Croatia

Zdravo,
Croatia is a beautiful country with unbelievable sights, amazing people and delicious food. My sister and I set sail on the high seas with Sail Croatia to explore all this breathtaking country has to offer. A sisterly bonding trip and a celebration of her 30th birthday, we had an incredible time and enjoyed getting to know the phenomenal people on our tour. With neither of us ever having been to Croatia before we had the most amazing time exploring the beautiful architecture, the spectacular landscapes and the serenity of sailing. Here are my top tips when going to Croatia!

Number one: Travel with a reputable company... as they will be more likely to get it right!

On a cruise like Sail Croatia you can provide dietary requirements when you register and this allows the chefs to accommodate you with their menu or give you an idea of what they will cater for. Travelling with a tour definitely has it pros and cons but I really love the friendships you build with fellow travellers and the crew. It also means you don't spend your whole trip talking about being gluten free and always having to go through the whole 'what I can have... what I can't' to new  people or even to a new waiter or waitress everyday... sometimes it requires a smile and nod between you and the wait staff and then you're on your way. I've got to say the crew on my boat were so fantastic and accommodating that I was able to eat most things.... I just occasionally missed out on dessert and to be honest that helped me not go crazy and chuck on those extra kgs that just appear on you during a trip. Sail Croatia was fantastic and there were always options as a gluten free traveller. Breakfast was buffet style with eggs, fruit and cheese so I was set. Lunch was a three course meal and the meals we had on the boat were all made gluten free upon my request. I've got to be honest I haven't travelled with small companies because I always go with the thought that large companies do dietary requirements as second nature and plan the activities through experience and adapting due to the knowledge they acquire doing the same trips and catering for a large clientele.

Number two: Be careful of cocktails!

Now this will come as no surprise but lots of vodkas contain gluten. I found in Croatia I stayed away from vodka in bars unless it was Smirnoff as a lot of the native vodkas were hard to find definitively if they contained gluten. If like me you hate missing out you can ask your trusty bar tenders to substitute the home grown vodka with a known gf brand eg. Smirnoff .... for a price! But as everyone is sipping cocktails you really don't want to always be having wine.

Number three: Do what you want to do!

Now this one should be simple but often when on a tour you find yourself doing things because your new found friends are or aren't doing it. This can be great sometimes especially if you need some direction. However, don't let anyone bully you into doing activities you don't want to do just because the people you are travelling with are into cliff jumping, doesn't mean you need to be. I can not stress this enough but if there is something you want to do, do it ... you may never be back! But if you are going to Dubrovnik, I've got to be honest the Game of Thrones tour was not worth it! (Disclaimer: This has nothing to do with my experience but just my observations when travelling in a large group).

Number four: Remember these words.... BEZ GLUTENA!

This means gluten free in Croatia and it was really great to see it in so may of the stores and in some of the restaurants whilst sailing around Croatia. But as I said in my Japan blog post Google Translate will always have you covered! (But pretty much everyone I came across in Croatia spoke English!

Number five: Recommendations time!

Sailing the Split to Split we spent the most time there! This route, made it the perfect place to really well and truly explore.
Toto's burger place is a cute burger joint that caters for us gluten free travellers and the burgers were incredible!!!
Academia Ghetto Club is a funky bar with amazing murals on the wall, like the photo above, with an open air area and great music as well! Hidden in the back streets
Ice cream all over Croatia has gf options which means you can enjoy these treats everywhere you go... you just have to ask!

Croatia is an easy place to travel gluten free with the fresh food and amazingly accommodating people. It is a spectacular country that has a magical quality about it, you almost expect dragons to fly over head or Joffrey to be cutting off Ned's head in the square. If you are travelling to Croatia I would definitely recommend travelling with Sail Croatia, they were truly amazing!!

Happy and safe travels,
Georgia

The Coeliac Adventurer