Like ferries? How about beaches? Islands? Mediterranean food? Roman ruins, wine tasting, truffle pasta? If you answered yes, Croatia just might be the destination for you.

In the summer of 2023 we headed to east to catch some sun and snorkeling. Since Croatia is comprised of a large mainland but also a lot of small islands, we wanted to see a mix of both. Which means we rented a car and got very familiar with the ferry schedules.

Wading and waiting for the ferry
A happy stone, a sign of good things to come

Flying into Pula, in the northern part of Croatia, meant that we largely skipped the crowds and bustle of Dubrovnik or Split, and had a peaceful and easygoing holiday. Thus, arriving in Pula, we picked up the car and headed to the ferry for our first destination, Cres.

Cres

Cres is a more sleepy island, the town known for its Venetian Tower and Arsan Palace, and a forest with protected vultures. Our days there we spent swimming at various beaches and wandering, often lost, through the passageways and narrow roads of Cres Town. Beautiful sunsets, kids selling seashells on the streets, and colorful houses along the waterfront were the primary sights.

One restaurant, Konoba Bukaleta, is well known for its lamb dishes from locally raised livestock, as well as local seafood dishes. We had a wonderful first night in Croatia trying some of this local cuisine.

On the ferry to Rab

Rab

Rab was a wonder – not a big tourist destination, this one was a bit of a toss up during my planning. We weren’t sure if we would be staying too long on too quiet an island, but boy were we wrong! We just happened to be there for their annual medieval festival which has been happening for, get this, over 600 years! Seriously, the Rabska Fjera started in 1364 and takes place every year from the July 25th to the 27th, on the feast days of St. James, St. Anne and St. Christopher.

Small artisan shops and craft workshops move into the streets and lanes, offering handmade belts, flower crowns, jewelry, pomades and food and drink of all types. This festival was incredible (and we’ve seen a LOT of medieval festivals). We had so much fun and it was a wonderful chance to experience a truly local tradition.

And the town of Rab is picturesque in itself, even without a festival – it has a lovely tower you can see from afar, and I took a morning run through the forests of Suha Punta, where I could enjoy the sea, trees, and views completely on my own.

Lizard! We did a lot of lizard spotting

We stayed at an absolutely wonderful location – just southeast of Samostan sv. Eufemija church. It was a stairway down to the water, and we were able to follow the walking path from our rental to the town center. Not only did we have beautiful views, but our place was brand new.

Our balcony
Our view

The walking path along the water to the town center

  • Narnia or Mordor?
  • Walking to the town center

Pag

Pag was a through point for us – we drove, swam at Caska Beach, had a lovely beachside lunch at Bistro Amer. And even though we didn’t spend a lot of time in Pag, the otherworldly landscapes still astonished us. And the perfect beaches. Not to mention the donkeys.

Zadar

The Greeting to the Sun

This was our only “big” city on the trip – Zadar has a number of great sites and we took a day to discover it. It was, however, unbearably hot, so a lot of the time we were searching for shade.

Feeding the cats treats
Narodni trg
  • Land Gate
  • Five Wells Square

It also happened to be a celebration day (anniversary), so we booked something special – a boat trip out to Ugljan Island for snorkeling! The weather was perfect for a boat ride and hours of swimming. Mostly we saw sea urchins and starfish, so not a lot of fish, but still amazing.

Roman Forum

Next up – the drive back through the mainland to Istria!

Tulove Grede – limestone cliffs & columns – also a great hiking area

Istria – Hum

Hum – the “smallest town in the world” (how can that really be??) – Local legend is that Hum was made from stone left over from the giants’ towns in the Mirna River valley. I don’t know about that, but Hum was so lovely, and I ate the best truffle pasta I’ve ever had there, the fuzi with black truffles and butter, at Humska Konoba.

Istria – Višnjan

This charming little spot was our home base while in Istria peninsula, and we had some stunning sunsets here. Also, an adorable and comfortable apartment, and easy drives to different towns.

Looks like its heavily edited but just my picture!

These sunsets!

Istria – Poreč

An adorable town – we headed to Poreč to swim and snorkel, then grab some souvenirs and food in the old town. This was certainly a bit more touristy than other spots, but not a lot.

Istria – Pula

The main reason we made a stop in Pula was to see the amphitheater – a huge Roman amphitheater and the only remaining Roman amphitheater with four side towers entirely preserved.

Istria – Kazuna

Kažun are a traditional Istrian dry stone shelter for peasants and shepherds, typically from the 18th and 19th century. There are other local names like bunje, čemeri, poljarice, kućice, vrtujci, komarde and trimi. It was great to have this day in Istria where we simply stopped for a little while in different places to learn about the history and local culture.

Istria – Wine tasting at Stancija Collis

How do you end a trip like this? On our last day in Croatia we ended with a wine tasting at Stancija Collis on a sunny, warm day. What a fun end to an incredible adventure.