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Client Blog: The MacPhails & The Geddes Croatia Tour



There's nothing quite like travelling with family, especially when it's to mark a special occasion. Jonathan and his partner, Fiona, along with her parents, Sandy and Irene, embarked on a coastal tour of Croatia to celebrate Irene's 70th birthday.


In their own words, the trip “went like a dream” and I hear my organisational skills ensured they had a fantastic, worry-free, holiday.


I’ll let the group share all the details of their Croatian road trip...


 

We’ve travelled together on several occasions and have all visited Croatia before. With it being Irene's special birthday, we thought it would be a great opportunity to tour a little more.



We collected our car from Dubrovnik airport after a direct flight from Edinburgh. The flight was a little bouncy, but it soon cleared up.


We were offered a brand-new Jaguar but decided there wasn’t quite enough room in the boot for our cases, so Enterprise found us a cracking wee Skoda SUV in all of 10 minutes.


Hiring a car was great as it allowed us to please ourselves, travelling where and when we wanted.



It’s a 25-minute drive to the Berkley Hotel and we were delighted when both our rooms came with great balconies. The hotel was very nice, with a great breakfast and very helpful staff.


Dubrovnik is more like a city break than a beach stay and we spent two nights exploring.


We took a ride on the cable car, embarked on a 4x4 adventure, and enjoyed some great cafés and excellent restaurants. We also took a boat trip out to Kalamota Island, which we all really enjoyed.



Our next stop was Split and the drive along the coast was lovely. We stopped briefly in Ston to explore the salt pans and famous city walls.


The road to Ston passes through a section of Bosnia and Herzegovina for a distance of 5.5 miles and you’ll need to show your passports at the border. Luckily, the satnav worked a treat.



On arrival in Split, we checked into the Hotel Park. It was a lovely hotel and we’ll definitely be returning on our next visit. They offer really nice breakfasts, a good swimming pool and it’s located just across the road from the beach. The location was excellent!


Having been to Split twice before, we knew our way around and returned to some of our favourite restaurants, including Bokeria Kitchen & Wine and DeListes Restaurant.


Diocletian’s Palace is also very interesting with live music at one of the cafés in the square nightly.



Driving to Zadar allowed us to travel via Krka National Park, which is a fabulous place to visit and one of the highlights of our trip.


Zadar is a town of culture and history and we stayed in the centre of the Old Town at the Art Hotel Kalelarga. According to Jonathan, Gill “nailed it!”


The small boutique hotel was absolutely beautiful and probably the nicest hotel of the trip. The service was fantastic, with a terrific breakfast and really comfortable, modern rooms.


There were also plenty of good places to eat, along with lovely shops and a beautiful coastline nearby.



It was only a short trip from Zadar to Trogir where we spent our last night at the Aparthotel Bellevue.


Trogir is a lovely, small town with narrow streets and a harbour. It felt quite busy but with a nice, relaxed atmosphere.



The hotel wasn’t as spectacular as the places we’d previously stayed but it served a purpose, being only eight minutes from Split airport.


The weather was perfect for the week we were visiting, and we would definitely recommend a touring holiday for anyone wanting to visit Croatia.


Next time, we’ll be returning to the Dalmatian Coast, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.


Gillian, you have been wonderful. We cannot thank you enough and we look forward to our next holiday which will be organised again through you.


The MacPhails & The Geddes




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