# Croatia - anybody been?



## 96505 (Oct 12, 2005)

Has anybody been to Croatia in a van? Any site/area recommendations or tips?

Why do my posts sat "7 posts left"? What does that mean?


----------



## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

Hi Mick
nice masonic avatar 

Right one of our mods BognorMike has def been to Croatia so he should be along sometime to answer if he sees this



> 7 posts left"? What does that mean?


We are a subscriber community but we allow newbies a taster to see if its worth them paying to join, it costs £10 for a years full membership and you gain access to a whole load of discount schemes at the same time 
Each new member gets 10 posts on the site after which they need to be a subscriber to continue posting, although can still read the forums


----------



## Bagshanty (Jul 24, 2005)

It's been quite a few years since we were there in our Talisman, but we loved it. There's no shortage of sites, and the farther south you go (further from the tourist area of Istria) the better it gets. The sea there is the clearest I've come across anywhere (and I've seen a LOT of sea!) I'll try to find our holiday diary - pre Internet, so I have not yet got round to putting on my web site

Back in its communist days it used to be the holiday destination for many from Eastern Europe, who used to stay in often large campsites. Now the E Europeans can travel west, they do, so sites are (or were) fairly empty. 

Don't ignore the inland road, running close to the Bosnian border. It's different entirely from the driatic highway. Also, do spend some time in Slovenia, a lovely green country (which does mean it rains), but with only a few campsites.

You've reminded me it's time to go back there!


----------



## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

Yes, we spent some of sept 04 in the north of Croatia - Istria peninsula. As Bagshanty says this is the main touristy area, being easily accessible to German / Italian visitors. Lots of campsites along coast from Novigrad to Pula. See my Journal of the trip in the journals section. A highlight is a day trip to venice from Porec. Pula is a working town with lots of roman ruins including ampitheatre. We would have liked to have more time to go south to explore, but time didn't allow!


----------



## eddied (May 9, 2005)

*Croatia*

Hi there, not been myself since before the wars, but was very beautiful. Now advertises heavily in Italian m/home mags. Some sites:
www.plavalaguna.hr
www.liburnia.hr
www.riviera.hr
www.istra.hr
saluti, eddied


----------



## sailor (Aug 23, 2005)

*!!*

We went with a caravan 3 years ago, not very far into Croatia but to an island called Krk (connected by a bridge) - South of Istria.

It was certainly very beautiful, clear seas and good weather, but it was very, very busy (Late July).

The first site we went to on Krk was full, and the roads in the site were so tight that we got stuck, had to unhitch and manhandle the van to get out. We carried on down the coast because we new of a site right at the south of the Island. The road was quite narrow, and we got to the top of a very steep hill going down, cars parked all along one side, site at the bottom. We could not turn round because the road was too narrow, so had to go down. When we got there a german asked me if I would tow his van up the hill because my car was more powerful than his!

We stayed in the site for a couple of days, most of which I spent worrying about whether we'd get my van up the hill again (we did!). The journey back into Slovenia was horrendous, because of the considerable traffic.

It would, of course, be easier now we have a motorhome! But for me despite its beauty, the over-riding impression is of too many people. - but we were in high season, I guess.
I preferred the mountains in Slovenia.


----------



## slicker (Aug 11, 2005)

*CROATIA*

I was out in Croatia during their war. We were in a convoy taking aid to the villages. I personally was in a transit van with the second in command. I remember thinking what a great country it was and the people so friendly. I am looking forward to going back therein the near future.


----------



## Telbell (May 1, 2005)

What's the approx miueage from Calais please?....and minimum period thought needed to get a decent holiday in? three weeks enough??


----------



## Bagshanty (Jul 24, 2005)

Telbell said:


> What's the approx miueage from Calais please?....and minimum period thought needed to get a decent holiday in? three weeks enough??


That's about what we did it in, and we did it fairly leisurely. DO get past the touristy bit, it's well worth the extra drive


----------



## Telbell (May 1, 2005)

THanks Bagshanty-it's on my list!


----------



## peteandjay (May 1, 2005)

*Croatia*

We have done Croatia a number of times, 6 in total. 1985 to Porec on a package tour, 1987 and 88 with a car and caravan. 2003, 2004 and 2005 in our camper. As you can see from our visits we loved it, it is also good to take in Slovenia en-route, the Triglav National Park is like Austria but without the expense. In Croatia we have stayed mainly around Porec but have camped in Rovinj and Krk. Krk was a nightmare for us, the roads were very tight and on coming tourist buses dont appear to want to give way at all. couple that with us leaving our new Lafuma chairs out at night only to find that they'd been partially eaten by HUGE crickets. We lasted one night and moved back to Porec. Porec is nice if a little touristy, but it doesn't take long to find your own piece of rocky beach to relax on. Limski Canal is a vice place to visit, awesome sea food restaurant, and it is said that the film The Vikings was filmed there.
Eating out is cheap, we used to have lunch at the grill on the site some days,the set 3 course meal for 2 with half a litre of vino for Jackie and a litre of beer for me was £10. 
We would still be touring Croatia if it wasn't for those nasty Austrians and their GO-BOXES. The last time we visited we had just bought a new camper and wasn't aware of the new laws. We stopped and bought a vignette at the border only to find that we were in the wrong taxation class and got fined 220 euros and had to buy a Gobox, so if your camper is above 3500 kgs look for an alternative route or pay the highway robbers.

Pete and Jackie
(off on hols this Wednesday the 28th to the South of France for 25 days)


----------



## 96505 (Oct 12, 2005)

Thanks guys. Interesting stuff...

I have been a couple of times on a motorcycle. The first time to Porec and the second time to Plitvic lakes. Both before the war

I guess going through Switzerland/Italy may be the best way as I'm 3,500kg unlaiden.

Can anybody recommend any decent sites with facilities (pool etc as I have a 10yo son). What town/regions are best


----------



## Telbell (May 1, 2005)

I'd head that some parts were "iffy" for large m/homes so obviously krk is the place to avoid. Presumably a "GOBOX" thingy isn't needed for a 3400kg vehicle?


----------



## 99573 (Jun 7, 2006)

*croatia*

we went to croatia last year we had a caravan then. we went through austria it took 3 days to get there its roughly 1000 miles we went down through italy but came back slovenia. this is a better way. we stayed in porec at a fabalous campsite called bjela uvala . there is everything you need on this site including supermarket fresh fruit and veg stalls all dotted around the site. the weather was hot. we had a pitch next to the sea but we booked it six months before. the only probvlem is the pitches were quite small. we want to go next year but we have changed to american rv so we know we will get on the site but we probably wont get a sea pitch. the caravan club are now dealing with this site so we will book with them so they can get the right size pitch. the croatians didnt speak very good english. we only saw one english car last year,everybody seemed to be danish.we loved the place cant wait to go back


----------



## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Just got back from a two month trip, 3 weeks of which were spent in Croatia where we largely toured the coastal areas travelling down from Zargreb to Zaton thence along the coast road down to Dubrovnik and returning via Istra, (Pula and Porec) The great thing about the trip was the wonderful variety of scenery. The main roads are now generally good although the stretch along the coast from Zadar, north up to Istra is terrible until you reach Karlobag but it is currently being upgraded so should be fine next year. Istra is the area really geared up for tourism and has the better sites, further south they can be a little tight for large outfits unless you pick the larger sites, and whilst toilet facilities are kept very clean, pitches, in keeping with the rocky terrain, leave something to be desired. The site nearest to Dubrovnik Camping Solitudo, being one of the worst in my view. Sites are not cheap, expect to average £15 a night with over £20 a night at larger sites, more in peak season. Wild camping is illegal. Don't let this put you off though, it is a great country to visit and has many attributes. We Brits are very much the minority visitor though with the Germans making up 90 percent of the tourists. 

I managed different routes to and fro across Austria for the minimum Go-Box charge of Euros 55, if your van is less than 3.5 tons a simple vignette will suffice and a 10 day one cost Euros 7.50. 

peedee


----------



## 98698 (Apr 16, 2006)

*Croatia MMM article*

Had a fantastic time there in 2002.Wrote article published in MMM Aug 2003.Can send you text of this if interested.Let me know your email.


----------



## smokingdragon (Apr 27, 2006)

Hi 

Just come back from a tour down through Germany Austria Slovenia and then on to Umag in Croatia. Obviously with only 2 weeks we could only stay a couple days in each location. I was told that Croatia was dirt cheap (last year), but this year I found that it wasn't particularly cheap, I use the price of a 50cl beer as a guide line and in Umag it was approx €2.50. 

Umag seemed to be very popular with the Germans and Italians. It was very warm and the people very friendly. 

Nice local food in the restaurants 2 x 2 courses £30 but stay clear of the £5 a litre house wine - not suitable for drinking but good for cleaning dead flies off the Luton! 

I didn't have time to explore the non resort areas but apparently they are quite stunning. 

On a personal level I preferred Slovenia, especially Bled (Camping Sobec). 

Enjoy yourself!! 

Simon 
:wink:


----------



## 96505 (Oct 12, 2005)

Thanks bjp. My email address is steve.povey 'at' yahoodotcom

My motorhome is 3500kg unlaiden so Switzerland may be a better bet?

Only a few posts left now......


----------



## haylingchrist (May 15, 2005)

*Croatia wild camping*

Hi,

Anyone experience of wild camping in Croatia? Pedee says it's illegal, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's impractical. I can't believe the teutonic hordes spend all their time on sites.

Chris


----------



## DJP (May 9, 2005)

It was our intention to go this year with the MH. Whilst on holiday in Europe we discovered our pan European insurance did not cover Slovenia and Croatia for the MH. We did however stay on a site in Trieste and crossed the borders in the Smart car for which we had a Green card which did cover us. We first went to Porec where we first visited 30 years ago. Still a very nice country, quite a bit more commercialised than it used to be and more European. We did research the campsites beforehand and selected what seemed to be some excellent sites around Porec/Pula.
We made a big mistake on our way to Italy. we travelled thru France and via Mont Blanc tunnel into Italy. We paid about £150 in tolls (with theSmart car an A Frame).
Coming back we came thru Austria, buying a Go Box on route (about 55 euro) into Germany, Luxembourg, Belguim and France. Total cost for tolls and Go Box about £50. Fuel was also cheaper than France/Italy in Austria and Belguim IIRC. If you need any more info PM me and I will try and help.


----------



## Don_Madge (May 1, 2005)

*Re: Croatia wild camping*



haylingchrist said:


> Hi,
> 
> Anyone experience of wild camping in Croatia? Pedee says it's illegal, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's impractical. I can't believe the teutonic hordes spend all their time on sites.
> 
> Chris


Chris

Wild camping is prohibited and it's the only European country that I know that enforces it.

I know a couple who were escorted to a hotel and made to take a room for the night when no camp sites was open.

This was some time ago, but I think they still enforce it.

Don


----------



## 100303 (Aug 1, 2006)

*for mileage 3D map try this...*

do check this site out ... it is a good online map distance claculator...

http://www.uk.map24.com/


----------



## peedee (May 10, 2005)

*Re: Croatia wild camping*



haylingchrist said:


> Hi,
> 
> Anyone experience of wild camping in Croatia? Pedee says it's illegal, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's impractical. I can't believe the teutonic hordes spend all their time on sites.
> 
> Chris


Well I can only say I never saw any signs of it. The police were evident on most of the roads I used and there were plenty of motorhomes on campsites.
I also believe overnight stays wherever they are must be registered with the police. Campsites do this for you by taking your passport details from you. If you wild camped you could be breaking the law? Don's views on that it is enforced there are in my view correct.

peedee


----------



## 88974 (May 11, 2005)

I have been to Croatia the past two years, and would completely reccomend it. We went to Istria both times, Plitvice lakes and Krk, would agree with the tight roads in Krk. 

With regard to the GoBox this year we went down through Austria and came back by Italy France. In the long run it actually worked out cheaper to go by Austria with regard to tolls, we came back by the Mont Blanc tunnel and the toll was horrendous. You also have tolls in Italy and France that way, but by going through Austria, there are no tolls in Germany. 


I found the croatian people very friendly, the scenery spectacular and the cost of living  cheap. If you do go don't miss out on Plitvice Lakes which is in the North of the Country about 70 miles from Zagreb. We also visited Slovenia. A beautiful country particularly around lake bled and the Triglav National park, 


My reccomendation is to go in the next couple of years whilst it is not to commercialised.


----------



## haylingchrist (May 15, 2005)

Thanks for the (always good) avice Don.

We decided to give it a punt and spent a week there (October '06), getting a far south as Split. It was very beautiful and it would be a msitake to just stay on the coast. 

We wild camped all the time and didn't get arrested (or sent to a hotel). Though it wasn't easy we stayed in some nice spots mostly on the coast with a view of the sea as good as you'd expect in Spain or Italy. Technically, I think it's illegal to wild camp - the Craotian tourist site says it's mandatory to register with the local police once you've arrived (but normally the camp site or hotel do this). This all sounds a bit cold-war to me and I don't think I'll be supporting theire application for EU memebership. Fortunately, we never knew where we were going so never arrived anywhere and it wasn't a problem. 

Mostly we stopped late in the day though and left by 11:00. Only once did we stay more than one night in the same place. Some of the country suits wild camping but a lot is on the side of a mountain which falls straight into the sea - finding somewhere for a cuppa in our 8M van is a challenge, let alone somewhere for the night. There were plenty of places with picture signs showing 'no caravan's or tents' and a few with 'no campers or tents'. We took these to mean that it was OK to stay anywhere else. It wasn't that we were hidden we saw plenty of police cars. Our only brush with authority was when we stopped for lunch in a parking area which was clearly signed as 'no parking for camper vans'. However, it must be the biggest bit of beach-side parking in the country with enough room for probaly 500 cars. We wouldn't have been happy ovenighting there but it was the first stop we'd seen for some time. When we arrived there was one other van and a car. After about an hour and a half there was a knock on the window and civilian-dressed chap announced himself as the 'inspector' and asked what we were doing. I said we'd stopped for lunch and he said he'd had a 'report of a van parked early in the morning. Anyway, he seemed happy with my explanation, going off to talk to the other van, but advised us to leave as the fine was 600kn (about £60). A bit petty maybe, but I've had worse in the UK.

We didn't exactly see a lot of other vans. The only time was a camp site in Istria. A lot of the parking is charged but fortunately this seems to be in-season. One parking we camped outside a marina was £25/24 hours for anything >1.5 Tonne. Although food was cheap it looked a prosperous country and I got the feeling they are cashing in on their popularity (e.g. a yachtie I subsequent met in Italy said that last year a new law allowed authorities to charge boats for anchoring and in the more popular spots this could be €100 per night). Motorway tolls and diesel cost about the European average. Diesel is the same price everywhere including motorway services. LPG is available at a few loctaions (shown on the local maps we bought).

The roads were eithe very good or very bad. We had a couple of the mandatory 'narrow' experiences, the worst of which happend when we stopped to check the map just as the shift changed at the local shipyard. It was like a scene from 'The Matrix' with vehicles appearing from every orfice and going in every direction. We decided to get out down a road were there was no chance of passing anything wide. Obviously we met 2 trucks in quick succession, but everyone breathed out a bit and somehow we got through (only to find a dead-end 10 miles further on so we had to backtrack).

We enjoyed ourself but never found anywhere we wanted to hang around and I doubt we'll be heading back but who knows what a few years absence will do?

Chris


----------



## 99821 (Jun 28, 2006)

Was there a couple of months ago, unfortunately not in the RV.... can highly recommend Split....bit disappointed with the lack of Spotty Dogs though.... :wink:


----------

