Tag Archives: XL rent a car

Croatia / Bosnia – Vodice / Dubrovnik Day 13

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We left our hotel in Vodice around 10:30am and headed to Dubrovnik Airport (to drop off our rental car)

Really the only areas of interest along the way during the drive was the gas station stopped (to get some supplies, refuel, and throw things away), and crossing Bosnia. (Also the trip did affirm that Croatia’s highway system is pretty modern, but with a lot of tolls (the inner city roads however are a different story, since they are all small and tight).

Crossing Bosnia was really easy (we gave them our passport, and they didn’t even look at all 3 or scan them). It was a 9 minute drive to Bosnia, so super short. Going back to Croatia, they did check and scan all our passports.

After the border, it was about an hour till the airport. At the airport, when returning of our rental car to XL rental cars, we did have a bit of bad luck (guess because was Friday the 13th). There was two slight scratches on the hood of the car, which cost $400 USD (we really don’t know how they got there). Hopefully Chase Sapphire reserve will be able to cover it.

We then took an Uber to our AirBnb (what had crossed our minds is to take a ferry from a close city called Cavtat to Dubvrovnik, but decided against it since the port is far from the AirBnb).

We got to our Airbnb in 20 minutes, and then got some food at a place our host recommended called Belvedere. Details can be found here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2021/08/15/belvedere/

After dinner, got to the AirBnb, and I actually booked a separate hotel (for logistical reasons). Booked Arch B&B (super close to the AirBnb), but they then moved my reservation to Studenski Dom (a really awesome new dorm). It was great, from the newness, to no mosquitos, to the free breakfast. The only thing I did have to do is ask them to allow me to have the AC be able to set at a lower temperature (lowest was initially locked to 28 degrees Celsius!).

I did ask the receptionist at the AirBnb what club he recommends to go to. He said Revelin. I looked it up, and I was convinced (they do bring in famous DJs like Tiesto, and the website said it was in a castle).

Revelin is in the old town (which makes sense since it’s on/in a castle). The Uber ride was 12 minutes. The DJ did not disappoint (some refreshing progressive house and deep house). Great way to end the night.

Croatia – Tisno / Zadar / Plitvice Lakes Day 11

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Started the day by checking out of our mobile apartment at The Garden Resort, and then caught an Uber (after multiple attempts). The cost was 600 Kuna, so not terrible. Next time I would either have the front desk reserve a taxi, or go to Tisnotaxi.com and reserve it there (price is about the same as an Uber).

After getting to Zadar, we ate lunch at a place called Eat Me (it took a while to find a restaurant. Most of the “eating” places we found were cafes that only served drinks. Details about the restaurant can be found here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2021/08/11/eat-me/

After eating, we went to the west part of Zadar to check out the Sea Organ and the Sun Salutation. The Sea Organ sounded interesting (ie. notes were a bit random), and the Sun Salutation is supposed to be over Ed during sunset or sunrise.

We also passed by St Anastasia’s Cathedral, which looked in a bit of rough shape since it was bombed in World War II.

We then picked up our rental car from XL rent a car (found through Priceline). Cost of the rental car is $550.

It took about 2 hours to get to Plitvice Lakes. Gotta say the road infrastructure all seems very modern (like the tunnels, which unfortunately I didn’t take a pic).

We had a bit of trouble finding our AirBnB at first (first time Google Maps failed us in this trip… but still wayyy better than Apple Maps in Croatia).

For dinner, since the line up was long at a restaurant we wanted to check out, we went to a local grocery store called Market Ivka and bought ingredients for wraps (salami, ham, prosciutto, wrap bread, Mayo, and lettuce).

Also did laundry in the evening. The wash cycle is pretty king (it’s 2 hrs!). The dryer “Gentle Care” setting is 50 minutes, but unfortunately didn’t fully dry my clothes.