How to travel through three countries along the Adriatic. No planes required
Italy->Croatia->Montenegro
Milan:
The first stop on our Tour de Adriatic was two days in Milan, famous for ultra luxe living in Northern Italy.
What to do:
Walk the terraces of the beautiful Milano Cathedral. This church is the largest in Italy, the third largest in Europe, and fourth largest in the world! The duomo was built on top of another basilica, dating to 335 A.D. This medieval gothic cathedral will wow all who enter. Make sure to take in the view of Milan from above.
Stroll Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II- Although Louis Vuitton and Versace are not exactly my style, we had a grande time walking through the stores along the ‘rich people promenade,’ as I like to call it.
Next was a train through the Romeo and Juliet town of Verona and on to Venice.
Venice:
Can you say romance. Venice is the real city of love- where wine flows, pasta keeps you happily full, and the canals are filled with serenading music.
What to do:
Try Venetian specialties: limoncello, pino grigio, peach Bellini, squid ink pasta, and to-go pasta
Experience the canals via gondola
Stroll Piazza San Marco- the central square in Venice. At night, this square is filled with piano players and singers and lots of roses
Explore the unique corners, book stores and masquerade shops
Ferry from Venice to Pula
Croatia
Croatia boasts the best beaches in the Adriatic and let me tell you, not one of them disappoint. Croatia is mainly a coastline from Slovenia to Montenegro. With this coastal atmosphere comes an amazing seafood selection and a laid back feel. While in Croatia, uber and buses make seeing this beautiful country highly affordable.
Pula:
Pula is a small town on the tip of the northern peninsula of Croatia. Pula not only has lush history but sea caves and grottos galore. There is an amphitheater at the center of the town, as a remnant from the Roman occupation some two thousand years ago. We visited an inlet beach just after the rain and were the only inhabitants, save a few pelicans. At nights, we would spend our time at Mijo’s family’s summer home- complete with a large orchard and veggie garden. The only downside was that we needed more time here!
Split:
Split, as well as being a beautiful, bustling, coastal city is the center of many possibilities- in the form of day trips. While here, we went to Plitvice National Park and canyoning in Cetina Gorge. We stayed about 20 minutes from Split, in Kaštel Lukšić and I can’t recommend doing this enough.
Kaštel Lukšić :
From the waterfront, we walked down a long, unmarked cobblestone road to arrive at our beautiful cottage. We rented a small stone fisherman’s cottage off of Airbnb. A little stone cottage in the heart of a little stone town. It was complete with a small loft bedroom, grecian blue shutters, and plenty of rakija (plum brandy) in little cork stopper glass flasks to accompany our late night ocean swims. This place was rental heaven and easily the most authentic Croatian experiences to be had.
What to do:
Cetina Gorge Canyoning. Canyoning is an exhilarating adventure and a mixture of rappelling through cliff sides, cliff jumping, cave spelunking, and floating through gorge pools:
Plitvice National Park:
Dubrovnik:
If you love Game of Thrones, Dubrovnik is a must, as the site location for King’s Landing. Even non-GOT fans have plenty to see between the sea caves, clear blue ocean, and old town fortress. People may tell you that Dubrovnik is the most expensive city in Croatia but it is far more reasonable than New York City so I’d say you’re still winning if you make your way here someday.
From Dubrovnik we took an uber to Montenegro, where we stayed a week. See our engagement story here.