Budget travel | Croatia: Where history blends into nature

City centre in Zagreb, capital of Croatia. (Photo: Kristijan Arsov via Unsplash)

Apart from a great football team, Croatia has some unmatched offerings for vacationers — the dark blue waters of the Adriatic Sea, stunning waterfalls, pristine beaches, blue lagoons, and dream islands along the Dalmatian Coast, a great heritage replete with roman structures and gigantic forts, and some awesome food.

Located in the Balkan Peninsula, Croatia may look like a thin strip of land, almost unnoticeable on the map, but as they say — don’t judge a book by its cover. You have to be actually there to believe it. And it is not very expensive either, in fact, it is cheaper than most parts of western Europe. If you plan it right, you can do a week’s tour within Rs 3 lakh.

Since most of Croatia’s prime tourist destinations are along the sea — barring capital Zagreb, which is inland — a coastal tour is the best way to explore the country. Starting from the north, there’s Rovinj, Rijeka, Zadar, Sibenik, Togrir, Split, Hvar Island, Dubrovnik — each offering an out-of-the-world experience.

Exploring all of them would need a month so I would suggest, by my own experience, a few of the most popular spots — Split, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Dubrovnik, and Zagreb. You can club this tour with Mostar and Neum, two magical towns in nearby Bosnia.

Split, the nights

A former Greco-Roman colony, Split is a port city. Small boats, yachts, ships and giant luxury ocean liners, seagulls and other birds fluttering above, a gentle breeze blowing all the time and the shiny blue waters of the Adriatic seemingly dancing — the Croatia harbour is just one breathtaking sight.

The more-than-a-kilometre-long pedestrian-only sprawling Riva Promenade, the heart and soul of Split’s tourist life, flanks the harbour and is lined up with hotels, restaurants, open-air coffee joints, banks, money-exchange counters, bakeries, pastry shops, flea markets and historical structures dating to the Roman age.

Split promenade, Croatia. (Photo: Nilutpal Thakur)

Exploring Old Town

Behind the promenade is Varos, Old Split’s suburb — a hilly neighbourhood of stone houses, cottages and snaky cobbled alleys, offering budget and luxury hotels, B&Bs, cafes and neighbourhood stores and a fish and vegetable market.

At the centre of the Promenade is the historic People's Square or Pjaca. To its right is the Republic Square, the venue of cultural events, flanked by a neo-Renaissance Palace. A few hundred metres away is Roman Emperor Diocletian’s Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The palace with four gates occupies almost half of Split’s Old Town and has landmarks such as the Palazzo Di Diocleziano and Cathedral of Saint Domnius. Parts of Game of Thrones TV series were shot here.

Dubvrovnik Old town, Croatia. (Photo: Nilutpal Thakur)

Then there is the Peristyle Square, the 13th Century Saint Domnius Cathedral, Jupiter’s temple, Statue of Grgur Ninski, Split Croatia National Theater, Cindro Palace, the Fruit Square, etc.

Overlooking the Promenade is the 178-metre Marjan Hill, roughly a little more than 300 steps, which offers stunning views of the city. No visit to Split is complete without a walk to the top, which would require stamina and good shoes.

Prominent spots on the hill are the Mestrovic Gallery, where the Salma Hayek and Owen Wilson starrer Bliss was filmed, Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments, Sustipan Park, an Old Jewish Cemetery, and old churches. The Telegrin Peak and the Marjan Hill viewpoint are the show-stoppers.

Cave and island tour and beaches

Once done with the old town, a must-do is a cruise on a yacht to the enticing caves amid the ravishing blue lagoons. A three-island day-long tour that includes lunch takes you to the virgin Biševo Island (Blue Cave), Vis Island (Stiniva bay & Komiža) and Ravnik Island (Green Cave).

A five-island tour includes Budikovac Island, Brac, Paklinski and many other exotic green and blue destinations. Then there is the shorter three-hour sea cruise that shows you around Split’s flawless coastal line.

All these cost between €20 and €50 per person or even more depending on what you choose and the season. You can plan your tour to include a night’s stay at any of the islands but that would mean paying extra for hotel and food.

Split has some spotlessly clean beaches with golden sand: Plaža Ježinac, Obojena, Bacvice, Zjan, Firule, Kupaliste, Kasjuni — perfect places to sky-gaze and soak in some sun.

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Krka National Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia. (Photo: Pascal Habermann via Unsplash)

No tour to Croatia is complete without a day-long trip to the 300 sq. km Plitvice Lakes National Park, the largest in the country and a UNESCO site. With 16 lakes with crystal clear water, canyons, caves, enticing waterfalls, and a variety of flora and fauna — it is an explorer’s delight. The park remains open all round the year with different trails open for tourists at different times of the year.

A trip like this, of course, comes at a cost. You can book a tour directly on the park website, which has day tours, night stay packages and year-end specials depending on the season, which could range from €20 to €200 or even more.

Another stunning spot is the Krka National Park, known for its mystical waterfalls, which you can access from Split or Sibenik. The Skradinski buk, Roški Slap and Visovac waterfalls offering riveting views are the prime draws. Entry tickets range from four to €26 depending on season and access.

Different online travel aggregators and operators such as Viator offer complete packages that include pickup from the hotel, food, entry ticket, etc. It is always good to book in advance but you have the option of booking a tour after you reach. An affordable way of doing it is to take public transport to the parks and book a ticket at the gate but in peak seasons, it could be quite crazy.

Dubrovnik

The TV series 'Game of Thrones' was set in Dubrovnik. (Photo: Corbett Campbell via Unsplash)

Another jewel in Croatia’s crown is Dubrovnik, a popular Game of Thrones location, is a four-hour drive from Split. The best way to reach is a road trip, which shows you Croatia’s beautiful countryside — farmlands, coastal villages, water channels and orange orchards. But you can also take a flight or a ship.

To reach Dubrovnik, you cross a 20km stretch of coastal Bosnia-Herzegovina, which separates northern and southern Croatia. So you are required to flash your passport when you enter and exit Bosnia-Herzegovina.

As you approach Dubrovnik, the first sight you grab is that of the cable-stayed Franjo Tuđman Bridge and gigantic luxury ships near the Port of Gruž.

Fort and old town

But the soul of the city is the famed medieval Old Town and the Fort, just on the edge of the sea, abutting a quiet residential neighbourhood with bright orange-coloured tiled roofs. Many tourists stay in cottages inside the hilly Old Town but that would mean pulling your luggage for a few hundred metres from the nearest bus and taxi stand. You can also choose among the numerous hotels and bread-and-breakfast places (B&Bs) dotting the surrounding localities.

The imposing Old Town hosts medieval monuments such as The Minceta Tower, the limestone-paved pedestrian street Stradun, a Grand 15th-century main entrance to Dubrovnik's old town, the City Walls, the City Harbour, Franciscan Church and Monastery, The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, The Rector's Palace, Fort Bokar, St. John Fortress, Revelin Fortress and the nearby St. Lawrence Fortress or Fort Lovrijenac. If you have followed the Game of Thrones series, you would certainly recognise many of these.

City walls

A star attraction is a walk on the nearly 2km City Walls, which surrounds the Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site. There is an entry fee of around €26 per person. In fact entry to many monuments comes for a fee, which varies from place to place. Paid explanatory tours are also available. Or you can just choose to walk around on your own.

The old town has many souvenir shops, B&Bs, and a host of cafes and Michelin Star restaurants, offering Croatian, Italian, Mediterranean and other cuisines. There’s an Indian restaurant too if you are longing for some dal chawal.

Lokrum Island and Zicara

Diubrovnik old town and Lokrum Island in the distance, Croatia. (Photo: Nilutpal Thakur)

One unmissable spot would be the nearby Lokrum Island, once a holiday home of an emperor. The island, which can be accessed by boats, houses a monastery, an old fort, a botanical garden, a natural harbour and a salt water lake.

Then there is the Zicara, a cable car that takes to the top of the nearby Srd Hill, offering panoramic bird’s-eye views of the Fort, the Old Town, the adjoining neighbourhoods, the Adriatic Sea and the majestic Dinaric Alps range. A round trip would cost around €27.

Dubrovnik has a few small beaches such as the sandy Banje beach, Bellevue, Sulic, Uvala Lapad, Plaza Dance, some of which offer water sports.

Zagreb

An underrated location in Croatia, or maybe the entire Europe, is capital Zagreb, which has an old world charm any heritage city would offer. With its cobbled streets and gothic buildings and old churches, the old town of Zagreb resembles Budapest in nearby Hungary or even Prague.

Key spots are the Dolac market, St. Mark Square, which hosts the historical St Mark Church, the Museum of Broken Relationships, Kamenita Vrata, a stone gate, the Zagreb Cathedral (Kaptol), Ban Josip Jelačić Square, etc.

Other unique attractions are the old tram system and the Blue Funicular cable car, which connects the lower and upper town. It is said to be the world’s shortest public transport route.

But the colourful Dolac, Zagreb’s main open-air farmers’ market, takes the cake. Flowers, fish, butcheries, fresh pasta vendors, bakeries, cheese, souvenirs, fruit and vegetables — it gives the vibe of a weekly Indian market. Old Zagreb has some luscious bakeries and pastry shops offering awesome savouries.

Other spots

Croatia has a host of mind-blowing destinations:

Rovinj, a fishing port on the west coast of the Istrian peninsula with an archipelago of 14 islands.

Rijeka, a Croatian port city on Kvarner Bay in the northern Adriatic. It’s known as a gateway to Croatia’s islands.

Hvar Island, a picture postcard resort near Split, with pristine beaches such as Dubovica and inland lavender fields.

Zadar, a budget destination known for its Roman and Venetian ruins

Sibenik, one of the oldest Croatian coastal towns on the Adriatic with a very rich historical and cultural heritage.

Togrir, small port town, part of the greater Split metropolitan area.

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Many tourist spots in Bosnia & Herzegovina are accessible from Split and Dubrovnik and you can include them in your plans.

Mostar, a historical town in Bosnia along the Neretva River with links to the Ottoman Empire, known for its old arc bridge, a world heritage site, is a three-hour drive from Split.

Neum, which falls on the way to Dubrovnik, is a town of a few thousand inhabitants with steep hills and stone-sandy beaches.

Montenegro

A day’s trip from Dubrovnik, Montenegro is another tiny Balkan country, famed for its Kotor and Budva beaches.

Points to remember

Peak season: April-August (warmer and very crowded)

Best time to visit: September-December (cool but less crowd)

*Like in most tourist spots, travel during peak season is more expensive. Hotels offer good facilities but can pinch your pocket. B&Bs and apartments are a cheaper option and let you have a closer look at the local culture. In off peak season, you can get a decent B&Bs for as low as Rs 4,000 per night.

*You can save on food by walking into a local store, buy some good bread, cheese, eggs, salami, fruits and make your own breakfast. A meal at a restaurant can vary from €10-40 (Rs 875-3,500)

*Air tickets are expensive so book well in advance and look for offers. If you have to fly within, go for a no-frills airline.

* Use buses and trains to commute. Public transport is excellent and cheaper compared to cabs. A minimum bus fare would start at €1.4 (Rs 130). A cab will charge you several times over.

*Stay near the city centre to save on travel.

*Get a prepaid travel card as exchanging Euros into local currency will attract conversion charges.

*Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro are not part of Schengen but allow entry to valid multi-entry Schengen visa holders. A Schengen visa helps when you have layovers at different countries.