★ Week Thirteen & Fourteen Itinerary:
- Bol, Dalmatia
- Jelsa, Dalmatia
- Hvar, Dalmatia
- Korčula, Dalmatia
- Pomena, Dalmatia
- Dubrovnik, Croatia
Bol, Dalmatian Islands
Split ⛴ Bol
Bol, Dalmatian Islands | October 14th – 17th
From Split we ferried across the Adriatic Sea to Brač Island, specifically the town of Bol.
Hopping off the boat the sun was setting, water glistening and I was chuffed with our decision to island hop the next ten days around the Dalmatian Islands.
Dalmatia encompasses Croatia’s western border and Adriatic Sea, running from the island of Rab in the north it stretches just below the Istrian peninsula to the Bay of Kotor in the south. From historic cities to quaint mountain towns, sprawling vineyards to hidden beaches, each island was unique in history and atmosphere.
‘Island holidays’ usually involve two main things; spending time on a beach whether that be tanning, reading, swimming, napping, you get it and treat sampling (you can decide what your treat of choice is be it sugary or alcoholic). Mine is definitely sugary. 😛
So I’ll spare you the intricacies of the books I read, tan lines I’ve developed and every flavour of ice cream I tried and instead mention some of the other things we got up to over the ten days.
Brač is famous for the breding of olives, vine, figs, almonds and maraska sour cheery. The olive has become one of the most valuable treasures of the Mediterranean people, it has even earned the nickname the ‘olive climate’ when referring to a place in the Mediterranean with ideal weather conditions.
"A fight broke out among the greek Gods on who gets Attica. Zeus decided to give this Greek province to the one who gives their inhabitants the most valuable gift. Poseidon, the God of the Sea made the sea foam and offered to the Attican a fleet of horses. The goddess Athena threw a spear on Attica out of which an olive grew. The Gods ruled in Athena's favour."
While on the island of Bol you can climb the highest mountain of the Adriatic Islands; Vidova Gora, so of course we did. Setting off early one morning (to try avoid the midday heat) we started what was to be a very straight forward and easy ascent of Vidova Gora at 780 metres tall.
At the summit we were rewarded with spectacular panoramic views and could see the fondly advertised ‘symbol of the Adriatic’; Zlatni Rat (Golden Horn Beach). What I maybe appreciated more was the perfectly placed picnic table. 😉 It provided great views and a place to enjoy our overpacking of snacks (it’s becoming a theme on our hikes recently).
The accommodation we stayed in also provided something great: a feline friend named Rosie (I named her this after the welcome gift we received at our accommodation). She became a regular visitor during our three days on the island and by the end was lapping up her milk feeds, knee cuddles and numerous pats N.D and I were giving.
The accommodation we stayed in also provided something great: a feline friend named Rosie (I named her this after the welcome gift we received at our accommodation). She became a regular visitor during our three days on the island and by the end was lapping up her milk feeds, knee cuddles and numerous pats N.D and I were giving.
On our final day in Bol we noticed a lot of the restaurants, cafes and bars closing and packing up for the season. This we later discovered would be the theme not only for our days island hopping but as we continued to travel further south. Off season in this part of Europe doesn’t just mean less tourists and cheaper prices… it can also mean fully closed. 😦
Jelsa, Dalmatian Islands
Bol ⛴ Jelsa
Jelsa, Dalmatian Islands | October 17th – 19th
On our arrival to Jelsa we were met with another gorgeous seaside town and an ideal accommodation upgrade.
At most places we stay we aim for a few things:
- cheap
- pay in advance (we don’t carry a lot of cash and with travelling across so many countries with different currencies it can become quite expensive making many ATM withdrawals or conversions; so we like to pre pay on credit card and avoid all this (plus we get airpoints and other perks this way))
- some sort of kitchen/kitchenette set up; all we really need is a fridge and kettle to store milk and make coffee/tea for breakfast… and noodles (or ramen as I like to call them – makes me feel fancy) for dinner if the meals at restaurants are too expensive (SWITZERLAND!!!). If they also offer a cooktop or other appliances then great – more dinner options!
So you can imagine our surprise when the room we got taken to was not just a room but an entire house. Complete with three bedrooms, separate bathroom, entire working kitchen, lounge and a balcony with sea views. Incredible! And it was so cheap – literally a quarter of the cost of our room in Rome (which didn’t even have a kettle… we went caffeine less in the mornings!).
Needless to say we made a buffet of food during our stay in Jelsa; pancakes, Turkish platters, pizza, stir fry, spring rolls and fries. All enjoyed with a great view. 🙂
Hvar, Dalmatian Islands
Jelsa 🚌 Hvar
Hvar, Dalmatian Islands | October 19th – 20th
When our stay in Jelsa was complete we sadly farewelled our island home but not the island itself and ventured to the bigger city of Hvar.
Hvar town is considered the more lively and up market part of Hvar in comparison to the quieter, smaller town of Jelsa. With surrounding tall ships, massive launches and several multi-day cruise companies moored at the docks I could instantly see why. Unfortunately a night on the town wasn’t for us as our arrival was met with an almost unanimous ‘closed for the season’ sign on every store front. Instead we settled for a stroll through the old town, swim in the ocean, trot up to the Fortica Fortress and ice cream stop. I’m not complaining, it was bliss!
At night with the ships all illuminated and town ghostly quiet we had a lovely time just gazing out over the water. And I may have imitated the many men fishing just for laughs. 🙂
Korčula, Dalmatian Islands
Hvar ⛴ Korčula
Korčula, Dalmatian Islands | October 20th – 22nd
No sooner had we arrived in Hvar did we find ourselves back on a ferry destined for our next island; Korčula.
Perhaps the islands biggest claim to fame is as the birthplace of Marco Polo, but N.D and I were far more interested in seeing Korčulas well preserved gates, towers and archaeological sites.
During our time here we stayed in the old town of Korčula and went out each day exploring different parts of the island.
From the beaches of Banje to Ispod Duvana it was beautiful and with warm water N.D had a blast swimming and exploring the sea life below. I on the other hand found the abundance of sea urchins littering the ocean floor a bit intimidating and only swam once. But that’s okay, I couldn’t work on my tan and book reading while swimming could I. 😉
One day we hired bicycles and explored the towns further around the island including: Lumbarda, Vela Przina Beach, Raznjic and Račišće.
On our final night we went to a cocktail bar I had heard much about! Famous for its stone castle building, ladder staircase and incredible views; Massimo was the perfect finale for our time on the island of Korčula.
The next day we packed up, stocked up and headed for our final island destination.
Pomena, Dalmatian Islands
Korčula ⛴ Pomena
Pomena, Dalmatian Islands | October 22nd – 24th
Fortunately I searched the island of Mljet prior to our departure from Korčula and discovered that the local supermarket and surrounding food providers had all closed that week for the season. This meant that we needed to come to the island prepared. Not that cooking our own meals is an issue, we had been doing that throughout our time in the Dalmatian Islands (while the accommodation is cheap the restaurants are not) but normally we would grocery shop on arrival… with everything closed that would have been challenging to say the least.
With bags of food we arrived in Pomena to visit one exciting spot. Mljet island is famous for its ancient ruins, caves, sprawling beaches and multiple hiking paths which are all encompassed in Mljet National Park. The town of Pomena is situated within the national park and provides residents an inside glimpse of the parks natural beauty and wildlife.
During our time on the island we obviously explored the National Park; from trotting around both lake edges, to scurrying through underground tunnels and hiking up Mt Veliki and Mt Montokuc (the tallest peaks in the park), we experienced stunning scenery, phenomenal weather and had an incredible time. Even managed to buy popsicles from a lovely lady – you can’t beat a calipo in the sunny afternoon… or whatever the Croatian version of it is. 😛
The Dalmatian Islands were stunning!
Our time spent exploring each place was special. Possibly made even more unique by the fact that there weren’t a lot or even any other tourists in the towns when we were there. It felt like we had the whole place to ourselves… and a hoard of sandflies at dusk break.
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Pomena ⛴ Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik, Croatia | October 24th – 27th
If I thought the Dalmatian Islands were a tranquil oasis of seclusion then nothing could have been a bigger contrast than arriving into Dubrovnik. Met with enormous cruise ships, towering bridges and cues of tourists Dubrovnik was a lot to take in on arrival.
Continuing on with the predominant theme of Split, Dubrovnik was crowded with Game of Thrones fans, merchandise store and tour vendors. You would stroll along a bridge and hear “this death scene happened here”, stare up at wall and catch whispers of “this royal family member exclaimed this here” or stand at a balcony over looking stairs and see a tour group being explained that a character walked naked down the steps here. It was quiet an unusual experience hearing years of fictional history be preached in a city that has its own factual history.
Recognised for its remarkable medieval architecture and fortified old town, Dubrovnik has been an UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979. However, the Dubrovnik of today is still under reconstruction 30 years after the severe shelling and bombardment that occurred during 1991 and 1992 when the Yugoslav Peoples Army had siege of the city.
So similar to our exploration of Split, N.D and I trotted the streets of Dubrovnik with our own, not television show inspired agenda in mind. Some of the highlights from Dubrovnik old town and our tour included:
- Tvrđava Minčeta, Pile Gate, Church of St. Ignatius, The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Sponza Palace and Dominikanski samostan
- Fort Bokar, West Harbour and Lovrjenac
- Uvala Lapad Beach
- DBC – Dubrovnik Beer Company brewery with views across the harbour and of Vidikovac Lozica
The next day we set off to ascend Mount Srđ (778 metres) to Mala Petka Forest Park and descend Staza Prema Utvrdi Imperial. All provided amazing views over looking the old town, surrounding wall and Adriatic coastline.
But if we learnt anything from our time on the islands it’s that no day is complete without a beach lie and ice cream, so that’s exactly how we ended it at Plaža Danče (Dance Beach).
Our time in Croatia had come to an end… but not before highlighting the beauty of travelling that bit slower, reminding us to appreciate the bustling cities as well as the quaint towns and always to stop and pat a cat or two.
At the completion of an incredible, almost three weeks spent exploring this magical country we were back on a bus and headed across another country border.
GC Chronicles 
Wonderful read (as usual)XXX
LikeLike