Croácia
A Croácia é um dos destinos mais populares nos Balcãs. E é óbvio o porquê: belas praias; cidades incríveis que datam da época do Império Romano; boa comida e vinho; paisagens idílicas. Preços incríveis também foram um motivo para visitar a Croácia, mas isso está mudando agora, infelizmente.
Dubrovnik, a cidade mais bonita da Croácia (que foi destaque em Game of Thrones) é tão cara quanto outras cidades europeias famosas. Da mesma forma que Veneza, infelizmente, perdeu muito de sua autenticidade e praticamente nenhum local vive agora na cidade velha. Visite-a fora de temporada, se você quiser evitar multidões e passeios inimagináveis saindo dos cruzeiros do Mediterrâneo.
Como alternativa, você pode visitar as cidades de Split ou Zadar.
A Croácia também possui um dos mais belos parques naturais da Europa - os Lagos Plitvice. Cascatas de águas azuis e turquesas se misturam com cachoeiras e pequenos lagos de águas cristalinas. As vistas são tão surreais que todos que visitam a Croácia devem ver essa maravilha natural!
Dê uma olhada nas postagens abaixo para encontrar mais informações sobre nossas experiências nas cidades, praias e outros lugares da Croácia:
Croatia has changed beyond recognition within the last 10 years. Its Mediterranean coast, old medieval towns made of stone, beautiful beaches and superb food attract more and more visitors to this once neglected and forgotten land. In fairness, the tourist attractions in Croatia (as well as in the whole Balkan region) are not in any way less interesting than those famous spots in Italy or France. Besides the hyper popular Dubrovnik (which was featured in great productions, such as The Game of Thrones), the northern portion of Croatian coast has also a lot to offer - the beautiful Roman city of Split (read my article about it here) and dozens of spectacular little islands. When you're in Split, one of them is particularly worth seeing - I'm talking here about Brac island which boasts reputedly the most beautiful beach in Croatia (I even spotted signs saying that in the world! For me this is the most beautiful beach in the world.) But is it really true?
Croatia, literally unknown for westerners for decades, has become one of the most popular European tourist destination in the past few years. No wonder beautiful coastline, fairy tale-like waterfalls and Dalmatian towns with ancient Roman ruins has started to attract more and more visitors. Zadar, although less known, is a perfect spot to start your adventure in Croatia and the Balkan region. The good news for backpackers is that now many of low cost airlines from around Europe fly straight to Zadar. It's easy to get there, it's charming and can easily compete with Split and Dubrovnik. And it's more authentic, less touristy and crowded.
Croatia, situated on the Adriatic Sea is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, rich in culture and history. It's unique location is the main reason to visit it and enjoy all its benefits. Blue, crystal clear waters, Mediterranean, warm climate, delicious food and wine, affordable accommodation, breathtaking national parks. If you still haven't seen Plitvice Lakes, you must come and visit... What could you want more? I really enjoyed visiting Croatia and here I am presenting a few reasons why you also should visit this awesome country.
Split, an ancient city in modern day Croatia, after experiencing some turbulent events of the past wars, now, when the peace has come, witnessed a rapid economic growth, mainly thanks to great improvements of tourist infrastructure. It's the second largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb), and the largest in Dalmatia. Since 2000s, when Croatia invested in tourism industry, Split has become one of the most popular cities to visit on the Adriatic Coast. It owes its charm to the ancient city center situated now where the Diocletian's Palace once stood. Strolling down the narrow streets paved with the white stone from nearby Brac Island can take you back in time almost two thousand years to the era of the Roman Empire.
Plitvice Lakes National Park (Plitvicka Jezera) lies between the Croatian capital Zagreb and the Adriatic coast town - Zadar. This largest National Park of Croatia is without a doubt one of the most beautiful National Parks in Europe. The area consists of cascades of sixteen crystal clear turquoise lakes, waterfalls, forests, canyons and gorges. It is a perfect place for hiking, enjoying the natural wonders and long exposure photography. The wooden trails along the way, which make walking easy, allow you to come really close to the waterfalls. The whole park is quite big and it takes at least five - six hours to see everything. The entry fee is 110
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Many of the visitors coming to southern Poland and Krakow region end up in Zakopane - the little town located at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. Some hike (or take a horse cart ride) up the easy and quite boring trail to the most famous landmark in Polish mountains - Morskie Oko lake which is undoubtedly picturesque and beautiful, but so overcrowded that it can get really irritating.
In this post, I'll try to encourage you to leave Morskie Oko behind and venture into the real, wild beauty of the area. As usual, the most attractive and stunning views are awaiting those who are brave enough to take a risk and explore something beyond the beaten path. I've already described the trek to Dolina Pieciu Stawow which is way nicer than the one to Morskie Oko and now it's time to write about my favorite trail in the Tatras - to Swinica peak via the less known Dolina Gasienicowa (Gasienicowa Valley) and Zawrat saddle. This trail features not one but several crystal clear lakes of different shapes and colors, spectacular views - incomparable with those on the way to Morskie Oko and it's perfect for those who love adventure and adrenaline rush!
On the second day of the extraordinarily beautiful trek to Poon Hill, we left the cozy village of Ulleri at sunrise and headed uphill towards another village - Ghorepani. Ghorepani is located at the elevation of 2750 meters and it differs from other towns with the distinctive blue roofs and houses. It is also a gateway to the most important point of the trek - Poon Hill (around 3200 meters above sea level) which offers a spectacular, 360 degree view of the Annapurna range in the Himalayas. Especially stunning in March/April when all the wild rhododendrons blossom and cover the mountainous valleys in bright red colors.
Lake Kaindy in southern Kazakhstan is one of the newest and most unique natural wonders on our planet. Although literally unknown in the West, if it was located in any European country, it would be its best tourist attraction. Especially beautiful in the fall (autumn), Lake Kaindy boasts not only exceptionally attractive blue color of water and snowy rocky mountains surrounding it but also the unique, silver trunks of dead spruce sticking out of the lake's surface. The "flooded forest" is indeed one of the natural landmarks of Kazakhstan. It all creates a fairy-tale like scenery, not seen anywhere else.
You might have seen photos of the gargantuan hole in the middle of the desert spewing out flames and a beam of light out of its core high up into the night sky while watching National Geographic or some documentary on the weirdest places on Earth. Although the Darvaza Crater has got quite large exposure in the media, it still remains very rarely visited by ordinary tourists. Central Asia is an extremely interesting place both naturally and historically. However, travelers almost always skip it choosing the popular beaches in Southeast Asia. Come to Darvaza and you'll feel as if you were teleported to Mars - it's a unique, outlandish and eerie experience that cannot be compared to anything else you've seen before.
While watching one of the Hollywood apocalyptic films or playing computer games - have you ever thought that a real ghost town is closer than you think? It is actually located in the center of Europe - in Ukraine. 110 kilometers (70 miles) from the country's capital - Kiev, very close to the border with Belarus. A visit to Pripyat is an extraordinary experience - something you most probably have never seen and will never see. It is completely different from the usual sight seeing tours. In this post I am presenting a gallery of photos of this ghost town literally abandoned overnight thirty years ago.
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2015 was a year full of adventure, surprises and amazing opportunities to discover even more of great and off the beaten path places. Just like a year ago, based on my own experience (I've been to all the countries described below), I'd like to present my list of destinations to visit in 2016 (click here to see the post from 2015). As usual, it will be different than most of such lists released by meainstream travel magazines. Instead of repeating all the well known places, I'd like you to get inspired and explore new adventurous and exciting spots. It has probably never even come to your mind that you could visit some of them and you'll surely get shocked when you learn where those amazing wonders actually are located!
The Shipwreck Beach (also called Navagio) on the Greek island - Zakynthos is the most beautiful beach I have seen. It's claimed to be the most beautiful - and I agree. After visiting numerous beaches in other, also way more exotic destinations (like Brazil, Thailand, Italy, Mauritius, Georgia, India, Croatia, Albania, Spain, Portugal), I have yet to discover a place that would enchant me as much as Navagio Beach. But there is a flaw in this perfection. The beach is indeed the most beautiful in the world, granted that it's viewed from the edge of the cliff that surrounds it. Looked at from the sea level, it looses its charm. However, most of the tour agencies offering a trip to the beach arrive there by boat and in this case you will not see it as it is on the postcards or leaflets - from above. It's also impossible to climb the steep rocky cliff from the beach. So what's the solution if you want to admire the famous view from the top?
One of the most important religious sites in Myanmar, seemingly defying the law of gravity - Golden Rock Temple (Kyaiktio or Kyaikhteeyoe Pagoda), although quite famous, is surprisingly not as touristy as the other destinations in the country - Bagan, Mandalay or Yangon. There are good and bad sides to it. The good thing is that the authenticity of the place is still preserved (unlike the temples in Thailand) and you'll see many more locals than foreigners around. The bad thing - to get there without an expensive, privately run tour or a taxi is pretty complicated, the bus schedules are not clear and the level of English among the Burmese is very low. And... to be honest, the site is one of those that look absolutely spectacular in the photos, a bit less so in real life. Having said that, the whole journey was a great adventure, definitely worth the effort and it left some priceless memories in my mind.
It might be a bit strange to see a post about a spa on a blog that describes mainly an active way of traveling and discovering some forgotten and unknown places where few even think of visiting. But Blue Lagoon in Iceland is different. It's an amazing proof how human engineering and nature can cooperate perfectly. It's not an ordinary, boring spa with swimming pools and massages. The Blue Lagoon is one of those experiences that, I think, everyone should try at least once in life. Especially after exploring some of the marvelous sites of Iceland - an outlandish island on the periphery of Europe.
The very south corner of Albania - the country which is still a black spot on the touristic map of Europe offers, in my opinion, the best beaches in the entire old continent: white sand, tropical color of the clearest possible seas, the exoticism of the area and most friendly locals. Most of the very few individual foreign tourists who get to the beach village of Ksamil arrive by ferry from the neighboring, overcrowded by tourists Greek island - Corfu. I followed the same route. And, I really thought that Corfu is amazing until I set foot in Albania's shore. My jaw literally dropped. I immediately felt as if I was transferred to one of the tropical, paradise-like postcard spots. It's a mystery to me how this exceptionally beautiful piece of land lacks any recognition among foreigners. But maybe it's better this way!
It's hard to believe how much Dubrovnik has changed over the years. As recently as in 1991, it suffered an enormous damage during the horrific war in the Balkans - at that time it would have been the last place on Earth you would have thought of visiting. Today, not even 30 years after those dramatic events, the city has regained its grandeur - Dubrovnik is one of the most popular walled cities in the world, especially within the past few years when it has been featured in the extremely popular "Game of Thrones". But what can you expect from visiting it? Is it really as spectacular as in the famous show?