I see a number of Slow Travelers have made their way to Croatia.
We're going there in July to visit my wife's family in and around Sibenik.
Our plan is to fly from JFK to Split, probably on Austrian Airlines via Vienna. I've done some preliminary checking and I'm a bit shocked at the airfares, but it *is* July, smack in the middle of tourist season.
We're thinking of staying at the Solaris resort in Sibenik. Anyone have any thoughts to share on Solaris? Or any leads on other accomodation in Sibenik we should check out?
We're also thinking of taking a ferry to Italy for a few days, probably to be spent in Urbino. Is the ferry to Ancona/Pescara as convenient as it sounds?
Finally, articles about Croatia always mention it is affordable, at least right now. What should we expect compared to Italy; 25% cheaper? 10%? 50%?
hey guys, croatia is a beautiful country. my wife and i went in august. we landed in split and went to korcula to visit her family (zanatic) are you going to spend some time in split? it's worth it. we stayed in the hotel bellvue. no frills but alot of character. croatia is cheaper, but of coarse more expensive in tourist areas. still cheaper than italy. look for out of the way places to eat. dinner for two with wine about $20. tips are always included in the bill. every place we ate was great. not one bad meal for two weeks. have fun
Posts: 8 | Location: folly beach, sc | Registered: 11 September 2004
Yes Croatia is cheaper than Italy, especially for meals. You can eat well relatively cheaply. Hotels are another matter. The Solaris resort is not one of my favourites in Croatia, frankly, mainly because it's a big tourist ghetto. You might want to try private accommodation for a more intimate experience. I've stayed at the Jadran in town and found it acceptable. Make sure you visit the Krka waterfalls. It is really special. The ferry to Ancona and Pescara from Split is really easy but don't wait till the last minute to book as you'll be going in high season. There is not yet a ferry from Sibenik to Italy but I know that the tourist people there want one. They may eventually convince one of the companies to open a new route.
Privata accomodation is the best way to go. For instance, during the first week of September last year, we rented a 3 star apartment for 35 euros a night. The price would of been lower if we stayed for 3 or more nights. The aparmtent was spacious, quiet and located about 100 meters from the water. I have stayed all along the Croatian coast and this is the most that I have ever spent.
Normally while traveling, I tend to eat light lunches to save some money on a nicer diner. There has never been a need for me to do that in Croatia. Lunch and dinner and eat whatever I want and I never break the bank.
I have done many entire day excursions by boat with lunch included for anywhere from 15 - 30 euros.
What am I getting at? Croatia is cheap!
Check our our Croatia Travel Notes on Slow Trav here
Jeanne -- one reason we are considering Solaris is because we will be traveling with 2-year old twin boys who love the beach. I understand there is a "parco giochi" and other attractions for children at Solaris. Does the "tourist ghetto" aspect outweigh the facilities for children?
And thank you for the link to adriatica.net. We will also search for accomodation through that.
And while I'm at it, I'm off to Amazon to buy your book!
Cobblehill --- I think there are some much cheaper flights to Croatia from the NY area; I have a Croatian friend who goes back nearly every year to visit family on a small island. These may be charter flights to Zagreb, I'm not sure, but withing the next 10 days or so I can get information for you, if you wish.
Posts: 6943 | Location: Montclair, NJ, USA | Registered: 16 March 2003
Marian -- I'll take any info you can provide, thanks! cobbleREMOVEhill#excite.com.
I just found a RT fare to Ancona for 800 bucks. I wonder if it makes sense to fly to Ancona, chill for a few days in Le Marche, then take the ferry to Split and onto Sibenik from there?
I found a map on the SNAV ferry site that seems to indicate they are planning direct ferry service to Sibenik this summer, but it didn't include any details.
Tony, With 2-year old twins, I'd say the activities available at the Solaris certainly outweigh the "tourist ghetto" aspect of it! BTW, there's a new attraction in Sibenik. It's called "Bunari-The Secrets of Sibenik" and it's right next to the cathedral. I haven't seen it yet but it's supposed to be very modern, interactive etc.
Well, I think "Croatia in July" now will be "Croatia in June." We're finding accomodations (granted, already reasonably priced) are even cheaper in June versus July. June also fits better with my work schedule.
Meanwhile, the search for airfares is killing me. $1300 is the cheapest I've found, NYC to Split, r/t. So now I think we're leaning towards flying to Trieste ($700 r/t), chilling near there for a few days, then taking a train or renting a car to get to Sibenik. We hope to have a better grip on our plans by the end of February.
You might do better flying to Dubrovnik as there are cheaper flights through London and Frankfurt. Trieste is a long way from Sibenik; a train would take you first through Zagreb. You could also take a bus to Rijeka and then another bus down to Sibenik. Remember that there will be more air deals starting in March or April. I'd wait until then.
ViaMichelin says Dubrovnik is a 3.5 hour drive to Sibenik; Trieste is a little more than 5 hours by car.
I'm going to discuss this with my wife and her Croatian-born dad. My personal choice would be to fly to Trieste, relax and acclimate for a few days, then rent a car and head to Sibenik.
That's in essence what we did when we traveled with our twins last June to Italy. We flew to Rome and went immediately to nearby Fregene and spent three days at a seaside resort. That worked great: the boys collapsed in bed on our arrival, took a long nap, then stayed up through dinner and were good to go the next day.
If we fly NY-stopover-Dubrovnik then schlep to Sibenik all in one day... I think we'd risk exhaustion and meltdown of the boys, not to mention their dad!
Now that I think about it...even NY-stopover-Split and onto Sibenik in one day would be tough!
So I think I'll try to sell my wife on three days in Italy on the front end and one night on the back end. That gets me my "Italy time" while also allowing us to travel without facing meltdown.
Cobblehill, there is no way it's 3 1/2 hours from Dubrovnik to Sibenik. We're going to spend the month of May in Croatia and there's a lot of info on the European forum at Fodors. Most folks there say it's at least 5 hours to Split, and Sibenik is an hour further. The road is described as a beautiful but winding route with lots of traffic. I think your plan to fly to Trieste is great -- it would also give you the option to take a ferry/catamaran from there to the Istrian peninsula in northern Croatia to veg out for a few days. Hope you're as excited about your trip as we are!
Aloha, Ann
Posts: 1503 | Location: Sunset Beach (Haleiwa), Hawaii, USA | Registered: 16 September 2001
We're considering two apartments just south of Sibenik ... one is three bedrooms with a view of the sea 1km away, the other is a two bedroom ON the sea, and with a pool. Both are priced at 50€ a night. We like that!
We do now plan to fly to Trieste, arriving on Thursday June 9. We'll stay 'til Sunday, probably here at the Hotel Riviera.
Then on Sunday we'll jump into the rental car and drive to Sibenik. We thought about traveling there on Saturday, but figured we'd face easier travel heading south along the coast on Sunday rather than on Saturday. We'll fly home on June 24.
Right now, we're watching air fares to Trieste and hope to buy our tickets before Easter.
re: the drive from Sibenik to Dubrovnik. We drove from Trogir to Dubrovnik in about 3.5 hours (excluding breaks) on July 3rd last summer. Traffic was not bad at all. We stopped for a swim and lunch in Tucepi- beautiful beach beneath the Biokovo.
While you are in the Sibenik area, you should not miss Krka National Park- both you and your kids will flip!
Nice pics. I've heard great things about Lucca and my mother's family come from Naples. We want to get to both areas sometime. Next on our agenda is probably Umbria, Istria, and the Kvarner islands
Steve
Posts: 15 | Location: Seattle, WA | Registered: 12 April 2004
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