As it happened, in 2022 we came to Croatia to live for a couple of months. Out of minuses or pluses, but it turned out to be June and July) We went the 2018 itinerary, exploring each village in more detail and also added a visit to the Croatian islands. Croatia turns into Italy and France in the summer season in terms of prices)
Makarska is the green and mountainous region - the face of Croatia
It is the next region after Dubrovnik, before the Split region. It is the most often visited region in Croatia. Here, the mountains are close to the water and they are a huge rock overhanging, creating a unique atmosphere of the resort)
The first town after Bosnia and Herzegovina is Ploce - it's a port and industrial settlement and there's nothing to do here. Then comes a succession of small towns, which we will look at in detail in a moment. Very small ones, which go along the road, we will not stop at them. We visit only those that have at least not a big, but the promenade.
- Gradak ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Zaostrog ⭐⭐⭐
Drvenik and Gornja Vala ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Živojšće ⭐⭐
Igrainne ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Drašnice ⭐
It should be noted that Croatia is a unique, truly resort country. Here, almost every village has a promenade, the beaches are almost all in the pine forest and the water is crystal blue everywhere!
Gradak - a full resort town, which stretches along. There is a long promenade and beach line, though not wide. Here you can safely go on vacation for a week or more.
Zaostrog is 50% on 50%. Closer to Drvenik is a dull village. The second part of the village, which is closer to Zaostrog is already a beautiful promenade and beach. But in general, the village is not particularly delighted.
Gornja Vala is a village between Drvenik and Zaostrog, it is essentially Small Drvenik. That's how it is, it's like a mini version of Drvenik. A cozy tiny village with a promenade and a beach.
The map below shows where to drive along the road along the water and where to exit to the highway.
Hradak, Zaostrog and Drvenik can be reached by car, although in some places there is one-way traffic and the sign "white circle" - but you can pass) If you are too lazy to walk on foot) Personal opinion - Hradak village is more interesting, there is a place to relax on the beach and where to walk in the evening.
Drvenik - a cozy village and ferry to the island of Hvar
You can visit Drvenik for an evening stroll or combine it with a trip to the island of Hvar. Detailed report about the island Hvar in the previous article. You can supplement it with a visit to the observation point above the village of Drvenik - Vidikovac Kremenik (Panorama). Note that the only panorama, which should be visited. It can be reached by car in 7 minutes and 2 minutes on foot. The rest are either not of interest or it is easier to walk to them, the road after the Old Village ends.
Živošće, Igrāne and Drašnice can be visited in one evening. We drove from Drašnice to Živošće.
Drašnice - "time machine" in the 90's.... The village looks like the edge of Podgora, namely Čaklje. There are old dilapidated houses, a lot of abandoned buildings, a parking lot near the water - not at all cozy! No promenade... Follow the road along the water and the road turns into a dirt road with stones, narrow, but you can pass. That's how we reached Igrāne.
Igrāne - small, but very comfortable village. The road goes on the second line from the water. If you go there, you will reach the place on the map, it is a parking on the quay 15 kuna/hour. All the embankment passes for 40 minutes there and back) A lot of abandonment right on the first line ... Depressing, but it's still a beautiful area) To the right and left of the promenade are beaches, clean, with a good entrance to the water. The whole promenade is also a beach. There are lots of benches along the water! Also quite a lot of cafes. Then we leave on the same road and drive on, right up to the village of Zhivogoshe. By the way, there is a pocket on the highway, just above the village of Igrene, with a beautiful view of the city - the coordinates are 43 ° 11' 51.29" N, 17 ° 8' 58.55" E.
Živoše is a lame analog of Drašnjnice with a micro 10 meter promenade and pier. Didn't even want to go out to the water here. At the entrance to the town in general is placed a cemetery...
Bottom line, there is nothing to visit except Igrane... In Igrane you can stop by for an hour in the evening.
After the above-mentioned settlements come the already well-known ones:
- Podgora ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Tučepi ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Makarska is the macro version of Cavtat) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Baska Voda ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Brela ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Behind the village of Brela, the next interesting town for travelers is Omisz - the picture town!!! Behind Omysz follows a beach strip with houses right along the highway. The next interesting town is the megalopolis Split - the big beehive of Croatia) Split is already the next region of Croatia, after Dubrovnik and Makarska.
Baska Voda is a cozy and beautiful town
Baska Voda has a nice evening promenade with a pier. It is quite cozy, despite the fact that along the promenade there is a road. On both sides of the promenade there are long beaches, smoothly passing into other settlements)
Between Makarska and Baška Voda are Promajna, Bratuš, Krvavica Baška Voda. From Baška Voda to Promajna you can walk along the path along the water in 1 hour at a gentle pace. The village has two roads - one along the beach (walking) and the second just above (car + walking). At the end of the village there is only the footpath, but from the beach it goes up a little higher. It is at the beach "Dog beach Oseka" we go up the steps. Then the path goes along the beaches and pine trees. It is convenient to walk here during the day and in the evening. The views are gorgeous, pine and maritime fragrance...Relax in a word and the time flies quickly)
Promajna - a small, cozy village
In Promajna there is a mini promenade and a fairly good beach. Baska Voda, Promajna, Bratus are connected to each other only by footpaths, accesses from the highway. Between Promajna and Bratus there is only about 100 meters to go) Bratus and Krvavica smoothly pass into each other and it is difficult to separate them from each other. Bratus are essentially houses walking along the water, with no beaches! Krvavica is a micro village with a micro promenade and a pier) From Kravavica to Makarska, you can walk along the water, but you can drive in only from the road. Travel time is about 1 hour to the central pier of Makarska (the center of the promenade).
Kravavica is the upper village, there is only parking near the water. Here you would not be advised to settle at all. Here you can come to the beach. You can come to the parking lot and walk to Makarska, and come back to the car by cab. The walk time is 1.5 hours - nothing special, but the places are beautiful)
Lifehack - Beach in Makarska region: If you choose where to go to the beach, the map below shows places near free parking. In general - these are the outskirts of Baska Voda and Krvavica village. In these places you can drive up to the water and there are free places for parking. And the beaches in these places are ideal - smooth entrance to the water, fine pebbles and few people! But maybe someone doesn't like it - there are beaches for nudists and dogs nearby. In the end, both one and the other very much in these places)))) By the way, Croatia and nudists are synonyms)))) Here nude even on ordinary beaches and change clothes, also without covering ... In the villages themselves the beaches are overcrowded and parking is always paid - 10 kuna / hour. Places in the parking lot true too there is always.
From Kravavit first there is a path on the rocks under the scorching sun - about a third of the way. Then begins the pine forest, there is shade and civil beaches of Makarska. So we reach the peninsula, bypass it and pass the central part of Makarska promenade - the pier with boats. Walk once) Everywhere there are cafes - you can relax if you want. The most beautiful parts of Makarska are the entrance and descent from the peninsula - you can see both sides of Makarska with the mountain Biokovo. This is the best thing to see here. The peninsula is home to the St. Peter Forest Park. After Makarska marina, going further to Osejava Forest Park (crossed out with X's) is definitely not worth it. We went on our last trip. There is a dismal trail with no views, goes all the way to Tučepi.
There is an access to the water to the section with Makarska beaches - parking is huge, but paid! The beaches are packed...
Tučepi is a long resort village
There are all the beaches, the promenade, the housing goes along the water. You can walk through the whole village in 1.5 hours. I didn't particularly like it. The village as spread out along the water, especially comfort is not present. The promenade is usual - a cafe and a path. Especially to go here is not worth it. With parkings tight. There is only in the center of the embankment, near the pier - 10 kuna / hour. Places seem to suffice, as in the village there are no visitors, all the "local". Well, I mean, holidaymakers in this village).
Podgora is a beautiful and comfortable resort village in Croatia
After Tučepi you should take the highway and drive to the exit marked on the map. The exit at the beginning of the village is closed from the highway. From the village you can drive up to the fence on the highway and back) Parking at the pier 15 kuna / hour. Walk to the right to the village Čaklje. Walking time - from the parking lot to Sakli and back about 2 hours. This will be the main promenade of Podgora. Čaklje village itself is a big dorm - the houses along the water and the parking lot are a dismal sight. Beyond this village, the trail and road ends, but to get to the highway, you have to go to Podgora. If you turn left in the center of Podgora from the parking lot, it will be a piece of evening promenade with a cafe, which gradually turns into a road along the beaches. That is, you can go this way if you have a special desire. It is possible to walk here only if you live in this settlement and have nothing to do) The promenade in the center of Podgora is beauty - a cafe, live music, stalls with souvenirs, there was even some fair... Everybody's walking! The atmosphere is that of a real resort. I liked the promenade very much)
Biokovo - nature park and mountain range in Croatia in Makarska region
When we are in Makarska region, we have to visit Biokovo. The morning experience of visiting Biokovo is described here, and in this article we will update the info just for 2022. This year introduced an electronic queue and online purchase of tickets only through the website pp-biokovo.hr/hr/naslovna. In 2020 they opened the new Skywalk observation deck, previously this observation deck was described as #1 on the route. In fact, the view did not change, only the pedestal of the platform itself was added. The new platform is transparent!!! This is quite spectacular, but there is a BUT. Read that now everyone is going, because of the sunset on the Skywalk, just in the evening and we went. In fact, it is not worth it).
Tickets to Biokovo in 2022 cost 60 kuna/person. You can buy tickets at least the next day. Let in 20 cars per hour from the electronic queue of course. There is no way to agree. Runs like from 6 to 19 inclusive. Note that when they let in all cars at 00 minutes, it comes from below the flow, so you have to leave the park in advance, otherwise stand and let everyone through. The road here is exclusively one lane, but it is true with many pockets. Driving in at 19, you get to the Skywalk site at 19/30-40. Sunset is tentatively at 20/30 in the summer. However, there is a limit on being at the site at that time!!! And at 20/10-15 everyone is kicked off the site and it's locked up... But that's kind of all the same. After all, the sunset is not visible from the site!!! The sunset is only visible from the road, at the very bottom of the serpentine. But it is also from any other place in Croatia))) And Vosak peak on Biokovo is much more interesting! Before sundown, it is impossible to get to it, if you stop at 19... So, you have to drive much earlier, to do the whole route mentioned in the previous review and only then arrive at 19/30 to Skajwolk... You will see the panorama of Podgora - Tučepi - Makarska. By the way, don't forget about the horses and take apples, carrots etc. But it is worth a sign that you can't feed the horses... Perhaps this is due to the fact that people can feed chips and bread, which you should not do!
Brela - if ever there is a perfect seaside resort, this is it!
The beaches here are all pine trees, with fine pebbles and crystal azure water!!! The evening promenade Baška Voda - Brela is an hour walk. Please note, the road goes near the water's edge. In Baska Voda, just behind the parking lot, there is a fork - to the right is the car road, and to the left is this magical 5 km long promenade! From Brela to the end of the path there is another 1 hour of travel (through Pisak, Marušići, Mimice, Medići)!!! The promenade is a real relaxation, alternating beaches and cafes, benches everywhere... How do you know when the promenade will end? The road and the houses will end - it will be the end of Medići)
Croatia to move or not?
- Medicine in Croatia. Once you come to Croatia, you immediately want to live here. But is it still there after a month or two? After 3 months of spring in Montenegro, to be honest, we lost the desire to live there permanently. In Croatia we came for 3 months, but summer) It would seem that we should like everything, but the experience of living in Montenegro gives it away. You start to look at what and where, what are the pitfalls? So the picture is gradually drawn. In Montenegro they complained that there were no European medicines, but those that are available, you can buy without a prescription! In Croatia we encountered "grabbers" - a duo of pharmacists and local doctors. We had the Ukrainian prescription in hand, but the pharmacists demanded to take it or, even better, a prescription from the local doctor. If I give the prescription back, how can I buy the drug again later? The drug is hormonal, it is difficult to show its necessity by tests) In the end, we went to a local doctor, showed him our prescription, and he wrote his. It seems to be all cool, but why was this necessary? We paid the doctor for a prescription 100 kuna, and he even asked what kind of hormone and for what it is intended ... although knowledgeable professionals will not ask that question! Who gives these doctors licenses in Croatia and why this system of buying prescriptions? Moreover, in the pharmacy they wanted to ask us for a prescription, even for the usual anti-allergic and sorbing drugs. But then the pharmacist "took pity" and sold them without a prescription. And we still had to pay for the hormones... Don't they know that in this country? They make a profit out of nothing - it's disgusting! If you charge tourists high prices for accommodations, then keep charging them! But peddling prescriptions and the pharmacist decides what to sell without a prescription and what not... This is too much!!! Bottom line, Croatia is a vacation resort, well or 100% healthy people)
- Weather in Croatia. In Montenegro in the spring we encountered winds. I did not like it very much) But it turns out that they can also be in the summer... In Croatia the wind started blowing not for a day or two, but for a week... The wind is so strong that a person is wobbling!!! Walking is not comfortable at all... Locals say that such a wind in winter - that's where the "joy")))) They say that winters are 10-15, sometimes even 20 degrees, but winds are blowing often and icy, and the main thing is that they are prolonged! All Croatia is very green, but not much rain in summer, when does it fall? Probably also in winter and in the demi-season)
- Infrastructure in Croatia. Dubrovnik region is not intended for living or leisure. It is worth to come here only on excursion, for 1-2 days, but no more. Makarska region is a delightful resort. The whole coastal line in the beaches with pine trees! There is a continuous promenade along almost the entire coast. You can walk on foot directly from the village to the village. The views are very beautiful - the mountain, the sea and pines, many pines!!! To live here also does not want to come ... But to have a rest here is really worth to go for 1 month exactly) Ideal settlements for rest are Brela, Baska Voda, Podgora (in the order of importance).
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