Everything's in order, for the Croatian border
Our time in the Schengen zone is over, we still have a few days left just in case we need to get back, but for now we need to spend some time out of Schengen, and what a place to come to. I have always fancied Croatia as a holiday destination but to be here in a van feels amazing, the Croatians are welcoming, the weather is great and its absolutely beautiful! The one issue with Croatia is wild camping is not really permitted so we will have to spend most of our time on camp sites, we believe if you stay off the coast and out of the national parks, you can get away with a few overnight wild camps. This 'No wild camping' rule is apparently due to the country still having a lot of unexploded mines from the Yugoslavia war but I do think its more to push money back in to economy by enforcing people to stay on camp sites.
We had booked the Ferry from Brestova to Cres on 27th July, although we had a conversation with a Croatian man who owned a shop in Italy and he warned us of queues up to 7 hours to cross the border, not wanting to risk missing our ferry, we decided to enter Croatia on the 26th and book a one night stay at a camp site just north of the ferry terminal.
Despite the warnings, there was only one other van crossing the border and we got through in under 5 minutes, making sure we got that all important stamp in our passport. We were heading to hotter climate and were preparing to be swelting, although this isn't the weather we received, pouring down rain, fork lightening and a dark sky, We did laugh and say 'Well if I just got off a plane I'd be so annoyed right now' but we needed to cool off after spending the night in 35 degree Slovenia, the rain was well received by us and the filthy van!
Before we headed for the camp site, we needed a few bits so we headed for the closest shop, we ended up in a town that clearly was touristic, we headed into the shop and you could quickly tell Croatia hadn't been in the EU very long, it was weird, yet wonderful and everyone working in the shop greeting you as you walk round. We loved it!
After our little Grocery shops and feeling welcomed to Croatia, the weather had sorted it self out, I can now confirm, Croatia is bloody hot! We headed straight for the sea to cool down and see the picturesque coastline Croatia has to offer. Croatia is on the Adriatic sea, so there are only a few sandy beaches, most are made of rocks but despite this the coastline is amazing.
We found a campsite called 'Robinsons Accommodation freedom', A very rustic camp site in the middle of fields, outdoor showers, alfresco dining areas, kids play area and it looked peaceful. We met the owners, a young Croatian couple, who named the camp site because it was their freedom to spend time together because beforehand they didn't get to see much of each other due to working commitments. You could tell they really cared about the site, going around checking all the campers were happy and making sure everyone had what they needed. What we liked about the site, even though its a site it felt kind of wild, none of this marked out pitches with your own zone, pick a tree for some shade, park up and relax...Perfect!
After our night at Robinsons accommodation freedom, a true gem in the centre of Istria, that we will definitely be returning to, we headed for the ferry to Cres, The ferry crossing is only short, around 30 minutes and costs about £50 return. we waited in line and enjoyed the view while the ferry chugged back across the Adriatic sea to the port.
We'd arrived in Cres and were heading for our site, camping resort Poljana just outside Mali Losinj, its around a 1 hour and 15 minute drive from the ferry terminal on the north of the island to the site, full of windy single track lanes heading over the hills and hugging the coastline, a real scenic drive that was well and truly relished.
We were in Croatia in the 'On-season' so we were well aware camp sites were going to be expensive and we had budgeted for this, but the camp sites here aren't like that back home, each one is like a mini centre parc's with numerous activities and most are on the sea for ease of access for a daily dunk. This Camp site was huge and I think it was the first time we had been in such a busy place and we were staying here for a week, on arrival, kids were running round screaming and we both looked at each other thinking 'dear lord, this is going to be a long week'...Fortunately they have welcome guides that will show you around the site and ask for your preference, we got really lucky and there was a few empty spaces away from the hustle and bustle of the camp site, we were delighted.
We pitched up and went for a wonder around the HUGE campsite that had over 450 pitches for Motorhomes, caravans and tents. We was super happy with our pitch, we can enjoy all the facilities of the site and we can then sneak of to go back to peace. One thing we was surprised about, No one from the UK on the site, we hadn't talked to anyone from the UK for like 5 weeks now, didn't think I'd miss you lot so much!
We had been talking and was starting to think that wish we had brought bikes with us, much easier to pop off and explore more of a place with out having to pack everything up, especially when your on a camp site. Ellie hasn't rode bike since she was about 14 and I wasn't sure if she'd need stabilizers, so we decided to hire some bikes. Apart from camp sites, Croatia is sooooooo cheap, (I am not sure for how long though, as it adopts the Euro in 2024 at the same time it enters the Schengen zone) and we managed to hire some mountain bikes for £20 each for 4 days, bargain!
To be honest, the bikes were a bit of an impulse, we had walked about 8km into Mali Losinj in the mid day heat, and I just couldn't be bothered walking back, so we hired bikes, although now we can explore more of the island and enjoy the coastal paths it has to offer.
We had been on the road for coming up to 2 months, and we hadn't really stayed in one camping spot for longer than 3 days, so we thought 7 days to chill, explore one area and have daily showers would be nice. First things first though, I had ran out of boxers, so it was time to put a wash on!
We didn't realise but, we hadn't done a wash for nearly 3 weeks now and we had soooooooooo many clothes, that 50m climbing rope come in handy, the perfect washing line for copious amounts of clothes!
It was my 30th birthday, 29th July and Ellie always tries her best to make days like this feel special, even though its really hard to get a card and present when you are side by side and doing everything together every day. For the record she got me some Birkenstocks and a hot wheels egg!
On my Birthday we headed to a Crag on the north of the island at Lubenice to do some sport climbing, Luckily it's well shaded in the morning from sunlight and I completed a couple single pitch routes before the sun moved above us and made it too unbearable to climb.
With the sun got to hot to climb, we headed back to the van and off out for a traditonal Croatian Kebab, Cevapcici and headed back for an afternoon dip in the sea before we head out to Mali Losinj for tea.
The next few days were chilled, we went on a bike ride on the trail around the southern side of Cres, Finally repaired Ellies paddleboard which popped a few days prior and completed some van maintenance.
We had been at this site longer than we had stayed anywhere previously, 7 days in total, we felt like we needed to slow down a little and we have up to 90 days to spend outside of Schengen so there really was no rush, however after 7 days on a large noisy camp site we were ready to move on. On the morning we left, we both woke up in a good mood and excited to head into the mountains for some cooler temperatures and do some more exploring, We packed up, and went to do the usually jobs of topping up drinking water and emptying the toilet, which was all going well until I dropped the toilet and spreaded the contents all over the entrance to the campsite toilets/showers (AHHHHHHHHHHHHH)
After we told reception and they finally sent someone to clean up our mess, we made a SWIFT exit and headed for the ferry back to the mainland.
We had a couple hour drive with a detour to Lidl to stock up on food over to Plitvice national park, something we were both excited for, we had been checking the forecast and the temperatures at night were dropping to mid-teens and honestly I couldn't wait to get under the duvet and get snuggled up...the small things you miss about being home.
More about our adventures in Plitvice national park in the next post coming soon, This time features, other UK travellers, Actually bears (not the ones in Ellies mind), picture perfect blue lakes and me doing my best superman impression.
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