“Always take the scenic route”
Zadar – June 2022 ðŸ‡ðŸ‡·
Last year I discovered Croatia for the first time and fell in love with it so I ended up going 3 times. The first 2 trips were to Zadar and the 3rd time was to the Capital of Zagreb in December.
My first trip to Zadar was in June 2022. I had got the flights for about £35 return with Ryanair and found a travel hostel about a mile from the Old Town called Hostel Sunset. After the not very pleasant accommodation encounter Id had in Bergamo, I opted for an all female dorm and made sure I was central. The accommodation was great and the staff were so friendly and helpful, nothing was to much trouble. They arranged pick up from the airport and also a trip to Kornati Islands even with someone picking me up on a scooter to get me to the boat the morning of the trip. It was a bit of a walk from the hostel to the Old Town but it was a coastal walk with stunning views.
Kornati Islands
The trip to Kornati National Park cost around €60 and that included the boat trip which took around 2 hrs sailing, getting off the boat for around 1.5hrs to go snorkeling or swimming and then lunch at ‘The Captains house’ which was on route back. Kornati consists of around 89 islands, islets and reefs and the total cost included a ticket for the National Park
Zadar – September 2022
ðŸ‡ðŸ‡·
Zadar, September 2022 ðŸ‡ðŸ‡·
As soon as I arrived home from my first trip to Zadar, I automatically began looking at flights so I could return to Zadar. I’d visited Kornati Islands the first time but then next time, i wanted to visit Plitvice Lakes and Waterfalls. Again, I found return flights for around £35 so I returned in September. I had really liked the travel hostel I’d stayed in, Hostel Sunset but it was fully booked up.
I found another hostel that was situated right in the heart of the Old Town called Downtown Boutique Hostel and was just fabulous and only cost me £90 for 4 nights. Some people have such the wrong perception of travel hostels sometimes so are quite shocked when I show them where i stay at a fraction of the cost of hotels. I do have certain specifications tho for e.g in the dorms I prefer them to have a curtain on the bed for that extra bit of privacy and most do have a small light and plug or USB port. Downtown Boutique ticked all boxes, was immaculate and had a bar/restaurant which you got discount on food and drink if you were staying in the hostel.
Downtown Boutique Hostel
Plitvice Lakes & Waterfalls ðŸ‡ðŸ‡·
As mentioned earlier, on this trip I wanted to visit Plitvice Lakes and Waterfalls so I went to one of the local excursion/tourist information shops. There I booked the trip for around €60 and got all the details of where I had to catch the bus the next day which was only about a 10 min walk from the hostel.
The bus journey took around 1.5 hrs to get to Plitvice from Zadar as it it situated in Lika which is about 10K from the Bosnian border. Once in the National Park, the lakes and waterfalls are probably one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Id been looking at pictures online but it surpassed anything I was expecting and truly was better seeing it in real life. Although the water looks more than inviting, swimming has been banned since 2006.
“Swimming had been forbidden in Plitvice Lakes since 2006. A rapid increase in the 1990’s – as well as water contamination from nearby hotels and agricultural operations – resulted in increased concentrations of organic substances within the water, which posed a threat to the natural balance of the park” – https://www.letslearncroatian.co.uk
Featured hostels that I’d recommend in Zadar:
*Downtown Boutique Hostel cost £90 for a 4 night stay
*Hostel Sunset cost €80 for a 4 night stay
*Ryanair return flights: £35(June/Sept 2022)
Come Fly with Mich 