So you like to dig your toes in the sand and sun bath. You like to build sandcastles and watch the waves come in. If your going to Croatia, lower your expectations (lol). While Croatia has many beaches, being on the edge of the Adriatic sea will be a bit rocky. Stony beaches don’t have to be a bad thing, and trust me, they get just as crowded as the sand ones!
Before going to any place, I do tons (and it increases with every adventure) of research, so I’m sharing those tips with you luvs to save you all some time. So, big heads up; there are beaches, but they are stony beaches, so bringing along a pair of water shoes might just be a move you won’t regret. You can walk on them without it, although the DO get HOT, but the ones in the water have been smoothed and are cool. They can be slippery in some places. I purchased an affordable pair off Amazon, but wherever you decide to buy it, it’s always a good option to have.
You CAN find a sandy beach, but if you like to explore and wander, more than likely there will be concrete and rocks, so heads up. If you stay at hotels, off course they will have pools to swim in, but what’s the point of being in the Mediterranean and not getting a splash of salt water, and BOY is it salty!
At just about every beach, there will still be people lounging in the rocky towel beds, but once you adjust your mind, you’ll see that it isn’t much different. The sun still bakes you, and the tan still pops. There are caves to swim in (I’m still working on my swimming skill) and cliffs to jump off of. Fun fact: I jumped off my FIRST cliff, knowing damn well I couldn’t swim, but ya girl is just daring like that. I screamed all the way down, but guess what? I did it! (lol)
The locals are super friendly, everybody is willing to help you get places and give directions to get to both popular spots for tourist as well as locals. They will tell you “you can ask anybody” because friendliness is a way of life. I actually find that the more I explore, the more I realize how, so many other cultures belief in warmth, sharing, and helping one another.
I met a local who broke her feet jumping into the ocean, and here I was not knowing how to swim, but we held each others hands and jumped feet first. There was a surge of water that went into my nose, I couldn’t see anything, there were waves pushing me in either direction and all I could see was the cliff I jumped from with my eyes irritated from the salt water. I tried to keep myself alive by staying calm, took a deep breath and got to the nearest stone I could and was shocked and my life risking decision! Sometimes you have to grab life and yourself by the balls and just do it!!
The rock you see me standing on in the pics below was NOT the rock I jumped off of, but I did want to show how the stoned and pebbles beaches look surround by rocks and cave. Each beach has it’s own unique beauty to offer. This one offered food, drinks, and beach chairs and was one of the local ones I was directed to. As I will emphasize, IT WAS A TREK!!
There were HUNDREDS of steps to get down to this beach, and looking at my own photo, I don’t think it does any justice with showing how serious that trek is! Getting to the bottom, and being in Dubrovnick, I knew how safe it was, so I gave my phone to the waitor to charge while I was laying out. I got ALL the way back up to the top (which still included hill climbs to get back to the main road smh lol ) and realized I left my phone on the charger down at the restaurant!! Can you imagine that feeling after burning my quads to get back up top.
These pictures with me smiling in my pink to was before my walk back down. I’m smiling because the girls in front of me cheered me up and said they would talk my picture and rest with me before I had to struggle walk back down. Even in the midst of what would seem to be defeating moments a change in attitude can push your further than you’d normally go.
I was traveling solo, so there was nobody to send back down to get it, BUT there was also nobody to complain to, so I picked myself back up and made my way back down AND up and climbed that hill back to main road to get back to my place.
When planning where to stay I research proximity to where I want to be, to make sure it’s easily accessible distance wise, the one catch in Dubrovick is that things aren’t far, but you will have some sort of stairs, hills, or mountains to climb up that can wind you. So to all my luvs in my ig DM’s (@1sweetkoko) pls pack your sneakers and be ready to push your limits.
As always, I included pics so you can transport there mentally, but I want to put the “not so glamorous” parts as well, so you can mentally prepare and fully enjoy your vacation/baecation. I carve out time daily to make myself available in my DM’s or you can leave a message here publicly for the people who may have the same questions, and I’ll answer them in our little community here as well.
Take some time to dream today, it’s the only way they can come true. #1luv
