Reset search
Nix European Drift
  • Nix Drones
Current
  • Nix Drones

Nix European Drift

🚐 NIX EUROPEAN DRIFT – MAY 2026
Solo run across Europe in Vanilla.
France ➝ Swiss Alps ➝ Tuscany ➝ Croatia coast ➝ Bosnia & beyond.
Mountains, coastlines, quiet stops and total freedom.
No schedule… just the open road. 🌍✨ Read more
FollowInsightsInsightsCalendarCalendarPhotosPhotosShareShareBucket list
InsightsCalendarPhotos
  • Nix DronesNix European DriftTraveler

    Onwards

    May 18 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    🚐 The Croatian coast road continues… 🇭🇷🌊

    And honestly, I still haven’t seen half of Croatia yet.

    Next comes the long drive south:
    Zadar → Split → Dubrovnik.

    Which basically means more hours of Vanilla gliding along roads that seem to have been designed specifically for campervans, road trips and dramatic drone footage.

    One minute you’re winding around rocky mountainsides…
    the next the Adriatic suddenly appears beside you looking completely ridiculous in the sunshine.

    The rhythm out here is different too.

    No rushing.
    No urgency.
    Just:
    🚐 driving
    🌊 stopping for views
    ☕ random coffee breaks
    🍕 seaside food
    🍺 suspiciously cheap lager
    📸 “just one more photo” every 10 minutes

    The dangerous thing about Croatia is that every time you think:
    “Right… definitely moving on tomorrow…”

    …it casually produces another harbour, another sunset or another waterfront bar and completely ruins your plans.

    Vanilla absolutely belongs here though.

    Windows down.
    Music on.
    Warm Adriatic air coming through the cab.

    It’s less like travelling now…

    and more like drifting through a moving postcard. 🚐✨

    :    Read more

  • Nix DronesNix European DriftTraveler

    Grad Opatija

    May 17 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    The Lungomare in Croatia is absolutely different class. 🇭🇷🚶‍♂️🌊

    Today I wandered along the famous coastal path between Ika and Lovran, following the old Austro-Hungarian promenade that hugs the Adriatic like it was designed by someone who really understood holidays. Palm trees, little harbours, grand old villas, mountain backdrops and water so clear it almost doesn’t look real.

    The path itself is brilliant. Proper old-school seaside strolling territory. Couples walking hand in hand, old blokes fishing off rocks, tiny boats bobbing around in the coves and the occasional heroic Speedo performance from gentlemen who stopped caring about public opinion sometime around 1987. Admirable really.

    Vanilla is loving Croatia too. Country number six so far on the NIX European Drift Tour and she’s still running beautifully after nearly 2,000 miles. 🚐🧡

    There’s something about this stretch of coastline that just slows everything down in the best possible way. Warm sea air, the sound of the Adriatic gently rolling onto the rocks, and little hidden spots everywhere you look. One of those days where you realise this trip was absolutely worth doing.

    Written with the assistance of AI… and a very happy wander along the Adriatic.     Read more

  • Nix DronesNix European DriftTraveler

    Grad Opatija

    May 16 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    🚐🇭🇷 FIND PENGUINS ENTRY — ADRIATIC ECONOMICS 🇭🇷🚐

    Tonight I’m parked up in Ičići on the stunning Adriatic Sea and I’ve accidentally become an international financial analyst. 😂

    There’s a campsite I used to use between Kingston upon Hull and Beverley when visiting the kids. Lovely owners and ideal for family visits.

    But financially… Croatia is absolutely bodying Britain at the moment.

    UK version:
    💷 £25 a night
    ⚡ No toilets
    ⚡ No showers
    ⚡ Underneath enough electricity cables to recharge a Tesla by standing outside
    🍺 Nearly £6 for ONE pint

    Croatia version:
    🇭🇷 €25 a night
    🚿 Heated shower blocks
    🚿 Spotless toilets
    ⚡ EHU included
    🌅 Adriatic sunset included free of charge
    🍺 €4 for ONE ENTIRE LITRE OF BEER

    Now for the mathematics…

    At today’s exchange rate:
    💶 €25 = about £21.30

    So Croatia is actually CHEAPER than the pylon field near Hull. 🤣

    Beer maths gets even worse…

    🇬🇧 Hull:
    £6 a pint = roughly £10.56 per litre

    🇭🇷 Croatia:
    €4 a litre = about £3.40 per litre

    Meaning UK pub beer is over THREE TIMES the price. 😂

    In Britain:
    “Would sir like another pint?”

    In Croatia:
    “Would sir like an entire reservoir of lager while overlooking the Adriatic for the price of half a sandwich meal deal?”

    Honestly this whole trip is starting to feel like I’ve discovered a secret cheat code for life.

    🍺
    :::    Read more

  • Nix DronesNix European DriftTraveler

    Grad Opatija

    May 16 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Somewhere in Croatia I stumbled across what can only be described as the final boss of campervans. 🚛🌍

    This is a proper expedition overland truck — the sort of machine built for crossing deserts, mountain ranges and countries most people can’t even point to on a map. Based on a heavy-duty 4x4 truck chassis, these rolling apartments are designed to live completely off-grid for weeks at a time.

    Huge ground clearance, off-road tyres, external storage lockers, integrated awning, bike rack, insulated habitation box… and probably enough diesel, water and electrical power onboard to survive the apocalypse while still making an espresso. ☕⚡

    You can immediately see the engineering mindset behind it. Everything is square, practical, durable and easy to repair. No unnecessary curves. No chrome nonsense. Just pure function. It looks ready to drive straight from the Adriatic coast into the Alps without even changing gear.

    As impressive as it is though, there’s something reassuring about Vanilla being slightly more civilised. This thing looks like it could comfortably invade Belgium by teatime. 😅

    Still… standing next to it makes you start mentally checking the lottery numbers.    Read more

  • Nix DronesNix European DriftTraveler

    Grad Opatija

    May 16 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Tonight’s Croatian dinner: Orada (sea bream) with pomme frites and a side salad, looking out over the Adriatic. 🐟🌊

    €20 — about £17.45 — which feels pretty decent for fresh fish, sea air, and me pretending I’m sophisticated rather than just a hungry bloke in a campervan somewhere on the Croatian coast. 🚐Read more

  • Nix DronesNix European DriftTraveler

    Grad Opatija

    May 16 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Somewhere on the Adriatic coast, I appear to have stumbled across what can only be described as Eastern Europe’s answer to the Tate Modern. 🤣

    A fenced-off sculpture garden proudly titled “Pissing Art” features three rather enthusiastic bronze figures mid-performance, all outside what looks like a perfectly normal family house. No ticket office. No velvet ropes. Just absolute commitment to the concept.

    One of those moments on this trip where you slow the van down, do a double take, and immediately think: “Yep… I’m definitely not in Stafford anymore.” 🚐🌍    Read more

  • Nix DronesNix European DriftTraveler
    1Bar Gloria

    Grad Opatija

    May 16 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
  • Nix DronesNix European DriftTraveler

    Grad Opatija

    May 16 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Storm clouds hanging over the Adriatic tonight as I arrived in Grad Opatija 🌧️🇭🇷
    Red rooftops, tiny marinas and misty mountains everywhere you look. The weather might look dramatic, but somehow it just makes the whole place feel even more cinematic. One of those views where you stop for five minutes… and end up staring at it for half an hour with a coffee in hand. 🚐☕️Read more

  • Nix DronesNix European DriftTraveler

    Grad Opatija

    May 16 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Arrived at Camping Opatija on the Croatian Adriatic coast 🇭🇷🚐

    What a location this is. Mountains behind me, the Adriatic just down the hill and that lovely warm Mediterranean atmosphere everywhere you look. Palm trees, sea air and little coastal towns scattered along the shoreline 🌊

    The drive here was superb too — Italy into Slovenia and then into Croatia with dramatic tunnels, rocky hillsides and endless sea views appearing around the corners.

    This feels like the point where the trip properly changes from “European road trip” into full Adriatic adventure mode heading south towards Split and Dubrovnik ✨

    :    Read more

  • Nix DronesNix European DriftTraveler

    Grad Opatija

    May 16 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Found out I need one of these in Croatia. The reception have loaned me one.

    One of those little campervan lessons they never tell you about before you set off across Europe… Croatia uses different campsite electric hook-up sockets to a lot of the ones back home. 🇭🇷⚡🚐

    After arriving at Camping Opatija in the rain looking slightly like a damp wandering nomad, I discovered my trusty hookup lead wasn’t going to fit. Thankfully the reception took pity on the soggy Englishman and loaned me this adapter. Absolute lifesavers. 😂

    Not exactly the glamorous side of vanlife, but without this little blue gadget there’d have been no heating, no coffee, no fridge… and possibly no morale either. The glamorous Adriatic road trip temporarily came down to one man emotionally attached to a plug adaptor.    Read more

  • Nix DronesNix European DriftTraveler

    Brdce

    May 16 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Italy/Slovenia Border

    Brdcey. 🇸🇮➡️🇭🇷

    One minute I was cruising through Slovenia with immaculate roads, tidy little villages and forests everywhere… the next I was rolling into Croatia without even slowing down properly. No passport checks, no drama, just a tiny sign at the roadside and suddenly another country added to the trip. Europe is brilliant for that. 🚐

    It’s still slightly surreal driving a campervan from Stafford all the way to the Adriatic and casually crossing borders like you’re popping from Stafford into Cannock. The scenery around here is superb too — green hills, red-roofed houses, flashes of blue sea appearing in the distance and roads that just seem made for wandering.

    After nearly 1800 miles, Vanilla is now officially in Croatia and looking very pleased with herself. 🇭🇷☀️    Read more

  • 2026© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Help Center
  • Legal notice