It’s the beginning of January and our trip to Portugal feels like half an eternity ago. I’m ready for a vacation and since the planning is usually just as much fun as the vacation itself, we’re starting to plan our trip this summer. Not least because we are now tied to the vacations for the first time and it would probably be better to book campsites in advance instead of just driving off.
Our set-up is in place and the equipment is available, so the focus this time is on the destination of our journey. There is no shortage of ideas, Scandinavia, Corsica, Sardinia, all tempting, but in the end we decide on Croatia. The country that many friends and acquaintances rave about over and over again. Couldn’t we plan a route to the south of Croatia and take the ferry to Italy? Yes, you could, but unfortunately Christoph doesn’t feel like it. The idea of driving on to Albania or Montenegro is also quickly discarded, so we concentrate solely on Croatia.
It’s clear that we’ll set off again in the evening and drive through the night, which is the most relaxed way for us to cover long distances with the children. We are planning around 1,200 km for the first stage, which we know from experience is quite feasible with several driver changes. So it quickly becomes clear that we are looking for our first destination in the north of Croatia.
We choose Mon Perin, a 4-star campsite in Istria. Nothing seems to be missing here, so we book a pitch in the front row for 5 nights. The start has been made, we are reserving 2 more places before we have to wait for the summer.
It’s mid-June and we’re ready to go. In the meantime, our family has been enriched by a 15-week-old Maltese-Chitsu mix called Ozzy, who of course accompanies us on our journey.
Both the girls and our Ozzy did a great job on the trip and everyone was very excited when we arrived at the Mon Perin campsite. This is particularly impressive due to its well-kept appearance and the wonderful beach. We have a top category pitch, which is currently still low season due to the early vacations in North Rhine-Westphalia, so the price is just about right, which is why we treat ourselves to this luxury for 5 days.
6 days later – we spontaneously stayed there for an extra day. We continue south along the coast. Our destination is a detour to a place called Zadar, where my mother is currently vacationing with her sister and her family. We pitch our tent in the driveway of the vacation home and spend a lovely day there with the family. The four-hour drive there is annoying and drags on like chewing gum. Perhaps also because Croatia is not necessarily geographically suitable for a round trip and I’m constantly thinking that we’ll have to drive the same route back again at some point. So we don’t want to continue the four hours to Dubrovnik after all.
So it’s off to Primosten, about an hour’s drive further south to Camp Adriatic. Christoph’s friends, who are experienced holidaymakers in Croatia, are there and spontaneously organized a place for us near the beach.
The campsite is completely shaded, which seems like a blessing given the current temperatures. However, it is also quite crowded and offers very little privacy due to the cramped conditions. We spend two days mainly on the beach, where the water is the clearest I have ever seen.
We travel on to Tisno, 50 km away, to Olivia Green Camping, definitely a campsite or facility that is worth describing in detail in a separate article. We booked 5 nights there in advance, the last 3 of which we “upgraded” and moved into a 40 m² villa. The reason: the predicted Bura, a dreaded downslope wind that occurs on the Adriatic. We hadn’t heard of it before, but the early departure of some vacationers on the small campsite of the complex is not to be overlooked and we don’t want to stay in the roof tent during a storm either.
In the end, I would have imagined it to be worse, but after 10 days of living and sleeping on the bus, a real bed is really good. We take the opportunity to wash, clear out and clean the bus.
It is now ready to drive and we explore the area around Tisno. We particularly liked the village of Murter, which we visited twice. While the main reason the first time was a visit to the doctor for Christoph’s middle ear infection, the second time we followed the invitation of an Instagram acquaintance who was staying with her family on the boat in the harbor of Murter. It was a great afternoon with lovely people.
Our journey is slowly coming to an end. We spend the last 3 days in Mon Perin again to start our journey home from here. During our first stay, we had reserved a nice and shady pitch for the last few days. We enjoy the last few days, but are also looking forward to being home.
So we can’t wait any longer on the day of departure, leave after breakfast and arrive home tired but happy after 3 weeks of vacation.
Conclusion
I can definitely understand all the people who rave about Croatia. Endless coastlines, plenty of sunshine and well-kept campsites. We also enjoyed our trip to the full and will definitely be back.
