Istria, Plitvice and Dalmatia

Italy - Postumia Caves - Umago

Independent trip, outbound by car, return by ferry Split - Ancona, stay + tour. Mixed feelings about this country: from what I saw, the interior is beautiful with the marvellous Plitvice lakes, which alone are worth a trip to Croatia. The interior is very green, a succession of hills and mountains covered in virgin forests, of small and remote villages that look like mountain resorts, and that only now are trying to recover from the war that ruined their peace. The sea from Zadar to Split is decent: we stayed near Sibenik: clear sea, long pebble beaches, and the usual difficulty in entering the water because of the pebbles. The Krka National Park is beautiful but crowded, the towns with their characteristic historic centres that you come across along the way are pleasant.

On the other hand, a negative judgement as regards Istria and the hotel facilities: in Istria I found the ugliest sea of my entire life; maybe it was an unlucky year, but the sea was completely invaded by mucilage (from Umag as far as Pula, beyond that I don't know), but so thick that not only did it prevent swimming on some days, but it made the landscape truly disconcerting: and being at the sea without being able to swim in it is certainly not the best. A negative judgement also as regards the hotel complexes: although they are two of the best-known tourist complexes in the country, we found serious disorganisation in the management of the facilities, particularly the kitchen and the cleaning of the common areas (e.g. the pool). On the plus side, the cuisine in the restaurants is truly excellent and cheap, and you can enjoy excellent grilled meat and fish.

Worth noting is the construction of new motorways, particularly from Rijeka to Ogulin to reach Plitvice park, and from there almost to Sibenik. Certainly, to see the most beautiful sea in Croatia, you have to go to the islands.

Day 1: Italy - Postojna Caves - Umag The first stop of our trip is planned in Slovenia, to visit the famous Postojna caves. I must say it's worth it, because the caves, besides being enormous, are truly beautiful. You visit them by means of a little train that goes about 4 km into the caves, then with a pleasant walk on foot that lets you admire an endless series of spectacular formations. The whole visit lasts about 1 hour and 30 minutes (an hour of walking). Worth seeing, among others, are the Congress Hall, the Spaghetti Hall, the Concert Hall, the underground mountain 45 metres high and the famous "Brilliant", a luminous formation that is the symbol of Postojna. Keep in mind the temperature, a constant 8 degrees both in winter and summer, so you need to dress appropriately. After the visit we continue to Croatia, destination Umag.

Days 2-8: Umago - Istria

As already written above, the sea in Umag and in all the Istrian localities I saw was infested with mucilage. Among other things, even the tourist complex where we were staying, the Stella Maris, was badly looked after, and besides the sea the pool was also very dirty, the rooms were a bit old and the food was terrible. So we moved to the nearby Sol Polinesia, same management but strangely better looked after, set in a beautiful and cool pine forest, with almost new cottages, a nice and clean pool and an even less dirty sea, where especially in the morning you could have pleasant swims. Moreover, having booked only the overnight stay, we were free to choose to have dinner in the nearby restaurants, all excellent and inexpensive, unlike the poor cooking found in the hotels.

Nearby, not to be missed is the town of Rovinj: a beautiful historic centre in Venetian style, with houses facing directly onto the sea, a picturesque little harbour from which beautiful alleys climb up to the Church, with a lovely view over the bay and the nearby islands. On the other hand, I didn't find the excursion to the Brijuni National Park very interesting: quite a few km to reach the port of Fazana, where you buy (better to book) the boat excursion to the island, and the panoramic train ride with the guide. Certainly beautiful because it's very green, but there isn't much to see apart from some ruins of a Byzantine villa, and a nice bay with Roman remains (about half a day, around 25 euros per person). Interesting, on the other hand, is the town of Pula, with the splendid Roman amphitheatre dating back to the first century AD, and the pleasant walk through the historic centre.

Day 9: Umago - Plitvice Lakes

Along the way we stop in 2 beautiful medieval towns, in a splendid position on two hills, which offer a beautiful view over the surrounding green hills: Groznjan and Motovun. Then we continue to Plitvice (3 hours), where we have booked a room at a private chalet a few hundred metres from entrance no. 2 of the park. (1 night, 2 adults + 1 child with breakfast, room with private bathroom € 35.00 - family KRIZMANIC, very kind and helpful, Via Rastovaca 15, When you look at these lakes from above, with the midday sun giving incredible colours to the clear waters, they really look like precious emerald treasures. I must say that this place is among those that leave a truly exciting memory, and alone it's entirely worth a trip to Croatia.

Maybe it's due to the beauty of the place combined with the perfect organisation, the respect for nature and the many panoramic viewpoints, the efficient transport service that lets you move easily around the park, the pleasant summer weather, the lack of crowds. There are 16 untouched lakes, linked to one another by countless waterfalls of various heights and water flow, set in a fascinating natural context and entirely surrounded by virgin forest. You can walk for hours and hours along the very long trails without ever getting tired, thanks to the constant variety of the landscape and the viewpoints, which let you get within a few metres of the most spectacular waterfalls, or observe this astonishing landscape from above. It's divided into two main areas: the lower lakes (entrance no. 1), and the upper lakes (entrance no. 2).

You can follow trails of different lengths, ranging from 3-4 hours to 5-6 hours to do the complete circuit. To link the various shores there are boats available, while to reach the starting points of the itineraries there are shuttle buses. Naturally the advice is to do the complete circuit so as not to miss any corner of this place that isn't easily reachable. It is in fact in the middle of Croatia, at 500 metres of altitude (but it feels like being in the mountains) almost on the border with Bosnia, about 100 km from the coastal area. Another tip is to devote 2 days to visiting the park to better appreciate the tranquillity and purity of the place. In fact, visiting it in a single day, maybe as an excursion from the coast, would become a tour de force that would spoil the enchantment of the visit a little. Entry for 2 days to the park costs 17 euros and allows the use of all transport.

Day 10: Plitvice Lakes

Our visit began from entrance 1, where already after a few metres you can admire from above, with a splendid view and in all its beauty, the highest and most spectacular waterfall in the park: 78 metres, surrounded by other smaller waterfalls and by 2 splendid lakes. The trail continues with a nice descent through the woods until, via walkways over the water, you reach the foot of the waterfall, where you can take wonderful photos (see photo below). The advice is to get there early in the morning, because being the most photographed spot in the park, it soon fills up with people and the place would lose a bit of its magic.

After the waterfall the trail, slightly uphill but very pleasant, climbs back up past three lakes among little waterfalls and waterfalls, crystal-clear waters full of fish (swimming and fishing forbidden), walkways and paths in the woods, until you reach the boat's starting point. From here in about 15 minutes, you reach the area of entrance 2, where the 3 hotels are found, the only buildings close to the lakes. From this point, after 200 steps, you take the shuttle bus that goes up the high trail, to the next stop in the direction of entrance 1. From this point another pleasant walk begins, offering continuous breathtaking views over the lakes, until it ends once again at the starting point. Walking time about 3 hours.

For dinner, not to be missed is the typical restaurant Licka Kuca (entrance 2), a typical mountain chalet where the waiters wear the local traditional costumes, and in the middle of the dining room, in an enormous fireplace, lamb, suckling pig and all the other grilled meats, the house speciality, are cooked. The prices are modest and the typical dish, made of lamb and grilled meats with vegetables, costs about 10 euros, 1 euro for the homemade desserts.

Day 11: Plitvice Lakes - Sibenik

Morning devoted to visiting the upper lakes. We set off from entrance 2 to see the upper part of the lakes. The usual shuttle bus goes back up past all the lakes to the starting point, and from here a trail all downhill lets you reach the starting point in about 3 hours of walking, entirely within a virgin forest. The most spectacular point is in the central area of the walk, where beautiful and foaming waterfalls follow one after another, plunging into ever clearer and more transparent little lakes. In the afternoon we set off south towards Sibenik (about 2 hours thanks to the new motorway), and we reached the Solaris hotel complex.

Days 12-14: Sibenik - hotel Solaris

At the Solaris too we were able to see the poor organization and lack of care of the tourist complexes: a huge structure, made up of 4 hotels, a campsite and a residence, with the usual extremely poor food and dirty swimming pools. A shame, because the potential is there, the surrounding scenery is pleasant, the sea clear and transparent and the facilities more than adequate. Anyway, here we managed to make the most of the sea, treating ourselves to pleasant swims. Not to be missed is the excursion to Krka National Park: 20 kilometres separate Sibenik from Skradin, a pleasant little town situated on the river and reachable even with your own boat directly from the sea. From here the park's boats depart, which in about 20 minutes reach the park's most spectacular waterfall, Skradinski Buk.

Here you can bathe in the clear waters, and admire the splendid cascades of water, which here has a truly exceptional flow, even in summer. The place is truly fascinating, and reminds me of the Agua Azul waterfalls in Mexico, except that here there are many more people (which is why the advice is to arrive early in the morning, also because of the great heat). After a pleasant swim and a shower under the smaller sprays, you can take a long climb using the stairway that allows you to reach the high point of the waterfall, and admire the valley where the river forms other spectacular smaller waterfalls. As well as from Skradin, the waterfalls can also be reached directly by car; once you have left it in the car park, a shuttle takes you to the waterfalls. The price is the same if you use the boat, about 10 euros per person.

The town of Sibenik is also beautiful and worth visiting, with its lively seafront, the famous Cathedral of Saint James, a Unesco heritage site (which unfortunately closes at 8 in the evening and we weren't able to visit), the beautiful squares in the historic centre and the little alleys with numerous bars and restaurants.

Sibenik - Split - Italy

The last day has arrived and we set off in the direction of Split, thinking of stopping at Trogir. Unfortunately, the roads to reach the centre are completely jammed, so we continue on to Split. The capital of Dalmatia is truly a beautiful little town, and absolutely not to be missed is the visit to Diocletian's Palace, which contains within it the Baptistery, now the Cathedral, the beautiful walls with their various entrance gates, and the various fascinating alleys of the city. Then, the Snav fast ferry takes us back to Italy.