Pula, Croatia (Arrival)

For Spring Break we decided we were going to take a much-needed VACATION.  And, when I say “vacation” I mean a trip that we I don’t spend weeks itinerizing down to the hour.  This trip was straight up purchasing plane tickets, picking a resort, reserving a rental car, and whatever happens, happens!

We got an amazing deal on RyanAir for our flights.  It was 160 EUR total for all four of us to fly there and back.  We ended up spending a little more because we decided to go ahead and check a bag and the kid’s booster seats (they were going to charge us 29 EUR per seat at the rental company…almost more than the car rental itself, which was only 45 EUR!).   It was the first RyanAir flight that we were given a seat number as well without priority boarding (which was nice since we didn't have to rush and fight for seat together).  They also changed their check baggage policy from the last time we flew with them and you are now able to take on TWO free cabin bags  - their normal size checked bag (which is smaller than a U.S. checked bag) and a purse-size bag (before your purse had to fit in your cabin bag).

The flight was less than 1.5 hours and was easy.  When we arrived at the airport we realized we forgot to print out our confirmations for our hotel and rental car but the folks at the rental car stations were very nice in pointing us to the right direction!  We got our resort’s address from the information desk and we were on our way!

We stayed at Ribarska Koliba, a nice 4-star resort with an attached restaurant and spa, which we highly recommend.  The staff was very friendly, the room and premises were very clean, there was plenty of free parking, etc.  We booked the sea-view terrace and it came with its own fully-equipped kitchen, living room (with pull-out couch for the kids), bathroom, dining area, master bedroom, and balcony….and was only 288 EUR for the 5 days, 4 nights we were there!

Our only complaints (if we are nit-picking) were that our Internet didn’t work the first night we were there (however, the staff gave us complimentary drinks at the bar to make up for it and sent a tech. to fix it the next day) and the outdoor pool was smaller than it looked on booking.com. Needless to say, we would definitely stay here again!

(Photo:  http://www.arenaturist.com)

FYI:  We LOVED our hotel but when first planning this trip it was not where we wanted to stay.  We tried to book at Park Plaza (which is about a block or two down from us).  It was more of your typical tourist resort with tennis courts, indoor/outdoor pools, gym, buffets, spas, etc.  (you get the picture, lots of stuff to do and walking beach access).  The cheapest room we could find with them was 759 EUR (which maybe would have been worth it if the room rate was all-inclusive, which I could never figure out from the website and the weather was warm enough to actually enjoy the beach part).

However, with our kitchen we were able to go to the local supermarket and purchase snacks, breakfast items, sandwich stuff, and pasta for dinner one night (okay, okay and maybe some alcohol to enjoy on the balcony) for only 60 EUR, very inexpensive over here!  Plus, we could walk to the beach if we really wanted to but with the rental car we could make the drive in less than five minutes!

We attempted some local restaurants our first day but they didn’t have much on the menu that the kids (or my husband, bless him) would eat.  We like fish and shrimp but not when they still have heads and eyes on them…  We ended up at McD’s (our travel go-to when we don’t know where else to go) for something quick and cheap because trying to find a real restaurant in the city center (as opposed to a caffee bar) was about ridiculous.  We had lots of fun walking around though and will definitely be coming back to tour the Roman amphitheater and check out more of the downtown area later this week!

After we got back to the resort and settled ourselves in we headed over to the bar for our free drinks.  Our kids finished off their first day of Croatia with their own glass of Fanta… "THIS IS GOING TO BE EPIC!”

I would have to agree!

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SPRING BREAK 2014

Day 1 - Pula, Croatia (Arrival)
Day 2 - Pula, Croatia (Auquarium/Fort Ventura)
Day 2 - Pula, Croatia (Ambrela Beach)
Day 2- Pula, Croatia (Roman Amphitheater)
Day 3 - Fazana, Croatia
Day 3 - Brijuni National Park, Croatia
Day 4 - Prementura, Croatia (Kamenjak National Park)
Day 4 - Rivinj, Croatia
Day 5 - Medulin, Croatia (Departure)