Croatia

Visited: multiple times from 1980

Duration of visit: 120 days

Capital city: Zagreb

Population: 3.9 million (2021)

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

• Beautiful coast along Adriatic Sea that I visited in many occasions, as a growing boy with my family or as an adult with my kids.
• Spending summer holidays on Lošinj Island.
• Historical old city of Dubrovnik with its limestone streets, baroque buildings, beautiful walks along the ancient city walls.
• The country of my favorite basketball players from my youth, who became my idols and gave hard time to American basketball Dream team in Barcelona Olympic games 1992.
• Plitvice lake National park with beautiful waterfalls, lakes and lack of visitors in the beginning of summer 2021.

Croatia is famous for the world’s smallest town, the world’s biggest truffle, Game of Thrones scenery, money named after a rodent (until 2023), 10% of land protected as national parks, birth place of Nikola Tesla, 1,244 islands, the best island scenery in Europe beside Greece, Roman amphitheater in Pula and much more.

Living most of my life in Slovenia, Croatia used to be a part of the same country while I was growing up (Yugoslavia until 1991) and the place where I would go for the summer holidays. Therefore, I evaluate and experience it differently.

I am not as much interested in its history or sightseeing as I am about their football team, basketball players, good beaches and political decisions that have been consequently affecting the quality of life in my homeland.

The most famous Croatian (probably also European) basketball players, Dražen Petrovič and Toni Kukoč, were my idols when growing up and training basketball in my hometown. When Yugoslavia fell apart and Croatia became a fierce opponent of Slovenia in international competition it took me years to get used to cheer against them.

I was very young when my parents started to take advantage of an employer’s holiday house in Veli Lošinj at disposal for the employees during the summer holidays. It was an old house in downtown that could be used by employees of the Slovenian Institute for Employment, where my mother used to work.

We were always the first family that kicked off in mid-June, before the school year was finished. We would stay in Croatia for three weeks, commuting to the beach in Mali Lošinj on a daily basis. This was the first place where I started to communicate in English with German kids, who wanted to play with me, fish, dive in the water, snorkel, swim and paddle on an inflatable boat.

We were too poor to eat in restaurants, so my mum had to cook every afternoon. I was regularly fishing on the rocky pier outside the town and once a week we would have fried fishes that were rather small. However, I was extremely proud to add flavor to family dinner. I met a lot of new friends in nine consecutive summers that I spent there. It was one of the best experiences of my life and I really enjoyed our holidays in Croatia.

Still as a very young kid in the primary school, it was a must to visit the famous town of Kumrovec, where Marshal Josip Broz Tito, lifelong president of Yugoslavia, was born. A group of students and teachers were packed in buses for a day trip.

In 1991, when I was nineteen years old and, on my way to travel around Western Europe on my first backpacking attempt, I was directed to Zagreb to apply for French visa, which was needed for Yugoslavian citizens at that time. The country (Yugoslavia) was falling apart, so when I crossed a new established Slovenian – Croatian border on my old Zastava car, road barricades were blocking the main highway.

A friend of mine on the passenger seat was well knowledgeable about side roads, so we successfully avoided all obstacles and arrived to Zagreb downtown, which was almost a ghost town. The employees of the French Embassy were so surprised to receive two young fellows, that issued us tourists visas in the same afternoon.

In 2008, I traveled along the Croatian coast with my partner, seeking to experience the breathtaking islands and the historic towns that Croatia has to offer. Basic camping gear in the trunk of our car enabled us flexibility and nature orientated stops on the coast from the island of Pag to Dubrovnik: Camp Straško at Pag Island, Zadar, Split, Korčula and finally Dubrovnik.

From a late afternoon ferry to the Island of Pag, the view was scary: bare rock mountains without a single green spot and windy weather didn’t promise Mediterranean atmosphere with pine forests, rock-sandy beaches and plenty of shadow that we found on the western side of the island.

Perfect beach, modern facilities and connection to nature while camping offer an ideal combination to enjoy the seaside in Croatia.

However, in order to prevent possible accidents and increase income, many campgrounds changed their policies and priorities. When I started a fire on my BBQ, it was already late in the afternoon, when all neighbors were on the beach. I cooked the food, we ate it and the fire was almost extinguished. The security guards came by and prudently warned me, that only gas stoves were allowed these days.

The other big change (beside steep price increase on a yearly basis) is the priority to mobile houses, which occupy the best spots close to the beach. Motorhomes, trailers, and especially tents, are more and more distant from the coast. The view of the sea was replaced by the view of pine trees and inland forest. In some campgrounds, a bicycle is almost mandatory in order to comfortably go from a tent to the beach.

Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is the hottest destination in Croatia that turned into a main vacation spot, not only for the regular tourist crowd that spends summer holidays in the Dalmatia region, but also for celebrities, the most extravagant and richest people from all over the World.

During my visit in 2008, the city was still manageable, prices inflated, but reasonable and options for budget travelling available. I found a decent campground very close to the beach, with great infrastructure, but cold sea.

Walking on the stone walls that surround the old town and offer the best views of the Pearl of the Adriatic with sea and nearby islands in the background, is spectacular. One of the most perfectly preserved medieval cities, was rivaling Venice as a trading port during the 15^th and 16^th centuries. Between the 14^th century and 1808, Dubrovnik ruled itself as a free state, an ally of Ancona, to resist attempts by the Venetians to control the whole Adriatic Sea.

The economic wealth of the Republic was mostly the result seafaring trade; merchants travelled lands freely and the city had a huge fleet of merchant ships. In order to survive throughout centuries as a Republic, Dubrovnikans developed their diplomatic skills to the highest level.

The world’s first commercial pharmacy opened in Dubrovnik in 1317; the first orphanage opened its doors to take in children in 1432. It was also the first country (Republic) to banish slavery in 1416.

Probably the city became even more famous after the bombing and siege by Yugoslav Army during the Croatian War of Independence. The remarkable preservation and reconstruction after an earthquake in 1667 and attack during the war in the early 1990s gained it a recognition by UNESCO.

In August 2009, with a group of friends, I attended the concert of Irish rock band U2, which was part of one of the most successful tours – 360° Tour. They visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011, introducing innovative circular stage, allowing the audience to surround them on all sides. A massive, claw-shaped stage, which permitted fans to view the concert from every angle, was presented for the first time.

Beside a spectacular music, show of lights, special effects and great atmosphere on the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, there is another peculiar detail from that night. I was supposed to be accompanied by my partner. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it, due to the delay in the birth of our first child. Years later we were able to attend another concert from U2 in Los Angeles, which was spectacular as well, but not as special as 360° Tour.

In 2020, I took my kids back to the island of Lošinj. We were camping in a caravan for a week. A typical holiday that so many Slovenians enjoy every year. Camping in Croatia is definitely one of the highlights in the summer, though it is not the same as it used to be in the past. It is all about business these days.

However, the main point is being close to the nature, where you can spend most of the time on free air, walk around in shorts or swimming suits, experiment on BBQ and have plenty of opportunities for sport activities, recreation or leisure cycling to the nearby beaches.

Plitvice Lakes National Park is known for a chain of 16 terraced lakes, joined by waterfalls, that extend into a limestone canyon. I was lucky enough to visit the lakes in early July 2021, when the whole Europe was still under Covid-19 pandemic pressure and the park was almost visitors-free. Walking on hiking trails around the lakes, waterfalls and beautiful nature was worthwhile.

An electrical boat took us to the other side of the lake. The 78-meters high Veliki Slap was not as impressive as I expected, but all in all it was a great day.

Croatia has been converting to one of the top tourist destinations in the last years. Becoming a member of the European Union, particularly by joining the Schengen Area and adopting the Euro as the official currency, will boost popularity among Western visitors, consequently increase the prices and limit attractiveness among backpackers or low-budget visitors.

The summer months are overcrowded and most capacities on the Adriatic coast are fully booked.

It is not fun to be surrounded by so many tour groups in the most touristic coastal towns, when exploring the old towns anymore.

I have recently replaced Croatia as a summer destination with Greece. But still, Croatia is a top destination for holidays outside of the main tourist season.