Hi friends! I’m a little rusty, because apparently I haven’t written a travel blog post in almost an entire year and I’ve been asking myself for quite a while whether or not I should be writing this. I’m mainly a book blog and you’re used to me screaming about young adult books. Would you even be interested in this kind of blog post? A couple of adorable souls mentioned that they would be when I last asked (thank you!) and…. well, I realized that, even for myself, I do love writing these kind of posts, so… here I am.
☂️ In case you missed it and are a tiny bit curious, my last travel post was about the wonderful Edinburgh and you can read it right here!
I hope you’ll enjoy reading this post and travelling with me to Croatia, a lovely little coastal country in Europe that I really, really loved.
? Discovering the city of Split, Croatia
On July 1st, we hopped on a plane heading south (I live in France, in case you missed that) and, less than a couple hours later, landed in the small city of Split (or, well, the nearby airport). It was mid-afternoon when the shuttle bus dropped us off at the main bus station and, right across from the busy streets, behind all of the boats, private boats, company boats, little boats that looked like they came out straight from Pirates of the Carribean, there it was, the Adriatic Sea, all blue and gorgeousness and, beside it all, farther away, the hint of some of all the islands that Croatia is composed of.
After getting lost, climbing the paved streets with our small suitcase towards our appartment for the week, settling down to rest for a little bit, taking the travel maps out to see what we would do next, we headed to explore the lovely city of Split.
Split is a small, adorable little town close to the sea. We easily explored the city by foot, walking through the small maze of streets (it really is a maze… I mean, it’s confusing. Really confusing) and discovering the historic sides of the city, swarmed by tourists even early in the season, sweating by the 33°C heat but happy.
We discovered the Diocletian’s Palace, which actually forms about half of the old town of Split and used to be an ancient palace built for a Roman Emperor in the 4th century AD. We walked through the Golden Gate, one of the entrances to the palace (and therefore, the old town). We saw Saint Domnius Cathedral and its stunning Bell Tower walked along the sea and the Riva Promenade and it was all kind of crowded and very hot okay but also very beautiful.
On our second day in Split, always on the lookout for a great view, armed with our map and pastries in our bellies (a girl’s gotta eat okay), we went in search of Marjan Forest Park, its hills and forest and, most of it all, its stunning views of the city. After getting a little bit lost in the maze of streets, we finally found the entrance to Marjan Forest Park, where people happily walked on the forest’s path, armed with their backpacks, swim suits and beach towels, ready to go to the beach. It took us a while and a lot of turn arounds to finally find the streets and paths winding up, up towards the beautiful view of the city.
We took a long staircase back down to the sea, where we explored the sea side, tried to find a beach without success (or maybe it was just too far away and we were already pretty winded down) and just relaxed in the lovely city of Split.
? Krka National Park
On our third day in Croatia, we headed towards one of the most popular attractions of the country and, if you ask me, one of my favorites of the trip: Krka National Park. This park is mostly known for its stunning succession of waterfalls.
? Skradinski buk
After a couple hours ride through the Croatian mountains, ups and downs and ups and downs and deserted roads and all, we arrived at our first stop in the park, Skradinski buk… the most popular spot and the one you will see in all of the touristic shots of this park. We walked along the Krka river on wooden platforms, discovering the forest and small, tiny waterfalls and finally, the touristic spot everyone is talking about, Skradinski buk. It was beautiful, but crowded because of the 34°C heat, even at 11 in the morning, so we decided against taking a swim, preferring to walk along and explore the place.
? Roški Slap
Our second stop in the Krka National Park was this lovely, a little less crowded, waterfall with a stunning, stunning landscape surrounding it. Less walking, a lunch break and a little almost swim in the water in this lovely, peaceful stop.
? Visovac Monastery
Our third and last stop was the Visovac Monastery, in the middle of the Visovac Lake, seen from the road above… A quick stop under a 35°C heat for pictures, definitely worth the sweat for the incredible views.
? The island of Hvar, Croatia
On our last day in Croatia, we wanted to explore one of the countries’ islands…. but there are so, so many, it was so hard to pick just one. After much consideration and our host’s recommendation, we decided to pick Hvar’s island.
After an hour and fifteen minutes’ boat ride, we arrived on Hvar Island and right away, I heard people speaking French and knew somehow that we had picked indeed, one of the most popular islands to visit. Even at the start of the season, it was tourist-filled and suitcases filled, just as well and we were glad to had taken a boat in early. Right away, we explored the small town of Hvar, its main square St Stephen’s Square and cathedral, its little paved streets and staircases everywhere.
We climbed towards Napoleon Fortress to take in all of the views of the island, its houses, its surroundings and the sea.
We headed back home the next day, minds filled with memories and legs hurting from walking, but happy to have discovered this wonderful place for sure. If you’re looking for small, human-sized towns easily explored by foot and stunning landscapes and sea side time, definitely put Croatia on your bucket list, friends. I know I’ll want to go back someday.
Do you want to go to Croatia? Did you get the chance to visit already? What are some places on your travel bucket list?
I hope you enjoyed reading this, I had a lot of fun writing it, please let me know if you’d like more travel posts in comments!
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Everytime one of our many “House Hunters” shows takes us to Croatia I’m like “Ohhhhhh I want to live therrrrrrre!”
Sounds like a wonderful place to visit! Thanks for sharing your travel with us!!
I would totally love the maze of streets, all the stairs, and all the waterfalls, etc. What kinds of foods do we eat in Croatia at the local restaurants?
Ahh thank YOU, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! It is such a pretty country, I hope you’ll get the chance to go there someday 🙂 For the local food, well since we were on the coast there was mostly a lot of seafood, fish and octopus and things like that 🙂
Croatia seems very charming! Krka national park seems to be filled with natural wonders, especially skradinski buk- it seems like a great place to have a swim!
It is really beautiful and the waterfalls were amazing, too. I wish it were a little less crowded, but oh, maybe next time 😀
Thank you so much! <3
Wow, Croatia is so beautiful! Thank you for making this post 🙂 The monastery looks so mysterious… I am intrigued and now I want to read a book set there.
It is really beautiful indeed 🙂 thank you so much, Frankie! And ahh you’re so right. A book set there would be AMAZING!
Croatia seems to be the hot spot travel destination this year. It’s insane the amount of people I know flocking to that beautiful country. It looks amazing and my kind of paradise with all the places you can explore by foot aka my favourite mode of transport. I don’t think I could have coped with the 35°c heat though. It looks like you’ve had an incredible trip, one you definitely deserved.
Oh it’s the same for me, I feel like a lot of people I know are going there this year, as well! I guess it’s the right time to do so, it’s really becoming a hot spot and we could see it. Still, it was such a lovely country, definitely worth a visit… hopefully when it’s less hot. The 35°C were hard to handle at times haha 🙂
Thank you so, so much Lois <3
Oh wow, Croatia looks stunning!!
Glad you had a great time! 🙂
It really is! Thank you so much! 🙂
I had no idea Croatia was this beautiful! Now I’ll definitely have to go!
It really is! I hope you’ll get the chance to visit someday 😀
Croatia looks beautiful!
It is! I hope you’ll get to go someday! 🙂
Thank you!
My sister and I visited Dubrovnik, Croatia on a cruise many years ago, but it was only a short day stop. I loved your tour through Croatia! Lovely photos!
Ahh that’s so great, it seems like such a lovely city 🙂
Thank you so much Angela! <3
Croatia looks stunning! I haven’t been but I had a old school buddy that spent 6 months there and he loved it so much he went back again recently for a short visit! I am hoping to hit up Scotland and Ireland in 2021 for our 10 year anniversary trip.
Ahh that’s so cool! I hope you’ll get to visit Scotland and Ireland, I love both of these places so much (well, I loved Edinburgh in Scotland and Dublin and Galway so much in Ireland! <3) 😀
Thank you so much for your comment! <3
I love this post! I haven’t been to Croatia and may never visit, being more of a home girl, but I felt like I got to take a peek into things to love about the country. I especially love the photos. You visited some gorgeous places!
Oh thank you so much, Crystal! I’m so happy I could make you travel there with my post then 😀
These pictures are amazing! Looks so beautiful there. The monastery in the middle of the lake is really cool. I guess it’s a good place to reflect in peace. I haven’t traveled internationally in about a decade, but my daughter is talking about going to China soon.
Ahh thank you, so happy you like them! It’s such a lovely country, I hope you’ll get to visit someday <3
And ahh, that's exciting! 😀
This was such a wonderful post! The pictures you took left me stunned with how beautiful Croatia is! It looks absolutely gorgeous! I’m so glad you had the chance to go and that you had a good time!
Oh thank you so, so much Malka, you’re so sweet, thank you <3 I'm so happy you enjoyed this post <3
It looks like you had a lovely time! I love your photos! 😀
Ahh thank you so much! I really did 😀
I’m glad to hear it! 🙂
OMG that national park is GORGEOUS <3 so glad you had a great time on your travels!!
Ahh it really is, I loved it so much! Thank you, Holly 😀
Hey Marie!! Welcome back from your trip!! Croatia looks like such a magical country. I really love the scenery and the architecture in your photos. I haven’t been to this country before but reading your post makes me really want to go!! 🙂
Ahh I’m so glad to hear this, that was my goal 🙂 I hope you’ll get the chance to go someday!
You’ve definitely achieved your goal then!! I hope that I’ll be able to go one day too 🙂
This looks so fun! And yes, it is really fun to read your travel posts too! \
I haven’t visited Croatia but it is on my bucket list, along with many many many other places XD
I really want to visit the UK, since I am the only person in my family who hasn’t been – even my brother has!
Amazing post!
-Emma 🙂
Ahh thank you so much, I’m so happy to hear you enjoy reading this kind of post 😀
I hope you’ll get the chance to travel there, and to the UK just as well, soon!! 😀
I love travel posts! It looks like you had a lovely time. Those waterfalls are just GORGEOUS. I’ve never known anyone that went to Croatia, so it’s nice to see what you did. On my travel bucket list, I’d love to go to France, Canada, and Greece someday. 🙂
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
Ahh thank you so much Lauren, I’m so happy you enjoyed this post! <3
And I LOVE your bucket list, obviously rooting for you to ever come to France because I'm totally biaised here and we have great food 😉
Thank you so much! 😀
It sounds absolutely wonderful!! And the pictures are gorgeous! I’d love to go to Croatia sometime. If I do, I’ll have to check out these spots.
Ahh thank you, Nicole, so happy you liked it! I hope you’ll get a chance to go someday! 🙂
Oh, I loved reading this post so much, Marie! I’m glad you had such a great time in Croatia, and the photos you took are absolutely gorgeous!! I was going to say that I don’t think I’ve heard of any of the places you’ve been to — but I feel like I read about Diocletian’s Palace from the Heroes of Olympus series, which I find a little amusing ? But all the places you visited looked so amazing, especially Skradinski buk!! <3
OH thank you so, so much May, this means so much, always a little nervous to share non-bookish posts haha, thank you! <3
Ohh I haven't read the Heroes of Olympus series at all,…. hmm I'm curious now, I'll have to see about that haha 😀
Thank you so much! <3 these waterfalls were gorgeous <3
whoa, croatia looks stunning and i’m glad you enjoyed yourself! i’d love to see it some day 🙂 as for my travel bucket list, i’d love to go to the USA, canada, more of europe, and NZ! also, your photography is absolutely gorgeous, and i -. it can step on me and i’d thank it, honestly.
ahhhh ahh thank you, you’re too sweet, my pictures are nothing special hah thank you <3 <3
I LOVE your bucket list, I have the same one! I'd love to go back to the US and Canada and well, NZ would be amazing, but…… it's so far….. haha. 🙂
Thank you so much!! <3
Ahhh this sounds so lovely. I would LOVE to go to Croatia. Or travel in general but first I need to be done with my exams ahhhh. It was so fun to read this ❤
Ahhh best of luck for your exams, YOU CAN DO THIS! <3
I'm so happy you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll get to visit someday <3
I would totally not be opposed to more travel diaries! I’ve always wanted to travel so I guess I can live vicariously through these ? I’ve always wanted to go to Croatia! Or honestly just any place in Europe because it’s my dream to go to literally any country in Europe as long as it’s in Europe!
Ahh thank you Caitlin, I’m so happy to hear this and well, I hope I can make you travel a little bit with these posts then 😀
AHH I hope you’ll get to go to Europe someday and, you know, maybe you can come to France because I’m here and we have the best food and everything 😛 <3
Thank you so much!! <3
I’m so glad you are doing a travel post about this– I love hearing about people’s travels and seeing all the pictures!! And your pictures were wonderful!! I love the blues and the greens!! It looks absolutely stunning– I love waterfalls so I adored the Krka National Park!! I love that you get get to places on foot as well because it is really convenient when travelling I find!
I’m so happy that you had such a lovely time and thank you for sharing this about your trip– it had definitely made me want to go to Croatia!! It is on my travel bucket list along with Iceland and everywhere tbh ??!! Great post!! <3
Oh thank you so, so much Sophie, I’m so happy you enjoyed this post, thank you! <3
I also love it when I can walk around a lot, it's the best way to explore new places 🙂
I hope you'll get the chance to go there someday! and YES ICELAND is on my bucket list as well 😀
Love your travel post on Croatia. No, I never been there and do I want to go? Never thought about it honestly. Would love to go Ireland though.
Thank you so much! Ireland is SO beautiful, I hope you’ll get to visit someday! 🙂
This was so fun to read! I’d love to see more, too. I am a complete novice when it comes to traveling. I just went on a plane for the first time in 16 years, and I’ve never left the US before, so it’s always fun to live a little vicariously through others!
Ahh thank you so much, so happy you enjoyed it 😀 I hope I can make you travel a little more with my posts then and that you’ll get the chance to travel more soon, too 😀
Wow, I didn’t sense any rust on what I read.
Gorgeous photos too.
Oh thank you so much you’re so sweet <3 thank you!! <3
It looks like you had an amazing time and love your Pics! Croatia looks beautiful!
Ahh thank you so much Raven, I really did 😀
While I never planned on going to Croatia with the gazillion of other places I already NEED to go, I can assure you that your post has made me want to go there now! Those are some absolutely gorgeous pictures and brilliant descriptions to go along with them. I’m glad to see you got to see a lot of places there and that a lot of it is so naturally beautiful! Thank you for sharing it with us, Marie! 😀
Ahh well my job here is done, YAY, really happy to hear it 😀 I hope you’ll get to visit someday and thank you so, so much <3 I'm so happy you liked this post! <3
Yesssssssssssss, I absolutely loved this post and I’m so glad you wrote it! Honestly, Croitia has never been on my radar before, but now I’m wondering if I should change my mind?? Particularly because of Krka National Park and all of those gorgeous waterfalls. Thank you so much for sharing your adventures (and your *gorgeous* photos) and I had you had a really, really good time! I hope it isn’t too long before your next adventure!
Ahh thank you Nicole, I’m so happy you enjoyed reading it, thank you <3 <3
I hope you'll change your mind and will visit someday, it is a gorgeous place and the waterfalls were amazing!
Thank you so much!! <3
I really-really want to visit Croatia one day soon – it’s a neighboring country (I live in Hungary) so it’ll definitely happen one day, hopefully soon. 🙂 Beautiful pictures, and I’m really happy you enjoyed your trip!
Ahh that’s so great, Hungary!! We wanted to go to Budapest as well, maybe someday 😀 I hope you’ll get to go to Croatia soon, it’s a lovely country.
Thank you so much, Veronika! 🙂
I love this post so much! These photos are absolutely stunning! I’m so glad you had fun. And I want to travel, but I’m horrible at planning trips and actually setting them in motion, so if you totally want to write more posts like this because you love writing them, I will definitely read them. ?
Ahh Madeline thank you so much, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. And ahh we are opposites then, I love planning trips and making them come true haha 🙂
Thank you, I’m really happy you enjoy these kind of posts <3 <3
Croatia looks absolutely stunning! Thank you so much for sharing your adventures and photos with us, love! <3
Ahh thank you, I’m so happy you enjoyed it <3
Ahh, I’m so happy to see this travel post! ? It looks like you had a lovely time, Marie! I love, love learning about new places, and Croatia looks fantastic! I think I would really enjoy a trip there someday!
This was such a wonderful post!
Oh thank you so much Xandra, I’m so happy you enjoyed this post, thank you!! <3
I LOVE these travel posts of yours, Marie! They are so much fun to read and I get to learn so much about other counties! I’ve never been to Europe, so reading all about Croatia made me really want to go. It’s so beautiful – especially all the pictures you took of Krka National Park! My husband loves nature, so I bet he would have LOVED that place. ALSO, walking around with pastries in your belly is really the only way to do it haha ?
Ahh Kat, thank you, I’m so happy you enjoy them<3 I hope you'll get to go to Croatia someday, Krka National Park is heaven for nature lovers, it really is and there so much of it to explore 😀
Thank you ahh <3
Ooooh I loved this post Marie, Croatia seems so stunning and you made me want to travel there someday. I love reading travel posts, it makes me dreams of all the places I could go to, so thank you for sharing this. ❤
I have so many places on my bucket list, I’ve dreamt to visit Scotland for years, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to go someday, and I really want to discover Cornwall in England. Other than that, I’d love to go back to Denmark and Italy. ❤❤
Ahh, this makes me so, so happy to hear, thank you Lucie <3
I hope you'll get to go there ahh, I'd love to go to Denmark someday, it's so great to hear you went there, I'll have to ask you for recommendations if you don't mind sometime 😀
I absolutely loved reading this post, Marie! ?I never thought of Croatia as a location I’d like to travel (I don’t know much about Europe in general, besides the more obvious countries people from the US travel to a lot) but now I really want to go there and I’m glad I’ve learned about its beauty. Thank you for sharing!
Oh thank you so, so much Olivia! It is starting to become a popular destination in Europe, it’s so lovely there 🙂
Thank you! <3
I love reading your travel posts, as traveling is something I love to do as well – it’s always so fascinating to read about your adventures ? Croatia sounds so lovely! My dad was there last year as he went sailing on the sea with a few friends, but I personally haven’t been. The nature looks really beautiful ?
Ahh thank you Caro, this makes me so, so very happy, thank you so much! <3
There was a time when I wanted to go, but it never materialized. Glad to hear that you enjoyed yourself there.
Thank you so much 🙂
Oh, wow, I think I’ve fallen in love with Croatia… I can’t believe how beautiful your pictures are! I’ve always loved how, in Europe, you have the option of taking a plane for a few hours and then you’re already in another country. Meanwhile I fly fifteen hours every summer to get from the U.S. to Hong Kong ? I would love to do a European road trip someday and experience all these countries in the future!
I’m glad you got to travel & have fun in Croatia this summer!
Ahhh Zoie thank you so much, this means so much <3 this is what I love about Europe and where I live, other countries and cultures and everything is quite easily reachable, which makes travelling a little easier and well,… a little shorter too haha 🙂
I hope you'll get to come to Europe someday, you should 😀
Thank you!!
What beautiful photos! it looks like a wonderful place to visit 😀
Ahh thank you! It really is beautiful 🙂
AHHH thank you so much for writing up this post! I’ve been wanting to go to Croatia since like 2010 when a blogger I followed went, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I love the photos you included and it looks so pretty! I’m glad you were able to go on this adventure, and very happy you shared it with us
Oh oh I’m so happy you enjoyed this so much and that this might have convinced you to travel there, hopefully sometime! <3 It's a beautiful country 😀
Thank you so much Kal! <3
I loved this travel post (: it looks and sounds like you had a lovely time. The pictures are absolutely beautiful. I love exploring little towns like the ones you described. Plus the waterfalls look fantastic. I haven’t seen over many but I always love watching them when I do see them in real life.
Ahh thank you so much! I really had such a great time, I miss it a lot. and YES these waterfalls were stunning, there is something so peaceful about them! 🙂
That’s fantastic (: I’d love to get a chance to travel more. I agree, they’re fantastic. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for more travel posts from you in the future.