Croatia - Zivjeli!

We had a fabulous trip to Croatia back in May of 2023. Our dear friend Kasey, who is the ultimate trip organizer, coordinated a trip for 20 couples to sail the Croatian coastline on two live-aboard catamarans. And it was epic. Sharing our itinerary isn't very helpful to others visiting Croatia, as the logistics between the destinations was very different for us. But since the summer travel season is upon us and I know of many people that are heading to Croatia, I'd thought I'd share some links to some of the amazing restaurants we experienced there, and some additional highlights along the way.

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Split:
Split really surprised us, and the old town is beautiful. I would recommend getting a tour guide for the oldest part of the town and Diocletian’s Palace. We winged it, but with the crowds I know we missed a lot. Don't miss cocktails along the esplanade. We stopped at the Olive Tree and it was great. You can’t go wrong with the menu or the view.
 
Dinner was at Zoi:  Michelin starred. Go for the food (amazing!) and the view (classic Riviera vibes). 
 
We had lunch the next day at Kavana Central Restaurant in the Santa Lucia Hotel. This is the quintessential European plaza experience with cafes, umbrellas, people watching and Aperol spritzes. Loved it.

Hvar:

We hiked through town to the castle ruins at the top of the hill. The ruins were absolutely worth the hike and there are multiple great photo ops along the way. But you'll want to be sure to wear sneakers and not sandals for this one.
 
Nautica Bar is along the waterfront with outdoor seating. Just a store or two away was the best olive oil, truffles and sea salt selection I found on the entire trip. They even had little boxes carved out of Croatian stone with local sea salt in them – great souvenir for yourself and for gifts.
 
Kod Kapetana:  We had a really great dinner here -  very fresh, great view of the harbor and waterfront. And there were multiple gelato places along the way back to the marina.
 
Lagnanini Lounge Bar & Fish House (9 minute drive out of down to the northwest)
This was on the beach in the harbor where we were anchored. Lots of stars go there for the privacy (Beyonce was among the stars they rattled off.)

Korcula:

Korchula is the birthplace of Marco Polo – it is another beautiful old town. There are a ton of restaurants along the waterfront. We instead ate inside the old city walls at Konoba Adio Mare. We really enjoyed this restaurant – the fish was all super fresh and the wine list was awesome.
 
Cocktail Bar Massimo: After dinner you HAVE to go to this castle at the point and take the ladders(!) up to the rooftop bar. If you are wearing a dress, you may want to consider bike shorts underneath and/or have a friend behind you to block the view of others. But even with that, modesty is very difficult due the way the ladders are set up.

Vis
Vis is an absolutely beautiful island, and there is a lot to see. Yes - this is where they filmed Mamma Mia (!), and in addition to being the starting point for many of the tours to the Blue Cave, it also has a lot of military history. There is Fort George which was built in 1812 by the British and named for Kind George III, it now serves as a gorgeous wedding venue/restaurant and bar. There is Mount Hum which has a vantage point that lets you see 1/3 of the Adriatic. There are also intact underground military tunnels built by the Yugoslav army, but the coolest was the submarine tunnel/shelter in the Bay Parja.

And if you are staying in Vis for dinner, I highly recommend dinner at Roki’s Tavern. You can find them on facebook to make reservations. It was an experience and an education to see them cook with classic Croatian techniques to then serve a fabulous dinner in the vineyard.

Ston:

Ston was once the richest city in the Venetian empire thanks to salt which was used both as currency and to preserve foods. The Walls of Ston once protected the city from invaders and were known as the “European Great Wall of China” and are second in size only to the Great Wall. You'll definitely want to hike the walls.
 
From here we went to two vineyards. Both are small, family run, with gorgeous architecture inside and out. And tastings, of course. We sent home wine from both. First was Milos Winery, followed by Mausko Winery.

It was a short car ride from our marina to dinner in Mali Ston at Bota Sare:  https://www.bota-sare.hr/mali-ston This meal here was family style since our group was so large. Everything was fantastic, and the mussels were the best I’ve ever had.

Dubrovnik:

Tip: Avoid walking the walls in the heat of the day and the with the throngs of people. Wait until after the cruise ships leave for the day.
 
We started the day at the Rector's Palace historical museum, and bought the multi pass which included the ticket to the walls that we could use later that same day. That saved us from having to wait on another line later on, and also saved us some steps since we could access the walls from any point in the city.
 
And when walking the walls later in the afternoon, be on the lookout for a (very) small café built into them about halfway around – it’s so old they don’t have running water, but they do make great fresh lemonade. All supplies are brought up to them along the walls.

Odd fact: The modern necktie started Dubrovnik! Croatian soldiers wore scarves around their necks in the 17th century, tied in a very specific manner. This caught the eye of the French, who adopted the style and made it a fashion statement. A nice souvenir is one from the oldest store, Croata, which is located near the palace. 
 
The first night we had dinner at Gradska Kavana Arsenal:  This restaurant is owned by the same group that owns Nautika (the next restaurant on our list), which is just across the plaza, near the city gates. The food was very good, but the view was awesome.
 
Dinner our second night in Dubrovnik was also the last meal of the trip. We ate at Nautika: Michelin ranked and one of the most elaborate, delicious and beautiful meals we have ever had. It was a perfect way to end our trip.