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The Balkans

July - August 2023
A 47-day adventure by Jarrod Read more
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  • TravelerThe Balkans
    Day 1

    Krka National Park

    July 5, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    When we arrived in Split, we wanted to get straight into some of the activities in the area, and so we decided to knock out the major one we wanted to do. This was Krka National Park. It had some unbelievable waterfalls and wildlife, and the tour we chose included a tour guide through the national park, a boat cruise, and some spare time to swim. Unfortunately, swimming in the actual waterfall section is not allowed. Apparently, a child died there some years ago, and so it has been shut off ever since. We were meeting at the old town in Split but it was a bit later in the day, around 10:30 am, so we used the spare time to wander around and see the beautiful city. We accidentally strolled through the diolcetians palace and the underground areas used to shoot Game of Thrones. This was an incredible site, and it was difficult to understand how it could be so well maintained. They use the area for markets mostly now, which makes it an interesting stroll.

    We then got on the bus to Krka National Park. When we first arrived, the tour guide took us through some small historical watermill section of the national park. Despite it not being overly busy, we managed to lose him at the very first point, and we did not see him again until the end. This was slightly disappointing, but it meant we made mates with an English guy from Newcastle and a bunch of Dutch girls. We essentially just wandered through at our own pace and chatted, and it was perfectly fine given the views. As is typical with everywhere in Croatia, the water was insanely clear and, this time, slightly green. This meant you could see all the wildlife in the water and made the waterfalls themselves incredibly colourful and spectacular. I would love to be able to include more than 20 photos, but you may just have to wait until I'm home to see them all. Sorry.

    After finally finding our tour guide again, we headed for the boat for a quick cruise down the river. This was also quite cool but nowhere near as exciting as the Waterfall section. They dropped us off at a beach, and we chilled there for about an hour and had some beers. Eventually, it was time to get on the bus and head back to Split. We headed home for a shower and met some more people from the hostel. It seemed as though they put all the Aussies in the one room because there were about 7 of us total and just one other Italian who we barely saw.

    We then caught up with the English mate for a few drinks and headed back to our hostel to drink at the bar there. The beers were only 2 euros, and it meant we could meet some other people from the hostel. We invited some of them to drink, and eventually, there were about 6 or 7 of us having beers in the bar at the hostel. We then decided to try and find some nightlife, but after finding mostly pay to enter places, we settled for a couple of bars/restaurants that were cheapish. Jack was keen to enter a club but entry was like 30 euro and it was already late so we convinced him it wouldn't be worth it. In the end, we all just went home to bed. We weren't too upset because we knew there would be more partying in Hvar.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Balkans
    Day 2

    Bikes

    July 6, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Despite a big night and a slow morning, we thought it would be a good idea to explore around Split itself. We had told the ladies at the front desk that we planned to go find some electric bikes and wander. She jumped on the chance to show us the best places to go and what to see. She also explained that she had bikes to rent to us for just 10 euros for the whole day. She then gave us the map, and we headed off. The first thing we wanted to do was go for a swim, so just as we hit the nature area, we jumped in the water and cooled off (it was already midday at this point). We then continued around the headland that was dedicated as a nature area. The electric bikes made it very easy while it was flat, but as soon as we hit the hills, we struggled. The lady at the hostel downplayed how hard it was, saying that if you're reasonably fit, it should be a "piece of cake." Either she lied, or we were very unfit. In the end, we ditched the bikes and hiked to the top of the hill as we were suffering on the hills even with the electric bikes. The further we got up the hill, the better the views got, and by the end, they were spectacular. The very top had been closed, but Jack and I just found our own track to get to an unreal view. You had the Split on one side and some of the other croatian islands on the other. I wish the photos did it justice, but once again, it's hard to capture all the beauty in a single shot. By the end of this, we were buckled and couldn't wait to have some food and relax. After a quick stop at another beach, we went back to the hostel for a shower and to relax briefly. We then headed out for dinner for our final night in Split. Because it was the last night, I was keen to see Diocletians palace at night and wander quickly. It was quite cool to see it at night, but we were too tired to wander any longer and headed home for bed.Read more

  • TravelerThe Balkans
    Day 3

    Yacht time

    July 7, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    When this day began, we had little understanding of how it would end up. We had to catch a ferry to Hvar, which is known for being a party town, but our first night was infinitely better than we could have ever expected.

    Not much happened in the day. We just wandered around the town. But as the afternoon hit, we figured it was time for a few drinks at the hostel. We made friends with the receptionist at the hostel, and she recommended going and checking out Hula Hula, a supposed "beach party" north of the town. In the end, it was little more than a cramped deck. But this is where we ran into some people who happened to be from not only the same town as us on the Sunshine Coast but they were barely a few kms from where Jack and I grew up. We were chatting with them for a while when one of them said they were going to have shots with D-Lo. As they walked off, I said to Jack that the only D-Lo I know plays in the NBA, and so I assumed it was some DJ that was playing and nothing else. So Jack and I bought a beer for 10 euro - this would bring all the money we spent on the night. When the guys came back, they asked if we knew who Diangelo Russel was (D-Lo for short). This is when I had the realisation that I just missed the opportunity to have a shot with Diangelo Russel. I began to have my mind blown, shocked at how they were drinking with him. They said that their dad knew him, and he came to their private booth. I later found out the dad of the guys we were chatting to was CEO of a major tech company that sponsored the Golden State Warriors. The two had met when Diangelo Russel played there. I did, however, manage to run into him on my way to the bathroom and stole a sneaky photo with him. The guys then invited us to the private booth where we met the dad and the rest of the family. It was clear they were rich, but we didn't quite have a full grasp on the wealth until they invited us to the yacht. We drank with them for a while, and as we all began to leave, I was speaking to the dad, and this is when he mentioned they have a yacht and invited me on for a Bundaberg Rum. I of course didnt give 2 fucks about the Bundy Rum but i did care about living large on a yacht. I couldn't call Jack quick enough to tell him and get him to come back. He ran back to the club to meet us. We were then picked up on an inflatable dingy and ferried across to the yacht with about 10 or so people. They were mostly woman that could smell the money this family had. Even the boat ride over was insane, the sun was just setting and we were jetting off to a private yacht. Jack and I had already been shouted many, many drinks by the family and by the time we arrived on the yacht we were in awe. This kind of meant we forgot to take heaps of photos as we already looked out of place and didn't want to make it anymore obvious. We were given warm towels and a cocktail upon arrival but Greg (the dad with all the money) told the workers to pour a Bundy for myself and him. We then chatted over the rumbo, and that is how I learnt about his relationship with Diangelo Russel. The night went on, and Jack and I continued to get the millionaire treatment, offered drink after drink, rides on the boat, and whatever else tickled our fancy. Carpe Diem is a world famous club in Hvar, on a private island that you need to ferry across to for a cost (entry fee) of 40 euro. Greg had conveniently parked the yacht right out the front and said the workers would boat us across whenever we felt like it. Of course, we were having too much fun on the boat to go, but he paid 500 euro for a private booth that he never even ended up using. It would have been great to experience it, but being on the yacht was such a cool experience that I had to continue.

    We got a photo of the name of the yacht, and some later research told us that to rent it, it would cost you 125,000 euros or about $200,000 aud for a week. This includes 2 jetskis, a jacuzzi, and a team of 10 workers. Unbelievable day.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Balkans
    Day 4

    Blue Cave

    July 8, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Despite the day before being like a movie, we had booked an island and blue cave tour that we had to make it for. Although we drank hundreds of dollars worth of liquor the night before we woke up feeling not too bad. Perhaps our bodies were still in shock of the yacht lifestyle we lived for a night, or we were still drunk. Whatever it was, we jumped on our boat and headed towards a small island off the island of Vis. On the way we boated past the Agape Rose and Jack and I marvelled one last time in its beauty and once again questioned how the fuck we ended up there the night before. Knowing the family were going to Split that day we knew we would not see it again. Nonetheless, we had a great day ahead of us, and the first beach was fantastic and provided a great opportunity to relax quickly and recover a little bit more after the big night. While snorkelling, Jack had spotted an octopus that got quite a bit of attention from other tourists. It would have been cool to get a photo of it but my underwater phone cover was left at the apartment. I was slow moving in the morning and forgot it. We then headed to the green cave, which I once again couldn't take photos of because we had to swim out. It was cool though, you had to pay 12 euro but a small hole in the roof of the cave meant that a little bit of light shun in and turned the cave slightly green. Although no where near as cool as the blue cave you could at least swim in there. The blue cave was the next stop and this was phenomenal. It functions on a whole lot of natural coincidences that, when combined, create a spectacular natural light show. Firstly, it faces the perfect direction to ensure it always gets sunlight throughout the day (even changing colour from morning and afternoon). Secondly, the sand below the cave is white and is able to reflect the sunlight through the bottom of the ocean (carrying with it the blueness of the water). Finally, the caves shape ensures that although completely enclosed from the water surface, under the water, there is plenty of space for light to pass through. The tiny entrance that you boat through was man-made to ensure that people could enter the cave for tourism but left small to not interfere with the bright blue colour in the cave itself. The original entrance is nothing more than a small crevice on a random island in the middle of the Adriatic Sea. Why someone decided to crawl through it is beyond me, but the view they would have got once they went through would have felt other-worldly.

    After this, we made our way to the final stop of the tour, Parmizana. This was a really cool place to park up for a beer and some food. Despite the huge night, I had not yet eaten a single thing, and it was now approaching 3 p.m. As a result, we stopped for a quick feed and a snorkel. When we went got to the boat to collect the equipment, we started chatting with the 2 guys running the tour. Eventually, a few other captains from other boats had congregated onto our boat, and before we knew it, they were all smoking weed, despite the tour not yet being over. Despite needing to continue captaining our ship, these guys rolled the largest joint I've ever seen and punched through all of it. The guys were super chill and explained how they work in Bosnia throughout 9 months of the year, doing random jobs, and come to Croatia each summer to captain ships and party. It didn't sound like a bad setup at all. Eventually, everyone was back in the boat, and we began the short journey back to Hvar (Hoping our captain wasn't too stoned to steer the ship).

    Jack and I were itching to tell the guys at the hostel that the recommendation to go to Hula Hula last night paid off, and some. They were in disbelief that in one night in Hvar, we managed to get onto a yacht. We then proceeded to mention it as often as possible to all of the people I the hostel. Myself and some Canadian girls we met at the hostel decided to turn it into a drinking game, and any time Jack mentioned the word "yacht," we had to drink. Safe to say we were plastered by the time we decided to head out for town. It wasn't as exciting a night as the previous, but we still had a lot of fun with the Canadian girls.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Balkans
    Day 5

    Hilly Hvar

    July 9, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Despite having great luck in Hvar preciously, today was a relative calamity. Jack and I had decided we wanted to get mopeds and explore the island of Hvar rather than just the main town. However, because I had never used a moped, the place we had been recommended to rent them from said we couldn't borrow them. In retrospect, we should have just found somewhere else and lied, but we thought the electric bikes would be the next best option. We found somewhere to rent the bikes for cheap but after waiting for about an hour, with little sleep, we had already grown sick of the idea of cycling around all day. But eventually they did arrive and we cycled to the first location, which was the beach of Milne. This was not far from where we started, but with all the hills during the journey, we quickly figured out this was not a sustainable mode of travel. We spent some time at this beach and got a feed before cutting our losses and heading back to the main city of Hvar. On the way, we stopped by some of the other beaches around the city and parked up there until it was afternoon. We then handed back the bikes and went on our way. The owner was shocked at the little distance we ended up travelling, but we were too hungover for any more strenuous activity. This was more or less the end of the day, I caught up with the Canadians for another night while Jack started to get sick and so had an early night to try to recover.Read more

  • TravelerThe Balkans
    Day 6

    Another Travel Day

    July 10, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    This was an incredibly quiet day as we had to travel from Hvar to Dubrovnik on a 4 hour ferry. Having had another big night, I decided to spend the ferry sleeping as much as possible. I think I am getting better at travelling as I slept for most of the 4 hour ferry. It was very needed. When we arrived in Dubrovnik, we discovered the hotel would be way up the hillside. By the time we figured this out, it was far too short to taxi, so we trekked up hundreds of stairs to ensure we could drop our bags off. Although this was incredibly painful, the eventual views from the hotel made it well worth the time and effort.

    Other than this, we just got a feed and got ready for our big day tomorrow, in which we head to some waterfalls and Mostar.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Balkans
    Day 7

    Mostar

    July 11, 2023 in Bosnia and Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    As part of our tour to the Kravica Waterfalls, we spent part of the time in Mostar in Bosnia. Although I am keen to visit Bosnia eventually, the main appeal of the tour was to see the waterfalls. In the end, however, I enjoyed the time in Mostar more so than the waterfalls. The old town was incredible and was so interesting to walk through. The little streets and distinct change in culture were awesome to see. As part of the larger tour, we had a local tour guide show us around, and that was cool to get an inside idea of the towns history. I have a vague idea of the conflicts between the countries in the Bulkans, but getting a better idea through her dialogue was interesting. Seeing Mostar Bridge was incredible, too. It was enourmas, and people were paying to watch people jump off into the water. I was shocked to learn that Hairy had done the jump himself when he was in Mostar. The jump must be 25m, and I wouldn't have had the balls to do it. Nonetheless, it was so cool to wander through the town and look at the markets that sold heaps of cool, traditional Bosnia items. In the end I bought a Dzeko footballer jersey for 25 euro. It was incredibly cheap and is a nice momento from my time in Mostar. I hope I can come back to Bosnia, but now I have been to Mostar. The only other city I really have left to do is Sarajevo. Although I am very excited about it, it may be a bit out of the way to make my way back through and see it. Only time will tell. Jack and I got a big feed and headed back to the bus for the waterfalls part of the tour.

    When we arrived at the waterfalls we were disappointed to learn we only had about an hour to see it all. It was only one very large waterfall, so it makes sense why they didn't provide much more time than that, but it would have been good to lay around for a while. Either way, we rushed down and threw ourselves into the water. It was a very hot day, and we needed to properly cool off. That being said, the water was incredibly cold and took the breath out of you when you first entered the water, but you got used to it. We walked around and took some photos before another extended swim to cool off. Once this was done, it was time to head back to Dubrovnik. They took a different route home that included some incredible views of Bosnia. Unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of the bus, so getting a good photo was almost impossible, but it still made for a great bus trip.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Balkans
    Day 8

    Dubrovnik City Walls

    July 12, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today, we had to change accommodations to be a bit closer to the actual old town of Dubrovnik and, therefore, closer to all the happenings of the city. It is getting seriously hot now in Europe, and as such, carrying our bags through the streets of Dubrovnik took all our energy. The city is littered with hundreds of steep and long sets of stairs that you have to traverse to get to most places. Our accommodation was at the top of one of the hills, but eventually, we did make it. We then had to rush to our kayaking tour so we could cool down in the water. We had booked a kayaking and snorkelling tour around the city to see it from the sea.

    Eventually, we were off to the first snorkelling location. It was a little hidden beach within a Cove that you can only access via kayak. That being said, there were still plenty of people there in other tours. There wasn't much to see in the water, a part from a duck that was diving probably 10m underwater to hunt for fish in between rocks. He would be underwater for 30 seconds at a time. I would watch and see if he would catch anything. He did multiple times. Other than that, the fish weren't that spectacular, so Jack and I found a rock jump of maybe 7m and just jumped off that before it was time to go. To help out a father and daughter, Jack and I then swapped to the individual kayaks. This made the journey much harder, but we were much more capable than them to do it, so we obliged and swapped. We then circled around the island of Otok Lokrum, and the tour guide explained the history of Dubrovnik and the island itself. Apparently, the island is cursed, and he explained some of the stories of the people who owned the island and their mysterious deaths. In an ironic (or perhaps spooky) coincidence, the last owner of the island was Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austro-Hungary. In which his assassination in 1914 led to the first world war, and subsequent second world war. This, therefore, may be the most deadly curse ever to be placed. The story of the island is very interesting, and I was entrigued to go and have a look. However, we ran out of time in our journey. Once we made our way around the island (which took bout 2 hours of paddling), we headed back to the beach and thus finished our journey.

    I wanted to tour the city walls of Dubrovnik, but it was quite expensive, so Jack decided against it. Luckily, our hotel host recommended the Dubrovnik pass, which was the same price as the walls but included many other attractions. The Canadians we had met in Hvar were also in Dubrovnik at the same time as us, and so one of them joined me for the journey. This was one of the highlights of my trip, we went in the afternoon so it wasn't as hot and the views of the old town were incredible. Walking all the way around was about 2km and had bars throughout it for pit stops and drinks. There were so many amazing viewing spots of the old town, the city of Dubrovnik, and the ocean and surrounding islands. It was the highlight of my time in Dubrovnik.

    This was supposed to be one of my last nights with Jack before he went to Spain, so we decided we had to hit the town. He was still quite sick, but I forced him into a solid night. We had looked around for a decent place to have some drinks, but after overpaying at a few different bars, we figured we may as well find the clubs. After wandering through some shit and empty clubs for a while, we texted our hotel host for any recommendations, and he told us to try out Revelin. We got free entry because it was before midnight, and the place was absolutely going off. It was one of the biggest and coolest nightclubs I'd ever been to. It was in like an old underground subway thing. It was strange but very cool and meant there was plenty of space to dance and move around. By pure coincidence, the Canadian girl I had spent part of the day with was also at the club (or I have a stalker). So we spent a bit more of the night with them before Jack went home for bed. He was still quite sick, and clubbing isn't really his scene, but I was glad he came out for a bit, at least. Not long after Jack, we all decided it was time to head home and try and get a reasonable night's sleep, but I'm glad we got to experience the Dubrovnik nightlife before we left.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Balkans
    Day 9

    Dubrovnik Museums

    July 13, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Because we had bought the Dubrovnik tour, we had free entry into a bunch of different museums for 24 hours. The Canadian girl had asked to join me for some of the activities since we both got the pass at the same time. I figured it was better than doing it on my own, so we did a few of the activities while Jack went Ziplining. Jack had also decided to come to Montenegro with me so we would no longer be parting ways, which is good. The museums are pretty good, given they were basically free. If I had to pay, I would have been pretty disappointed. We visited a cultural and natural museum before going for a well needed lay down. This is most of the way the day was spent. I then said my goodbyes to the Canadian girl as we would be going our separate ways now and caught up with Jack

    When Jack finished ziplining, we found a nice little spot on some rocks overlooking the water, which was perfect for some sunset beers. After this, we had a booking to try some traditional Croatian food. This is something we try to do in each country, and although this was basically just a slow cooked roast, it was cooked in a traditional way. This was essentially in a cask iron pot in hot coals. But it was unbelievably tasty. It came at a pretty heavy cost, but it's part of travelling so we paid it (45 euro each!). This was it for the night, and we were very ready for bed after the big feed, and so we headed home for the night.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Balkans
    Day 10

    Bus Ride from Hell

    July 14, 2023 in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Today, we left Dubrovnik and Croatia and headed toward Montenegro. The obvious option to do this was to go by bus. But once our bus arrived at the station, it was clear it was going to be a shit show. It was chaos as people were trying to get on the bus, get their luggage on the bus, and get their tickets checked. This didn't even begin to hint at what we were in for throughout the bus trip, though. The buses aircon didn't work, and with a bus packed with people, in the middle of Croatian summer, it was literally a sauna. To make things worse, the Uber driver on the way to the bus station had told us that there was a multi hour wait at the border. Not even 10 minutes into the trip, I was literally dripping in sweat. Knowing we may be in this bus for 6 or 7 hours was literally scary. Jack and I had begun to look toward the cost of an Uber or taxi, but we figured that they couldn't go across borders. The next plan was to get through the border and then check again for the costs of a taxi. It was that bad. The air was thick and gross, and you could barely breathe. There were no windows that could be opened, the driver couldn't drive with the door open, and so we literally cooked. It was a borderline human rights violation. Eventually, we reached the first border check, and there was a clear queue of cars that matched what the taxi driver had told us this morning. The bus driver, who had also seemed to have had enough of the heat, proceeded to drive on the wrong side of the road for a couple of kilometres to skip the queue and get us through the checkpoint as soon as possible. When the bus stopped for the checkpoint, people were just about fighting to get off the bus as soon as possible. To make things worse, we had run out of water at this stage of the trip, and there was no toilet on the bus. To be fair, I think my body was void of any liquid even if I had to piss but we needed water to survive the trip. Luckily, a scandavian couple were nice enough to give us a frozen water bottle they had brought with them. Eventually, though, we had to get back on the torture chamber and continue the journey. At this stage, people were laying in the walkway of the bus to give themselves some space and cool them even a tiny amount. Eventually, though, we made it to Kotor, and the bus driver organised for us to get on a different bus for the last 40 minutes or so to Budva. This was a life saver, and eventually, we made it without dying from heat exhaustion.

    We met a French-Canadian along the way, who was staying in the old town of Budva. We dropped off our stuff and then walked her to her hostel. We then walked around the old town for a while, popping into shops and patting the hundreds of stray cats that line every alleyway. We then got a feed and went to the beach for the afternoon. We stayed there until it was dark and then headed back to the hostel for the night. As this was mostly a travel day, and I was focusing on not dying on the bus, I didn't get many photos, unfortunately.    Read more

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