Thomas Tidbits...: Croatia

Ahhhhhh, Croatia. AKA HEAVEN. Justin and I planned this trip forever ago, so when it was finally here, it hardly seemed real. We went with The Hales to celebrate the guys' big 4-0. Words can't begin to describe how magical it was. Literally perfection, we had the BEST time ever. While the 6 days there (+2 looong travel days) went by quickly, we were ready to get back to the kiddos at the end. I think what made the trip so amazing was the following:

1) We were super compatible with our travel buddies, Maggie & Dylan. Had it been a larger group, it may have been tough to coordinate and accommodate different preferences, personalities, etc.

2) We planned ahead. Justin's colleague did this trip last June and shared his itinerary and travel agency with us. We used his itinerary as the base but customized it a bit to fit our needs.

3) We had the perfect amount of planned vs. unplanned activities. We were treated like royalty with private drives, private skippers, nice hotels.

4) Croatia was impeccably clean, like so clean you could eat off the streets.

5) Croatian natives were super polite, welcoming, and helpful. And everyone spoke English, which helped too.

Here was our lineup... (I'm sure I'm forgetting something):

Day 1:
We had a loooong journey to Croatia: Austin >> Chicago >> Munich >> Dubrovnik. We hoped to get a nice stretch of sleep on the overnight flight but didn't because we were surrounded by a bunch of loud teenage student who stayed up the entire flight. That, coupled with our excitement for the trip, left us with a few hours of sleep under our belts.

Day 2:
We arrived in Dubrovnik, immediately changed into our swimsuits and plunged into the crisp Adriatic waters. We hung out with The Hales and then cleaned up for an unforgettable dinner at Dubrovnik 360. Maggie managed to get us the best table at the restaurant, and we had fun catching up with old friends. Then out to stroll the streets of Dubrovnik and grab some beers at a local pub.

Day 3:
We took a ferry over to Lokrum island to check out the beaches, do some cliff jumping, and get a good hike under our belts. We weren't exactly prepared for a substantial hike, donned in flip flops and swimsuits, but we survived. After another dip in the Adriatic at our hotel, we walked the walls of Dubrovnik before heading out to dinner.

Day 4:
Our private driver, Alex, picked us up for a drive to Korcula, with a stop in Ston for oyster and wine tasting. Alex let us know that we could do the traditional oyster tasting, or take it up a notch and do the "expensive" tour. We immediately agreed to the expensive tour... we're in Croatia, let's do it up! After we agreed, we asked Alex about the price, and he replied, "158/per person." Hmmmm, a little expensive, but worth it to have the experience. We soon realized it was 158 KUNA ($30/person)... probably the best $30 we spent the entire week. It included a private boat that took us to the oyster farm; meeting the farmer who schooled us on the process of farming and the history of the farm; eating freshly shucked oysters and seemingly bottomless glasses of wine.

After our minds were blown, Alex took us to a local winery, Milos. We met the brothers who run the winery did a wine tasting of delicious wines and olive oils. We bought a bunch wine that they'll ship to us soon - cheers to delayed souvenirs!

Then onto Korcula. We hit up the beach across from our hotel and then ventured out to dinner.

Day 5:
Our private skipper picked us up for our 90 minute boat ride to Hvar. We mistakenly sat in the FRONT of the speed boat during a very choppy ride. We were all white knuckled the entire time and remarkably didn't get sick along the way. Upon arriving into Hvar, we were a little shaky still but pressed on by hitting up the hotel's rooftop pool. Then off to visit some local beaches.

Day 6:
We were signed up for a boating excursion, but after the previous day's boating experience, we were nervous to say the least. We rolled the dice, and thank goodness we did. It was the BEST DAY EVER. Our private skipper, Drago, explored various remote, quiet islands, and we were really able to get a sense of the vastness of Croatia. Croatia is actually made up of over 1200 islands!

Day 7:
We took the ferry to Split, explored the streets, and managed to stay up until 1:00 am. We contemplated the responsible route, going to be early after dinner, but we didn't want the trip to end! Our 4:00 am wake up call for the airport was pretty brutal.

Day 8:
What eases the blow of the end of an unforgettable vacation? Free upgrade to first class! It was amazing! We were super excited to see the kiddos and make up for lost snuggles;)

Well Hello, Beautiful!

Hit the ground running

Hotel Villa Argentina in Dubrovnik... best pool/open water combo I've ever seen.

Dinner at Dubrovnik 360 - stunning views, delicious food, and top notch company

Beers bigger than our head at the pub post dinner

Ferry to Lokrum island

Views from Lokrum, looking onto Dubrovnik

Our ill prepared hiking gear.

I've never seen water this crystal clear - you could literally see down 10-15 feet.

Rock beaches made for some tricky beach walking. The smart people came prepared with aqua socks. We braved the elements, but not so gracefully.

Hike up to the castle at the top of Lokrum.

So surreal.

On top of the world!

More views of Dubrovnik from Lokrum

As we made it to the ancient castle, we found this dude lounging on a chaise with a giant umbrella. Which means he had to schelp that loot on his hike up to the top. Huh?!?

Walked the walls of Dubrovnik before dinner

So much rich history here.

Lokrum island on the horizon

The pristine streets of Croatia. It's like they were just polished and waxed.

Found this speedo clad fella doing some minor construction work on his rooftop.

Our waiter artfully preparing our fresh fish for dinner

Best travel buds ever

Next up, our drive to Ston. Our driver, Alex, stopped for a killer photo opp here.

On the boat, an older oyster farm shown here.

Royal treatment.

The oyster farm where we docked.

Next stop Milos Winery.

Alex planned the perfect day for us.

Hotel Korsal in Korcula

Beach across the street from our hotel

Off to dinner

Next stop, Hvar! View from our room at Hotel Adriana.

This is 40! Hit up the local beaches in Hvar.

Rooftop cocktails before dinner

Island Hopping. Drago, our private skipper, set the scene for our favorite day of the trip. First stop, the Blue Caves. Boats weren't allowed in, so we couldn't capture the cool factor with our cameras.