We visited Croatia in the fall of 2022. Ton and I were really looking forward to seeing a country we had heard so many good things about. The coastline is beautiful and we visited and Plitvice Lakes National Park was magical.
The infrastructure for camping is ok and we never had a problem finding a place to stay even at the end of the season. Places were closing down throughout October, but we were able to always find a place near all of the major attractions. Campgrounds were more expensive than any other country we have stayed in in Europe which surprised us.
The roads were good, but twisty given the mountainous nature of the coast. There toll highways were relatively expensive, but well maintained and lightly traveled.
We enjoyed our visit to Croatia, but I think like Portugal, we had such high expectations that we were always just a little underwhelmed. The Croatians rightly have a love/hate relationship with tourism. It brings a lot of money to the economy, but at a cost for the local people.
Favorite Food
Ton– Seafood restaurant in Umag. I can’t remember the name but the food was delicious, the portions were large and it was relatively inexpensive. But what really made it fun was that the people were great. The guy who seated us taught us more about Croatia than anyone we met. On the way out the people who we paid were funny and wanted to talk and teach us about their country. It was a great experience.
Ron-Pizza place in our campground in Zagreb. Our campground was on a lake near Zagreb and it had a very modern looking restaurant attached to it. One night we decided to give it a try and the Pizza was wonderful. Possibly the best we have had in Europe. Because the quality was so unexpected it stuck with me as a highlight.
Favorite Place
Ton-Plitvice National Park. This place is incredibly beautiful with hundreds of waterfalls and miles of beautiful hiking paths. It is rightfully famous. What really made it a highlight for me was how well run the park was. It receives thousands of visitors per day but they handle them very efficiently so that everyone can have a good experience.
Ron-Zagreb. I didn’t have big expectations for Zagreb but I really enjoyed it. The street scene was laid back but interesting with nice shops and cafes. We enjoyed just walking around both the old town and the new town. Initially we only planned on one day for downtown Zagreb but extended our stay to three days. Ton was fascinated by the Museum of Broken Relationships and still tells her friends about it.
Disappointment
Ton-The tourism infrastructure is very expensive to use. The campgrounds are good but expensive relative to other countries, particularly when you factor in what the workers at the sites are being paid. We spent more on campgrounds in Croatia than we spent in Spain, France, and Germany. They seem to be gouging tourists a little.
Ron-Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is a beautiful city. One of the prettiest we have visited in Europe. We had been warned that it was being loved to death by tourists and the warnings were accurate. Even though we were there in the shoulder season it was quite busy and relatively expensive. I know I shouldn’t complain about tourists overwhelming a place, since we are tourists, but we felt sorry for the locals who are being pushed out of their city. The government in Dubrovnik is trying really hard to balance the economic benefit of tourism vs the impact of the people who live in the city full time and I really hope they can find a good solution.
Surprise
Ton-Cats. Dottie our sons cat has turned me into cat person. I was surprised by how many cats there were. Every campground had a small pack of cats who were universally cute as they ran from camper to camper looking for attention and handouts. We probably shouldn’t have fed them but who could resist. In Zagreb there was a whole hillside dedicated to a cat community complete with cat houses! Kotor which is in Montenegro had a several shops dedicated to cats and the town had a thriving cat community in the streets.
Ron-Ston. Ston is a small port town on the way to Dubrovnik. We had not planned on stopping, but a sign a few kilometers out of town got my attention as they claimed to have the best oysters in the world, having grown up on the Chesapeake Bay I had to see these oysters . The tidal flats of Ston have been a source of oysters in this part of Europe for hundreds of years. They were good, but Chesapeake Bay oysters are better! The meal however, was exceptional. In addition to oysters we had a whole fish that was superb. The town is nice and dominated by a wall that surrounds the town for miles. Apparently to protect the oysters from marauding oyster lovers!

October 17, 2022 Kotor MTE
We added our 6th country of the trip today. We are now parked in the marina in Bar Montenegro with a nice view of most

October 16, 2022 Orasac CR
We thought we were going to go back into Dubrovnik today, but when we woke up we were lazy and decided to hang out at

October 15, 2022 Dubrovnik CR
On our second day visiting Dubrovnik we visited several of the museums in town. The highlight was the Regents Palace from the days when Dubrovnik

October 14, 2022 Dubrovnik CR
Like many visitors to Croatia Dubrovnik was high on our places to see. Ton recommended that we try to get there early before the cruise

October 13, 2022 Orasac CR
We have settled into a campground in the small village of Orasac about 12km’s from Dubrovnik which will be our base while we visit the

October 12, 2022 Split CR
Today was a down day for maintenance. Yesterday was a long day and on the way back to the campsite we decided we deserved a

October 11, 2022 Hvar CR
Croatia is famous for its off shore islands. Running the length of the country are medium to small islands with very quiet and picturesque towns.

October 10, 2022 Split CR
We are planning to spend a few days around Split using it as a base to explore some of the off shore islands as well

October 9, 2022 Split CR
After our great day yesterday in Piltvice NP it was time to take advantage of a low traffic Sunday to move 280 kilometers south to

October 8, 2022 Plitvice Lakes NP, CR
Plitvice Lakes National Park is one of the most visited places in Croatia and like a lot of National Parks in the US it is

October 7, 2022 Rakovica CR
We have moved from the coast up into the mountains near Plitvice National Park. I told Ton I was feeling lazy so I allowed Greta

October 6, 2022 Pula CR
We are wrapping up our very short visit to Istria today as once again the calender is getting away from us. We visited two cities

October 5, 2022 Poreč CR
Today we set out to explore Northern Istria. Ton had picked out a couple of towns she wanted to check out, and she told me

October 4, 2022 Porec CR
Today we made it to the Adriatic Sea for the first time. The next couple of weeks at least, we will be slowly driving down

October 3, 2022 Zagreb CR
The campground we are staying at is in a suburb of Zagreb about 11km’s from the city center. They run a free shuttle bus to

October 2, 2022 Zagreb CR
In all of our travels during our previous five trips to Europe we had never had to deal with a border crossing while driving. Most