Croatia Itinerary
From Paris, we flew to Croatia. Two weeks here turned out to be a wonderful balance of exploring, learning, and settling into a slower rhythm of life on the road. Between ancient cities and crystal-clear water, we found that homeschooling here was surprisingly easy.
Croatia is beautiful, its people are warm and welcoming, and there was no shortage of ways to turn our days of exploring into lessons. Here’s how we spent our weeks & how Croatia became our classroom along the way.
Day 1: Plitvice Lakes
At the airport in Zagreb, we picked up our car and drove out to the Plitvice Lakes area. We only stayed the night there, but Apartmani Burić was so lovely, I would have loved to stay longer. We ate the best meal of our time in Croatia here, overlooking the beautiful mountains.
Homeschooling: late afternoon studies to fit in math practice before dinner
Day 2: Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes: What a wonderful day! Our hosts made us a delicious breakfast before sending us off to Plitvice Lakes for the day. Per the advice of our host, we got some inside information about another way into the park away from the bus crowds. It felt like we had the park to ourselves as we looked down on the water from viewing points unreachable from below. Then we hiked down into the park and walked along the boardwalks past the most beautiful crystal-clear, green-blue water. Visiting Plitvice Lakes alone was worth our trip to Croatia. Absolutely gorgeous!
Homeschooling: No formal schooling.
Day 3: Split
Split, Croatia is our home for the next week. Our apartment is steps from the only sandy beach, Bačvice Beach and a 10-minute walk from the crowds of Old Town. Our hope is that this will give us a touch of everything: history, culture, beach life and space to work on the girls’ studies.
Homeschooling: morning studies, afternoon explorations of Old Town, evening swim at the beach (counts at gym class?)
Day 4: Split
Beach swims in the early morning, followed by studies and lunch. The afternoon was spent exploring Diocletian’s Palace: We visited the Cathedral of St. Dominus and Jupiter’s Temple.
Throughout the city, these engravings appear on various posts along the sidewalks. They depict Diocletian’s Palace, where shops and homes are still using the same spaces used by shopowners and residents of the Roman Empire during Diocletian’s time. It felt like we had time-traveled back to the 3rd century, but with all the perks of modern times :)
Did you know? Diocletian’s Palace’s was built by Diocletian as his retirement palace. He is the only Roman emperor to voluntarily abdicate and retire from the position.
Homeschooling: mid-day studies
Day 5: Split
Today was definitely a stand out day of play. We were all kids as we jumped and slid and climbed on the inflatable waterpark in the Adriatic Sea at Znjan Beach. Such fun!
Lesson Learned: Bring snacks or don’t skip breakfast. The lunch hour at the beach cafes doesn’t begin until 1 pm, which is a long time for hungry kiddos (and adults) to wait.
Homeschooling: afternoon studies
Day 6: Split
Our morning kicked off with a climb up Marjan Hill, which has nice views of Diocletian’s Palace and the harbor. Our intentions has been to go all the way to the top, possibly even the other side to swim at the beach. But small people can be quite loud when they are tired, and ours was. So we chose gelato and home instead.
Homeschooling: afternoon studies
Day 7: Bosnia & Herzegovina
We rented a car today, grabbed our passports and drove to Bosnia & Herzegovina. Our first stop was Kravica Falls where we could swim under the waterfalls, which was surprisingly warmer than swimming in Maine :)
Our next stop was for lunch along the Blagaj River - the fresh trout did not disappoint. Yum!
Then we drove to Mostar, explored the bizaars, and walked across Stari Most which had been destroyed in the bombing during the Bosnian War. It was surprisingly steep and the limestone slick (flip flops were not the best choice of shoes…).
Homeschooling: No formal schooling today, instead we discussed the Bosnian War during while driving in the car and spent our day immersed in a culture very different from ours at home.
Day 9: Split
We have already visited Old Town many times and climbed Marjan Hill. We decided it was time to sit and enjoy the beautiful place we have a chance to “live” for a week. So we swam at what we now call our beach and had a delicious dinner in an outdoor terrace at Soul Kitchen around the corner from our apartment.
Homeschooling: morning studies…today they took until after lunch. some days are like that.
Day 10: Split
Another day to swim and enjoy the sun. Today we walked to the other side of our beach and tried the diving block. SO. MUCH. FUN. There’s nothing quite like getting to dive straight into the ocean from the shore.
Homeschooling: morning studies
Day 11: Zadar
We took the bus from Split to Zadar - beautiful views of the Adriatic Sea the whole way up the coast. We explored the the Roman ruins in Old Town. Then it was time to check into our home, where the girls had fun swimming in the (very cold) pool before bed.
Homeschooling: no formal studies today
Day 12: Zadar
Studies in the morning at the house. We walked around Old Town and listened to the Sea Organ, which was very cool! After dinner, we returned to see the Sun Salutation which is a solar-powered light display at the end of Zadar’s pier. It was well-worth the late night to see it light up after dark.
Homeschooling: morning studies
Day 13: Zadar
With a late flight out tonight, we had all day to spend in Zadar. We left our bags at a bag drop and took swimsuits and towels with us for a day at the water and afternoon cappuccinos listening to the Sea Organ.
Lesson Learned: Double check your flight times before booking b/c 9 pm flights are late!
Homeschooling: early studies