All About Croatia

Last week, we went to Croatia for fall break.

The BIGGEST question that came up was “Why Croatia?”

We’d heard from multiple friends and family over the past few years that Croatia was one of their favorite trips they’d ever taken (and these are from people who travel a LOT) so it was on our radar.

Then in February, cheap tickets came up (we use Going to watch for cheap flights) and we jumped on them!

Here’s what our trip looked like:

We caught our flight from Salt Lake City to Dallas Fort Worth in the late afternoon. 

When we arrived in DFW, we had a few hours until our next flight, so this was our moment to try out our lounge access for the first time (I’d gotten a Capital One Venture X card a few months earlier!). We were headed to the Priority Pass lounge when I saw that there was a Capitol One Lounge (there are only a few worldwide) and my card gives us access. When we went up there, Bart couldn’t get in with his two guests because he hadn’t brought his card, so I went in with the two big girls while Bart took the little girls to the regular lounge. The Capitol One lounge was amazing with so much good food, plus to-go bags which we packed up and took with us for the rest of the family. 

Eventually it was time to board our flight to Madrid, so we headed to our gate, boarded and settled in for a long overnight flight. This was Bart and my first time using the travel pillows that Bart’s parents had given us for our birthdays this year and they were surprisingly excellent. I slept for about 4 hours which is probably the most I’ve ever slept sitting up on a plane. I also finished James and What Does it Feel Like? and started on Be Ready when the Luck Happens. 

We arrived in Madrid and because it was a tight layover, we went as fast as we could (not helped by literally the slowest passport control person on the planet. The lines on both sides of us were getting 3-4 groups through for every 1 our guy managed to process). Then we had to go through security again where, of course, Bart was stopped for a random security check. We slid into the gate only to discover that it had been delayed and we had plenty of time. So we visited the lounge there for a little meal before boarding our final plane for Dubrovnik. Our flight was delayed again because a flight from Lisbon with 50 passengers for our flight was delayed so we waited for all of them before finally taking off about 90 minutes late. 

We got off the plane and went through to baggage claim. I’d had an anxious feeling about our luggage getting lost all day – very rare for me – so I was hugely relieved when Bart and Ella and my bags came through. Then we waited and waited and waited (Bart finally went to get the rental car because the rental service closed at 9 and it was now 8:40) and eventually had to accept that the last two bags were NOT coming. I submitted our lost luggage claim and then we went out and met Bart. We drove the 30ish minutes to the city and Bart dropped us off to meet our Airbnb host while he went to park the car.

Old Town was THE most picturesque and we quickly got settled in the Airbnb and when Bart arrived, we all walked down to the main street and found a place for dinner (by the time, quite a few places were starting to close). We had a great dinner at Taj Mahal which served Bosnian food (the staff was super friendly and handed out candies to our girls as we left) and stopped in a little gelato shop for lava cakes topped with gelato. We headed back to our Airbnb, took some melatonin and turned on the mini sound machines I’d bought for this trip and we were all asleep within moments. 

Day 1 in Croatia: 

We didn’t wake up until 12:30 (some 12 hours of sleep!) so we were all feeling pretty good. We got showered and dressed and headed back down to the main street to find a grocery store and bakery for some breakfast. Once everyone was fed, Bart bought tickets for the city walls and we headed up to explore. 

I definitely wanted to do the city walls but I hadn’t expected it to be as delightful as it was. Mid-day it wasn’t particularly busy and the weather was PERFECT. We spent nearly 2 hours going all the way around, including a stop to buy some art from a painter who has painted in this spot on the walls for 30 years, and loved the views into the city and out onto the water. 

When we were done, we left the Old Town walls, checked out a few shops and stopped at a little grocery store for some bread, cheese, fruit and veggies and had a little picnic snack sitting in a garden walkway. We wanted to do the cable car at sunset and the timing was just about right so we walked up to the base and bought tickets then waited for enough people to arrive to fill the car. The ride up was gorgeous as the sun was going down and the lights were just starting to come on. 

When we got to the top, we checked out the gift shop, walked around for a bit, and then stopped in at the War Museum. Now the sun was fully down so we went back to the city with all the lights shining up at us and then headed to dinner at a sushi restaurant our Airbnb host had pointed out to us and called the best in the city. We had a delightful dinner together and then went to check out another gelato spot. We sat on the steps across from it and ate our gelato and the girls played and danced in the streets while we listened to some piano music and admired the full moon. It was one of those perfect vacation moments. 

Day 2 in Croatia: 

I didn’t sleep nearly as well this night and I woke up feeling groggy and headache-y and definitely a little grumpy. A shower and getting ready for the day helped and Tally and Ella and I headed out to a bakery we’d spotted the night before to pick up some breakfast pastries. We came back and everyone tried them while Ani and I did everyone’s hair and then Bart went to grab the car and we walked out to meet him at the city gate. 

This was our day to visit Bosnia and we drove to Kravica Falls, listening to Harry Potter 4 all the way. We stopped at a tiny grocery store just outside the falls and picked up some meat, cheese, chips, cookies, fruit and drinks and then headed to the falls. It was a nice little walk down to the falls and we had our picnic lunch and enjoyed the beautiful falls before packing up and heading back out. 

We drove into Mostar which was just stunning. We found a parking spot a few blocks away from the river and then walked down. Our girls were THRILLED by all the tiny storefronts and popup shops and we spent a lot of time looking at things until we finally made it up to the bridge. Someone was diving just as we walked on, so it was packed (this was obviously someone who does this all the time as a money maker, but still fun to watch and still definitely made me a little queasy to watch). We walked over the bridge, bought some gelato and wandered down to the river’s edge. By now the sun was starting to go down, so we headed back to our car and drove home in the dark the 2.5 hours back to Dubrovnik. 

When we got back, we headed to Azur for dinner (recommended by my super traveler/foodie friend Jessica) which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. The check was taking forever so I took the girls home (Tally, especially, was really fading and we’d had to work hard to keep her awake on the car ride) and helped them get ready for bed while Bart stayed to pay. 

Day 3 in Croatia:

I slept MUCH better this night – it felt like I was fully adjusted and slept straight through for about 9 hours which was good because this was the day we were all most looking forward to! We’d chartered a boat with a captain for the day (recommended by my friend Brooke Romney – she had a whole post about her trip here that was super helpful for us) and we’d arranged to meet at the city gates at 9 a.m. A car was waiting for us and drove us to the dock where Robert – the captain – was waiting for us. 

We boarded the boat and headed out on to the Adriatic Sea. The weather had looked rainy and stormy when we left the US, but every day the weather had been perfect and today was no exception – it was sunny but not too hot and we all loved sitting on the sundeck as he told us about the islands we were passing. We stopped at our first island which had a gorgeous beach and the girls loved playing in the water and building a sandcastle while Bart and I sat in the shade and chatted. 

After an hour or so, we headed back to the dock and our next destination was a tiny peaceful island for lunch. Robert recommended a restaurant (one of the few still open that late in the season – in fact it was the last day they had service for the year!). We walked down to the restaurant and it was like being on a movie set. We ordered a bunch of great dishes to share and after lunch the girls played on the playground just across from the restaurant while we settled the check. 

Back on the boat, we headed to a quiet bay and the girls jumped into the water to snorkel (Bart and I decided it was too cold for us!). Robert had a drone and he sent that up and showed us how to use it so we could take photos of the girls snorkeling and the boat from above. He also had bits of bread which we threw into the water and brought tons of fish in. It was just absolutely dreamy. 

Once the girls were done swimming and were back on board, we cruised along for quite a while, listening to music, reading, and dozing until we arrived at our last island. Robert dropped us off on one side of the island and we did a 20ish minute walk to the other dock where Robert was waiting to meet us. It was just a spectacular end to the best day (all of us agreed this was our favorite day in Croatia! Lots of people do a week long sail like this and say it was their favorite trip of all time and I can see why!). 

We landed back near Old Town where a car was waiting to take us back to the city gate and we headed back to our Airbnb to play a few games before we went to dinner. The girls were all feeling like pizza and Bart had made a reservation for Mea Culpa so once our reservation time was up, we walked down and had the best dinner – the pistachio cream and burrata pizza was especially delicious (Bart, Ella and I couldn’t stop raving about it!) And the pizza crust was EXCELLENT. We also ordered a terrific carbonara pasta plus a salad. 

Afterward, we went to Peppino’s, the gelato shop everyone had told us was a must but closed much earlier than everywhere else. We finally were early enough to hit it and I was blown away by how good every flavor was (plus so many interesting flavors!). I actually hadn’t ordered a gelato any of the previous three times we stopped for cones because none of them were really calling to me after a few samples but this time I enjoyed every bite of my cone (I got an almond gelato with ribbons of dark chocolate and pistachio which was insanely good) and declared we were absolutely coming back again the next night. 

Day 4 in Croatia:

Our last day in Croatia! This was another day trip day and we headed out around 10 a.m. to visit Montenegro (a place I couldn’t have even identified on a map before now!). Google Maps seemed a little confused because when we were 20 minutes away from Perast, it told us to grab a ferry and suddenly added 60 minutes to our trip. We took the ferry which was NOT the ferry to Perast and ended up about 30 minutes away from Kotor instead, so we pivoted to that city instead. 

We found a lucky parking spot and then wandered through the cutest little back streets and stopped at a playground (made me think of the dozens of playgrounds we visited in 2014 when we spent 3 months in Europe with Ella and Ani who were 4 and 1 at the time) before heading into Old Town for lunch at Pier 65 which was delish (the savory crepes and pasta were especially good). 

Afterward, we stopped in a few shops, took some photos and walked along the dock before heading back to our car (with another stop at a different playground). 

Our next stop was Caveat, a little seaside town 30 minutes outside of Dubrovnik that people had raved about. We parked and walked to a little beach and spent quite a bit of time playing in the water and sand. Bart had made a dinner reservation for our last evening at a fancy restaurant at 6:30 but he was able to push it back to 8 so we weren’t rushed for time. We wandered around the city, the girls bought some souvenirs and I quickly understood why people love this beachy little town so much. It was just charming! 

We drove back to Dubrovnik, everyone changed out of shorts and swimsuits into nicer clothing and we walked down to dinner. I realized that our later dinner would mean no trip to Peppino’s which closed at 9 but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. 

The restaurant was STUNNING and we were seated on the covered patio with gorgeous views of the city and the water. Just as we walked in, an old-fashioned ship floated by which was just the icing on the cake. 

Our meal was tremendously good (the burrata appetizer was a top ever dish for me and the duck was particularly amazing). After we finished our food and we were waiting to order desserts, I asked Bart what time it was and when he told me it was 8:54, he said, “RUN to Peppino’s and bring your cone back!” We were only a 2 minute walk from the other Peppino’s location, so the two big girls and I flew over as fast as we could and were the last people in line before they closed the door. Because it was so late, they wouldn’t give us any samples, but we gambled on the Pomegranate yogurt and it was every bit as good as my cone the night before. (We got 4 cones total). 

We came back and finished our cones at the table and ordered a couple more desserts (Bart loved the strawberry cake the most while I thought the apple crumble was by far the best). 

Afterward, we wandered back through Old Town and back to our Airbnb where we watched a little Lord of the Rings as a family before packing most of our things up in preparation for our departure the next morning. 

Day 5: 

We woke up around 8, got ready and finished packing and Bart went to grab the car while the girls and I did a last sweep of the house and then walked out to meet him at the gate. At the airport, we had breakfast in the lounge (hooray for lounge access!) before boarding our flight to London. 

One little perk of this trip was that our flight home included a 20 hour layover in London – our very favorite city – so we knew we certainly weren’t going to spend it in an airport! Once we landed in London, got through passport control and picked up our luggage, we took the train from Gatwick to Paddington (we stayed right by Paddington last time we were in London, so it felt very familiar!).

We checked into our Airbnb, dropped our bags, and then headed out to explore the city.

We stopped for a very late lunch at Cafe Diana (a favorite of Bart’s family for decades) and Pret for the girls, then took our food to the Princess Diana playground.

After an hour or so, we took the Tube to Oxford Circus and then popped into H&M to buy Tally and Bart jackets (Tally had left her sweatshirt on the plane in Madrid and Bart hadn’t brought something quite warm enough), then we went into Hamley’s. I brought my two big girls here almost weekly when we lived in London back in 2014 and I never get tired of bringing my kids here.

Eventually, after visiting every floor, we headed to Waterstone’s in Picadilly Circus which was another favorite spot for us in 2014. The girls were a little bit grumpy about it but then quickly found books and cozy spots to sit and didn’t want to leave.

After a while, we took the Tube to Harrod’s and explored the toy section, the food hall, and the Christmas section before taking our pastries outside to eat (the pistachio pain au chocolat was especially excellent).

We stopped in a few grocery stories to pick up some favorite British treats (like Hobnobs and Jammie Dodgers) before taking a bus back to Paddington where we grabbed pizza from Pizza Express (our girls’ favorite restaurant on our last trip – it’s a popular British chain) and then going back to our Airbnb to get some sleep before an early morning.

The next morning, we got up in the dark, quickly got ready and packed and took the Heathrow Express to the airport to catch a flight to Seattle and then another to Salt Lake.

It was SO good to be home and the best fall break trip!

If you have questions about our Croatia vacation, let me know in the comments and I’m happy to help!

If you liked this post about our Croatia vacation, you might also like these other posts:

• What my kids pack in their fanny packs when we travel
• A Q&A About Our Paris Trip
• All about Our One-on-One Trips