sets in Game of Thrones, hopping between sun-washed islands, and diving into impossibly clear Adriatic waters. Croatia revealed itself as a place of stone, sea, and quiet beauty, one that deserved to be explored slowly and without distraction, which is why I will one day be back.

Medieval Dubrovnik - The highlight of this trip. Fort Lovrijenac is featured on the left.

The circumstances that brought me there were anything but idyllic. This was not a trip I had planned or even dreamed of. It was an accidental detour caused by closed borders and COVID quarantine rules, and the trip was filled with the uncertainty of leaving my home in Argentina behind, possibly for years. What followed was a two-week stay in Croatia that was as visually stunning as it was emotionally heavy.

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Why did I go to Croatia?

August 2021 was early COVID times: air travel was highly restricted, everyone was wearing face masks, and most countries had closed their borders. Entering the UK directly from Argentina meant thirteen days of mandatory hotel quarantine, at a staggering cost of around £4000.

After a lot of research, I discovered a loophole: Croatia was the only European country allowing Argentine nationals to enter freely with a simple negative COVID test, and the UK permitted quarantine-free entry for travelers who had spent thirteen days there beforehand.

So I flew to Dubrovnik and found myself on a somewhat forced two-week vacation to Croatia, which was much more preferrable than a solitary hotel room in London. Croatia is a place I hope to return to one day, free of stress, and under very different circumstances.

Itinerary

Croatia covers about 1800 km of coast along the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. I traveled East to West, starting from Dubrovnik all the way up to Zagreb.

I decided to spend a good chunk of time in the beautiful city of Dubrovnik, and then ride various ferries to hop between islands up to Split. Finally, I allowed a few days in the often overlooked capital, Zagreb.

• 22/08/2021: 2.00 Airport Covid pre-flight test. Wait for the results there.
• 23/08/2021: 11.30 KLM flight. EZE -> AMS -> MAD
• 24/08/2021: 15.50 MAD -> Dubrovnik
• 24-28: Dubrovnik
• 28-30 : Korcula
• 30-01: Hvar
• 01-02: Split
• 02-05 : Zagreb (w/ day trip to Plitvice)
• 05/09/2021: Ryanair ZAG -> STS

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik, known as “the Pearl of the Adriatic”, is one of the most historically rich cities on the Adriatic. Its medieval walled Old Town is beautiful and charming. One of my fondest memories of visiting the city is simply strolling around the pebbled streets and atop the city walls, all while listening to my favourite chapters of the Game of Thrones audiobooks.

Stradum, the main pedestrian street in Dubrovnik, as seen from atop the city walls

On the downside, I was aghast at the crowds. Surprisingly, Covid did not seem to lower the number of tourists, perhaps even the opposite. Clearly I was not the only one to have realized that Croatia had a pretty lax admission policy, allowing anyone wanting a beach escape during COVID to come here with little hassle.

Strolling the medieval walls

Over the days I visited many rocky, crystal clear beaches such as Banje Beach, where you can bathe while taking in stunning views of medieval fortifications in the background.

One of the many bathing spots, with excellent fortress views

I recall one of the most tremendous thunderstorms I’ve ever seen raging through the night, in my second or third day there. Summer storms are formidable here!

Onofrio’s Fountain at Dubrovnik Old Town

Next time, stay closer to old town and go in low season

To sum up, must see landmarks in Dubrovnik include:

• The city walls: 2 km of walls, towers, bastions. Really worth climbing up and spending a few hours exploring.
• Stradun: The main pedestrian street, connecting Pile Gate to Ploce Gate
• Fort Lovrijenac: The best viewpoint of the Old Town, and filming location of the Red Keep in GoT
• Rector’s Palace and Sponza Palace within the old town
• Dubrovnik Cathedral and other monasteries: Franciscan Monastery and Dominican Monastery
• Small iconic landmarks: Onofrio’s Fountain, Pile Gate and Ploce Gate
• The city is dotted with random ladders dropping into deep clear water, where you can jump into the sea with amazing city views.

Korčula

I boarded a 2.30 hour ferry from Dubrovnik to Korčula (pronounced KOR-chu-la). Korčula is a beautiful island in the Adriatic Sea, part of Croatia’s Dalmatian coast. It’s known for its dense forests, medieval architecture, and cultural heritage. I stayed in Korcula Town, the main settlement, often called Little Dubrovnik.

View of city fortifications in Luka Korculanska Bay, Korcula Town

Steep path leading up to my airbnb

One of the highlights of the trip was renting a bike and going on a little island adventure away from the main town, traversing scenic roads. I took a path south-east to the village of Lumbarda, and my favourite part was being completely alone with my bike and surrounded by vineyards. After a few hours of biking, the bike tire got flat, almost halfway back. I had to walk for kilometers nonstop to the main town, which I remember as a funny adventure.

Vineyard and mountain view

Strolling leisurely along the waterfront is a must:

Hvar

A second 1h30 ferry ride took me to the beautiful island Hvar (pronounced ~far), where you can find an endless shoreline with secluded and deserted beaches. I stayed in the main town, which is called Hvar, and is famous for its nightlife as well as its Venetian architecture.

I remember myself doing a bunch photo shoots in the stony beach, seeing huge cruise ships sail in the distance.

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I did a day tour to Pakleni Islands and was utterly disappointed, one of the islands (Jerome) was to my surprise a nudist hotspot and it was full of elderly men; the next one was supposedly a famous “party” island, more like a tourist trap if you ask me (Carpe Diem Beach). This tour was by far the most sold tour, and I don’t recommend it at all.

The highlight of Hvar was my diving day, I had to take a bus to the other end of the island, Vrboska, to reach the diving center. The town itself was beautiful and full of canals, like a mini Venetia, and I would consider staying there if I am ever back.

According to my diving log, Hvar Divers took us to dive at Kabal (15 m deep) and then to “The Aquarium” (13 m deep).

The waterfront of Hvar Town is beautiful to stroll, have a drink and relax.

Split

The ferry from Hvar terminated in Split, and the bus to Zagreb departed the next day. Ergo, I had a bonus half-day in Split.

I strolled for hours the waterfront boardwalk, full of coffee and souvenir shops, plus narrow streets and the highlight: Diocletian’s Palace.

I was particularly mesmerized by this statue, which looks so much like a sorcerer from a fantasy book, and it’s actually Gregory of Nin, a bishop from medieval Croatia who is a national hero, supposedly advocating for defending Croatian culture, language and statehood by e.g. pushing for church services being delivered in Croatian instead of Latin.

I know Split is a large city and I only managed to scratch the surface by staying a single night there. Hopefully I will be back and visit properly.

Zagreb

Last but not least, the capital city. I am always drawn to capital cities, and this was not the exception, even though Zagreb is often left out of traditional itineraries.

Flixbus operates affordable buses between Split and Zagreb.

I strolled around the main square (Ban Jelačić Square) and the Zagreb Cathedral, a little surprised at times of the slightly run-down appearance of side streets and alleys. It was my first time in Eastern Europe, and I used to think of pristine Western European cities as the standard across all of Europe.

Zagreb Catholic Cathedral, the second tallest building in the country

St Mark’s Church is one of the city landmarks, its colorful tiled roof depicting the Croatian coat of arms.

St Mark’s Church with its distinctive colourful roof, a landmark of Zagreb

On my last day I visited an unusual museum: The Museum of Broken Relationships, dedicated to showcasing objects linked to funny, interesting or emotional breakups. The rest of my day was devoted to doing yet another round of pre-flight COVID tests and preparing the documentation necessary to enter the UK the next day.

To be honest, I was a little absent minded during my days in Zagreb. I feel that I left a few interesting landmarks unchecked, and I hope I can one day go back and write a post that makes it justice.

Plitvice National Park

I scheduled a full day to visit the famous Plitvice National Park, which involves a 2-hour bus ride each way from Zagreb. It was beautiful, full of lakes, waterfalls and waterways, small bridges and nature. The colour of the water was just magical, it was a unique deep light blue. Awfully crowded though.

It was really really hard to connect with nature amongst such crowds, and I would really encourage anyone interested to visit to try to skip high season and weekends. Going really early in the morning may be another way to enjoy before tour buses arrive.

Trip Highlights

My favourite moments and sites from the trip were:

• Riding a bike across vineyards in Lumbarda, Korcula.
• Strolling Dubrovnik city walls while listening to GoT audiobooks.
• Plitvice National Park, despite the crowds.

Expenses

Here is an overview of the expenses of the trip, which can hopefully help in planning a future trip. Remember to adjust by inflation, this was 2021, and Croatia hadn’t yet joined the Eurozone.

Item	Details	Cost (USD)
Flight Madrid → Dubrovnik	Iberia, 2 checked bags	162
Flight Zagreb → London	Ryanair, 2 checked bags	144
Airbnb Dubrovnik (4 nights)	private apartment	200
Airbnb Korčula (2 nights)	private apartment	129
Airbnb Hvar (2 nights)	private apartment	160
Airbnb Split (1 night)	private apartment	60
Airbnb Zagreb (3 nights)	private apartment	173
Ferry Dubrovnik → Korčula	Company: G&V	14
Ferry Korčula → Hvar	Company: KRILO	11
Ferry Hvar → Split	Company: Jard	15
FlixBus Split → Zagreb		19
SIM card (2 weeks)		12
Dubrovnik City Walls	Entry ticket	31
Gym day pass	pretty expensive	12
Bike rental in Korčula (1 day)		18
Diving x 2 sites in Hvar	Hvar Divers	90
Round trip bus Zagreb ↔ Plitvice NP		26
Plitvice NP Entry		18

Public transportation (especially by ferry) was insanely cheap. Diving was also on the inexpensive side compared to other destinations I have visited. I also found consistently better prices in Airbnb than in Booking.com, and the apartments were really comfortable, excluding the one in Dubrovnik.

🇭🇷 Croatia: Nerdy Stats Table

Stat	Details
Official Name	Republic of Croatia (Republika Hrvatska)
Date of “Birth”	June 25, 1991 (declared independence from Yugoslavia)
Language	Croatian (hrvatski jezik)
How Old is the Language	Approximately 1,000 years (oldest texts date back to the 11th century)
Population (2025 est.)	3,850,894
Top 3 Religions	1. Roman Catholic – 79% 2. Orthodox Christian – 3.3% 3. Other Christian – 4.8%
Top 5 Cities by Population	1. Zagreb – 767,131 2. Split – 160,577 3. Rijeka – 107,964 4. Osijek – 96,313 5. Zadar – 72,718
Top 5 Economic Activities	1. Services (tourism, retail, ICT) – ~61% 2. Industry (manufacturing, shipbuilding, food) – ~21% 3. Construction – ~5.4% 4. Agriculture, forestry, fishing – ~3.4% 5. Energy & Utilities – ~2.3%
Currency	Euro (EUR, €) since Jan 1, 2023 Before Euro: Croatian Kuna (HRK)

Final Thoughts

This is a country that I know I will eventually go back to, not only because of the many highlights (Dubrovnik above all), but also as a personal tribute. I was in such an anxious mood that I was not mentally present during this trip, and it would be really meaningful to go back as a statement that things did get better.

One thing is clear though: next time, I will go in low season!

Peaceful Adriatic view