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As this post publishes, I’m off exploring the wonders of Istria, Croatia, with my lovely British boyfriend, Dave. Yes, at long last, I’m finally on vacation.
Vacation? you might say. Aren’t you always on vacation?
GOD, no. Ask anyone who has spent time with me, and they will tell you that I never stop working. I haven’t had a vacation in three years!
So it’s time to get away and eat good food and relax on beaches and spend time unwinding with Dave.
Translation: I will not be online during the next three weeks.
Here’s where we’re going:
Week One: Istria to Split
For this week, we have a car rental. We’ll be based in Pula for the first four nights and using our car to explore Istria, a very Italian region of Croatia. We plan to visit artsy towns like Rovinj, hill towns in the countryside like Bale, and lesser-known beaches like those of the Kamenjak Peninsula.
After exploring Istria, we drive to the beautiful Plitivice Lakes. After two nights in Plitivice, we head to Split, stopping in Krka National Park on the way to swim in the waterfall.
Week Two: Busabout Croatia Cruise
I’m thrilled to be partnering with one of my favorite travel companies, Busabout, once again! This time, we’ll be traveling on their one-way cruise from Split to Dubrovnik. For a week, we’ll be cruising the Adriatic, stopping along the Dalmatian Coast’s islands like Hvar, Korcula, Mljet, Brac, and more. This is something that I’ve wanted to do for years, and I know it’s going to be a fantastic week.
My biggest hope? A Blue Ivy sighting. (Beyonce and Jay-Z go to Hvar a lot.)
Week Three: Bosnia and Montenegro
As soon as we dock, we’re heading straight to Sarajevo, where we’ll spend three days. Next, we head to Mostar for a day and a half, then make our way back to Dubrovnik and over to Kotor, Montenegro. While there, we hope to do some whitewater rafting in Tara Canyon, and I’ve always wanted to visit the island of Sveti Stefan off Budva.
Cool Lodging with HostelWorld
Thanks to my new partnership with HostelWorld, we will be staying at a number of cool places throughout this trip — with a twist. Rather than doing our usual thing of staying in the cheapest dorms we can find, we’ll be staying in private lodging in top-rated hostels and guesthouses. Proof that you can live large while staying in a hostel!
What Will Happen to the Site?
The site will NOT be going dead in my absence. Posts have been scheduled to publish throughout my three weeks away. I’ll be occasionally online during week one and week three; don’t expect to see me during the cruise.
I won’t be responding to blog comments, emails, tweets, or Facebook messages for three weeks, so please don’t be insulted if I don’t answer you.
And there will be one person keeping her eye on things:
Welcome, Sarah!
I’ve hired my sister, Sarah, to run the site in my absence. She’s ready to troubleshoot, monitor the site, answer emails, and talk to prospective business partners. She’ll also be running my Twitter and Facebook accounts — anything she posts will say “–Sarah” or “–SM” after it, and anything without attribution will be written by me.
In the meantime, Sarah will be answering your questions as best she can. If you send any questions for me that Sarah can’t answer, she’ll be collecting them for me and I’ll answer them all after I return.
Enjoy the upcoming posts, and I’ll see you on June 17!
Images, top to bottom: ahisgett, Andreas März, Jeremy Vandel, Tree Leaf Clover, akk_rus
Hope your liver is prepared for the BusAbout cruise 🙂
HA. We were actually a bit of a sedate cruise — only two nights of heavy drinking. Hvar and pirate night.
Have a great time, Kate! You deserve a ‘vacation’ for a job well done with the blog! 😀
Thank you so much!
Definitely believe a blog-vacation is necessary once in awhile to stay sane. You are going to my favorite part of the world so enjoy and eat some burek for me!
I ate LOTS of burek! Now I can’t wait to see more of the Balkans…
Enjoy your time off! Looks like a great place to go off the grid.
Thanks! It was a PERFECT place to do that.
Have a great trip! Croatia is incredible and one of my fave countries, I’m sure you’ll have a blast. You can’t visit Sveti Stefan unfortunately, it’s a private island owned by a hotel. 🙁 Unless you’re staying at the hotel which would be amazing! Enjoy!
I tried to talk my way in…it didn’t work. Got SO close. The PR lady was unfortunately out sick. But we did have lunch outside it!
Have FUN! Can’t wait to read all about it once you get back.
I’m looking forward to writing about it! 🙂
Sounds like this vacation is well needed. Enjoy.
Very much so! One of my favorite parts was just having a coffee and looking at the ocean. It’s that kind of stuff that you take for granted when you’re not crazy busy.
Have fun!! This trip is going to be awesome.
Thanks! It was. 🙂
How exciting!!!!! A 3 week vacation in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Congrats!
Thanks! It was a fabulous time.
I can sooo relate to not taking a vacation in years. I hope you indulge in every second of it and have the time of your life 🙂
I did. What a great place to go!
I’m excited to read about Montenegro. I have no idea what it’s like but for some reason, that country has always sounded interesting to me.
I LOVED Montenegro — much more than I expected to!
Have fun and enjoy a well deserved vacation!
Thank you, Mina! It was great.
We can totally relate to needing a vacation. After 9 ,months on the road we’re looking for some time off too. Enjoy, you’ve earned it!
Cheers,
Larissa and Michael
Ooh la la! Enjoy your time in the Balkans, Kate! It’s true what you say about always working – I feel like I’m non-stop working these days as I’m revving up the blogging a notch to prepare for a re-design/re-launch before my RTW next year!
Hope your break is awesome and relaxxxxxxing, it’s thoroughly well-deserved. If you’re reading this at all whilst you’re in the Balkans, GET OFF THE INTERNET AND GO SMOOCH YOUR BOYFRIEND!
I LOVED this comment, Tom! Confession — I did read this. But then I showed Dave, he laughed, and I smooched him. 🙂
This looks like an incredible time (and a well-deserved break). Enjoy every minute of it! I hope you take a full break from blogging while you’re away, too!
Can I ask how you can afford a 3 week vacation? I’m not being crass, I’m actually just curious. Do you have to blog about the places you stay in exchange for a discount?
I travel full-time, Jeff. I earn my entire income online. Portions of the trip are being sponsored — the Busabout cruise and the HostelWorld lodging. All will be reviewed afterward. The rest I paid for myself.
I’m from Bosnia & Herzegovina and I absolutely admire any traveler that has been to this beautiful country. If more people realized the beauty, culture, and history it has to offer, it’d be on top of their bucket lists! Contrary to common misconceptions, B&H is safe to visit – I visit almost every summer without any problems. The war is long over and the country is truly picking up in tourism. I think it’s important for travelers to take advantage while prices are still affordable there!
I write quite a bit on Bosnia & Herzegovina on my “Road Trip Through Bosnia” series, where I take my readers to a new city every week. It’s a new series, but I’ve written about Mostar and Sarajevo so far. I’d love for you and anyone reading this to check it out on my blog: http://www.thetravelixir.com !
-Raza 🙂
hi kate,
we r 5 adults planning a trip to Croatia this may.
we r from Mumbai.
the idea is to bk a flight to Vienna, the train to Zagreb then onwards down till we reach Dubrovnik… and fly out of Montenegro’s capital to india via Istanbul.
we plan to cover zadar, the plitvice lakes, split, brac island as suggested by u, kotor, mostar and Sarajevo.
is it ok to take the bus?
we r not confident to drive.
I have been rdg ur blog and love the minute details.
shd we avoid Vienna and just stick to Croatia, bosnia and mnegro?
please advise. will be asking u for tips all thru.
thanks,
radha.
The bus and ferries will get you around, but it depends on how much time you have. Try not to pack too much into too little time.