Croatia

We are headed to Croatia on Friday, May 1. Croatia was part of Yugoslavia, from 1945 to 1990, a federal socialist nation made up of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. After the death of the Supreme leader, Tito, in 1980, the economy deteriorated, and nationalist leaders pushed the individual states toward independence. The breakup of Yugoslavia was not peaceful; it led to the many different wars, especially in Croatia and Bosnia. Croatia declared independence in 1991, but its large Serb minority, backed by the Yugoslav People’s Army and Serbia, rejected the new Croatian state and set up a Serb-held territory inside Croatia. Fighting intensified in 1991 with the siege and destruction of Vukovar and the shelling of Dubrovnik, and Croatian Serbs carried out ethnic cleansing against Croats and other non-Serbs in areas they controlled. Croatia eventually regained most of this territory in 1995 through major offensives which caused a huge Serb exodus from Croatia into Bosnia and Serbia. An estimated 22,000 people died in the Croatian war, including Croats and Serbs. Today Croatia is a peaceful and popular tourist destination. It is popular because it combines a lot of what travelers want in one place: a long beautiful Adriatic coastline, clear/blue green water, stunning vistas, magnificent beaches, historic cities, hundreds of islands to explore, great food and wine, and plenty of outdoor activities. You can spend one day in a UNESCO-listed old town and the next on a boat in the Adriatic or hiking along the coastline. That mix of scenery, history, and relatively compact travel distances is a big part of why Croatia stays high on many Europe travel lists. We are visiting in the off season. In fact, some of the hotels we are staying in are just opening on May 1. While we will miss swimming in the sea and snorkeling ( except in the heated hotel pools) we will gladly miss the huge summer crowds and hot weather. Plenty of cool weather hiking. Our first stop will be Dubrovnik, known as the Pearl of the Adriatic, where we will spend 4 nights. The late-medieval walled city has an exceptional Old Town with beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains. In 1979, UNESCO included the old town of Dubrovnik in the list of World Heritage Sites.

Despite its dragons, direwolves, and white walkers, the “Game of Thrones” world on HBO is not quite as make-believe as it may seem. In fact, its capital, King’s Landing, is almost entirely filmed in the very real—and very beautiful—city of Dubrovnik. We are both big fans of the “Game of Thrones”. Here is a map of Croatia:

April 30, 2026

We will be spending 16 nights in the Southern part of Croatia. We start the visit in Dubrovnik, 4 nights, then take the ferry to the island of Korcula where we will spend 3 nights, then on to the island of Hvar, 5 nights, and we end the trip in Split, 4 nights, before our long British Airways flight back to Tucson.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

"We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.”

-Pico Iyer

May 2, 2026

We left Tucson on Friday May 1 and arrived in Dubrovnik, Croatia around 3 pm on Saturday, May 2. Currently a 9 hour time difference between Tucson and Croatia. We barely made our flight connection to Croatia from London. Our flight from Dallas, Texas was delayed by 4 hours and we arrived London just 40 minutes before our flight. We were surprised that even our luggage made the connection.

Dubrovnik is a medieval marvel, sitting right on the edge of the Adriatic Sea. Huge crowds of tourists and locals crowded the streets. Saturday is the traditional wedding day, so two wedding parades were in progress when we entered the walled gates of the old town. Each group was led by musicians followed by the couple to be married and hundreds of guests. Lots of stops on the way to the church with music and singing in the street. We had also arrived on a 3 day holiday weekend (May 1 International Workers’ Day). A great festive start to our visit.

After breakfast on Sunday, we had a 2 hour city tour before taking a ferry across to Lokrum Island, a protected Nature Reserve located less than a mile off of the coast of Dubrovnik's Old Town. Visitors can enjoy lush botanical gardens, historical ruins, and miles of hiking trails. From the Island you also get breathtaking panoramas of Dubrovnik and the Adriatic Sea. Lokrum also boasts a rich history. We explored the ruins of a Benedictine monastery, founded in the 11th century. Legend has it that the monks cursed the island upon their expulsion. Another legend claims that Richard the Lionheart, the King of England, was shipwrecked on the Island in 1192 on his return home from the crusades. Later, in the 1800s, the Island was summer residence of Maximilian of Habsburg. He was an Austrian archduke (and also the short-lived Emperor of Mexico). Lots of free-roaming peacocks, descendants of birds brought to the Island by Maximilian. In the middle of the island is Fort Royal, built on the highest peak of Lokrum. It was initiated by the French army after the occupation of Dubrovnik in 1806, and completed during the Austrian administration around 1835. Today it provides amazing views out across the water and back to Dubrovnik’s old town so it was well worth the steep climb (only on a cool day).

Finally, Lokrum was used as one of the filming locations for Game of Thrones, and doubled as the city of Qarth during the series. There a small museum about Lokrum and its role in the HBO production that includes a replica of the Iron Throne. A great place to sit. After a long day of walking (5.1 miles) we had dinner at water front restaurant before walking back to our hotel.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

May 4, 2026

On Monday we spent the entire day exploring the country side outside of Dubrovnik with a private car and driver. Our first stop was a visit to the Trsteno Arboretum. Trsteno has a good claim to being the oldest arboretum in Europe. It belongs now to the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences, but its history as an arboretum dates back to the 15th century, when it was the summer home of the Gučetić-Gozze family, members of the noble class of citizens of the Dubrovnik Republic. The captains of this family’s great ships were requested to bring home plants and seeds from their vogages to populate the arboretum. Game of Thrones fans will recognize the Arboretum as the Palace gardens at Kings Landing. The highlight of the day trip was the Peljesac Peninsula, located about 40 miles north of Dubrovnik. Ston and Mali Ston are situated on the entry point to the Peljesac Peninsula and are connected by a huge defensive wall that is the largest in Europe and is second longest only to the Great Wall of China. A jaw dropping sight.

Historically, Ston was an important salt producing town, strategically positioned on the Adriatic shore along important trade routes. The town was so significant for Dubrovnik that the government ordered, in 1333, one of the longest fortifications in Europe to be built. The walls are still standing today, (the Walls of Ston are shown on the Game of Thrones as fortifications protecting King’s Landing) and the salt production in Ston town still continues. The Pelješac Peninsula is also famous for the excellent wines that are produced there. Vineyards cover a large part of the Peninsula. The red wines are made from the plavac mali grape, a small blue variety. Before lunch we had an opportunity to visit a winery and enjoy a tasting of their wines. Mali Ston, connected to Ston by the walls but distinctly different in character, is a working fishing village famous throughout Croatia for its oysters and mussels. The protected Malostonski Bay creates perfect growing conditions - a unique combination of fresh water from underground springs connected to the Neretva River mixing with Adriatic salt water maintains ideal salinity and nutrients. The cultivation cycle of the European Flat Oyster begins with collection of wild spat, sometime after which the young oysters are cemented and hung on ropes in a way used only in this area. Very different from the oyster farms on Cape Cod. We took a boat to a floating restaurant in the Bay for a late afternoon lunch of oysters ( we consumed an amazing 3 dozen ) and steamed mussels with garlic and parsley. Enjoyed with plenty of local white wine before the drive back to Dubrovnik. A perfect day.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Tuesday, May 5, 2026

After breakfast, we spent the entire day exploring the old Town of Dubrovnik. From the moment you arrive in this dramatic walled town, you feel a sense of awe. You’ll also instantly see why the HBO production team opted for this as one of the major locations for the Game of Thrones. There’s a palpable sense of history flowing through the streets, and it all feels like a permanent movie set.

This beautiful town has over 1,500 years of real history flowing all around it. At times terrible history. During the Homeland War (1991 to 1995) Dubrovnik was shelled by land and sea. On just one day, December 6, 1991, over 600 shells were directed at the old town causing massive destruction of the historic buildings. A major visitor attraction is the walk on top of the fortified walls. We took lots of photos on our walk on a beautiful sunny day. The City walls are featured in many Game of Thrones scenes, from Cersei’s power walks to Tyrion’s brooding moments by the Narrow Sea. The city’s walls and fortresses stand in for King’s Landing, and studies show the show brought over 240,000 extra tourists and about 126 million euros to Dubrovnik between 2012 and 2015 alone. After the wall, we took the cable car up the mountain to visit the Homeland War Museum. The last photo is from the top looking down on the historic city center.

After dinner, we attended a musical recital at the Rectors Palace. On Wednesday we plan to visit the Contemporary Art Museum before catching an early afternoon ferry to the Island of Korcula.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

”It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I have still to go, how much more there is to learn.”

– Anthony Bourdain

Dubrovnik Museums

We have just spent the last 3 nights on the beautiful Island of Korcula. The Island is 29 miles long and about 5 miles wide with lots of hills. It is the sixth largest island in the Adriatic. According to the Greek mythology, Trojan warrior Antenor founded Korcula in the 11th century BC. We left Dubrovnik at 3:30 pm by ferry and arrived at 5:30 pm, Wednesday evening. First rain of our trip. After dinner at the hotel, we attend a performance of the Moreska, a traditional sword dance unique to Korcula. The sword dance has been performed in Korcula since 1681. The Moreska tells a romantic tale of good versus evil through choreographed sword fights, symbolizing Christian triumph over Moorish forces.

On Thursday May 7, light rain and cloudy all day. We arranged for an all day group tour of three wineries on the Island. We sampled lots of delicious wine. Later in the afternoon we had a private guided tour of the old medieval, fortified town. The town of Korcula is believed to have been designed by a 13th-century Venetian architect, who based its layout on a fishbone pattern to maximize ventilation and sunlight. Marco Polo, the famous explorer was born on Korcula in 1254.

On Friday May 8, cloudy all day but no rain. Perfect day for our 7 mile hike around the vineyards and village of Lumbarda. We took an electric taxi golf cart to the village center. Our hike started on the coastline and we made our way first to the lighthouse at the end of the Island. We then walked by numerous vineyards above the village. Our final goal before returning to our hotel was the wine tasting at the Bire winery. The island is home to an indigenous white grape variety called Grk, grown only on Korcula and producing a distinctive, white wine. Bire is a leading producer of GrK making limited quantities of this sought-after, complex, and often organic wine. The highlight of our visit was meeting and talking to the wine maker about his delicious wine and the family’s 500 hundred year history on the Island.

On Saturday, May 9, we hiked to Zrnovo village, on the hills above Korcula old town. The four rustic hamlets that make up Zrnovo sprawl amongst the green hillsides, randomly dotted by red-roofed houses and quaint old churches. It is one of the oldest settlements on the island and provides some of the most scenic views. We had a wine tasting and light lunch at the Tasovac winery. At 5:30 pm we took the ferry to the Island of Hvar. We will spend 5 nights there.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Saturday, May 9, 2026

Sunday, May 10, 2026

We are spending 5 nights on the Island of Hvar. Hvar has become one of the most visited islands in Croatia. It is surrounded by stunning scenery and is rich in culture (it is the only island in the world with four UNESCO World Heritage Sites). It’s also home to lavender fields, vineyards, and olive groves with a coastline that is pitted with jagged inlets and pebbly coves that kiss the blue green waters of the Adriatic Sea.

The island’s capital, Hvar Town, is one of the Adriatic’s best-preserved historic towns and offers beautiful hotels, elegant restaurants, and buzzing nightlife and makes for a great jumping-off point to discover the nearby Pakleni islands and beautiful mountain hiking trails. We are here early in the season with less crowds and cool weather. In the high season starting in June, Hvar Town draws in crowds of around 20,000 people a day.

Today we spent the morning and part of the afternoon visiting some of the major historical sites of the town. In 1420, Hvar was conquered by the Venetians who selected the city of Hvar as the main port for their seagoing projects. They were in power until 1797, a period that represented the cultural development of the city of Hvar. Lots of steps to reach the Fortica Fortress, a 16th‑century Venetian‑built hilltop fortress above the town, used to defend against pirates and Ottoman raids. Today it offers panoramic views of the town and a small maritime‑history museum. Mass at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The cathedral (built 16th–18th century) sits on Hvar’s main piazza, one of Croatia’s largest squares. Close by is the Arsenal Theatre, Europe’s oldest public theatre (1612) inside a 13th‑century building.

The rest of our afternoon was spent enjoying the hotel’s heated swimming pools and sauna. After dinner, we attend a performance of the Hvar City Band as part of the week long celebration of the Feast Day of Saint Prosper. This tradition along with fairs, processions and concerts dates back to 1671, when his relics were brought from Rome to Hvar.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Monday, May 11, 2026

Beautiful hiking day. Hvar Island is well known for its beaches and historic buildings but the interior of the Island offers peaceful trails and historic sites away from the crowds. The interior trails also offer a different perspective on the Island’s history. Our guided hike started with a walk to the village of Velo Grablje. The village is now mostly abandoned but in 1930 it was the center of lavender production. In 1974 Hvar was the eighth biggest lavender producer in the world. Lavender was grown in plots of land surrounded by dry stone walls that had been created by hand over a period of a 1,000 years. The walls were built by clearing stones, by hand, from rocky soil to create farmland for olives and vines, while also forming terraces against erosion and pens for livestock.

Today, dry stone walls throughout the island of Hvar are a lasting monument to human labor, perseverance, and the coexistence of man and nature. While lavender production has been replaced by tourism, those amazing stone walls still exist. This has transformed the landscape for miles around into a web of intricate stone lace. It is recognized and protected by UNESCO as: “Art of Dry Stone Wall Construction” (first photo). A short walk from Velo Grablje is the village of Malo Grablje. The village was abandoned in the 1960s when residents moved to Milna on the coast. After a devastating grape vine disease, the locals lost their livelihoods of wine making and abandoned their village. The villagers, dug up their relatives’ graves and hauled them along, too (second photo). Our walk continued on to the seaside village of Milna where we stopped for coffee and a break (third photo). We then had a long but beautiful hike along the coastline until we reached Hvar Town and our hotel. 8.4 miles and over 6 hours of hiking. Lots of cold beer to celebrate the day.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

We took an early bus from Hvar to the town of Stari Grad. It is one of Europe’s and Croatia’s oldest towns, It’s also surrounded by the historic UNESCO-listed Stari Grad Plain, an agricultural landscape laid out by Greek colonists in the 4th century BC. This agricultural landscape has remained virtually unchanged since Greek colonists laid it out. When Ionian Greeks arrived on Hvar Island 2400 years ago, they saw that the long stretch of flat land between the hills – the Stari Grad Plain – had arable land that would be perfect for farming. They organized the plain into geometric plots that were separated with dry stone-wall boundaries. These were then connected to tanks and gutters that collected rainwater, which could then be redistributed as needed, because of this ingenious system, the settlers were able to produce grapes, olives, and vegetables in a way that was sustainable for the whole community. The Tourist Office suggested that the best place to see the Stari Grad Plain was a hike to the Illyrian Hill Fort on the summit of Budinjac Hill. The Fort, known as "Purkin Kuk”, dates back to 1000 BC. Before Greek settlers from Paros arrived, Illyrians inhabited the fertile Stari Grad Plain (known as Pharos) from around 2000-1000 BC.

It was a long and challenging hike to reach the Fort. From there we had panoramic views of both the town and the Stari Grad Plain (first 2 photos). A tough 6 mile hike on a hot sunny day. After dinner in Hvar Town, we attended the last musical event related to the Feast Day of Saint Prosper. It was held in the Arsenal Theatre, Europe’s oldest public theatre (1612 AD). Folk music selections were performed related to the annual celebrations in Hvar like Christmas or Easter. Videos of those actual celebrations were also shown. Wonderful evening. A long walk back to our hotel in a town, at night, almost empty of tourists. In a few weeks huge crowds will fill every corner of this beautiful town late into the night.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Wednesday, May 13, 2026.

Nestled in the crystal-clear waters of the Adriatic Sea, the Paklinski Islands are a hidden gem just off the coast of Hvar. Saint Clement Island, (Sveti Klement) is the largest in Croatia’s scenic Paklinski Islands archipelago. The Island is 3.3 miles long. It has over 18 miles of coastline (first photo). The Island is a favorite of tourists and boaters because of its picturesque coves, secluded beaches, hiking trails and charming restaurants. The island was once inhabited by the Illyrians, followed by the Greeks and Romans. There are graves from the Late Bronze Age, traces of Iron Age hilltop forts, pottery imports related to the Greek colonies in the area, and ruins of Roman and Byzantine structures.

We took a water taxi from Hvar to the Island, a 20 minute trip. On our hike we stopped at lots of small inlets and beaches. Our goal was the Fisherman’s House restaurant located in Vlaka bay on the north side of island. The same family has been running the pension and restaurant since 1964. The restaurant is surrounded by a small pine forest, vineyards, a large vegetable garden, olive groves and is steps away from the beautiful bay and lots of fishing boats. After some cold beers, we were served a great lunch. Starting with a green salad fresh from their garden with tomatoes and feta cheese. Then a whole fish was grilled over vine embers and flavored by dipping rosemary branches into homemade olive oil before sprinkling it onto the fish. A selection of cooked vegetables was served with the meal. We returned to the town at 4 pm. Before dinner, we enjoyed our last sunset on this magnificent Island. On Thursday afternoon, we are taking the ferry to Split, where we will spend our last 4 nights in Croatia.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Sunday, May 17,2026

Our journey in Croatia is ending in the city of Split and our hotel located in the center of the Diocletian’s Palace. Built as Emperor Diocletian’s retirement home, it now forms the vibrant heart of the city. The palace was constructed between 295 and 305 AD. Covering 7 acres with massive walls up to 72 feet high and 16 towers (three remaining), it served as a fortress, residence, and imperial retreat. It is the best preserved remains of ancient Roman architecture in the world (first photo). After the fall of the Roman Empire it evolved into the town of Split after refugees settled there to protect themselves from barbarian and Avar attacks. The new inhabitants started to make major modifications and transformed the palace into a medieval city. When the first Christian settlers came to the Palace, they deliberately chose the emperor’s tomb as the location for their new cathedral. His remains were tossed into the sea. In an ironic twist, it is now Saint Domnius (the Bishop executed by the Emperor on April 10, 304 AD) who is buried in the emperor’s tomb.

Today, over 3,000 people reside within its walls, amid museums, shops, bars, hotels and restaurants, making it a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979. There are 220 buildings within the palace boundaries. The narrow streets hide passageways and courtyards – some deserted , others thumping with music from bars and cafes – while residents hang out their washing overhead, kids kick soccer balls against the ancient walls, and people sit in their windows watching the action below. The Diocletian’s palace basements served as the Game of Thrones filming set where the Dragons were kept (last photo).

Split is an amazing town to visit.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

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