QUICK VIEW:
The secret to budget travel is to keep your biggest costs to a minimum. Lodging, food and transport dominate travel budgets. Our strategy included a mix of slow travel, small village accommodations, public transport, and preparing most meals at home.
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Croatia is located on the Adriatic Sea at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe. This Blog is part of a travel series covering the Road Hackers' two month visit to the Dalmatian coastal region in 2022. Suhi Potok is a small coastal village of the Jesenice Settlement. It was our living location for the duration of our stay.
Our Croatia Dalmatian Experience
In 2022, our three-month visit to the Western Cape in South Africa began in February and lasted through April. We arrived mid to late summer and departed as the mid autumn temperatures started to cool.
Next on the travel itinerary was our long-awaited adventure to coastal Dalmatia. CPT(Cape Town)-IST(Istanbul)-ZAG(Zagreb)-SPU(Split) here we come! It was a very long travel, but luckily South Africa is in the same time zone as Croatia, so we were able to acclimate our inner clocks relatively easily.
This was our first visit to Croatia and the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. The trip had long been a bucket list destination. Ironically, our original introduction to Croatia came during the War of Independence in the early 1990s.
Global news coverage exposed the world to the beautiful Croatian coast for the first time. Croatia's 2013 entry into the European Union was also a huge catalyst in opening the opportunity to travelers for the first time.
Our coastal walk in Suhi Potok along the Adriatic Sea in Croatia
The Coastal Village of Suhi Potok, in the Settlement of Jesenice
When we scouted for the ideal accommodation, we wanted to find a smaller coastal town south of the major city of Split, with access to decent bus transportation. This location would be our base for all excursions for the duration of the stay.
The small coastal village of Suhi Potok fit the bill perfectly, with a population of just 2,089! The town is located about 11 miles/17 km south of Split in the settlement of Jessenice. From what we can discern, settlements are bigger than towns, but smaller than counties in Croatia.
The small coastal town of Suhi Potok would be our Croatian home base
Our travels do not include having our own personal car. Not knowing the area, we booked an Uber at the Split airport for about $45 when we first arrived.
A surcharge is added for smaller locations away from the cities, since you won't find a lot of local Uber service in the small towns. With a little trial and error during our stay, we figured out the local bus system. A ticket on most routes within 12 miles/20 km cost $2 each way. This strategy kept our transport costs very low.
We arrived to Croatia at the beginning of May intending to avoid the high temperatures, big summer crowds, and higher prices. May, June, and September are the best months for visiting here.
In mid-spring everything starts to come alive, and flowers were sprouting and blooming everywhere we looked. Most gardens had roses and lilies, and the mountainside was covered in wild flowers. Croatians love being surrounded by beauty! And we loved it too...
Lilies in a neighborhood garden
We found a cute little one-bedroom AirBnB apartment. Arriving just before the peak summer season, our monthly rate was very reasonable at $875. We were able to get a further discount given our stay of more than two months. Keep in mind that most AirBnB hosts give a 10-50% discount for stays of 28+ days.
The apartment was on the second floor in a private building owned by our landlords, Ante and Neda. This friendly couple only spoke Croatian, but luckily they arranged to have a neighbor across the street who spoke English there upon our arrival to translate answers to all of our questions.
Our home in Suhi Potok, showing the mountain range we saw from the back bedroom window
Ante and Neda live in Split, but were our neighbors in an adjacent apartment whenever they came to Suhi Potok. Their stays became increasingly more frequent towards the end of our stay, and once summer hits, they move to Suhi Potok full-time. They do rent out the other apartments in the building, but there were no other tenants during our stay since it was not officially tourist season yet.
The building was located high up on a hillside that looked out over the Adriatic Sea and the large island of Brac. Views from our balcony were tremendous!
We loved opening the curtains every morning, and kept them open all day to see what sights we would see. We watched as boats big and small cruised along the Adriatic. Views from the bedroom window in back were of the lush green hillside and the mountain range overlooking our neighborhood.
The view of the Adriatic Sea and the island of Brac from our balcony
The apartment was well equipped, and included in our monthly rent was everything we needed to make it our two-month home:
Numerous crops were growing in the gardens at our apartment
The area surrounding us was very green and natural. As we walked through our neighborhood, we noticed that many homes had extensive gardens. Colorful blooms brightened our path, and the ground was planted with healthy looking vegetation that showed assurance for an abundance of varied crops. Our Croatian abode was no exception.
Ante was an avid gardener, cultivating every square inch of green space on his property. His gardens were loaded with many prolific rose bushes, flowers, and even one cacti that flowered like we had never seen before (which is saying something having lived in Arizona for over ten years!).
The giant flowers on this cactus in Ante's garden rivaled any we had seen in the Arizona desert
Vegetables and herbs were abundant: tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, peas, artichokes, zucchini, pumpkins, spinach, lettuce, onions, basil, lavender, and rosemary. Grape vines latched on to fences, trellises, and a wire patchwork over the parking area, promising shade from the later summer sun. Olive, fig, cherry, and pomegranate trees held buds for fruit in due time.
Space comes at a premium, so much of Ante's time and effort was initially spent setting up scaffolding and tying up the vegetables and vines as they grew, as well as setting up an irrigation system. It was quite an operation, and one he had clearly developed over time!
Ante spent a lot of time setting up garden stakes early in the growing season
Ante and Neda were very generous with their harvest. Our first introduction was being presented with a yellow rose upon our arrival. We were then given periodic deliveries at our doorstep of lettuce, spinach, basil, and near the end of our stay when they came to fruition--zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes.
We also regularly picked a small bouquet of flowers for our table, and helped ourselves to some rosemary for roasting with potatoes and vegetables, knowing our farmer was happy to share.
The gardens were an unexpected bonus to our living space. We often wandered through the beds to check on the growing progress of each area, and were surprised at how quickly things changed under the warm--and increasingly hot--Croatian sun.
Sitting at the shaded picnic table looking out at the Adriatic with a light breeze blowing was a peaceful and memorable treat...
The outdoor fireplace with shaded picnic area near the gardens was a peaceful spot with views of the Adriatic
The abundance produced by most of the home gardens no doubt exceeds what these families can consume. Apparently, families mostly grow for their own consumption and supplying produce for their extended families. Some of the produce is canned and stored for use during the colder months.
Larger gardens supply fruit and vegetables for the farmer's markets across the region, like the Pazar in Split. It appears that local farmers have a table at the market to sell their yield.
Vegetables are extremely cheap in Croatia: onions at $0.10 each, lemons at $0.25 each, eggplants at $0.40 each, zucchini at $0.20 each, and small cabbages at $0.50 each.
An abundance of fresh fruit and veg are readily available at affordable prices
There were two ways to reach the Adriatic Sea from our apartment. Our preferred route down was to take the longer, more gradual route that wound down through the neighborhood. Passing the homes and gardens was a peek into everyday life, and we loved feeling part of the local activity.
The alternative, and our preferred route for returning home, was a steep set of 173 concrete stairs. The direct path down toward the sea, and back up to home sweet home, was a rugged climb either way.
One section of the hike was shaded by a massive fig tree, and we felt fortunate to have this shortcut, despite its challenging gradient. Our regular bus stop was located directly at the base of the steps, so we navigated them pretty regularly.
The steep climb back home in the shade of a fig tree
Because we chose to not have a car, we had to figure out how to manage grocery shopping. So that we could have a small base of essentials on our first day, Ante was kind enough to drive us to a grocery store called Tommy's, which tends to locate in areas with bigger population.
A few days later, the English speaking neighbor and her husband generously drove us to find electrical adaptors and to do a more substantial shop in Omis, a larger adjacent town.
Going forward, we were on our own. The supermarket chain Studenac is available just about everywhere, ranging from smaller local outlets to larger full-fledged supermarkets.
Interestingly, the prices at the smaller Studenac outlets are the same as the prices charged at their larger locations. We found two great stores within walking distance, and they became our go-to spots.
One of them was a little larger, with more product options to choose from. The other was adequate for most of our needs, and was run by an English speaking Croatian woman named Romana. She was very helpful, and her friendly and personable attitude made this our preferred stop unless we needed something she didn't carry.
Romana with Tricia at our local Studenac grocery store
Speaking of carrying, for every shopping trip we each brought a backpack that we would use to bag our groceries. This meant buying only what would fit in the packs, and shopping more frequently than we were used to in the States. The packs were usually fully loaded, and rather heavy.
We would walk along the side of the road to our shortcut...and climb the 173 steps to the top. The up climb is of course more challenging than the downhill, and even more so with the load on our backs. Once the stairs were finished, we weren't done yet! We still had to climb up the steep road to our building, then three flights of stairs to the apartment.
We regarded this trek as our exercise workout, and a way of keeping us healthy. Change your perspective, and you change how you engage life!
Shopping was an adventure in the beginning. Besides Romana, almost everyone else we encountered spoke only Croatian. We should have anticipated that fewer people would speak English in the smaller Croatian towns. While English is widely spoken in the cities, we naively thought this would carry through to the smaller tourist towns along the coast.
Shopping was a challenge, since most staff didn't speak English, and product labels were only in Croatian
The language did present real difficulties at first, but it didn't take long to figure out the necessary work-arounds to become quite functional. We downloaded a Croatian language app and learned many basic words and phrases.
The Google Translate app was invaluable for live conversations, and the camera function was incredible for scanning signs and labels. This was most helpful with shopping and directions.
Then there were a number of product differences we discovered. Egg cartons came in a box of 10 instead of 12. The descriptors used for cheese and yogurt products were problematic at times. What looked like feta turned out to be a light yogurt spread.
A Google translation actually identified fish sauce as a component in our blueberry juice! Needless to say, this wasn't accurate.
Croatian eggs are often sold in packs of ten
Some supermarkets require that you weigh and price tag your own vegetables and fruit. The check-out ladies seemed a little frustrated that we did not know this when we showed up at the register without the required prices. They brought us back to the vegetable area and used hand signals to show us how to operate the self-service scale and tag machine. We became pros!
Our apartment location on the hillside meant most of the village lay below us. As we walked through the neighborhood, it was apparent that a transformation was happening. We found an eclectic mix of old world and ultra modern homes.
The newer stock of homes built over the last 15 years are beginning to change the look of the village. New home designs seem to favor the clean, simple lines made famous by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Modern homes are scattered among the older traditional buildings in the neighborhood
Croatia's entry into the European Union in 2013 was a game changer for the coast. Croatia's stunning coastline is being discovered by Europeans who are priced out of their own markets back home.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, this trend will likely only accelerate in the coming years. We just hope that the integrity of the Croatian culture survives, and thrives, through this transition.
When heading to restaurants and supermarkets, we chose to cross the busy street at the bottom of the village neighborhoods and take the longer, slower, pathway along the crushed-rock beaches.
Our treks along the unspoiled coastline took us past inlet after inlet of clear blue water, with such vibrant colors that they seemed almost unreal at times.
Our walks along the natural beaches, with crystal clear water and a stunning backdrop
Opportunities for sunbathing or dipping in the pristine water were innumerable, as every step presented an inviting spot to lay down a towel and enjoy the sea. The water is still a little cool in May, so swimming really starts in early June. Then the summer heat makes the water temperature feel refreshing.
There's hardly anyone around through the end of the third week in May, and for the most part, we had the area to ourselves. In some ways, it felt like getting to live on a beautiful movie set just before filming starts.
As we strolled up and down the shoreline, we saw moorings for hundreds of boats and yachts. It seems that some of the big excursion operations store their boats in the smaller towns, where it's likely much cheaper. The yachts range in size and design, and the variety increased significantly as we got deeper into June.
Boats moored along the coastline in Suhi Potok and Dugi Rat
The stretch of water between Suhi Potok and the Island of Brac has a steady stream of ferries, smaller cruise ships, excursion boats, and yachts of all sizes. Watching the action on the water from our balcony was one of our favorite pastimes. We were so spoiled!
Suhi Potok is a quaint little village, but does not have much in the way of restaurants. We had to head to our neighboring towns of Mali Rat and Dugi Rat, which we walked to on our coastal route path.
We mostly cook all of our own meals at home, but do enjoy checking out a local restaurant for its cultural vibe. Arriving in early May meant most of the restaurants didn't open until early June.
On our walks, we were looking for a local restaurant and happened upon Konoba Poseijdon, opening soon
On one of our walks, we discovered Konoba (Croatian for tavern or restaurant) Poseijdon. Servers there spoke English, and we were told they would be opening the following week--one of the few early-season restaurants to open in late May. We pounced on the opportunity, and returned several days later.
We heard their claim to fame was their homemade pizza. The family's grandmother makes the dough from scratch daily, and the grandson creates the pie from there. We tried their vegetarian 12-inch/30 cm pizza, and it did not disappoint! The crust was perfectly crafted.
As the only patrons at lunch, we enjoyed our own private restaurant a few yards from the sea. What a treat! Pizza and mixed salad for two, including tip, cost a total of $17.
A seaside lunch at Konoba Posejdon
Later when the weather really heated up, we used the shaded seating at Posejdon as our base for Rainman to have a cup of coffee and use their free wifi while Tricia swam. The sea was crystal clear with gentle waves, surprisingly cold, and quickly deep not far from shore.
It was easy to spot small fish using the face mask we brought for just such an opportunity. The beautiful scenery added to the perfect sense of paradise.
A walk a little further up the coast toward Omis we found another favorite restaurant called Zazu. Here we met one of the owners, Pjerino (who spoke English quite well), and we became quick friendly acquaintances. His fiancé is the chef, and together they have created a special dining experience.
Zazu, a chic restaurant with a fantastic location
Zazu is a trendy establishment on a small peninsula that juts out into the sea, and the seating area provides a gorgeous view. Making the spot even more special, a playful pod of dolphins are frequent visitors. The prices are decidedly more expensive than Poseijdon, but the seaside ambience and quality of the menu offerings is outstanding.
Zazu's owners are meticulous in designing every element of the restaurant experience, from ingredients and menu items to decor and furniture. They pour their heart and soul into their place and research everything.
We ordered gourmet burgers (a veggie and a double beef pattie) and a huge serving of sweet potato fries. Each plate was beautifully presented and came with the traditional chef's signature swirl. Food, drinks, and tip came to a total of about $28.
Scrumptious gourmet burgers and sweet potato fries, served with a beautiful sea view at Zazu
One note: Both restaurants accepted credit cards, but the Croatian system does not allow for the tip to be included on the card. Tips are cash only, so we made sure to have some with us whenever we were heading out to partake.
We have no regrets choosing Suhi Potok as our Croatian base. The smaller village forced us to immerse more fully in the language and culture than we might have if we'd taken a place in Split.
In some ways, one could say we had the best of all worlds--an authentic embedded Croatian experience with easy access to all of the more commercial sights whenever we wanted to explore ... and explore we did!
Living in a small village allowed us to immerse ourselves in the culture, and visit the cities
