Croatia
During the month of May, we spent six days in Croatia.
Croatia neighbors Montenegro, sharing a sliver of a border along the Adriatic Sea. Dubrovnik is conveniently located near the border within driving distance from Kotor, where we were staying for the month.
In mid-May, we drove to Croatia where two of our friends, Keith & Lyss, met us to spend a week together exploring a new place.
Dubrovnik
With the help of our Airbnb host, we hired a driver named Boris to take us from Kotor to Dubrovnik. It was an easy 2-hour drive with a brief stop at the border to grab a new stamp on our passports.
We were dropped off near the old town and greeted by a long staircase up to our apartment. The views were worth the climb as we walked into a lovely Airbnb with incredible views!
Our friends Keith and Lyss didn’t arrive into Dubrovnik until later that night on a flight from Paris, so the first day was ours to explore. We wandered the old town and were so impressed by how charming and polished it was! It reminded us of San Gimignano in Tuscany, another place we liked. We loved Buza, a bar located on the rocks overlooking the sea outside the city walls.
The next day, the four of us leisurely explored Dubrovnik, starting with burek from Mlinar Bakery for breakfast. Our highlights were walking the city walls late in the afternoon (when we nearly had the walls to ourselves!), catching sunset at Buza bar, and after-dinner cocktails at The Bar. We also enjoyed a tasty lunch of octopus and shrimp burgers at Barba. It was a lovely day!
Before leaving Dubrovnik, we went to Lovrijenac, the fortress near the old town. I had read that our city walls ticket also granted access to the fortress, so we wanted to check it out. The view was incredible, and it was the perfect ending to our time in Dubrovnik.
Dubrovnik was GREAT. For Jeff and I, our expectations weren’t super high since so many people warned about how crowded and touristy it is, but our experience exceeded our expectations. Our May timing seemed ideal; not as busy, but still lively and good weather (and not so hot!). The city was beautiful and polished; places weren’t tacky or distracting from the historical goodness.
Korcula
After two nights in Dubrovnik, we took a ferry to the island of Korcula. We spent three nights in a super charming boutique hotel called Hotel Fabris.
The two-hour ferry ride was easy and comfortable; most of us tried to rest our eyes on the way over. Once we arrived on the island of Korcula, it was an easy 3-minute walk to Hotel Fabris, which was so charming! We loved Hotel Fabris and its superb breakfast and on-site bar for nightcaps. Our rooms had lovely little balconies and the guys made friends with the owner, a Croatian man with an Australian accent named Zlatko.
We dropped off our bags, got settled in, then met downstairs to walk to dinner at Silk Street Food for an Asian small plates feast outdoors along the water. We tried nearly everything on the menu - gyoza, kimchi fried rice, chicken katsu, pad Thai, ceviche, crispy pork belly...washing it down with bottle of white wine.
The next day, our first full day in Korcula, was my birthday!
When researching where to go in Croatia, I chose Korcula for my birthday because it boasted wineries, beaches, and rustically charming old towns. Truthfully, it sounded too good to be true, and I didn’t find much info about it, meaning it could be a hidden gem or a total bust.
IT WAS A HIDDEN GEM!
Breakfast on the balcony at Hotel Fabris
After enjoying the impressive breakfast at Hotel Fabris, Jeff arranged for a private driver to take us wine tasting for the afternoon.
Our driver was great, giving us a mini-tour along the way to wineries, and stopping for great photo ops. He also showed us an incredible beach, saying he could drive us there the next day if we wanted. On the ride to our first winery near Cara, we passed vacant, rustic stone buildings.
The first winery, Toreta, was a perfect start. It was in an old, small town near Cara. After doing a wine tasting with the owner’s sister, we picked a bottle of our favorite and enjoyed it on the outdoor terrace. The woman brought out cheese for us to nibble on (!!), and we had the place to ourselves except for a very brief stop from a tour group passing through. From the terrace, we could see the vineyards and the sea!
The second winery, Winery Grk, was in Lumbarda, and we again had the place to ourselves for most of the time. We stayed a long time on the covered outdoor terrace, overlooking the vineyards and sea while enjoying wine and snacks for a lunch of home grown olives, olive oil, tomatoes, and smoked ham from their own pigs.
The third winery, Popić Winery, was essentially right next door, but offered new views and wine. It was busier than the other two, with a couple small groups and a bigger group of cyclists. We tasted our favorite Plavic (red wine) of Croatia so far, which prompted Jeff to pick up two bottles of it.
Back in Korcula, we freshened up, then walked into nearby old town for a decadent birthday meal at Konoba Nonno, where we had reservations. We had a table right on the water, and a great server who greeted us with a round of birthday champagne for us when we arrived. We started with a massive, delicious appetizer platter, filled with two types of anchovies, olives, octopus salad, and prosciutto. Our wine choice turned out to be the best bottle of Posip we had, and everyone ordered amazing seafood pastas. Keith and I had lobster, while Jeff had squid ink and Lyss opted for mixed seafood. I loved the lobster and the squid ink, which was the creamiest, best squid ink pasta/rice Jeff and I had eaten so far in Venice, Montenegro, and Croatia. Jeff had them bring out a birthday dessert to cap off the evening.
On our second full day in Korcula, we had a beach day.
After enjoying another amazing Hotel Fabris breakfast, we got ready for the beach. Jeff called our driver from the day before and had him take us to Pupnatska Luka beach. It was stunning! Situated in a little cove, Pupnatska Luka is the type of place you see photos of on Instagram and in travel magazines. It was a perfect little nook for sunshine and a dip in the Adriatic.
A couple hours later, the driver returned to scoop us up and take us back to Hotel Fabris. We split up for a while so Keith and Lyss could do some souvenir shopping. Jeff and I showered, then wandered the old town together.
Back at the hotel, we all shared a pre-dinner drink outdoors. Zlatko, the owner of Hotel Fabris, stopped by to chat with us; he told us that Korcula is very seasonal, with most places (including his hotel) only open from mid-May to mid-September. We found out that he’s also renovating another old building to be another hotel, and that Korcula is strict about new development when it comes to old buildings, which helps maintain the charming historical vibe!
Our final dinner in Korcula/Croatia was at Chakula for round #2 of homemade “makaruni” pasta; we each tried a different one (salmon, truffle, pistachio, and I opted for prosciutto in a cream sauce). There was also tasty fry bread, complimentary grappa before and after (WOOF), and warm chocolate fig cake.
We finished with one last nightcap outside Hotel Fabris, listening and laughing to Jim Gaffigan clips.
Hotel Fabris
We all loved Croatia! Our timing seemed perfect; we visited in May, as the “tourist” season was just beginning. The locals were eager to show us their beautiful home, regularly replying with a carefree attitude of “no problem, no problem” to our questions and requests. Our experience of Croatia felt like what many chase in Italy; charming old towns; quaint, rustic stone cottages; quiet and simple wineries; warm and welcoming locals.
