by Janis / 0 comments - Orginally published:2nd October 2017

Discovering the Dalmatian coast

Gary and I have been kicking around the idea of a Croatian road trip holiday for a few years. We've been tempted to drive Croatia's Dalmatian coastline like so many people. We're longing to embrace the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic shoreline, visit those sleepy villages that weave off tiny lanes and explore the ancient towns and cities, such as Split and Dubrovnik.

The big question is whether to fly-drive to Croatia, hire a car from Rental Cars at the local airport, or just drive from the UK to the shores of the Adriatic Sea.

After much deliberation and punching numbers into spreadsheets, we went for the option of touring Croatia in our own car.

We love embarking on road trips from our own doorstep, which means your luggage allowance is not restricted as long as you're sensible. It also means that when you're driving through Croatia and spot an enticing winery, you can pop a case of wine into your boot.

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Our planned driving route through Croatia

From the north to the south and back

So, we have the beautiful country of Croatia to explore, and we need to pick our stopovers along the route. I am a natural worrier, so I usually plan ahead and book our overnight destinations and accommodation prior to leaving the UK. The website that I found useful when planning our visit to Croatia was the official tourist site 'Croatia full of life'.

We now have to get to Croatia.

We came up with the idea of stopping at Obernai in the Alsace region of France (we do love France, and we're pretty fond of this region). We then head across Germany to our second destination, Austria. We've picked Salzburg before venturing into Croatia. Both of these hops are under 400miles/650km, so we should get a chance to explore these locations too on our trip.

We selected a mixture of accommodation for our Croatia driving holiday, friendly B&Bs, charming hotels and some beautiful apartments.

Our chosen locations for our road trip through Croatia were;

Our Croatia road trip itinerary explains everything from our destination, overnight stays, driving requirements and some of our favourite restaurants. Also, take a peek at our road trip checklist.

So what are we hoping to see on this trip?

If you've yet to discover the delights of Croatia you're in for a treat. While planning our road trip, I used the DK Eyewitness books.  I find them extremely informative, easy to follow and the pictures and maps tempt you into discovering more.

We used a previous version of this book to plan our north to south Croatian road trip, now you can grab the revised copy.

DK Croatia Cover

Explore Croatia's stunning landscape

Touring lakes, islands and countryside
It's well known that Croatia has large unspoilt areas to explore, so we had to ensure our Croatia road trip route worked for us. Our first destination is the Plitvice Lakes National Park. A UNESCO world heritage site full of stunning opal lakes and cascading waterfalls. We know Plitvice experiences its own microclimate, so we hope we're in luck with the weather.
A low mist hangs over the clear waters of one of the upper lakes at plitvice, framed on either by wooded landscape of croatia
An errie mist hand over Plitvice
We know Plitvice experiences its own microclimate, so we hope we're in luck with the weather.
A small waterfall in the wooded landscape of plitvice lakes, an UNESCO site in croatia
A waterfall in Plitvice

Staying with the water theme, there's Krka Lakes. Another area of outstanding beauty along our route.

The Dalmatian coast runs along the bottom two-thirds of Croatia and is home to Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik. Weather permitting, the roof will be down, and we'll be taking in the region's beauty touring by the Adriatic Sea.

We're hoping to see a little of rural Croatia. Our appetite was whetted by Rick Stein's 'Venice to Istanbul' food trip. Without the benefits of the BBC production team, will we get a chance to discover more of Croatia?

Beaches: We're actually not beach people per se. We've always preferred getting out and about discovering places rather than dedicating time to topping up the tans. Now that doesn't mean we're objecting to dipping our toes in the Adriatic, though. Or stopping at a beachside café to enjoy the views.

Sailing boats moored up in the waters off Primošten, Croatia
The waters around Croatia

Croatia is renowned for its Islands. We'll be doing a little Island hopping along the route.

Pelješac peninsula is a famous wine region. Now, wine and drivers don't mix, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the landscape and the local producers' wares when the car's safely parked up.

Croatia's ancient History

Follow the footsteps of the Romans

We make no secret of the fact we love history. Perhaps the most impressive era is the Roman period. Who can forget the Aqueduct in Segovia, Spain? Or the amphitheatres that span the continent.

So we'll certainly have to visit Croatia's historical sites, including the amphitheatre and other Roman monuments of Pula. There'll be plenty more to discover along the way too, especially the Diocletian Palace in Split.

The exterior walls of the ruins of the roman amphitheatre in pula, croatia
The amphitheatre at Pula
Man's devotion to faith leads to the creation of some truly stunning buildings; how can we forget the breath-taking Mezquita in Cordoba? So we're really looking forward to visiting the Basilica in Poreč and the Cathedral of St James in Šibenik - Both UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Looking up at the UNESCO listed Cathedral of St James in Šibenik
The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik
Then there are the magnificent city walls and gates in Dubrovnik. We've planned a few nights in Dubrovnik, so hopefully, we can enjoy the ancient city after most visitors have left from their day trips.

Discovering Croatia's Art and Culture

The Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans
We're hoping to discover how the world's rich history has impacted Croatia. We know the Basilica in Poreč is from the Byzantine period. We also know the Venetians and the Ottomans have had a major impact within Croatia. So only time will tell.
The ornately decorated nave of Poreč’s Euphrasian Basilica with gold highlights making the scene glimmer as the light catches it.
Intricate detail inside the Euphrasian Basilica

There have been some incredible public installations in modem times, such as the enchanting Sea Organ along the Riva in Zadar. This hidden organ is wonderful, as you can sit and listen to it 24 hours a day.

Just nearby the Sea Organ is Zadar's 'The Greeting to the Sun'. The mesmerising sunken light display is such a fantastic piece of public art for everyone to enjoy. The three hundred pulsating multi-layered lights are located on the far end of the peninsular with breath-taking views all across the bay.

People gather around the ‘Greeting to the Sun’ light display at Zadar’s Riva at dusk. They are illuminated by the LED floor tiles that make up this open-air art installation.
‘Greeting to the Sun’
These are just two of the 10 things you can see and do in Zadar.

Have you visited Croatia?

Did you venture off on a road trip around Croatia? Which regions did you explore and do you have any special places you would love to share with us?

Unearthing Croatia's stunning architecture

The ancient cobbled-stone lanes are waiting

Due to Croatia's location, Roman and Gothic architecture has significantly influenced the north of the country and along the Adriatic coast. Discover the imposing amphitheatres, and search out the Byzantine, Ottoman and Baroque style influences.

Croatia truly has an incredible mix of ancient architecture; it's magnificent to see.

The view of Trogir from the island of Čiovo across the Adriatic sea. The town shows clear Venetian influences.
The UNESCO city of Trogir
The beautiful ancient city of Trogir looks fascinating with its charming medieval city walls. Trogir's old town sits on its own island and is connected by a short bridge to Croatia's mainland. The intriguing cobbled lanes are just waiting to be discovered. The Croatian road trip temporarily has its brakes on while we go and explore.

Visiting Croatia's UNESCO World Heritage sites

How many locations did we manage to squeeze in?
Croatia has an impressive list of sites and cities that have been recognised by UNESCO World Heritage. We've planned to visit the following destination during our road trip through Croatia, and you never know, we may find more.
Looking down from the iconic viewpoint overlooking the historic walled city of Dubrovnik, and its crystal clear deep blue waters.
The birds-eye view of Dubrovnik
  • Historic City of Trogir
  • Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian
  • Old City of Dubrovnik
  • Stećci Medieval Tombstones Graveyards

We're also planning on crossing the Croatian border during our road trip and driving to Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It will be incredible to see the Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar.

Take a peek at the 6 UNESCO World Heritage sites we visited in Croatia.

Oct / 2019

6 UNESCO World Heritage sites to visit in Croatia

Featured image for “6 UNESCO World Heritage sites to visit in Croatia”

How to get to Croatia

- Check your flights for Croatia
If you’re flying into Croatia, search for your flights in one easy place with Booking.com. This reliable travel search engine will scan for your favoured routes and chosen dates.

Booking.com Search FlightsImage
Booking.com Search FlightsImage

- Need a car in Croatia?

The open roads await, pop in your location details then Rental Cars will search well-known car hire brands and discover the deals that suit you the best.

Savouring Croatia's basket of gastronomy

Their seafood is spectacular

A country with such an impressive coastline as Croatia is bound to offer amazing seafood. Venetian rule will have also influenced its cuisine, which can't be a bad thing. Then the Turks of the Ottoman Empire brought their food along, so we're expecting an exciting hotch-potch of flavours as we road trip through Croatia.

We can't wait to taste the delicious flavours of Croatia's culinary delights.

A Croatian seafood brodet stew consisting of giant prawns & muscles in a tomato sauce, served with polenta
A Croatian seafood Brodet

As we mentioned earlier, we were lucky to have caught Rick Stein's 'Venice to Istanbul' food trip to give us some pointers. We'll be looking out for Croatia's family-run local restaurants called konobas along the way.

Also, our friends at Road Unraveled, who had visited Croatia, gave us some top tips to try …

  • Fish & Seafood - it's going to be fresh, so we're dying to try it overlooking the sea
  • Cheese - Oh, we love a good cheese
  • Soups - Croatia likes a good soup, and so do we.
  • Sausages - Cevapi/ Cevapcici, small sausages served with pita bread, paprika, and onions
  • Sarma (stuffed cabbage)

Sampling Croatia's local drink

Well, someone has to do it

Okay, we know this is a Croatian road trip holiday; however, you'll deserve a little tipple at the end of each day.

It turns out the Croatians are quite a country of beer drinkers. What could be better than a crisp cold beer after a long day in the 'saddle' negotiating Croatia's roads? As is always the case, we follow the 'When-in-Rome' philosophy, so we'll be searching out Osječko, Karlovačko & Ožujsko as we seek to quench our thirst.

A dark Karlovačko Crno and a golden Karlovačko pilsner by the coastline in Zadar, Croatia
Cold beers by the sea
Now, Croatia also has delicious wines which they tend to keep hidden from the world. Well, guess what, we're going to hunt them down. During the island hopping section of our coastal adventure, we will hopefully be heading through the Primošten region, which is famous for its local wine - Babić.

Discover more of Croatia from our other posts

Featured image for “Visiting the opal lakes of Plitvice National Park, Croatia”
Oct. 09, 2017

Visiting the opal lakes of Plitvice National Park, Croatia

It has its own little micro climate…
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Byzantine traces…

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