Dalmatian coast

In September 2023 I set out for my “summer” holiday. I decided it was time I explore a little bit of Croatia, so I headed for the Dalmatian coast, and threw in a couple of quick visits to bordering countries.

I flew to Split and started there. However I didn’t have the best start to my holiday as it turned out there was no reception at the accommodation and no one was answering at the number on the booking. I was there a couple of hours before normal check in, but I had hoped there was somewhere to leave my luggage. Instead I had to find somewhere close by to sit and eat something to kill the time, and hope I could get contact around check in. Over an hour later I received a message on booking.com that made it clear they hadn’t even read the message I sent at the time of booking. I went back to the property and sat on a low stone wall while I waited. Which resulted in me bringing a big grasshopper into the room. The room was nice though and as soon as the host left I put my backpack down and started unzipping it to get some stuff from it. And that’s when I noticed the grasshopper. I do not like grasshoppers. (Although, had it been a spider I would have abandoned the room and my backpack.) Luckily the bug was calm, so I pushed my backpack as close to the outer door as I could and then used a tea towel to try to get it to leave. It took a while though; it didn’t seem to mind being hit sideways by a towel. So that was the great start to this holiday.

After getting the bug out of the room (it was still in the outer hallway though) and changing I went out to explore. I started by going to a lookout point and then made my way down to town. I found ice cream before I went into the old town to explore. This was the first of several old towns I explored on this trip and several of them have similarities, but they’re also different in some ways. The old town in Split isn’t very big, but it’s got some cool open squares where you can see how old the place is, and some cool arches. I went back to my room to put on some make-up and then went out to find some dinner and a few drinks. I did consider checking if the towns bar crawl was running, but considering I’d been up since 2:30 am with little sleep I was just too tired. I also wanted to get up early for the sunrise, so I was in bed around 10 pm.

My first day waking up in Croatia started before 6am. I walked to the lookout point I’d checked out the day before and spent some time taking photos of the city and the cats I saw up there. Then, when the sun was about to rise above the mountains I headed down to the water. It was a beautiful morning and I got some cool photos of the early morning sun before heading into the old town to walk through it before it got really busy. Then I walked to a 24hour pharmacy, the only one that was open because it was a Sunday, I needed some painkillers as my head was hurting. Then I walked along the water back towards the town where I sat down for some breakfast.

After my meal I went back to my room and had a little nap before heading back out. When I did I walked away from the building in a different direction from what I'd done earlier and I stopped to check the direction on the map, and as I did I heard a strange sort of steady rustling noise. I turned to see if I could see what was making the noise and there, in the brush, was a turtle.

I definitely didn't expect to see a turtle in the city so that was cool. I got a few photos of it before I kept walking. I had decided to check out a shopping centre. I was hoping to find a cute summer dress, but I didn't really find any that I liked. Going back into town I went through old town and found myself some gelato, it was a really hot day and I needed it. Then I went back to my room to get changed for the evening. I wanted to get a few photos of myself in a dress and I wanted to catch the sunset, although there isn't really a great place to watch the sunset in Split in the summer. So after getting myself a little dolled up I went down to the docks and got a few photos with the view of the town behind me. I also got a few at this cool red square. Then I went to get dinner, and according to half the world it seems dinner at 5:30 pm is early. According to my body it's about time I eat at 5. So I had dinner before sunset and then headed up to the rooftop bar to have a drink or two while the sun was setting. That was a great decision. First I ended up chatting a bit with a British couple sitting next to me. When they left I noticed a girl had sat down a few chairs down from me on the other side, so I asked if she was alone and if she wanted to join me. We got along instantly, this Brazilian girl has actually been to Norway several times. Then an American couple sat down next to us and they were very social, and before I knew it I was also chatting to some French guys. I had debated if I should see if the bar crawl was running, but as I was a little tired and didn't really feel like a full on party I decided to find one more drink at a bar when the others left to find dinner. (After 9 pm, that would be difficult in Norway.) The French guys did tell the rest of us where they were planning on going after dinner and we were welcome to join them, so that was nice. But I didn't really feel like a club, and had an early morning the next day. At least I had gotten to be a little social and that felt good.

The next day I got up early as I had booked a 7:30 am bus out of the country. My next stop was Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The bus journey there was beautiful and I'm sure a short stay could have been great in many of the small charming places we passed. I arrived in Mostar a little before 1 pm and walked towards my hotel with two people from the bus. I was pleasantly surprised with the hotelroom. It was a fairly cheap hotel in a very central location, basically right next to the old town, and I was a little worried as the entrance did seem a little strange from the photos. The hotel “shares” the entrance with a car park. But the room was nice and the area was quiet.

I rushed out to start exploring and quickly realised I was wearing the wrong shoes. The old town of Mostar was destroyed in the war but has been rebuilt as it was. And apparently that means slippery cobblestones. Bellerina flats are definitely not the thing to wear here, you need shoes with a little grip. I walked around for a while, very carefully, and ended up finding a beautiful little cafe with the best view. They didn't really have any snacks or desserts that interested me, but I did want to sit there for a little bit, so I ordered a raspberry iced-tea, which was great in the heat anyways. I love finding places like this, where you can just relax and enjoy a nice view. After the cafe I went back to the room to change an freshen up a little bit before getting back out there. I ended up sitting down at a restaurant by the old town bridge around sunset, you can't really see it anyways since Mostar is surrounded by mountains. I had a nice view of some colourful houses on the other side of the river, but I do regret my choise of restaurant. There are many restaurants in the area, but finding the path to them isn't easy, I wish I had taken the time to try to find more paths. The service at the restaurant was good, but my lasagna was very dissapointing. I ate as much as I could handle. But at least I enjoyed the view. After my meal I tried to find a bar and there weren't many places that felt right for me. I eventually found a little pub with some seats outside and varied music though. I got a drink and then asked a couple of older guys if I could sit at their table. I have gotten a little better at taking initiative to talk to people. I find I tend to go to girls or older people though. I guess asking younger guys to join them feels strange, it feels like they might think I'm hitting on them or something, even if that is not my intention at all. So I sat with the older guys and they didn't just let me sit, but also started chatting with me. So for my first drink there I had a lovely conversation with a couple of older German guys who probably needed to find some food. When they left I didn't really find new people to talk to, but I did get to hear an old Backstreet Boys song, so that made me quite happy.

The next morning I went for a morning walk to take a few more photos of old town before the crowds. I do like my quiet morning walks, especially when I'm travelling.

The old town in Mostar isn't very big, so my walk didn't take too long. Then I went back to my room to pack up as I had a 9 am pick up for a tour/transfer. I definitely recommend doing this if you're planning on doing Mostar and Dubrovnik after one another. I was picked up by the tour guide from Mostar Travel and after we'd picked up the rest of the group going in the car we headed up above the city. The group was split in two cars for the day, so not the smallest group, but also not a very big group. Our first stop was a lookout point above the city of Mostar, where our guide talked about the war that destroyed the city in the 90s. Then we stopped at several cool places. At most stops the guide would talk about the area for a little bit and then let us explore a bit on our own. Which is great for someone like me, who likes to stop, breath and take photos. When the guide was talking we could tell he loved his job and his country though, so it was cool to listen to him. He was very passionate. I really liked the balance between his “speeches”, and the time we had to explore. Our last stop was the main reason I'd looked into a guided tour rather than just booking a normal bus to Dubrovnik. Kravice waterfalls. It's a beautiful area with big waterfalls falling into a lake with restaurants around it. And you can swim in the water if you want, but it's freezing. I did have to go in, just to be able to say I did, but it really was cold. I have to say, the contrast between the temperature on our walk up to an old fortress in Počitelj and the temperature in the lake at Kravice was huge. I'm guessing about 20°C. After relaxing a bit while drying off and heating up after the chilly swim we were back in the mini bus. Another woman and I were dropped off with our guides cousin for the transfer to Dubrovnik, while the others headed back towards Mostar.

We arrived in Dubrovnik around sunset and I headed towards my hostel. I struggled a little finding the door for the hostel, but eventually found it.

As soon as I'd checked in I showered and put a dress and some make-up on to go into old town to find some food and some drinks. Yes, there seem to be “old towns” in just about all the town in this part of Europe. As always when I'm hungry when I head out; I don't end up at the best restaurant. It was fine, but I could have done better. After my meal I walked around for a bit and then found an expensive drink. I tried a couple of drinks at a couple places but was back at the hostel by midnight.

In the morning I left the hostel for exploring just before 9 am. I walked through oldtown and found a place to sit down for breakfast in the sun on the outside of the walls. I explored a little for a couple of hours, and found some gelato, which is basically a must in the heat. I was tired though so I went back to the hostel to relax a little bit before going to find lunch. While exploring in the morning I'd found a little bay with a couple of cute restaurants/bars so I thought I'd try one of them. They're clearly popular, I guess I'm not the only one who prefers a sea view over sitting inside the walls of the oldtown. I did find a seat, but it was behind this straw curtain, which meant it was really hot, not much of a breeze coming through. I had a panini which was fine, and although I don't recommend going for the drink I tried (an elderflower Moscow mule), I do recommend the place. It really is cute.

After my late lunch I went back to the old town to walk the wall. I had heard people recommending going up when they first open in the morning, but because I was going on a daytour the next day and the weather was uncertain for the day after I realised this afternoon was the best time for me. I think a lot of the day tourists do this earlier anyways so it wasn't that bad. I went up at 4 pm and I did see some guided groups, but I didn't feel like it was crowded. Btw, you can buy just a ticket for the wall or a pass from the tourist information, they cost the same, but if you like museums the pass would get you access to those as well. I'm not a museum person so it didn't really matter to me.

Now; the wall. It's pretty amazing, and even though it's not cheap, I do recommend it. I'm a very visual person, I love everything that makes for a good photo and this wall gives so many great photo opportunities. The old town of Dubrovnik is quite big and seeing it from the wall is really cool. I realised I might have gone up a little bit early if I wanted to get the sun fairly low while I was up there (the actual sunset would be too late anyways), but there was a bar, and there was a table available with a view. So I ended up having a prosecco break up there. The prosecco with rose syrup was really good and I was very happy with my choice to stop and, well, drink roses in this instance, but you catch my drift. If I had sat any longer than I did I'm not sure I would have been able to finish walking the walls though, so if you plan on going up late I recommend asking about it. I passed two places where they check your ticket, so I guess there are 3 places you can start the walk from, I had started from the main gate in the wall.

I walked down from the wall around 18:30 and got a drink at hard rock cafe, because that's part of my travel tradition, and I wasn't sure I'd end up getting food or drink there later. It turned out they didn't even have any shot glasses left in the rock shop though, and since I was backpacking I couldn't exactly get a big beer glass or a mug. So I was quite disappointed by that. After the drink I needed food so I walked around for a bit, looking for something that seemed alright. I eventually found a place where I sort of wanted to sit, they didn't have any available seats outside though. But after a little prompting from one of the servers I decided to sit down inside. I was hoping they'd get more people inside, they didn't, but the server was really nice and actually chatted with me for a bit. And the food was good, just what I needed. It turned out the server was actually the owners brother and he was there on holiday, helping out. His girlfriend came in and he introduced us so I chatted with her a bit too. So it didn't turn out so bad even though I didn't get to sit outside. After the meal I went back to the hostel as I had an early morning the next day.

I left the hostel around 6 am Thursday morning. I was being picked up at 6:30 to spend the day in Montenegro. Our first stop was Perast, a small town where we took a boat out to a beautiful little island with a legend. We didn't have to go out to the island, but we all wanted to. And this is where we started to see how this tour might be better than many others. Since we had an early start (and were only a small group of 9 including the guide, so border crossings were smooth), we were out on the water before most people. When we got to the little island there was only one family with a sailboat there. We walked around for about 15 minutes before we were picked up again. And other people were arriving as we left. Also, it was a beautiful morning with the sun reflecting in the sea. After walking through town back to the bus we headed to Kotor. Here we had longer to explore and I decided to walk up to a chapel in the hillside to get the view of the city from above. This town has a legend involving cats and all the cats in the town are very well taken care of. When I got back down to town I walked around a little bit and when I noticed one of the couples from the group at a restaurant I got a fanta and chatted with them a bit. Our third and last stop of the day was Budva, here our guide took us to a restaurant he recommended and then we had time to explore or sit to eat. One of the things I liked about the tour was that we got the stories and the information we needed about the places while on the bus, so when we arrived at the destinations we could go explore right away. So when we got to the restaurant, which was on the way towards the old town anyways, some of us headed straight for the old town. I explored the old town of Budva with a lovely British couple. We walked the wall over the city and strolled through the narrow streets. Instead of spending valuable time sitting at a restaurant, we just got a slice of pizza and ate it on a bench by the water. All in all it was a pretty good day. And there were cats everywhere, and they're well taken care of in Montenegro (and mostly in Croatia as well it seems), so I love that. There was actually a litter of kittens in Budva and there was a sign saying not to touch them.

We got back to Dubrovnik as it was starting to rain so I went back to the hostel, showered and chatted a bit with my room mates, one of them was a lovely Peruvian girl. (I know I call most girls/women "girls", I don't know when we become women in my mind, maybe at like 50.) Then I had to go into the old town for some things, I also needed food. The girl from Peru decided to go with me even though it was raining. We ended up going to Hard rock cafe, because I didn't want to spend time looking at menus for places that might not have much space inside. I am very greatful that she came with me, I probably wouldn't have gotten a proper meal if I was alone. We didn't stay out long though, I had planned on going for a morning walk for some photos before check out and she wanted the same thing.

So Friday morning started at 6am. We left the hostel and started by going to the old town. We didn't expect a sunrise, it was a bit stormy, but we wanted the town to be less crowded for photos and we got our wish. There are more cars there in the morning though, as all the shops and restaurants get deliveries in the morning. After walking through parts of the old town we went to take photos from some spots I'd discovered before. And the stormy weather ended up being pretty cool with the dress I'd chosen to wear. We had a lot of fun taking photos for eachother, and then I needed breakfast. So we sat down in the old town where I ordered some protein pancakes. They were very filling, and when I didn't want the blueberries and didn't finish the pancakes my new friend ate the rest of it. Then we explored a little more before I had to get back to the hostel for check-out. When I'd packed my stuff and left the backpack at the reception I wanted to go up to a lookout point I'd seen from the bus the day before. And once again I got company for it. We had a nice walk up to the lookout point where we took photos with phones and cameras. On the way up I'd also texted one of the girls I'd met on the group tour from Mostar, she was in Dubrovnik as well and she was free to meet up. So after the lookout point we went to the old town to meet this girl, a younger girl from Australia. We walked around for a bit and then decided to sit down at a bar on the seaside of the wall. So you go through the wall and there is a bar on the cliff shore, basically. There were no actual seats available but we got come drinks and sat down closer to the water. And soon after, another girl from our hostel room texted and asked where we were. So my last few hours in Dubrovnik was spent having a drink with 3 new friends by the sea. I loved it, and almost wished I didn't have to leave. But the plans were set, so I did eventually have to leave.

I made my way to the other side of Dubrovnik by bus and got the ferry to Pomena on the island Mljet. Unfortunately this was a big low point on this holiday. The room I had booked was not good, and I have to admit I considered running over to the big hotel and asking if they had an available room for me. But I didn't. I put my stuff in my room, got the ticket I needed to explore and then went for a walk.

Mljet, or at least this part of it, is a national park, so you need a ticket to go anywhere. It was a little underwhelming to be honest, but the overcast weather probably wasn't helping. After my walk I had dinner at one of the restaurants and then had a drink at the bar next to the restaurant. The bar was basically dead, but I was putting off going to bed, I wanted to spend as little time as possible in the room. But at least I was planning on getting up early, so I'd be out before it got light outside. So, to give you an idea; there was spiderwebs on the ceiling, and a couple of long leg type of spiders. If they had moved from I got there to when I got back I probably would have ran out to the hotel, but they stayed put. There was also a moth on the bed, which I discovered when I pulled the bed cover off. I helped it out the balcony doors. The floors didn't seem to have been cleaned in a long time. The room was in serious need of upgrading, and I found what looked a lot like rat droppings in the bathroom. So I put my pyjamas on, I also had socks on in bed. I slept firmly on my back, something I never do, with my backpack propped up to the bed, didn't want it lying on the floor. And I had my phone in my hands so I could turn on the flashlight at any time. I did check on the spiders throughout the night and they didn't move. I was outside a little after 6 am and ready for a day of walking. I had hoped on meeting some cool animals, like deer or turtles, which do apparantly live on the island. But the most exciting thing I met were lizards, they are pretty cool though. The island is pretty and I can imagine it being even more so in better weather. I walked along the “lakes”, crossed a couple of bridges. Then went to get the included boat to a small island, Saint Mary's Island. I walked around the island for a bit and then got the boat back. The walk from the boat back to Pomena felt really long. I was getting tired and my feet hurt. When I got back I went to one of the restaurants on the other side of the little “town” for lunch.

And then I got my backpack from the room. I didn't want to be there for a second longer than I had to so I went to the bar from the night before. They have a very cute area with a roof, but only one wall.

Sitting there was probably not the right choice though, I had to move to another seat further in after a few minutes because it started raining, sideways. And for the first time on the trip I wished I'd had jeans or something. I had a jacket though, a light rain jacket, only because I thought I'd need it on the flight and on my way home from the airport in Norway. I had a few hours to wait for the boat, so sat under this roof in the wind and watched the lightning in the distance. Luckily it didn't rain the whole time I waited, but it rained for a while, and as I was getting ready to head over to where the boat would come in it started again. Typical. I waited as long as I felt I could before going over there, and it wasn't raining too heavily, but I did get wet. When I arrived in Korcula it had stoped raining, for a bit. I headed towards the room I would stay in the next two nights and as I was heading up some stairs I heard a voice behind me. I had let the people renting it out know that I was coming in with the boat so the lady was coming up the stairs just behind me and realised who I was. I was releaved to walk into the room and see that it was nice. After the experience of the horrible “guesthouse” in Pomena I was worried. But the room was nice and clean. As soon as the lady left I jumped in the shower. It was Saturday night so my original plan had been to see if there was any nightlife in town, but seeing as the weather forecast said the storm would kick up again and it would rain heavily from around 8 pm, I had an hour to get ready, and then basically stay where I ended up for at least a couple of hours, or I could go to bed. Considering I hadn't slept much the night before, and really had been sleeping a little less than I should every night on the trip, I was really tired. And I didn't feel like rushing to go out in the rain, so I just went to bed.

I got up early Sunday morning, despite being woken up by thunder around 4 am, I was feeling a little more rested. So I left the room around 6:30 am to see if there would be a sunrise through the clouds, and I was in luck. Despite the stormy weather there was indeed a sunrise, and it was beautiful. I walked around Korcula old town for about an hour taking photos, then went to the shop for some food and sweets and then went back to my room. The forecast was saying more rain, so I went inside and waited out the next part of the storm with my book and some local chocolates. Around 11 am it had stoped raining and I left the room again. It was still pretty windy, but I had a hop on hop off ticket for a taxi boat going to three islands so I went to the harbour to try to find it. It turned out they hadn't started the rounds because of the weather, but they decided to take me and a couple of other people out to the first island with a speed boat and gave me a number to call when I was ready to be picked up. So by noon I was on my way out to an island. My original plan had been to walk around the island and possibly stop at some of the “beaches” and try snorkling, but the wind made it rather difficult, and also I did try to go in the water at one spot and the rocky bottom was very slippery and felt unsafe.

I had also hoped I'd see the deer that some of the reviews of this little outing mentioned, but I didn't see any. There were plenty of signs saying not to feed them though. Still, the island is pretty. When I'd walked around the island I decided to try to go up to find a geocache, I hated the path though. The view from the top was pretty cool, but since I felt uncomfortable walking the path and didn't even find the cache it wasn't really worth it. When I got back down I called the number and said I was ready to be picked up, and I was told 15-20 minutes. What he didn't say was that they had acutally started up the taxi boat route. I found that out when more people started gathering around the pick up spot. Since the boat was going to the next island I decided to hop off and give the geocache there a chance. It was a pretty walk amoung some stone house ruins. I found the cache, although it was nasty instide the ruin where it was hidden, it seems they throw rubbish inside them, which is sad. When I got back to where the boat would pick us up from again I had some time to spare so I decided to test the water, on a less windy day I'm sure this is a beautiful spot to relax and swim. They seem to have some cool sunbeds. After being picked up the boat did actually go out to the third island too, but only to pick some people up. The last island is a bit further out and it was still fairly windy out there. This island is tiny and it's basically just a beach and a restaurant, I believe the people we picked up were staff. On a better beach day I think this is a pretty cool place to hang, with sunbeds and a swingset in the water. But it was empty on this day.

I was back in Korcula around 5 pm and went back to my room to freshen up, put on some make-up and a long skirt. Then I went out to see if I could see the sun set. I was sad to see there were too many boats on that side of the old town though. I took a few tripod selfies in the evening light and then went to find dinner. Of some reason most of the restaurants with a view are on the east side of the old town, so they don't have the evening sun. But I think there are some roof top places. After walking along the restaurants on the east side, and looking at a few menues, I jumped in when a table at one of the more affordable places opened up. It wasn't a fantastic meal, but it certainly wasn't bad either, and it was one of the cheaper meals of the trip. And I had a view of the sea, even if it was facing the wrong way. After my meal I walked through some of the narrow streets of the old town and ended up at an Irish pub, online it looked like they might have a chocolate dessert for me, but I was out of luck as they've clearly changed their menu. So I just ordered a cider. And then I noticed there was a girl (woman), at the table next to me who seemed to be alone. So I asked. She was a solo traveller like me, so I moved to her table and kept her company while she ate her dinner. Then my plan was to see if I could find “life” elsewhere and she joined me. Most places were pretty dead though, but considering in was a Sunday that wasn't really a surprise, and it was also at the very end of the season for Croatia. We ended up walking away from the old town, along the water and found a place where they had some cocktails. So we chatted and had a couple of cocktails. The evening was a little quieter than what I initially wanted, but it was a Sunday and it was lovely to meet this French girl and chat with her.

The next morning I actually got up and out to see if there would be a sunrise again, there wasn't. But I had put the skirt back on and took some tripod photos before the town came to life again. Then I went back to pack my backpack and get ready for the day. I left the backpack outside my room and went geocaching. I didn't find many, but I found a few. I walked along the shore of the island away from the town for a bit. I was on my way towards a geocache when I realised I would have to swim for it, so that was a no. I found some cool spots and took some photos along the way though.

Then I went back to the old town and found a meal. Pancakes and ice cream. And then I wanted to try the fancy ice-cream shop I'd seen in town. It felt wrong as I'd just had ice-cream, but I really wanted to try it. So I got chocolate-orange and pistachio and although it was expensive and I couldn't finish all of it, it was good. It was quality ice-cream. I don't think I've actually ever really tasted the pistachios in a pistachio ice-cream before, but this one is clearly made with actual nuts. After the ice-cream it was time to go get my backpack. As I was finding a seat on the ferry I noticed signs in Norwegian everywhere, I guess the boat comes from Norway. I made a remark about it to the lady in the seat behind me and ended up spending the next hour chatting with her and her husband. I do find people to talk to a lot when I'm travelling alone and it was nice to have someone to chat with for a bit.

The boat arrived in Hvar a little after 2 pm and I found my way towards the guest house I'd rented through narrow streets. Turnes out there is an easier way and I used that after this, but fallowing google lead me through many narrow streets. When I got into the flat, because that is essentially what it was, I was instantly in awe. The place was cute, and because of Hollywood I felt it was a little Greek. And the view from the balcony was amazing! I was looking right at the fortress above the town. I quickly realised I needed to go up to the fortress right away, to be sure I found the time for it. I swapped out my t-shirt for a top and practically ran up to the fortress.

The view on the way was cool, slowly getting higher above the town. I had been a bit worried about it taking time so I walked fast, in fact I was at the fortress entrance a little passed 3 pm. I guess it was shorter than I thought. I paid to go in and walked around the fortress for a bit. I got some help with some photos and also helped others. I really am getting better at asking people to help me with photos. The fortress was cool and the view was beautiful. Also, I noticed I was in a really good mood. Maybe it was the weather, it was sunny and quite hot again, the storm had passed. But maybe I also just liked the vibe of the place. When I felt I'd seen what I wanted to I headed back down to town and got snacks and a couple of bottled cocktails at a shop before going back to my room.

I showered and had some crisps (potato chips) and a drink on the balcony. I got a little dolled up, caught the end of the sunset and got an idea for where I could watch it the next day and then I went to find dinner. I sat down at a place by the harbour and ordered a pizza with bbq sauce, it was pretty good. The server had a little attitude though, not the first time it's happened but it's annoying. I know I'm really picky, it is what it is, when a customer wants to get a pizza without the vegetables or doesn't want the sauce on a meal, just don't make them feel like crap for it. It's things like that that makes it a little more difficult to go out to eat, especially alone.

After the meal I tried some bars, first I tried a cocktail outside at the bar next to the restaurant. The drink was alright, but expensive. And I noticed it was getting chilly. So next I went to check out a bar I'd seen online while doing research, with live music. The place was quite full, but most people were outside, so I found a seat inside. The guy singing was pretty good and I liked the music. But after a break another guy came on instead and it just wasn't as good, so I needed to try somewhere else. I decided to go to what seemed to be the towns night club. It was really expensive, again, so I just got a beer. Then I started making some friends for the night, so I spent the night drinking beer with a couple of British girls and a bunch of Swedish guys. We stayed at the nightclub for a bit before trying a smaller place, that was a little cheaper. I had one beer there and then I headed back to my room, it was passed 1 am. And I did want to get up at a decent time the next morning.

I surprised myself by being up early the next day. It might be because of the cold though, I hadn't slept much as the room actually got really cold. There were blankets on the bed so I did use one, but it was still cold. So for someone who doesn't like the heat this is the perfect room, but for me it turned out to be too cold. I got up before 8 am and got ready for the day, then I went for a walk. I got some morning photos at the harbour and as I walked passed a bakery I decided to get breakfast and eat it on my balcony.

As I was eating I was watching a butterfly on some flowers, it wasn't very close to me, but I could still see it well, so I'm guessing it was quite big. I got my camera and got some decent photos of it as well. I had plans for the day, but I still had time so I read a little on the balcony as well. And then I went back down to the harbour. I'd booked a daytrip on a boat, and I honestly wish I'd had more days like this on the trip. The boat left the town of Hvar a little passed 11. I was sitting at the front of the boat to soak up the sun and a few Danish guys sat down there as well. I didn't understand everything they were saying, and understood one of them better than the others, but I tried to make a little smalltalk with them. The first stop with the boat was at something called the red rocks along the coast of the island. It was pretty cool. Tall red cliffs with a few small grottos.

I swam a little into one of them, some of the others from the boat swam all the way into one but I feel a bit claustrophobic at the thought, even though I wouldn't really say I have claustrophobia. The second stop was a nice quiet bay. The water was beautiful and the staff through some food in the water to attract some fish. They had snorkling equipment we could borrow, but I actually brought my own. So I finally got to try my full snorkel mask, and it was pretty cool. It really was tight enough and although it was a little heavy to breathe with it on I could breathe normally, I didn't have to worry about a separate mask and mouth piece. I got a few pretty cool photos with my underwater camera. Back on board I had also made some friends and I was telling this lovely Irish couple that I'd get a drink at the next stop, but they'd already ordered one for me. The wine was pretty cheap on this boat, but it was such a nice gesture. So on the way to our last stop I enjoyed my drink and relaxed with the others. The last stop was a nice bay, but it was a little more windy so the water didn't look as clear. And after one last little swim we headed back to the town. Oh and btw, we got some lunch, and a home made shot thing, on this journey too. It really was a great day and I'm so happy I decided to book a day on the water.

After a shower I decided to try the cookies and the shots thing I had been given by the owners of the flat I was staying in. It wasn't really my thing, but I really do appreciate the effort. I got ready for the evening and then I went down to the harbour.

I walked along it for a little bit and found a nice spot to set up my tripod for some sunset selfies. And I don't think they turned out half bad, if I do say so myself. Then I found dinner before heading to the live music place for a drink. Unfortunately I didn't like the music that much though so I only stayed for the one drink. And I had to pack anyways.

In the morning I got all packed up and headed out a little passed 9 am. I found a breakfast pastry on my way to the harbour and then ate while I waited for the ferry. I got off the ferry in Split just after 11 am and made my way to the bus station. An hour later I was walking through Trogir to find the office where I'd get the key to my room. I didn't actually expect to get the key that early, but I was lucky that I didn't have to leave my luggage there and come back later. I found my room in town, changed out of my now sweaty t-shirt, left my stuff in the room and went searching for some shops. There was supposed to be a small shopping centre up the street with a few "normal"shops , meaning not tourist shops, so I headed there. I'd felt a little cold in the evenings since the little storm so I felt the need for a cardigan or something. I had considered packing one, but didn't want to take anything I didn't really think I'd need, and thought I could always buy it if I really needed it. But finding exactly what you need isn't always that easy. I made it to the little shopping centre, they only really had one interesting clothes shop though and all the cardigans were either really heavy or a little more expensive than I like. I did end up getting a nice top though. And on my way back I walked through a market and ended up getting a white oversize shirt. Then I went back to town and found a nice bar in the sun.

I was in the mood for a picture perfect cocktail in the sun. And it really was picture perfect, and tasted good too. After the cocktail I went back to my room to get changed for the evening. And to my horror I found the room full of tiny ants. I had left my half eaten breakfast in the room, and the ants had found it. I called the company and they couldn't help me until the next day, but she clearly judged/blamed me for bringing food in the room. I have never had this problem though and I often buy meals like this when I travel. And they clearly would have come in if it was just the bag from the food too. This nice room quickly dropped from a 9 to a 6 for me. The ants were small, and she did assure me they were harmless, it was still gross and annoying though. And I did find a dead one under the bedcover, on top of the sheet, so it's clear they weren't there just because I had food in the room. To make an annoying afternoon even worse I got all dressed up in a sort of fancy white summer dress only to hurt myself on the heavy door leaving the building. I walked a couple of steps out in pain before I looked down and realised I needed to go back inside. I was bleeding quite a bit. Luckily the shoes were easy to clean, but I didn't want to take a chance I'd ruin the long dress. So I cleaned up the wound and changed to shorts and the new top instead. Then I explored the streets a little before going out to the water to watch the sun set. I had a nice dinner and explored some more before going to bed, but didn't stay out too long since I had a daytrip booked for the next day.

I headed out for the meeting spot around 7 am and caught part of the sunrise on my way out and it was beautiful. The daytour was for a national park a few hours away, so it would be a long day with a lot of time on the bus. Now, the park is beautiful and I'll get to that, but I do not recommend doing this tour from Split/Trogir if you're like me, if you like to take your time while looking at beautiful things in nature. This was incredibly rushed, and I think the 30 minutes or so that we spent at a petrol station/restaurant for a breakfast stop could have been a 5 minute bathroom break. We arrived at the Plitvice lakes national park a little past 11 am and got a boat across a beautiful clear lake, then we started our rushed walk along pathways between lakes and waterfalls. I would have loved to spend two whole days in the area, just taking photos and taking it all in. It was a little more crowded than I like though, even though this was at the end of September, I can't imagine what it's like in high season. We did stop a few times for some photos and the guide talked about the different lakes, so I did get a few photos of myself with some waterfalls, but a lot of the time I felt like I was running to catch up between stopping to take photos of what I was seeing. After about an hour of walking in this first part of the park we took a boat again to get to the other part. Then we had a longer lunch break. I would have appreciated the lunch break if we hadn't had a long breakfast break as well. Then we took on the second part of the park. It was different, but equally beautiful. Again I was constantly “running”, taking photos and then trying to catch up again. The second part also took us about an hour, and the end of it was even more crowded than the rest of it. At the last stop the guide just told us to follow the line and he'd wait for us to come back. There were so many people and for once it was going slower, but that's because there was a line. The waterfall at the end was beautiful, but not more so than many of the others we'd seen, I would have been happy to spend more time at quieter spots instead.

When we left the park we only drove for a little bit before stopping for food. Yes, again. The food was pretty good though. We stopped at a restaurant and I enjoyed my meal with a lovely couple who was on the same tour.

When I got back to Trogir I quickly changed and then went searching for a cocktail. There was this open square with a promise of some live music, so I sat down there and had a few cocktails. The music did start eventually and I ended up talking a bit with one of the servers. Then I figured it was time for some food, since my “dinner” was now more than 5 hours ago. So I went towards the water and sat down at one of the many restaurants along the outer part of the “city”. I ordered a pizza and got lucky with some company, there was a lovely couple at the next table and we ended up talking through most of my meal. After my meal I had another drink at a nearby bar that also had live music. Unfortunately Trogir wasn't the best place for me to meet people, I didn't feel like people gave off that “I want to make new friends” vibe, but I still enjoyed my night. Originally I had planned on going on a day trip on my last day in Croatia, but the day I arrived in Trogir I got a notification about it being cancelled. Turnes out it was never happening, but viator still sells tickets to it. So I thought maybe I'd do a boat trip instead, since I liked the previous one in Hvar so much. But with my new toe injury I really didn't like the idea of dipping my toe in saltwater, so instead I ended up with a quiet day. I had a beautiful pancake breakfast, I would have liked more raspberries as there was a bit too much chocholate, and coming from me that's saying something, but it sure was beautiful to look at. Then I looked for a geocache, but ended up not wanting to stick my hand in where I think it was hidden, I got a photo for a virtual geocache though. And then I sat in the sun with my book and enjoyed a pop, at first, then I switched to a beer. It really wasn't the last day I'd hoped for, but I couldn't be bothered to do a long walk in the heat so a book and a drink in the sun it was.

In the afternoon I got ready in my white dress again and went out to get some “selfies from a distance”, as I call them, in the narrow streets of Trogir. I'm quite happy with some of the photos, even though it was difficult getting the shot at times. At one spot there was a large group of other Norwegians ordering a table at a restaurant for later, and it took a long time, with them all standing in my shot. I tried taking the photos with them there, but it didn't look right, and I try not posting photos with other people in them whenever I can avoid it. After spening some time in the narrow streets I went back to the bar from the first day to get a drink before sunset, I chose one that matched my dress. Then I went to get the last sunset photos of the trip. I helped someone else with some photos and then they helped me, so I got a couple of nice shots of me in the very last minutes of sun. I didn't stay out too late that night but I did have a few drinks and found some live music bafore going back to my room to get ready for the next days departure.

So what have I learned? As always I end with a little conclusion and thoughts of what I might have learned on my trip. I think the most important thing I learned from this one is to look at reviews before booking a room. Does that mean I will never book a place I don't like again? No. But it might minimise the risk of it. I feel like this wasn't my best trip, by far, and looking back unfortunately some of the not so great things are stuck in my mind. But there were some really great things too and I think it's important to try to focus on the positives. I did meet some great people on the trip. Even though I struggled a bit with finding that human connection some days, I definitely found it on other days. And all in all it was an experience. I would say though; if you're a couple looking for beautiful but quieter days then Trogir is for you. If you're single and looking for new friends find a hostel in Split or Dubrovnik and I'm sure you'll have some fun. Croatia definitely has some interesting towns with beautiful arcitacture, and I'm sure I'll want to see more of it one day. I'm also really happy I decided to stay in Mostar for one night and the daytrip back from Mostar to Croatia was great and so was the daytrip to Montenegro.