Croatia Days 6 & 7: Hvar E-Biking & Ferry to Dubrovnik

On Day 6 we woke up in beautiful Hvar in our tiny but great boutique hotel rooms (the whole trip we did 3 kids in one room, James and I in the other; all 3 hotels were great about adding an extra twin for Landon and it worked out perfectly). The hotel breakfast was even better than in Split and we enjoyed the indoor/outdoor setting with pool and ocean views.

Today we opted for an e-bike tour that would take us all around the island of Hvar.

We did e-biking in South Africa (Capetown wineries!) and the kids LOVED it. So much so that when Kaleigh through it out as an option all of them immediately jumped on it, so e-biking we did!

I'm so glad. As I noted on the last post, I really had no idea Hvar was so large and lush!

It turns out Hvar itself is home to 5 separate UNESCO heritage sites, the most of any area in Croatia, and we got to see them all.

We biked 20 miles and the beauty of e-bikes is it wasn't hard, it's just pleasantly active.

From Vrboska ("Little Venice") to Jelsa, Dol, Vrisnik, and more, we saw achrological digs that were still unearthing Greek ruins from 300 BC, ancient churches still in operation, lavender fields and vineyards, and more crystal clear blue water sparkling off every coast.

We stopped for famous gelato in one of the towns and just generally were in awe of how beautiful and historical everything was around us.

We learned about a special local wine called plavac mali and how there was a 30 year period when most of Europe’s grape vines caught a disease but Hvar was untouched, so they could charge nearly anything for their wine and the Catholic church was their biggest customer.

We got back to the hotel about 2, accidentally all took naps for a few hours, and then sat by the pool for a bit.

Once properly recharged, we walked our beautiful path of steps down to the town for dinner.

We ate at a little restaurant right along the water. I still couldn't eat any of the incredible looking bread, but my local wine was a comfort in a difficult time.

After dinner we ate gelato for the second time of the day and millionth time of the trip as we watched the sun set over the harbor.

Day 7 brought us one final breakfast at our new favorite hotel and a walk down to the ferry! Once again our hotel porters came to the rescue by driving down the luggage, so we could meet our bags at the boat and head off for Dubrovnik! After our long drive on our first night in Croatia, it was so nice to approach our first and final city by boat in the light of day. The ferry was easy and efficient and took about 3 hours.

We met our driver when we disembarked from the ferry and took a short 15 minute drive to our new and final hotel! It was great - right on the water with multiple pools and restaurants, all with incredible views.

We immediately got a late lunch and it was one of the best meals we had on the trip!

After lunch the boys went to go swim at a natatorium they found while the girls and I got dressed in swimsuits and walked around the various rocky beaches and inlets that surrounded our hotel. We didn't actually get in the water, but we looked like we might!

We were supposed to do a private guided walking tour of Old Town Dubrovnik that evening, but a big storm looked like it was rolling in, so we connected with our local travel company (Kaleigh always works with a local on-the-ground partner) and they connected us with our guide. She was free the morning of our final day, which we had wide open, so we opted to push it back and I'm so glad! We ended up walking to a great pizza dinner and then sitting on our balconies watching the lightening roll in across the sea while I drank some of the incredible bottle of wine I bought for $15 in Hvar.

It was a lovely lazy first night in Dubrovnik. The next morning would be our full day on a boat jumping off all the rocks we could find and we couldn't wait!

Croatia Day 5: Hvar and the Pakleni Islands

Tuesday was an 8 am ferry ride to our next step, the island of Hvar!

The ferry system in Croatia is like the train system when we were in Italy - easy, convenient, inexpensive, efficient, and very user friendly! We disembarked in Hvar a little before 10 am with our bags knowing our hotel was a short walk away but check in wasn't until 3 pm.

Luckily our hotel had porters waiting where we disembarked the ferry so we could give them our luggage to take up to the hotel to wait for us in the lobby. Hours later, when we did finally walk to the hotel, we were VERY thankful for those porters and their van, because there were a million stairs and a very steep hill between us and that lobby.

Freed from our literal baggage, we started to explore the town.

I had no idea what to expect from Hvar, but for some reason, in my head it was relatively small and mostly focused on beach and restaurants. But no! It's huge and full of old buildings and history and hills and valleys and vineyards.

And our lucky lucky kids were so excited when James spotted a fortress at the very top of the hill and immediately decided we should hike/climb a very tall hill to go learn all about it.

While winding our way up the hill we met a lavender seller who took care of 3 cats around his little stand, along with his dog Hugo "who thinks he's a cat." The girls helped feed the cats and gave everyone lots of pets.

Throughout our time in Croatia we noticed that cats seem to be communal- they all seemed healthy and well cared for, but they were indoor/outdoor and seemed to belong to everyone, but dogs were indoor family pets and very beloved. We saw leashed, happy, beautiful dogs at every patio, dogs on walks, dogs on boats... Cora got to pet so many! They must have some sort of TNR policy for the cats because we never saw that many and I follow too many cat rescue accounts on Instagram not to know how quickly a cat colony can explode in size.

The Fortica was constructed in the 13th century under Venetian rule and fortified further in the 16th century, saving the island's inhabitants during the Turkish invasion of 1571.

We got to explore the prison and walk the ramparts and soak up the incredible views.

After winding our way back down to sea level, we walked over to our hotel for the next two nights. That involved climbing back up a lot of steps, so we were glad to be free of our suitcases. The hotel was beautiful- great views, big pool, and a really fantastic restaurant overlooking both. We ate a late lunch, changed into swim suits, and then walked our way back down to the harbor to meet our boat.

Our boat skipper, Jasmin, pulled up to the harbor wall with his dog in the captain's seat and we all jumped in.

Onward!

He asked what we wanted to do and see and the kids exclaimed, "jump off cliffs into water!"

"I can do that," he replied and we sped off.

Our first stop was a cool inlet of cliffs.

The water was so gorgeous and Landon in particular loved climbing the cliffs before jumping.

(That's a little bitty Cora on the far left, climbing up to meet Landon at the top.)

James and all the kids jumped. I decided to wait. It wasn't that hot and the water wasn't that warm and I need something more than simple cliffs to voluntarily get into cold water.

At our next stop Jasmin told me there was an underwater cave we could swim through. "Is it worth getting cold for?" I asked. "Oh yeah," he promised.

And he was right!

The water didn't actually feel too bad and it was so incredibly beautiful.

The cave was really cool. You climbed in through a rock entrance, jumped into the water behind it, and then swam under the underwater exit arch. The kids did it lots of times and I did it twice!

We stopped at lots more places.

After 4 fun and sun filled hours on the gorgeous water, we boated back to town and walked back up to our hotel to finally get to check into our rooms (which were lovely) and shower and change for dinner. We walked down to the water where we ate a great, full meal and then, while waiting in line for gelato, I looked up to see Landon holding a slice of pizza in each hand.

"It was just for sale right over there!" he exclaimed delightedly. We got our gelato and walked back up the stairs to our hotel to watch the last of the sunset over the pool.

Croatia Day 4: Plitvice Lakes National Park

On Monday we were up early for our great hotel breakfast and then met our driver and his van in front of our hotel at 8:30 a.m. to drive to Plitvice Lakes!

It was a 2.5 hour drive and was the main reason we had Split on our itinerary (although I ended up loving the Old Town and am so glad we spent time there!).

We arrived about 11, scanned our tickets, and entered the park I'd wanted to see for 20 years.

I wondered if the real life views could possibly match the pictures I'd seen online.

They did.

I don't really have any words to add. It's just crazy impossibly beautiful. We hiked along a recommended path, marveling at the water and the waterfalls all around.

The pathways are built right on top of the water, so it's like you're floating and gliding along the surface.

We ate lunch at a spot by a lake that sold burgers and snacks and then took the boat across to cut off a few miles of hiking on the way back.

We met our driver about 3 and settled in for the long drive back.

Once back, the boys went to swim at their fancy natatorium and the girls worked very hard sitting by the hotel rooftop pool looking out over the ocean.

Cora even got in!

I looked up a restaurant in Old Town with great reviews right by the Palace, so we walked over there when the boys got back.

Sitting outside next to walls that are 2200 years old sipping an Aperol Spritz is now one of my favorite things.

Croatia has amazing bread and pizza, neither of which I could ever partake in, so I ate a crazy number of salads. But at this place, for the first time, gluten free pizza was on the menu!

We walked back to our hotel through the city, soaking in all the history and soft lights and gelato.

We packed up a bit and went to bed, knowing we'd be leaving on the ferry for Hvar in the morning!

Split, you started as a means to a Plitvice Lakes end, but I loved you and you gave us such a great start to our time in Croatia!

(By the way, I updated my Travel Logs page at the top of the blog page. It now lists all our travels with links to any blog posts I wrote about them. It mostly helps me find things, but in case it's helpful to any of you, I wanted to point it out!)