Makarska, Croatia – September 23 – October 1, 2014

After leaving the tourist mecca that is Dubrovnik, we were looking for something low-key, budget-friendly and warm-weathery. Turns out Makarska was the right choice as the tourist season was just about over, our apartment cost $30/night and it was sunny and 25 degrees.

Makarska was so awesome that we extended our stay, twice, from the original four days to eight.

Ever since Budapest, we’ve been hooked on paprika!

Our apartment was a five-minute walk down to the beach, a walk that we made every single day. That’s really all we did. Walked to the beach and the grocery store. Our $30/night apartment had a fully equipped kitchen so we were able to cook for ourselves every day which was a welcomed break.

Day trip to Brač

Lzatni Rat beach, the most famous beach in Croatia is about two hours away by boat, so we bought tickets for a day trip with Calypso. Reviews did not look that promising, but with a BBQ lunch and bar on board, we took the chance. Zlatni Rat beach did not disappoint, although it was much bigger than it was in the pictures online, go figure. We were fortunate that most of the tourists had been there and gone so it was relatively quiet. Like the rest of Croatia, Brac was extremely picturesque so you can see our day trip in pictures here:

BBQ lunch on board

Zlatni Rat beach

Zlatni Rat from above

We were fortunate enough to meet the other two ‘youngish’ people on the boat, Adrian and Joey from Sydney who we ended up spending the day with. I say they were the other two young people on the boat because just about everyone else seemed old enough to have great-grandchildren.

Sunsets in Makarska make the mountains glow

Makarska doesn’t get nearly as much love as Split to the north and Dubrovnik to the south, but for us it trumped both. Whether or not you fall in love with a place really depends on whether or not you found what you were looking for in it. We found what we were looking for in Makarska.

jess + trickett