Italy and Croatia via Switzerland 2025

Left Zuljana on Monday and drove to Camping Rozac at Trogir. Direct access into the stony beach with the usual amazing clear sea and plenty of swimming was done.
Had a walk along the coast in the evening and got dinner in a nice little restaurant where I tried the black cuttlefish risotto.IMG_9147.webpIMG_9146.webpTuesday we had another beach day and then a cadac bbq then caught the water taxi into Trogir mid afternoon. Absolutely fantastic little place full of quirky little streets and bars and restaurants.
Got the water taxi back about 9pm IMG_9158.webpIMG_9167.webpIMG_9177.webpIMG_9193.webp
 
Left Trogir Wednesday and made some ground towards Zadar, stopping at Primosten on the way.IMG_9198.webpIMG_4684.webpIMG_4690.webpIMG_4674.webp Had a wander round then had late lunch overlooking the harbour and as I’d had a large beer we decided to go and have an hour on the beach. Next thing you know we’re still sat on the beach after sunset.IMG_9202.webp
 
We then left Primosten for Zadar and obviously got there pretty late. Parked on a big car park just outside the centre and got some zzzz’s.
Walked into Zadar pretty early and grabbed breakfast in the square. Zadar is yet another stunning harbour town. But it’s got loads of Roman history and some pretty quirky modern twists-google Zadar Sea Organ.
The whole harbour side is more modern and built out which makes it feel really spacious.
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Anyway, the previous evening we met an English couple in the car park in their motorhome who told us about a bear sanctuary in the mountains…….
 
So Thursday afternoon we left Zadar and drove 115 miles over the mountains into the real Croatia. Can’t believe how green the plateau above the mountains is. Hundreds of miles of forests-and Europe’s largest concentration of brown bears (outside Russia).
You can stay for free at the bear sanctuary if you volunteer to help. So we stayed Thursday night and Friday night and spent Thursday grafting. Bagging up stale bread and hanging it to dry in barns, cutting back trees and pickling plums and blueberries.
The place has a bar so had a couple of nights of laughs and beer with a load of French and Belgian volunteers who were there in their motorhomes.
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@Bigsidavies. Where to after Krk? We’re heading for a ferry back to the mainland in the morning bound for Camping Resort Ljubljana but the weather forecast isn’t that good so not sure how long we will hang around there. Hopefully it won’t be too bad as I’ve got visions of Sacha Torte and coffee in a cafe by the river floating around in my head and there’s only one cure. After that we will look to return to Calais for the weekend and then home from there.
 
We were supposed to be heading up towards Pula and then over to lake Bled, but the threat of poor weather has made us decide to stay here today and tomorrow then travel Tuesday in the poor weather. No point travelling on a sunny day. If the forecast is correct then we may just keep rolling and head home. If the forecast is wrong then it’s resume the plan for Slovenia.
We may end up travelling north at a similar time, but we are thinking of doing the ferry from Hook of Holland to Harwich so we miss all the M25 chaos.
We drive through Ljubljana en route so if you’re there we might be able to time it for a beer.
 
Have you booked anywhere at Bled? I ask as I think campsites around that way (or, at least) close to town are usually very busy. TBH if you're not staying there I personally wouldn't bother - it's a big lake with a nice little island etc. but otherwise is a bit of a tourist trap (IIRC you can't just drive and stop for a picture either as there's limited parking and what there is is quite dear). As I say, just my opinion but probably half a million tourists a year would disagree. Arena Stoja is a good bet for a pitch near Pula and there's a bus stop right outside the site to take you into town.
 
PS. If you're heading into Slovenia (or Austria), you will need a vignette to drive there. You can buy both in advance on line but watch out for scam sites. FWIW, these are the genuine ones - for Slovenia, you've got to buy a minimum of a week (we bought a month on the way down) and for Austria it's 1 or 10 days (you can't buy anything longer with immediate activation). IIRC, you can also by the Slovenia vignette from the Austrian website.
 
PS. If you're heading into Slovenia (or Austria), you will need a vignette to drive there. You can buy both in advance on line but watch out for scam sites. FWIW, these are the genuine ones - for Slovenia, you've got to buy a minimum of a week (we bought a month on the way down) and for Austria it's 1 or 10 days (you can't buy anything longer with immediate activation). IIRC, you can also by the Slovenia vignette from the Austrian website.
Thanks. Yeah I’m aware of the Slovenia vignette. I’ve been trying to work out what class our van is and whether I need to pay €16 or €32 for the week. Which group did you use when you bought yours?
 
Btw not booked anywhere in Bled as we never have a schedule.
We have a change of plan now and are heading home on Tuesday afternoon when we leave here for family reasons so Bled and Pula will be on next years’ itinerary.
 
Class 2a - ¢16 for the week / ¢32 per month. Sorry you've got to head home so soon. i was hoping we could have shared a beer somewhere on the road but maybe next year. Safe travels.
 
Class 2a - ¢16 for the week / ¢32 per month. Sorry you've got to head home so soon. i was hoping we could have shared a beer somewhere on the road but maybe next year. Safe travels.
Yeah same here. Was looking forward to a beer.
 
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