tourist traps, the real local, and Makarska

Makarska was our first night in port and we met it with a soft, salty breeze and a cool welcome repose from the scorching sun. It’s a beautiful seaside town surrounded by steep, rocky cliffs and quite well-known for its nightlife. 

A fishing boat restaurant getting ready to serve (eat there!)

the pirate corsairs of Omis

Docked at Omis

Back to some summertime fun to get through this cold winter and plan your summer vacation—or if you’re Australian or other inhabitant of the great southern hemisphere, then a place to plan your winter vacation.

We got on the boat at Split and set sail, the wind already roaring through our hair as the ancient Diocletian palace slowly disappeared into the horizon, while big plates of seafood pasta were being served at our places on the deck of the ship.

It was a Sail Croatia cruise on board one of their Explorer cruises. The ship was everything that could be hoped for, with spacious rooms, freezing cold air conditioning, and private en suite bathrooms. The deck was spacious, one out of the sun and one on top for bathing. There was also a bar serving beer around the clock, so it was a perfect floating vacation machine.

Our first stop was Omis for a brief pause and continuation through the rich history of the Dalmatian coast.

The Pirates of Omis

The ancient inhabitants of Omis were pirates—or corsairs, as pirates of the Mediterranean are known. Omis was long a thorn in the side of the Venetians and Ottomans. It had a natural boundary around it of rivers going inland, carving into steep cliffs, and a close relationship with the highlanders that lived in the neighboring mountains. 

The steep cliffs made for great pirate hideouts

As the Ottoman Empire crept its borders up the coast of Dalmatia and into he Balkans, the pirates of Omis had to transform their town from a pirate cove into a fortress settlement, building walls and a castle. But it wasn’t from the encroaching Muslim Turks they had to fear the most, it was from their fellow Christians, especially the Venetians who were long annoyed by the pirate attacks.

The corsairs of Omis would harass and charge a toll for any passing merchant ships, while they would quickly flee up the river whenever warships would come by. The boats of the Omis were specially designed to glide up their river and still be seaworthy, making them nearly invincible in the region.

On one such raiding trip, they captured a very special Eucharistic chalice, one owned by the Pope himself. The Omis so prized this booty that they didn’t much care when the Pope demanded it back. So the Pope did as popes always do, he declared a Crusade against the town.

The pirates fled the town and waited for various Crusading groups to arrive. They then dressed up as Crusaders themselves and joined in on the fun, waiting late one night to start murdering all the bona fide Crusaders until finally their town was safe again. 

Omis is a narrow town of small alleys and squares

Then came more troubles from the Venetians, who decided to team up with the Ottomans against the city-state. They teamed up with Suleiman the Great, and the combined forces were finally able to take the pirate town. The Ottoman general who led the occupation decided to take some of the local girls for his harem, which included one Milla Kolocavic. She locked the general’s door and then took a torch to the palace, burning it down along with the general.

The occupation of the Ottomans forced the Omis to finally accept their fate—to join with the Venetians or to be subservient to a foreign power. Venetian dominance eventually brought in the Austrians and finally, after years of war, it became a beautiful tourist town on the coast of an independent Croatia. 

Ziplining across canyons is half the fun of the town

Things to do

Besides all of the historical monuments, such as the old pirate castle, there’s also a great deal of other activities. You can go rafting up the river, in the summer witness a mock battle between a corsair and a Venetian ship, go climbing, hiking, or head to the hills for a zip line tour. Almost every other building in the village is a travel agency, so if you don’t have something pre-booked with a cruise line or other group, it’s an easy enough thing to sign up and join in. Check the town’s tourist page here for more information about the local travel agencies and to book ahead.

The zip line tour is worth every penny. I’ve been on tours where you just glide through trees. This one, you literally jet off across canyons, rivers rushing thousands of feet below. You’re led by two professional guides who make sure that you know what you’re doing and that you’ll make it down all right.

Here’s a video of my wife taking on the zip line.

The secret gem of the Adriatic

What does the home of Marco Polo, lavender ice cream, and a monastery on an island in a lake on an island in a sea all have in common?

It was all the thrill of Italy--with people who were friendlier and beer that was cheaper--than anything we’d experienced in the high-heeled boot of Europe. For summer fun in Mediterranean Europe, Croatia is definitely the place to be, and the place I’ll return to a dozen times over. At the apex of this last summer, we took a cruise down the coast of ancient Dalmatia, stopping at ancient Greco-Venetian villages, seeing the home of Marco Polo, and sipping lavender champagne while watching the sun set over the sea. Croatia is a real jewel of Europe, certainly something we had never expected would be so amazing. 

A view of Dubrovnik/King's Landing

Why Croatia?

I was trying to think of some vacation ideas last year for my parents. Ever since I moved to Europe, it’s become an annual thing. My wife and I would be private tour guides for my parents on their yearly vacation, showing them corners of the Continent that they would never think of going. When we were trying to figure out where to go, I suggested Croatia.

“It’s where all the Czechs go,” I said. “Which means it must be cheap and it must be good.”

I had only been to Zagreb, which is a nice town in its own right. But all the inhabitants were busy telling me to go to two places—“You must see Belgrade!” they would surprisingly say and “You must see the Dalmatian coast”. I followed the former advice, quite happily. In winter, any coast can be dreary, but a city with a huge river lined with boats the herds of gypsies and Balkanistas playing their jams on sounds like some fun.

At first my parents were understandably reticent. In American imagination, we still have memories of seeing the Balkan Wars on television and we still imagine mountainsides and towns riddled with land mines, just ripe for an Angelina Jolie movie topic. But all of that is gone, I reassured them. And after sending them some photos of the pristine blue Adriatic Sea, dotted with islands and ancient Greek villages, they quickly agreed that Croatia should be the destination.

The Route

It was then a long process on deciding what to do. We had a couple of ideas.

We’d drive from Prague down to Vienna, to Bled and Ljubljana, and then down to Zagreb and continue onto the coast. But then we decided that was too long to drive, so we should take a train. Maybe a train to Split, a boat to Dubrovnik, rent a car and go to Bosnia, then back to Zagreb.

After all that, my mom presented the idea.

Sail Croatia.

They had a Split-Dubrovnik route and a Dubrovnik-Split route. They had party boats full of hormone-packed yuppy youths that resemble something like floating hostels and liners with a bit more luxury for the settled romantic couples. You can imagine which one we picked, what with a retired couple we were traveling with. Though really, being already aged and in my mid-thirties, I'm slowly becoming the settled sort myself I suppose. 

I weighed in on my opinion for the route. But first, some information.

Korcula, the birthplace of Marco Polo

Split

Split is an ancient Roman city, built up as the palace of the Emperor Diocletian. It was a seaside fortress, projecting Roman power across the Dalmatian coast and protecting traders from the infamous pirates who would hide in the coves up and down the shore.

In modern times, it is more known for clubbing than ruins. The center still boasts the remnants of the Diocletian fort and his mausoleum, but much of it has been replaced by cafes, banks, and souvenir shops. A natural enough fate for any famed city of old, true enough.

Split -- the ancient Roman version of Camp David

Dubrovnik

This is the crown jewel of the Croatian coastline. If the trip started with Dubrovnik, then the rest would be a disappointment. It’s a walled city crammed into a narrow peninsula with castles overlooking it and defending it. It has a large claim to history in its own right, for many centuries it rivaled the power of Venice. It’s such a beautiful town that it was chosen to be King’s Landing in the Game of Thrones series. For any history fans, or fans of the sea, beauty, or castles, this is the town to visit.

Ultimately, we made the decision to cap the tour with Dubrovnik for those reasons. 

You can't have too many photos of Dubrovnik

Getting there

We would fly from Prague to Zagreb and overnight in Zagreb. This turned out to be a ludicrously easy thing to do, as there is an entire village of decent hotels that have been built up around the Zagreb airport that are literally a 5-minute walk. Flights from Zagreb to Split cost about the same as a bus and take only an hour versus the 5-hour bus ride, so we opted for that as well.

Choosing to fly meant that we had an entire half-day to spend wandering the narrow corridors of the ancient Roman version of Camp David. At one o’clock, we’d hop on the tour boat and begin the adventure. From Split, our tour would go on to Omis-Makarska-Stari Grad-Hvar-Vis-Korcula-Mljet-Dubrovnik. 

Stari Grad

Don’t worry, I’ll give you pictures and information about all those following towns in the upcoming blogs to help with your own travel planning, or to help you imagine yourself somewhere sweet and serene while the snow piles up outside. So, set your sails and get ready to take your mind off of this wintry dreariness. Unless you’re from the southern hemisphere, then get ready to book your winter vacations.

Have any of you visited Croatia? Where was your favorite island?