Hvar, Rijeka, Zadar (Croatia) and Guithion (Gr)

[Presto2]

Hi,

 

Ok so it is months before we set sail on our next cruise, but half the fun is the planning so I am now in my 'research where we are going and what we are going to do' mode

 

Had never heard of the ports above apart from a quick check on Google before we booked.  (Apologies if the spellings are incorrect)

 

Just wondering if any of you have been to any of them and if you can recommend what we can do for a good day out.

(We are happy to do the ship's tours or DIY)

 

Thanks everyone

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by Presto2

[jeanlyon]

Hvar is just a small island.  Nice to wander around.  No need for a tour there.

 

Rijeka is quite a big town.  Again, I would go ashore and explore.

 

We are going to Gythion next October, so looking forward to that.  Some info here.  https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/cruiseto/cruiseitineraries.cfm?portofcall=495

 

We never do ships tours, always prefer to DIY.

[Kentish Lass]

We went to Hvar on a small yacht cruise and were lucky to moor in the town, I think larger ships require a tender. Hvar lovely to walk around. There is a castle that can be walked too but quite a climb. We didn’t do that as we had a guided tour around the town and as it was very hot we decided to give it a miss. We thought there was  a real buzz about the place.  Zadar we visited this year whilst on Oceana, shuttle bus into town, which dropped us of by the “sea organ”. Easy walk into the centre, it was a Saturday so very busy with locals. We just walked around all the side streets and the little inner harbour, along the prom and then sat and listened to the sea organ.  It is a walled town and if you go outside the walls there is a bridge across to the more modern town with shops etc. 

Sorry can’t help with the Greek ports. 

Edited December 30, 2019 by Kentish Lass

[Monorail Orange]

As others have already said, Hvar is a lovely spot. Its nicknamed the Lavendar Isle so if you like that plant/herb, you'll find plenty of things to buy!

 

And its a nice place to have a relaxing meander around - if that's your thing.

Edited December 30, 2019 by Monorail Orange

[dalesmouse]

Went to Zadar  in August 2019 .Used cruise shuttle bus to get into city which dropped us  by the sea organ.We did a small group kayak you which we would thoroughly recommend details below.

https://www.kayaktours-croatia.com/tours/zadar-kayak-tour

We jumped an Uber to the start point which took about 15mins.The folks at the kayak company recommended using Uber as taxi companies had been over charging .Turned out to be the case as a family who were kayaking with us had been charged substantially more than us for same trip in taxi.Zadar is nice but not much to fill a whole day ,glad we took the kayak option

[Presto2]

6 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

Hvar is just a small island.  Nice to wander around.  No need for a tour there.

 

Rijeka is quite a big town.  Again, I would go ashore and explore.

 

We are going to Gythion next October, so looking forward to that.  Some info here.  https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/cruiseto/cruiseitineraries.cfm?portofcall=495

 

We never do ships tours, always prefer to DIY.

 

Many thanks :-)

[Presto2]

5 hours ago, Kentish Lass said:

We went to Hvar on a small yacht cruise and were lucky to moor in the town, I think larger ships require a tender. Hvar lovely to walk around. There is a castle that can be walked too but quite a climb. We didn’t do that as we had a guided tour around the town and as it was very hot we decided to give it a miss. We thought there was  a real buzz about the place.  Zadar we visited this year whilst on Oceana, shuttle bus into town, which dropped us of by the “sea organ”. Easy walk into the centre, it was a Saturday so very busy with locals. We just walked around all the side streets and the little inner harbour, along the prom and then sat and listened to the sea organ.  It is a walled town and if you go outside the walls there is a bridge across to the more modern town with shops etc. 

Sorry can’t help with the Greek ports. 

 

Thanks, that sounds great. The 'sea organ' sounds different so will have to google that one ;-)

Have to say, Zadar sounds just our thing

[Presto2]

1 hour ago, Monorail Orange said:

As others have already said, Hvar is a lovely spot. Its nicknamed the Lavendar Isle so if you like that plant/herb, you'll find plenty of things to buy!

 

And its a nice place to have a relaxing meander around - if that's your thing.

 

This made me laugh - Lavendar makes hubby sneeze and gives him a headache so it looks like I'm off on my own that day. I love lavender so an excuse to buy some --- as long as hubby wears a face mask

[jimgri]

I've been to Hvar but not Rijeka or Zadar. Hvar is delightful and a great place to meander. Here are a few photos to get you in the mood...

[ann141]

10 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

Hvar is just a small island.  Nice to wander around.  No need for a tour there.

 

Rijeka is quite a big town.  Again, I would go ashore and explore.

 

We are going to Gythion next October, so looking forward to that.  Some info here.  https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/cruiseto/cruiseitineraries.cfm?portofcall=495

 

We never do ships tours, always prefer to DIY.

Thank you for the useful link.Think we are probably going on the same cruise as you in October on Arcadia??

[jeanlyon]

Yes, really looking forward to being back in Greece.  Got Arcadia in April before that.

[scarlet ohara]

A word of warning for Hvar. It is a lovely place to wander but we found hardly anywhere took euros last summer. It was our only stop in Croatia so we thought we would manage with euros and plastic rather than getting kuna.  We walked up to the castle but couldn’t get in as it was cash - in local currency - only. Their card machine was broken!! So we walked back down again! Lovely views though. There is a lovely boardwalk round the harbour which is flat but otherwise a lot of steps, and rough ground up to the castle so probably not suitable if limited mobility.

[Presto2]

On ‎12‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 2:51 PM, scarlet ohara said:

A word of warning for Hvar. It is a lovely place to wander but we found hardly anywhere took euros last summer. It was our only stop in Croatia so we thought we would manage with euros and plastic rather than getting kuna.  We walked up to the castle but couldn’t get in as it was cash - in local currency - only. Their card machine was broken!! So we walked back down again! Lovely views though. There is a lovely boardwalk round the harbour which is flat but otherwise a lot of steps, and rough ground up to the castle so probably not suitable if limited mobility.

 

Thanks, that is really useful. I think we have some Kuna left from a visit to Dubrovnik last summer, so they will come in useful after all :-)

[comcox]

17 hours ago, Presto2 said:

 

Thanks, that is really useful. I think we have some Kuna left from a visit to Dubrovnik last summer, so they will come in useful after all 🙂

I found even in touristy Dubrovnik there were places that only took Kuna so I was glad I had gotten some in advance.