Would I Go Back To Croatia?
The answer has to be Yes!
If I went back for a few days, I think, I’d fly to one city before spending a few days there. I would then travel to another city, spend a few days there before flying home.
As airlines fly to Dubrovnik, Pula, Split, Zagreb and a few other places, there are a lot of choices of route.
My preferred route, might be.
- Fly to Duibrovnik and spend 2-3 days.
- Take the ferry to Split and spend 2-3 days.
- Take the train to Zagreb and spend a day before flying home.
There are certainly lots of possibilities.
My other recommendations would be.
- Plan your trips in Dubrovnik the day before.
- Stay in a hotel with a lift in Dubrovnik.
- Stay in a hotel in Diocletian’s Palace in Split.
- Take the train between Split and Zagreb in First Class in good weather.
- If you’re coeliac like me, take plenty of snacks or eat fruit.
Plan the journey well and you’ll enjoy it.
Onward To Ljubljana
This was an uneventful journey in a comfortable train, but the weather seemed even worse, so there was no serious photo opportunities.
At Ljubljana, I changed a few notes into Euros and got a taxi in the rain.
It might have been a memorable journey through beautiful countryside, but with the rain and the dark, I couldn’t tell!
By Ljubljana, I was hungry and as my comfortable hotel had no choice of food I fancied, I walked a few hundred metres in the rain to the city centre and bought some chips and an orange juice from McDonalds.
I don’t think that the journey from Split to Ljubljana had been successful, but then it isn’t supposed to rain in the Balkans, when I’m on holiday!
A Pit Stop In Zagreb
In my original plans, I had given myself four hours in Zagreb and I had intended to have a good lunch and explore the city using the trams.
But it was a bit of a disaster. probably due to the weather.
- I found an excellent cafe in the main square, where I had an excellent gluten-free cake.
- I couldn’t find anywhere for a proper meal.
- There wasn’t even a McDonalds, where I could get my emergency meal of chips and an orange juice.
As I didn’t want to walk round aimlessly in the rain, I went back to the station and caught the 18:38 to Ljubljana.
From Split To Zagreb
These pictures document the route between Split and Zagreb.
Note.
- It would certainly be a better line to travel on in better weather.
- Extensive work is progressing to improve the track.
- There were piles of discarded wooden sleepers everywhere, which were only good for firewood.
- In some ways the operation of the line was old-fashioned, as the station-master would greet each train as it passed through, even without stopping.
- The line was a mass of curves, as the train bent one way and then the other.
- The line is single-track most of the way.
- It was actually quite crowded, but I was the only passenger in First for all of the journey.
- There was no buffet open.
- The last picture shows the impressive Zagreb station.
Incidentally, I’ve just found out that there was a bad crash on this line at Rodine in 2009.
I would certainly travel on the line in the future. But next time, I’ll take some water and a snack.
Leaving Split
My train left Split at 08:27 and arrived in Zagreb at 14:30.
I was a bit worried, that it might be six hours in a scrapyard special, little better than a Pacer, when this train turned up.
The train incidentally is a Bombardier RegioSwinger tilting train.
We left Split virtually on time, with myself the only passenger in First Class.
The Anonymous Widower 