Croatia

[KoolCat]

I've mentioned it a couple of times now, but I really want to go to Croatia. Ideally for two weeks - one week to go scuba diving and another week to do a bit of travelling round the country.

Has anyone ever been there? I'm sure someone once said they did but I can't remember who.

Anyway, anyone got any advice on what's the best (and cheapest) way of getting there, what hotels are like, prices of things, how to go about organising the scuba diving, anyone who's done scuba diving (anywhere), what did you think (I've never done it before, only snorkelling).

I am going to check out the usuals like Lonely Planet, Easyjet etc etc but was wondering if anyone had any first hand experiences?

[faerielights]

Twas me! (probably...)
I used to go when i was little, and again after the war finished.

My mum was looking at cheep ways to get over there, but because of the war and drop in tourist trade no-one runs cheap flights there. But from talking to someone who lives in Dubrovnik (where we used to go, on the coast towards the south) the cheapest (but slow) way to get there is to get a cheap flight to Italy, then get the ferry accross to Spilt, then a bus to where ever it is your going. I'll ask her for more exact details when she gets home.
Craoatian Airways runs flights direct from Manchester, but i'm not sure how much the ticket would be. We went with Holiday Options (http://www.holidayoptions.co.uk/view-destination.php?destination=3) and had no problems

I would definately recomend it. The cities are beautiful, and the islands are brilliant for relaxing on. Its not the best place for night life but with the sounds of it thats not what your looking for...

Its not as cheap as you might expect (war torn country etc etc) but it didnt seem all thgat expensive either. Though thinking about it, I was on a tiny island so there wasnt all that much to buy anyway...

I'll add more as i think of it :)
or PM me, but I want to help spread the word!
http://www.jaderske.cz/jidalos/pict/lopud.JPG

[KoolCat]

*Sigh*

It looks so beautiful :)

The ferry from Italy idea sounds quite good, will have to look into that. I was also half thinking of getting an Easyjet flight to Prague and then getting the train to Zagreb/Dubrovnik.

Anyway, this all depends on if I can get enough money together - and also if I can find someone who wants to come with me (people start to look interested.... until I mention the scuba diving)

Which places have you visited Faerielights?

[faerielights]

I'm told Ive been to alot of the islands on the Dalmatian (think thats the right name :confused: )Coast, down towards the south tip, but I cant really remember it because I was too little. The memories from that area have all merged into one so I struggle to remember which bits were Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Montenegro or Croatia...

More recently I was down towards Dubrovnik. They had a TV channel doing weather forcasts all day, telling you the temperature in each area, and it had a live camera feed so I got to see more of the country that way (boring I know!) and have to admit that most of the islands were gorgeous. But do some reading up because some of them are nearly deserted whilst others are more touristy, so it all depends what you want.

Hows about not mentioning the scuba diving until you get there, then just spring it on them in the middle of the Adriatic ;)