Trogir or not Trogir

Day 6: Plitvice - Trogir

We bought the tickets for our bus from Plitvice to Trogir online at Croatia Bus before leaving Berlin, but my friend was a bit worried, because he had seen some internet portals, which seem to have timetables for all long-distance bus connections in Croatia, and ours wasn't included. So we asked at the hotel reception. They were accommodating and actually had a printed timetable for all buses from the different companies leaving Plitvice - which included ours. So we learned that the central Internet-portals don't necessarily include all buses to their listing. After another lovely breakfast, we left the hotel to the bus station. We were a bit early - which was recommended because with the long distance busses it is always possible that they are a bit early or a bit late. After it was clarified that our bus would drive via Zadar to Trogir, we even knew on which side of the street we had to stand. After a short stop at a restaurant near Plitvice, where a live bear, as well as stuffed brown bears, are shown and another shortstop in Zadar, we finally reached our next destination, Trogir, after five hours on the road.

We had chosen Trogir as a one night stop because our next destination was Dubrovnik and Trogir is located between Plitvice and Dubrovnik. Of course, another primary reason was that it has a small, beautiful old town on a small island, which is also a World Heritage Site. Before we could enjoy that, the first thing we had to do at the bit shabby Trogir bus station, was to buy the bus ticket for the next day to Dubrovnik. Croatia Bus with its online booking, which we had used before, unfortunately, had only a very late option from Trogir to Dubrovnik, so we had to take another company,  Autotrans, where we couldn't buy the ticket online and not even in their office in Pula. But getting the ticket at the bus station in Trogir was no problem.

The bus station is located right next to the bridge leading to the old town. We had booked a small and relatively cheap hostel, "Carol Rooms"  on that island in the middle of the old town via the reliable booking.com and it was just a short walk from the bus station to the hostel. There were a lot of booths along the water on the island, selling souvenirs and foods and it was a lively atmosphere. The old town of Trogir on the little island is full of small alleys. First, we walked past ours, before finding the hostel. It was an old building, and we were already expected and welcomed nicely. Our room turned to be quite modern with Flat screen TV (and about 200 channels), modern silent air-con, free Wi-Fi, small refrigerator, a nice view and our room shined with bright colours. They also have an inner courtyard as common space used esp. by the smokers. We had hotels that asked for double the price for what Carol Rooms offered. We just loved this "hostel" and the best value for the money (*it turned out to be our best accommodation during the trip).

After our long bus trip, it was already very late in the afternoon when we arrived, but Trogir old town is small, and it was still enough time to see something of it. We started our city walk with the Kamerlengo Fortress  ("Tvrdava Kamerlengo"), where we also had a beautiful view of the town and the sea. We went along the busy promenade, where some impressive yachts have anchored, before entering the small alleys of the old town. Amid a lively atmosphere, we came to the Town Loggia with the Cathedral of St. Lawrence and St. Sebastian's Church with the Tower of the Town Clock - and also some inspired singing by some Croatian singers, selling their CDs.

Soon we arrived at the town walls and the gate on the other side of the island. We got a delicious fruit juice from a booth there, before going to dinner back to the other side of the island through the small alleys. The sun was already setting when we chose a restaurant at the marina and the still lively promenade. It was much too expensive for us, but we swore to ourselves to save on the next days and to enjoy a great meal with langustini and cevapi with djuvec rice. When we left to get back to the hostel, the promenade was still busy with singing and performances. Trogir proved to be a delightful stop. With more time, we would have probably stayed there for another day to make a day tour to the National Park Krka and Šibenik to visit the Cathedral, which is also a World Heritage Site.

After dinner, we went back to the hostel, and my friend decided to stay back and rest while I went out and about with my tripod and camera and enjoyed a bit the sight at night!

National Park Plitvice Lakes

Day 4: Pula - Plitvice

We asked the hotel to call a taxi at 6 a.m. to bring us to the pier in Pula. It cost 50 Kuna (around 7 €). From there we wanted to take a ferry to Zadar and continue by bus to the National Park Plitvice Lakes (Nacionalni park Plitvička jezera). We have seen pictures of the Plitvice Lakes and immediately knew we had to go there. It is a National Park in the mountains between Zagreb and Zadar next to the border of Bosnia Herzegovina. It is a UNESCO's World Heritage Site, enlisted in 1979 and features world famous lakes naturally arranged in cascades. Currently, 16 lakes can be seen on the surface, and it offers a great variety of waterfalls. Many buses on the Zagreb-Zadar-Split-Dubrovnik route stop there.

We already bought the tickets for the Linijska Nacionalna Plovidba ferry a couple of days before, and it cost around 14 € per person. It is the same ferry line we previously took for our day trip to Mali Lošinj. We were the first at the ferry but couldn't board yet, they start boarding about 15 minutes before the departure. But we wanted to be early because we had seen on our Mali Lošinj trip that the boats are crowded and there is little place for luggage and we wanted to get a place in the small luggage area for our stuff for the long boat trip - 5 hours from Pula to Zadar. While the boarding to Mali Lošinj was no problem, this time people immediately crowded around the entrance of the boat, trying to get ahead of each other. We still got a good place with ocean view and a place for our luggage. Unfortunately, the windows of the ferry were kind of milky, so that you could barely look through. But still, travelling by ferry was a better option than by bus, because you can walk around inside and they even have a snack and coffee bar, plus we had some shortstops in Unije and in Mali Lošinj, where we could go on deck.

When we finally arrived in Zadar, my friend wanted to walk to the bus station with our heavy luggage, but I declined. It was maybe just a couple of kilometres away from the pier, but it was hot, and I was not sure to easily find it, so I prevailed. We took a taxi to the bus station which actually shared by a couple. We didn't know that it was common there, but it was all good. The ride cost 40 Kuna (around 5 €).

In our first stages of planning the journey, we had Zadar included for a one night stay. It's said to be a beautiful coastal city. And driving through the town, we got a glimpse of the promising looking old town behind some walls. The Sea Organ of Zadar is supposed to be especially interesting, but unfortunately, we didn't have enough time for a more extended stop in Zadar. We just waited a bit at the busy bus station, which has a lot of restaurants and is a traffic junction with bus connections to Plitvice, Zagreb, Split, Sibenik, Rijeka and Dubrovnik among others. We had bought our bus ticket from Zadar to Plitvice already online before we left Berlin. Unfortunately, online booking is only possible with a few bus companies in Croatia, including Croatia Bus. Everything worked out fine so that we left Zadar after a few coffees and lunch at the bus station with our Croatia Bus, having successfully ignored all the people at the station who want to book us a room, a ride or just want a donation.

After a bit more than two hours, we finally arrived in Plitvice. We had booked the "Hotel Plitvice" in advance. There are not too many choices for accommodation in Plitvice, and we wanted to stay close to the entrance of the Park, Entrance 2 in particular. While the hotel price is a bit high (basically you are paying for the location), you can just walk to the park from the hotel, which is a big plus, given that there is not really a city or village, only a forest, and we didn't have a car.

The Hotel Plitvice was easy to find from the bus stop. Signs are leading you there for just a short walk (also for Hotel Bellevue). When we entered, the hotel showed a kind of old Yugoslavian charm. It is big, well maintained and a bit old-fashioned - which was actually kind of interesting. It felt kind of being in the golden age of communism. Our room was spacious and tidy with a beautiful view, air conditioning unit, mini-bar and spacious bathroom. The small TV didn´t have much to offer, but there was enough else to see. Breakfast with a relatively huge variety of food and drinks was included, and the hotel also has a bar, a café, computer, free Wi-Fi and a kiosk. There is an ATM at the Hotel Bellevue, just next to the Hotel Plitvice.

It was already past 5 p.m., and the park closes at 7 p.m., so we didn´t have much time to explore the park. But at the entrance 2, just a short walk from the hotel, they were accommodating and told us, what best to see in that little time, and they also recommended us the sightseeing program "H" for the next day, which is a 4-6 hours trip. They also told us, that our day ticket (which cost about 15 Euro) is valid for two days because we stayed there overnight - we just needed to get a stamp from our hotel for verification on the next day. The ticket includes the bus and boats of the National Park. I was pleasantly surprised at how efficient the management of the park is.

After going down the hill at the entrance 2, we reached a lake, where a ferry - which leaves every 10 minutes, took us across the water. From there another ferry, that goes every 30 minutes took us through the lake to the coffee and restaurant area, from where we walked back along the lake. There weren´t many people anymore in the Park, and it was quite pleasant and a first impression for the day to come. It is a world of its own.

We went to dinner at the restaurant nearby the hotels. There are two restaurants in the hotel area (but they seem to be more or less the same, one is self-service) and no supermarket, but we bought beverages already in Pula. The restaurant offers excellent fish, but the fruit salad was definitely right out of the can. Vegetarians shouldn't order the baked potatoes there, as to my friend's dismay, the particular taste of his potatoes came from unexpected bacon.