Wanderlust | Croatia

If there’s one activity I love regardless of the time of year it’s pouring over any kind of travel document; be it a blog, book, review site or magazine and dreaming of my next overseas adventure. Although it’s a good 7 months away (at least) I’ve already turned my mind to the next InterRailing trip we’ll be going on in 2015. After having what can only be described as an incredible time this year I’m keen to maintain the sentiment for next year’s instalment all whilst trying to create new and unique experiences.  Although 2014 saw us tick off a lot of iconic European cities, some of my favourite destinations (here’s looking at you, Slovenia) were the ones more off the beaten track. For next year I love the idea of visiting Romania and Bosnia and I am oh so desperate to go to Croatia.

Now Croatia has been on my radar as a real go-to destination for a good few years and in that time its popularity has soared. Unsurprising really considering the warm climate, close proximity to the UK and that ideal mixture of city life and beach that’s so equally coveted in places such as Barcelona and Nice. The country boasts a 1778km coastline with an impressive 1244 islands off the Adriatic Coast. The terracotta topped architecture of fishing villages nestle alongside crystal waters and the peaks of the Dinaric Alps. Recently famed as a backdrop to Game Of Thrones, the country seems to offer equal parts picture perfect scenery to postcard home worthy adventures and I am so eager to be let loose and get lost in amongst it all.

Tom’s parents recently returned from a holiday there and I was once again struck with major travel envy as I am every time another set of Croatian travel photos appear online (arguably the only interesting part of my Facebook feed these days is travel photos.) I’m yet to hear a bad word about Dubrovnik and my friend Jenny told me many months ago about Split which I’m now equally keen to visit.

I’ve looked into train travel between the two and the consensus seems to be that it doesn’t actually exist with buses, ferries and hire cars being the preferred options. Whilst these are of course more than adequate ways of getting round I can’t help but feel it would eat in to too much of our allocated InterRailing ticket time so I’m tempted to save this destination for a stand alone break. The benefit then would be having a week (or so) to really explore and there are many easy ways of getting to Croatia from London without having to worry about making your next train connection. Travel companies such as First Choice offer a variety of booking options which can take the hassle out of independently sourcing all aspects of a holiday separately. After taking the hands-on approach to InterRailing, the idea of having a company organise all flights, transfers and accommodation is certainly appealing and having previously booked similar package deals when visiting Greece and Cyprus several years ago I remember the ease of them oh-so-well.

For now though I continue to mull over my prized Europe On A Shoestring Lonely Planet mentally creating all these trips I’m determined to one day take. After all, is there a better way to prolong a travelling adventure and indulge the overwhelming sense of wanderlust than several months of dreamily planning your way through the winter? I think not.

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