First Airbnb Experience

This was my first time using Airbnb* - I mean I'd previously used it in New York but it was an aparthotel kinda thing, so not the same!*. Its something I'd known about for years but just never found the right place to stay in before now.

 I'm always slightly apprehensive about staying somewhere like this, manically checking the reviews and making sure we don't turn up to some shady flat.

 But I have to say, this was one of the best places I've stayed in and we were so happy with our choice.

We stayed in the cutest little apartment in Croatia (Zadar to be exact). It ticked all the boxes - cute decor, great location, cheap, in a safe place and had good reviews. The lovely lady who owned it was great at getting back to us and letting us know the best ways to get there from the airport, she also met us there to give us the keys etc. She was the sweetest! She had put together a little welcome pack for us with maps, things to do, she'd even marked on the map where was the best to eat/drink etc., left us a bottle of wine and fresh fruit in the fridge. What a cutie!

Everything was super clean and lovely, Sonja our host was always available if we needed any help or had any questions, we couldn't of asked for a better host! We had to leave for the airport at around 7pm and usual checkout was around 11 I think? But she kindly let us leave our cases and come back to change into our comfy clothes when we needed to :).

Over all, we had an amazing stay, this apartment definitely played a huge part in our holiday being so amazing! Which might sound a bit dramatic, but if we had turned up to a dingy old flat then it definitely would've put a damper on things!
Staying in an apartment like this just has so much more character than a bog standard hotel room, it was our own little home for the week that we looked forward to coming back to every day. It was cosy, comfortable and in the best place. Because old town Zadar is quite small, we loved it because everything became familiar and we knew where we were going within a couple of days, we loved being able to leave for dinner 5 minutes before because we were just so close to everything. Can't rave about this place enough! If I ever go back to Zadar (which I totally would!) then I would stay here again 100%.

My advice to anyone wanting to book an airbnb for the first time is the obvious really - do your research, look into the area, take note of the photos - a good apartment will have good quality photos, if you're looking at one with 3 pics of the whole place taken on an iphone with dodgy lighting, stay away! And most importantly, as with anything, make sure you read enough reviews! & Contact the host for any further questions you may have. Do this and you should be all good!

x

A Day At Plitvice Lakes

If you're looking for a place worthy of the word breathtaking, then look no further than Plitvice Lakes National Park. Having never been to Croatia before, I had no idea what was even there, let alone if there was anything like this! Truly one of the most insanely beautiful places I have seen. I felt like I spent the whole day saying wow and woahhh at everything!!

This was my first ever experience of a National Park where there are different trails you can take depending on how long you want to be walking around for. We chose the 3-4 hour one so that we were back in time for our coach and also because that was just enough for us! The park is well sign posted & easy to navigate, you can also pick up a map to bring around with you at the entrance.

I don't think I can explain to you the scale of this place, even looking at the pictures doesn't do it justice! As soon as you walk in you are greeted with the view of a massssive waterfall and its just incredible. Its one of those places you have to go and see for yourself to experience the magic of it. It had the most crystal clear, turquoise blue water, so much greenery, waterfalls everywhere you looked, there were even a few caves and some up hill areas!

I have to say, this was my favourite park we went to, Krka was amazing (read about that here!) but this one took first place for me! Its absolutely huge and there are so many different areas to see, it really is breathtaking like I said. There were cute little areas, for example a place where you could rent a boat and go out on it! We did go on a boat but only to get to the other side of the park, it was beautiful and the views honestly looked like you could be in Thailand or something, so amazing!!

 I don't have too many tips for it, the only things are the obvious but -

Plan your journey - knowing the times of your travel plans are important to know how long you can stay for

Bring water and snacks - the food options here arn't great and they're expensive too, I'd recommend bringing your own if you can!

Wear comfortable clothes/shoes - you'll most likely be doing a lot of walking! As I said, Plitvice is much bigger than Krka so I advise you wear something super comfy!

As always, I'd say get there early to avoid queing etc, but its a little is to be expected and usually goes rather quick. Depending on where you're staying in Croatia, the times of getting there will vary of course. We stayed in Zadar and it took about 2 hours to get there, so quite long but so worth it!!

I could go on forever about how pretty it is, so I'll leave it here but I hope you enjoyed having a look and maybe helped you decide where to visit next, I would HIGHLY! recommend!

Corina Fay x

Croatia Travel Diary

Hey all! So mid May, we took a trip to Croatia (Zadar to be exact). It was a week full of sunsets, pizzas and pastries and well, it was wonderful! I had never been or even heard much about Croatia, but wow, what an absolutely beautiful place!!

We stayed in the old town of Zadar, it took about 4 minutes to get anywhere/everywhere and it had everything you would need - cute restaurants, SO MANY bakeries, shops, bars, the beach, supermarkets. I loved where we stayed so much, we chose a little Airbnb for our time here (SO happy we did this, separate post coming soon about that) and it was just so convenient, in the middle of everything and like I said, walking distance to everything in a matter of minutes.

We split our time between visiting some incredible national parks (posts coming soon about these!), exploring the town, sitting by the beach and eating ice cream (and more eating). It was the perfect balance and we had a mixture of more chilled days and well, the 5am wake up call days. We've made the mistake of cramming SO much in on our past holidays and being exhausted by the end of every day, that this time we just wanted to relax but still see stuff, just not wear ourselves out in the process!

Zadar is such a beautiful place to visit, it has the Sea Organ, which is described as an "experimental musical instrument", the waves in the sea going back and fourth makes music, its cool! Most people go and watch the sun set here, it actually gets quite busy around this time. They also have something called "The Greeting to the Sun", a hugeee solar powered circle thing (I'm so good at describing things right?!...) that lights up at night, its amazing! This describes it a little better than I do if you want to know what it actually is! Anyway, its full of history, beautiful buildings, cute little cafes and we even managed to stumble across an outdoor nightclub in a park one night?! I'd fully recommend Zadar to anyone wanting somewhere with gorgeous surroundings, incredible sunsets, cheap (AMAZING) food and hot weather. 

TOP TIPS / PLACES TO GO

FOOD -

Cheap, delicious pizza slices - Crazy Pizza

Great Italian food - Restaurant Bruschetta

Stunning beach bar vibes & yummy food - Zara Beach (so good we went twice!)

Bar/Restaurant with amazing green scenery & the best views - The Garden

THINGS TO DO/PLACES TO SEE -

National Park Krka (around £12)

National Park Plitvice Lakes (Around £13)

Climb the Bell Tower (around £1.50)

Watch the sunset at the Sea Organ/Greeting to the Sun

I feel like I say everywhere is "one of the most beautiful places I've been" but really, Croatia is!

Corina x