During my last few days in Dubrovnik I dragged my feet deciding what city I should visit next; Bosnia was a short trip to the north, Montenegro to the south, and just beyond lie Serbia, Kosovo, and Albania - so many choices! I wanted to visit them all, but the beautiful coastline of Croatia called to me like a seductive siren's song, luring me to stay just a little longer. The enchanting spell Croatia casted on me was difficult to break, and making plans for what country to visit next meant accepting that that I was intentionally leaving this wondrous landscape - a thought I couldn't bear. While I never planned to visit Montenegro, I crossed paths with two Finnish cyclists, Aarni and Tommy, who were both tired of the droves of tourists in Dubrovnik and were heading south to the towns of Kotor and Tivat. All it took them to convince me to tag along was a promotional flyer for 33% off a hostel in Tivat.
Never in my life have I been so repeatedly surprised by a country as much as Croatia. Since arriving nearly a month ago, each and every city I’ve visited ranks as one of my favorites in the world and Croatia currently holds the #1 spot as my favorite country. The last city on my tour of the Croatian coastline, Dubrovnik, came highly recommended by my fellow travelers, many of who ranked it as their favorite city in the entire country. Considering how amazing Croatia has been so far, the rave reviews from travelers, and my fascination with the Game of Thrones TV series - I had very high hopes for Dubrovnik.
If I haven’t stressed this enough through my myriad of posts thus far, permit me to reiterate once more: the only way to travel is without a schedule. I’ve taken trips in the past where I planned every activity down to the hour, but the single greatest aspect of traveling for a year is learning how to genuinely wander - I have absolutely no schedule and no place to be other than where I am right now. I've yet to experience a greater joy on this trip than to spontaneously change my mind at the last minute. Hvar is such an incredible city; simply lounging around town on the beaches, park benches, and in the various cafes is an unbelievable experience and I couldn’t bare to part ways with it. I really didn’t want to leave…
As much as I love Hvar, what made the experience for me were the wonderful people I met in town and the stellar hostels I stayed at. The first hostel, called Helvetia Hostel, I would highly recommend in a heartbeat to any backpacker making their way through Hvar. The building is located right in the middle of the old town, family owned and operated, and has one of the greatest patios I've ever seen in my life! If I ever won the lottery, I would happily spend the entirety of my winnings on an old house like this here in Hvar without hesitation.
Since arriving in Croatia, I've actively pushed myself to not hold expectations for any upcoming cities. So far it hasn't been an issue, but I never want to arrive in a beautiful place and be disappointed that it isn't as gorgeous as the city I just came from. When I boarded my ferry from Bol to Hvar, I went through the motions of trying to remove my expectations and prepared myself mentally for Hvar. I figured by now I was well overdue for a disappointment since every single city I've visited so far is nothing short of extraordinary. Surely every city I visit in Croatia can’t be incredible, there must be a "dud" somewhere. Fortunately, this is not the case for Hvar. It is an absolutely beautiful gem of a city that completely blew me away - Croatia is still bowling a perfect game in my book.
I'm happy to report last night was my first completely issue-free camping experience - no rain, no wind, and no lightening! Unlike my last night outdoors, it was a perfectly quiet evening. The only thing I didn't account for was the lower temperatures thanks to the higher elevation, but I just layered up and everything was fine. I woke up naturally at 6:00 am the following morning and took the long way around to Bol by hiking up the nearby Mount St. Vid. Standing at 778 meters (~2,500 feet), the peak, Vidova Gora, is not only the highest peak on Brač, but also highest island point in the entire Adriatic. The trek was exhausting especially considering I spent over five hours hiking uphill the day before, but it was completely worth it.
By now it should come as no surprise when I say that I absolutely love Croatia. It is actually quite remarkable just how much it leaves all other countries I've visited so far in the dust. I’ve honestly never been this surprised by a country before in my life. From Split, I left the mainland for my first island, Brač, located approximately 17 km (~10 miles) off the coast. Since my plans to visit Greece fell through, I’m no longer in any rush to get through Croatia so I figured why not try and spend the last few days of summer exploring the islands. Given my incredible experiences in Zadar and Split, I can’t imagine a better way to spend my time!
In a word: unpleasant. I arrived in Supetar without any plans or reservations (my typical M.O.) and hoped to find a place to camp for the night somewhere outside of town. From Split, the island of Brač appeared to be covered in trees, so I figured I'd set up my little tent along the beach far away from people and just spend the night along the wonderful coastline. As long as the campsite is secluded and I followed the standard procedures of leave no trace people hardly care, so I figured this was my chance to put my camping stills to use.
Ladies and gentlemen, I must announce today that I have a new all-time favorite country and city in the world. For months Marseille held the crown as my favorite city of this trip so far, but Split now takes the #1 spot while Germany now ranks behind Croatia as my favorite country. I absolutely love everything about Split and I could easily spend weeks of my life in this great city without even a second thought. Unfortunately, since there are only so many days left of “summer” (even though it’s technically October) I have to leave this wonderful city so I can visit the much-hyped Croatian islands before winter sets in. I've seen only a fraction of this great country, but I can already tell you I will be back in my lifetime. It might not be next year, or the one after, but as long as I'm still alive, I'm coming back to Croatia
My god how I've missed the southern coast of Europe and the fantastic Mediterranean weather! While I'm technically on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, I feel I've returned home to the beautiful havens of Lagos, Ibiza and Marseille from the first part of my trip. Over the last few months I've traveled through many northern European countries and I'd forgotten how much I longed for this kind of weather until I arrived in Zadar. This city is a remarkable breath of sensational, salty-sweet fresh air and if my first few hours in Zadar are any indication, my time in Croatia is going to be absolutely spectacular!
