How to Holiday in Croatia Without Flying
Monday, August 29, 2011
So,
as a responsible couple who are very concerned about our impact on the
World, how do we get to go on a beautiful Adriatic coastal holiday
without excessively polluting the planet?
Here is the story of how we got to Croatia and back by public transport without flying.
Before I start, some background information.
My
partner Janet and I are preparing to change our lives to a more self
sufficient, resilient and Earth friendly lifestyle which will probably
result in a lack of cash.
In recent years, our holidays have consisted mostly of Welsh tours in a tent and a van.
Janet really wanted to go snorkeling in crystal clear, warm water before we settle down to rural hardship.
In
our modern lives almost everything we do has some kind of carbon
consequence, flying is one of the worst but also telling people they
cannot go on their annual, well deserved, foreign holiday isn't very
helpful either, so here is an alternative. Yes, plenty of CO2 has been
released in this endeavor, I don't deny it, but this about reducing our
emissions and looking at ways of enjoying our lives without having such a
big impact.
So it all starts at a laptop burning 6-7 hours worth of electric, trying to plan, navigate and book our way across Europe.
I
have to admit the trials of booking online, session time-outs and debit
card authorisation failures almost had me tearing my hair out, but I
don't really want to put you off at this early stage. It can be done and
with preparation and memory of un-memorable names shouldn't be too
taxing.
Leg 1 was Oxford to London by coach. Then a march across the city to St.Pancras station.
Leg 2 was Eurostar to Paris.
A
day spent looking around the city and the Louvre, interrupted only by
plain clothes police preventing and arresting a pair of tricksters from attempting to take money from us whilst pretending to be dumb and working for a charity.
Leg 3, overnight train to Venice.
A
day spent being complete tourists in this highly scenic but crowded
city. Followed by a panicked 2.5 mile race around the island trying to
find the ferry terminal having been initially sent in the wrong
direction.
Leg 4, fast ferry to Mali Lošinj, on the Croatian island of Lošinj.
We then spent a rather lovely week exploring the inlets, small towns and crystal clear, warm waters around the coast.
Leg 5, a ferry to the mainland. Warning, this has to be booked in the ferry operators tour office and can be heavily subscribed.
A few more days enjoying Croatia including the wonderful Krka national park.
Having
meticulously studied timetables and planned our exit route to Zabreb,
we relaxed for the last time on a beach in Skradin.
Then took the early afternoon bus to Sibenik.
This is when things started to go a bit awry.
We
saw there would be an overnight bus to Zagreb - ideal, we were booked
on the 6am train from Zagreb to Munich and the bus would get there with
an hour and a half to spare, so we booked our luggage in to the locker
room and prepared for an afternoon sight seeing.
Before heading off, we thought - best get tickets first, to be sure.
No seats available.... at all.....all day!
How
can we get to Zagreb? "Train..NOW" insisted the very helpful lady at
the bus station information desk, in her broken English, whilst pointing
at the clock.
"where train?" we asked in our equally broken English. She pointed to buildings opposite, "behind".
In
a scene very reminiscent of a two Ronnies sketch, we hurriedly tried to
retrieve our bags from the two ladies at left luggage, the little one
waving us in whilst the large one blocked the door, then set off to
somewhere 'behind' the buildings.
No
sign of a train station. We asked a passing bag lady, uttering
desperate "choo-choos" and mimes, she must of understood and pointed
further on.
We persevered fearing we would miss what ever scant train service occurred here.
After
about a mile, we eventually found it. It looked deserted. If it had
been the wild west, tumbleweed would have blown across the tracks.
But here was a ticket office. Were we in time for the only remaining train connection to Zagreb?
Yes, with about 40 mins to spare.Phew!
The train turned up, just two ancient carriages. We had to cross the tracks to the other platform to climb on board.
We were in no hurry and nor was the train. A couple of times I think it stopped at road crossings to let the cars through.
Then
it broke down. The driver said we could get off and wander down the
track while he fixed it, "but don't go too far", he said.
Eventually
we reached Knin. A strange place. Still looking wounded from the war
and struggling to rebuild. The population emerged for the evening to
hang out in the modern square in front of the train station.
Our
overnight train to Zagreb was not hassle free or that comfortable but
we eventually got there, bleary-eyed and looking for coffee.
By comparison, our trip to Munich was a delight. Traveling through wonderful Balkan, Austrian and South German scenery.
I
think we're up to leg 7 now, which was meant to be the straightforward
trip to Paris via Stuttgart the next morning having splashed out on a
hotel bed in Munich.
We're in Germany now, what can go wrong?
Our
very reliable German train to Stuttgart, punctually turned up, reliably
took us to within 15 mins of Stuttgart, then stopped, for about an
hour.
We missed our connection to Paris.
Luckily we had four hours to spare in Paris but re-routing us all around Germany would use up those 4 hours.
With just half an hour to leg it to Paris Nord we caught our Eurostar train to London.
One more leg to go, a coach to Oxford, then taxi home.
So that's how you go on holiday to Croatia, taking in Paris, Venice, Munich and many places in between.
It may not have been as fast or as easy as flying but it was much more than just a holiday, it was an adventure.