Two Weeks in Croatia + Lake Como
La Dolce Vita
It’s that time of the year again - I just returned from another phenomenal girl’s trip to Croatia and Italy, with a short visit to Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Barcelona, Spain. We had such a wonderful time exploring these beautiful countries and I will be reliving the memories of this time spent in these perfect places with my best friends for years.
Day One: Zagreb → Plitvice Lakes
After flying into Zagreb and picking up our rental car, we set off for Rastoke. It’s about a 2 hour drive from Zagreb and looks like a fairytale village. We ate at Petro, a cute restaurant with outdoor seating overlooking the waterfalls. Another 45 minute drive brought us to our cute little cabin in the woods.
Day Two: Plitvice Lakes National Park
On our second day in Croatia, we spent the day at Plitvice Lakes National Park. We had purchased entrance tickets in advance, which were about $45 USD each at the time we went. There are multiple “programs” to choose from on how to see the lakes. Program C or H are the recommended ones to see both upper and lower falls, both take about 6 hours.
We chose program C and started at entrance 1. With this route, we walked slightly uphill most of the way but towards the waterfalls on the lower lakes, so the waterfalls were in front of us. It was recommended to wear tennis shoes, but we all wore Chacos/Teva sandals and had no issues since the entire park has wooden walkways. Program C involves a ferry ride across the lake, but it’s included in the entrance fee.
Day Three: Plitvice Lakes → Hvar
An early morning and a three hour drive later and we arrived in Split. I had reserved a spot in advance at a place across from the ferry terminal by emailing parking.split@gmail.com. We typed “Zeljeznička stanica” into the GPS, using the address Obala kneza Domagoja 12. Parking cost about $18/night and was well worth it for the location. The ferry to Hvar is an hour long and cost about $15 USD each. Check time tables and purchase ferry tickets in advance on the Jadrolinija website.
Upon arrival in Hvar, we took a moment to be absolutely stunned by how gorgeous the island was and then checked in early to our cheap Airbnb. Per our hosts recommendation, we went to Hula Hula Bar and some other beach bars along the way and ended our night at Kiva Bar singing Bella Ciao and got late night empanadas at an Argentinan restaurant.
Day Four: Hvar → Brac
The day prior, we had learned the ferry from Hvar to Brac doesn’t start running until June 17th, so we had no way of getting to the next island over. Luckily, our Airbnb host is an angel and set up a private boat transfer for us for the morning. A man with the private boat company met us at the docks and took us to Bol, Brac. We were able to check into our hotel, Ocean View Azzura, 5 hours early and got to spend the entire day exploring Brac.
It was challenging to choose two islands out of the many that Croatia has to offer, but Hvar and Brac were a great combo and exactly what we were looking for. Brac was more family-friendly than Hvar, but still had some beach clubs on the famous Zlatni Rat aka Golden Horn Beach.
We took at taxi up to the Pustinja Monastery to see the view of Bol from the top of a mountain. It was far too hot for us to hike it that day, but featured some phenomenal views and is the tallest point in all the Croatian islands.
Dinner was at BioMania Bistro, where we enjoyed a fabulous vegan meal accompanied by a vegan cheese board.
Day Five: Brac → Brela
The only ferry from Brac back to Split leaves at 6:30 am, so we made sure to be at the dock early. The timetable and tickets are on Jadrolinija. They cost about $9 USD each and the ride was only an hour.
Next we drove one hour from Split to Brela, a little costal town with cobblestone streets and stone beaches. We walked around in Brela and then drove about 15 minutes north to Orza to our Airbnb with a sea view. We spent some time swimming in the Adriatic Sea and got an Italian dinner in town before making the poor choice of blindly following google maps up the most treacherous road in Croatia to get back to our Airbnb.
Day Six: Mostar and Dubrovnik
It was only a two hour drive to the lovely country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Crossing the border by car was seamless and we arrived at Dervish House just in time to walk around in the 90 degree heat. Looking back, we wished we didn’t pay the €5 each to go inside and would have just crossed the bridge before the pay station to view it from the outside. Dervish House is a monastery, so dress appropriately or plan to not go inside.
From there, we drove 20 minutes to Mostar, parked in Old Town and went to The Fountain Shelter restaurant for a traditional Bosnian lunch. Mostar is beautiful and a day well spent. We got gelato and walked around to get different views of the famous Stari Most. It’s a gorgeous example of Balkan Islamic architecture and one of the country’s most iconic sights. Bring cash for souvenirs in Mostar, there are many street vendors selling handmade items and they generally take Croatian Kuna and euros.
We then drove back into Croatia to the Dubrovnik airport, where we dropped off the rental car and got a ride into Old Town. Our Airbnb was the amazing Villa Pali Alto. We all fell in love with Dubrovnik as soon as we stepped through the city walls - it’s truly mesmerizing. We drank wine on the steps at D’Vino Wine Bar, got a seafood dinner in Old Town and ended the night at an Irish bar.
Day Seven: Dubrovnik
As the dedicated tourists we are, we got up early to walk the city walls before 8 am to beat the other tourists and try to save ourselves from heatstroke as the day progressed. Walking the walls was one of my favorite things that we did on this trip and only takes 1-2 hours to explore. Tickets are around $35 USD each and are able to be paid by credit card at the ticket office. The views of the Adriatic Sea are worth the cost alone, aside from the fact that it is literally King’s Landing from Game of Thrones.
After the walls, we had brunch at Dubravka 1836 Restaurant & Cafe, just outside Old Town. I made a reservation in advance and we had lovely views of the sea while we inhaled pizza at 11 am. We then explored Old Town and went to Buzza Bar for drinks on the side of the wall before going to our kayaking tour at 5:30 pm. I found the tour through Get Your Guide and we had a lot of fun. We stopped at a cave where there was a bonfire and cliff jumping and then kayaked back toward Old Town just as the sun was setting over the Adriatic Sea.
For dinner, we had made a reservation at Bota Sare for sushi. It was high quality and locally sourced, I’d highly recommend it.
Day eight: Dubrovnik
As a group of scuba diving girls, we needed to get underwater at some point on this trip. DC Blue Planet had a great diving excursion for around $75 USD/person. The current was a little rough the day we went, but it was still a unique experience. Afterward, we went to lunch in Old Town at Gradska Kavana Arsenal Restaurant on the marina. From there, we Ubered to Cave Bar More to drink cocktails in a cave since it was raining. We initially intended on going to Plaza Banje, one of the best beaches in Dubrovnik, but the rain foiled our plans.
Dinner on our last night in Croatia was at Nishta, a popular vegan restaurant with really great wine.
Day Nine: Dubrovnik → Milan → Bellagio, Lake Como
We flew from Dubrovnik to Milan and took a private transfer to Bellagio, Lake Como. Our Airbnb was the gorgeous Casa Ester that has a view of the lake. We then walked around Bellagio and got dinner at one of the restaurants on the walkway by the water.
Day Ten: Bellagio
After spending the morning walking around the beautiful city, we met our driver at the docks for a classic wooden boat tour. We opted for the 2 hour tour of the lake instead of the 4 hour tour and found it to be a perfect amount of time. They provided champagne and water and our guide pointed out some of the most iconic villas on the lake. We then drank wine on the steps outside of Angolo DiVino Enoteca Wine Bar, which has great prices for a bottle. For dinner, we saw a waiter dishing out fresh cheese pasta and decided to go. Suisse Restaurant was one of our favorite meals in Italy - the fettuccini mixed in a cheese wheel is phenomenal.
Day Eleven: Varenna
We surprised one of the girls on our trip with an early birthday celebration at Lido di Bellagio, a beach club overlooking the lake. It was fun, had a lovely view and was a great place to celebrate a birthday! After the beach club, we took the ferry to Varenna so we could explore another city. Varenna features steep cobblestone streets, medieval buildings and historic churches. We got dinner at one of the restaurants near the lakeside promenade and did aperitivo at Hotel Royal Victoria. Aperitivo is a common tradition in Italy. It’s best described as a time for chatting with friends over a glass of alcohol. It’s essentially a lot of free bar snacks included with the drinks. In other words, it’s my new favorite thing that I will be hunting for in NYC.
Day Twelve: Como
An early morning high-speed ferry ride brought us to Como, where we had booked a pasta making class on Airbnb experiences. Our hostess, Francesca, welcomed us inside her home, taught us how to make various forms of pasta from scratch and helped us prepare the most amazing meal. We all agreed it was our favorite thing we did on our entire trip. We learned so much about Italy and the culture and geography of the country. She even told us stories from her childhood and how she learned how to make pasta. This is an absolute must-do when in Italy.
After walking around Como, we took the high-speed ferry back to Bellagio, where we ate another pasta meal and once again drank wine on the steps as the sunset.
Day Thirteen: Bellagio → Barcelona
Our last morning in Italy, we got one final gelato, had pizza for lunch and then met up with our private transfer back to Milan. The roads are extremely windy as they snake through the lakes and mountains, so keep that in mind if car sickness is an issue and take the ferry to Como before the transfer instead. We opted for a private car instead of the train because it would have been the same amount for the five of us to get there either way and the car was fastest.
We all opted to have long layovers on our way back to America, mostly because it was cheaper, but also to explore another city. Some of the girls went to Lisbon before heading to Chicago and my friend and I were in Barcelona for 22 hours before we flew back to NYC. We landed in Barcelona at 8 pm, checked into Hotel Barcelona House in the gothic quarter and got tapas and sangria at La Fonda.
Day Fourteen: Barcelona → Home
We woke up early to get the most out of time in Barcelona, stored our bags in the hotel storage room and set out to explore. Spain knows how to do a breakfast, so we got brunch at Benedict Barcelona. It was a nice change of pace from the simple croissants we had been eating in Italy and Croatia. We walked 30 minutes to see La Familia Sagrada, designed by the famous Antoni Gaudí. A necessary stop along the way was the beautiful Cascada Ciutadella Park. It is thought to be some of the work of a young Gaudí. Before traveling to Spain, I had not realized how many buildings Gaudí designed in Barcelona. We only got to see two of his designs and I would love to go back and see all fourteen.
Although we didn’t go inside La Familia Sagrada, we were in awe of the outside and just how massive the unfinished church is. From there, we walked uphill in the 90 degree heat to Park Guell to see more of Gaudí’s work. It was a $10 timed entrance fee and very worth the visit. We then took a taxi back to the gothic quarter, had tapas one last time at the popular Colom Restaurant and then taxied to the airport.
This two-week trip was such filled with a whirlwind of fun, excitement and love for my friends. I could not have asked for a better experience or a better group of people to go with. If you are thinking about road-tripping through Croatia, boating around Lake Como and making pasta in Italy with your best friends, this is your sign to do it.
