Rovinj  

This is one of the nicest coastal towns I have ever been to. With its coloured houses and small streets, you can walk around here for hours. It is a real fishing town so there are many fish restaurants. As the town is largely surrounded by water, you have the most beautiful restaurants overlooking the sea.

While you’re there, we also have a tip for a really nice cocktail bar (Mediterraneo cocktail bar). You walk through a hidden gate, down the stairs which brings you to a small square right by the sea between the rocks. It’s on the pricey side, but with the colourful chairs and tasty cocktails, well worth it! Click here and watch our Rovinj video.  

Safari bar

A hidden gem we were recommended. Away from civilisation. A very cute little tent on the rocks. They have given it a jungle vibe where you keep coming out to a different spot with a swing and slide for adults. This spot is also a great place to watch the sunset or have drinks at this particular, cool bar.

The abandoned hotel Haludovo Palace

On KRK island is the abandoned Haludovo Palace hotel. This is a mega-sized hotel that now looks completely deserted. The Haludovo hotel opened its doors in 1972. Entrepreneur Bob Guccione, founder of the erotic magazine The Penthouse, had turned it into a super de luxe hotel. A year after opening, he invested another $45 million in the hotel to expand it with penthouse with casino, sauna, bowling and a culinary kitchen.  

The hotel went bankrupt and there were changes in the law that meant Guccione was no longer the owner. The hotel remained open for another 20 years, but when war broke out in Yugoslavia in 1990, the hotel was closed. During the war, the empty hotel became a refugee shelter but by the time the war was over, the hotel had been empty for years. After this, the hotel had several owners but finally closed its doors for good in 2001. Now the hotel is frequented by tourists.

It looks very impressive, you can still see somewhere the luxury and grandeur coming through the graffiti on the walls. you can still see the old bar and swimming pool with a lot of empathy you can see how it must have looked in the past.

We made a video (REEL) which you can find on our Instagram Living_the_PACO_life (Click here). This is a must see.

Lake Plitvice national park

Croatia’s most famous tourist attraction. This is Croatia’s largest national park and one of the oldest in south-eastern Europe. This national park has 16 lakes connected by waterfalls.

It is a beautiful park to visit, walking across the wooden bridges along the blue lakes. The nature that can be seen here is beautiful! But we found this park very touristy and we don’t like this very much. It started at the entrance where you had to buy your ticket for this park. Here, buses of people were dropped off to go and see the park as well. In the park, there are hiking trails that are very nice but because of these trails, you walk through the park in a line with everyone else.

It is definitely a nice park to see but if you don’t like mass tourism then this is not the place for you and there are definitely other nice things to see in Croatia.   

Dubrovnik

This picturesque town is at the very bottom of the tip of Croatia. Croatia is split at the bottom with Bosnia’s border. As a result, you enter Bosnia via a border crossing, drive for 15 minutes in Bosnia and then exit back into Croatia with another border crossing. Within the high city walls of this port town lies a beautiful old centre. Everything here and super clean and beautiful looking. You can take a walk along Dubrovnik’s old city walls or stroll among the old houses and narrow alleys. The surroundings of this city are also very beautiful with its blue beaches and rocky nature. 

We made a video (REEL) on our instagram Living_the_PACO_life (click here). This place is a must visit!