Across six days my Dad and I sampled some of the finest seafood we could get our hands on across Dalmatia, whilst drinking in staggering views of medieval walled cities, stunning natural waterfalls and snow-capped mountains. Here’s the route we took from Dubrovnik…
Dubrovnik old town
Exploring Dubrovnik old town with Dad (@snakey2706) was one of our great shared experiences. Having not been abroad together since Miami in 2013 we headed straight to climb the Walls of Dubrovnik after touching down in Croatia from London.
The lowermost tip of Southern Dalmatia for British visitors, this city – historically knows as Ragusa – is framed by the Adriatic Sea. Now perhaps the most prominent tourist destination of the entire Mediterranean, UNESCO-recognised Dubrovnik served as King’s Landing in popular TV series Game of Thrones.
Almost entirely destroyed by a devastating earthquake in 1667, Dubrovnik was most recently besieged by the Yugoslav People’s Army in 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence – you can still spot the new and old terracota roofing caused by gunfire and missiles.
The total population is only around 150,000 – although this swells dramatically during the summer months as people flock to Dubrovnik from all over the world.
Mali Ston
On the two-and-a-half hour drive from Dubrovnik to Makarska we stopped in for lunch at a small fishing village called Mali Ston.
Set dramatically on the Gulf of Ston, Vila Koruna Restaurant keeps live lobster, mussels and other fish on site for diners to choose from.
Dad and I ordered mussels for two which were presented on a shell fit for Zeus himself – handing us both bags of salt as extra rewards for stumbling across this waterside gem.
Makarska
Makarska was our first stop on the Dalmatian coastline as we travelled north from Dubrovnik to Split.
Found on a horseshoe-shaped bay between the Biokovo Mountains and the Adriatic Sea, Makarska is the centre-point of the Makarska Riviera which stretches for 60km.
Here the old boy and I sheltered from the powerful ‘bora’ wind to enjoy stunning seafood such as barbecued octopus, seafood linguini and pancetta-wrapped monkfish.
Split
Split might be known for being the second-largest city in Croatia – referred to by residents as “the sportiest city in the world” – but upon collecting my little brother (@wildish_bambino) from the airport we decided to go on a culinary journey.
Starting at Skalinada we eyed up the fridges full of steak but opted for a more seafood-based table – cuttlefish risotto, gnocchi in prosecco with smoked salmon and shrimps, mussels alla buzara – as well as a dry aged Rib Eye.
All washed down with a bottle of Putali Croatian red (and then many glasses of disaronno), while cheekily Dad and I had already got ahead of the younger Dickenson with bowls of seafood risotto and linguini at lunch.
The Dickenson (hereby referred to as Dicko) boys ventured back from Krka to sit down for a lovely three-course meal at Baza food bar & good vibes.
And that was had over bruschetta, ceviche and tempura prawns for starters; octopus stew, sea bream and monkfish curry for mains with cheesecake just about managed for desert.
However, that didn’t stop Dad turning to Robbie in the bar a mere few hours later and suggesting they ‘share a T-Bone’ – outrageous!
Because Croatia is so close to Italy they’ve adopted a lot of their more established cousins’ cuisine, with pizza found on the menu of most restaurants on the Dalmatian coast.
Octopus salad is seen on all good seafood menus and comes in a variety of different guises, however in the interests of fair reporting it must be accepted that the Adriatic Sea is particularly cold in April.
Krka National Park
Krka National Park is the premier attraction for visitors to Croatia – named after the river Krka it encloses.
The waterfalls here have the second-highest density of lavender in Europe, causing a large number of wasps and bees to live in the area.
Skradinski buk is the showpiece point of the park – the lowest of three sets of waterfalls formed along the river and one of the most beautiful found on the continent.
Here Rob, Dad and I rented bicycles, stared into space and enjoyed long periods of silent contemplation.
Our week-long escapade up the Adriatic was great fun as well as insightful into modern life in the Balkan Peninsula, which was just the start of further time I spent solo in stunning Dubrovnik as well as a weekend in Kotor, Montenegro and a week scuba diving in Cyprus.
Picking up Luka Modric’s autobiography allowed me to understand the importance of ageing gracefully whilst still enjoying the passions that burned brightest for you in childhood, as I continued to sip Aperol spritz’s and impersonate Croatians.
Living at the sublimely amazing Adriatic Luxury Hotel in Dubrovnik for almost a full week was a true blessing – picking up enough stories to write my very own season of The White Lotus.
But despite loving being able to scuba dive off the jetty of the property – coming close to eye-to-eyeball with a huge lobster as well as spotting red sea stars and bearded red fireworms thanks to my 73-year-old instructor Maro – eventually my time in the Republic of Croatia had to come to an end.
Somehow and a fact that will always feel bizarre to me, the nation of Croatia is actually younger than I am – with its declaration of independence finally separating it from Yugoslavia on the 25th June 1991.
By that point I was already over a year old and probably starting to cause havoc in the family house!
Part of Croatia’s charm, beauty and ruggedness stems from the truth that as a country it is only just over 30 years into its lifespan, with major milestones coming in 1992 when they were admitted into the United Nations, joining NATO in 2009 and the European Union in 2013.
I still have large parts of Croatia to discover for myself – particularly in the north with Zadar, Pula and of course the capital Zagreb all on my hit-list. But for now all is left to say is ‘Hvala!’ (thank you) to this wonderful place…
