Croatia Accomodations!

We decided to be "responsible" travelers this weekend and actually secure accomodations for Croatia ahead of time. Two years ago, when we last went to Croatia, we also planned ahead and secured reservations prior to our arrival. We were amazed, however, because within seconds of our arrival in the country, we realized that everywhere we looked, there were "rooms available" signs. These "rooms" are always immaculately kept private residential apartments that the owners would rent out for an absolute song.

We decided that if ever we were to return to Croatia, we'd take a more bohemian approach and just show up with our bags, report to a tourist office and find a room. Actually, it always seemed like old women were hanging out by the docks and bus stations just waiting for tourists to whisk off to their 2 dollar-a-night beautiful private accomodations. We were totally prepared to live life by the seat of our pants this time around.

But then the NBC Today Show decided to do a piece on Dubrovnik as part of their yearly "Where in the World is Matt Lauer" series. My phone rang incessantly and my email inbox was flooded with with people who wanted to know, "Croatia? Isn't that where you went?"

Prior to my trip last time, people had asked me whether I was going to Croatia to "help people" or on a missionary visit. Believe me, after seeing how gorgeous that place is and experiencing the therapeutic benefits of the pristine Adriatic beaches and the crisp, cold beer, I realized that the last thing the Croats needed was any help from me. But, try as I did to explain this to people, they just didn't hear me. They had visions of me climbing a mountainside with a scarf tied around my head and 3 orphaned babies with distended abdomens hanging off of hand-fashioned papooses tied around my neck and back. But even after my return home and photographic testimony to the breathtaking beauty of the Croatian land and the obvious prosperity of the people, my friends and colleagues still didn't believe me. In a way, I'm glad Matt Lauer went over there. Somehow, his visit and his glowing narratives of the splendor of the country, lent the place a certain credibility that I was unable to communicate. I kind of resent the fact that my friends, colleagues and family put more trust in Matt Lauer (a man who interviewed Brittney Spears wearing loafers with no socks, allowing his naked ankles to flap in the breeze for the entire world to see) than in me.

On the other hand, I'm kind of bummed that Lauer sang the praises of Dubrovnik. He and Forbes Magazine, which recently recognized Croatia as one of the most beautiful vacation spots in the world, have in some ways tainted Croatia for the average tourist who is looking for a beautiful place to visit for a reasonable price.

Two years ago when we went to Croatia, the place was really cheap. For example, Stephen and I regularly had amazing meals (with the quintessential 400 beers each) for in and around 10 dollars. One night, four of us went to dinner at a "fancy" restaurant. The tables were build on planks underneath the arches of an ancient Roman aquaduct. A stream rushed under our table as we each ate 2 exquisite entrees, endless appetizers and cheese plates (handcrafted-on-the-premesis cheese, mind you), dessert and copious amounts of booze. (We had been hiking all day long without so much as a morcel of food in our bellies.) At the end of the hours-long meal, a 3-piece-suit-clad waitor approached the table to tally up the final damage. He literally added up 3 little notebook pages worth of food and booze and the entire meal came, with tip, to 50 dollars.
The apartment in which we stayed (2 bedrooms, full kitchen, terrace the size of Deleware) slept 5 and was just under 50 dollars a night..total...tax included. Actually, the last night of our stay was only 30 dollars because it was one day past the designated "peak travel season" for this particular establishment. Had the woman not pointed this out to us, we would not have been any the wiser and we would have paid her the full 50 dollars with no questions asked. Actually, the first place we stayed in, for a few nights, was a little bit like a dorm situation. There were four rooms off of a hallway, two on each side. At the end of the hallway there were two full bathrooms. We had to share our bathrooms with the other people on the hall. I'm not even sure if there were any other people staying there because it was so damn quiet. The room was pretty sparcely furnished, but it was squeaky clean. Plus, the woman who ran the joint would rush up with her scrub brush and bucket of bleach every time she so much as hear the toilet flush. The place was immaculate. It was a few minutes walk outside of the town center and it had a little balcony. It was about 15 dollars a night.

Anyway, back to my Matt Lauer thing. The increasing popularity of Croatia forced us to do a little reality check. Yes, there is a chance that there will still be lots of rooms available, but we know there will be more people competing for those rooms. We therefore decided to be "super-cautious" (Lauren will like that) and make sure we had reservations ahead of time. This time, however, we are surprised at the cost of places.

On the first day, we arrive in Dubrovnik at noon. Dubrovnik is crazy busy with tourists, and we decided it would really suck to have to pound the pavement in the (hopefully) 95 degree temps, with our suitcases, looking for accomodations. Today, therefore, we booked a hotel in the Dubrovnik area, in a little town called Mlini. It is the only actual hotel we'll stay in as we prefer the private accomodations. This place is 130 dollars, but we had not other choice. See, we want to arrive, stay one day in Dubrovnik and then head off to an island the following morning. We did not want to have to try to make some ferry on our first day, what with potential flight delays, etc. So, we decided it would be best to stay the first night in Dubrovnik. We'd have the luxury of having a place to stay in, a nice shower at our immediate disposal, a place to set our bags, and a short walk to the beach and BEER! We would have preferred a private accomodation as they are cheaper than the hotels, but most understandably want a longer committment than one night. As for the other hotels, they were super expensive.

Anyway, here is our hotel for the first night.



We are going to do the Bohemian drifter thing on the second day. Our second day there will be August 5th. We are meeting friends on August 8th, so we have a few days to kick around and do whatever. So, we are going to get up early on the 5th, hop a ferry to the nearby lovely island of Lopud, and try to find a room there. If we are unsuccessful, we will head back to the mainland and try our hand with the tourist information office. I'm much more willing to do that on the second day, after a decent night's sleep, than on the first day, after a ridiculously long, exhausing flight.

As for the remainder of our trip, from August 8th to the 17th. We have found this lovely little place in Cavtat, just across the bay from Croatia. It sleeps 6, had 3 bedrooms, a full laundry setup, AC, Satellite TV, pool, sun-drenched terrace, full kitchen and living room and is in the dead center of town. It costs, (drumroll please) 90 dollars per night. Not per person/per night...just per night. And it includes tax. And for a majority of the trip we will be splitting that cost with 5 adults.