This year we decided to spend 7 days of summer vacation in Makarska. Why Makarska? Most would expect because of the sea and beautiful beaches…but no, we were attracted by the proximity of the mountains – Biokovo, Omis’s Dinara (Omiška Dinara) and Mosor – take your pick 😊.
An additional factor was the fact that in all these 12+ years of hiking, we did not go that far south. You may be wondering why and how this is possible, but the reason is very simple – whenever we had a few days off and when we thought about how to spend them, we would opt for the Alps.
The Alps are closer to us and we have less to drive, but that’s just a bonus – the real reason has always been and remains that we’re simply more drawn to the Alps. That feeling and impression cannot be found in Croatian mountains, at least not for us. However, this does not mean that we do not love our mountains and non-alpine locations – we always enjoy them and we believe that this love can be seen from our blog stories and photos 😊. He/she who loves the mountains, loves them in all their forms – but all of us have that places that simply thrill and inspire us and to which we always return. For us that places are all kind of alps – they give us that ultimate combination of feelings of enjoyment, enthusiasm, disbelief, challenge and achievement.
This also means that whenever we can choose where to go on a trip or vacation, the choice is clear for us. Maybe one day we will write about why we love the Alps so much, these high and challenging mountains and landscapes – but that will not be in this story 😁.
The positive consequence of the situation with the coronavirus for us was that it “forced” us to explore some other parts of our country, which we constantly delayed visiting due to lack of time and different priorities. And we can say that it was definitely not a mistake – in fact, our whole vacation period was great. We visited some really unusual and unique places and made 2 very nice hiking trips.
Day 1 – Blue and Red Lake (Imotski)
As we wrote briefly on our Facebook page… we were thrilled 🤩! They really are both natural phenomena and definitely worth seeing.
Before arriving in Imotski we stopped at the lookout Prološko blato, which is located right next to the road and it offers a beautiful view of Prološko blato and Lake Galipovac (one of the Lokvičić lakes). Since it was the beginning of August there was less water in them, but we still had a nice view. As our goal for this day was Blue and Red Lake, we did not go down to Lokvičić Lakes – it remains in our bucket list for some other time – and we will certainly return to this area again, in a period when there will be more water in the lakes 😊.
The next short stop along the road was next to the Green Lake (Ričice), a somewhat lesser known accumulation lake. We didn’t stay here long either – we enjoyed the view for a few minutes and continued on our way to our today’s goal.
Arriving at the Blue Lake, we immediately noticed that there is no water as per usual (compared to the pictures we saw on the web). This was also to be expected given the time of the year we came to visit. There is a path to the Blue Lake shore and you can go down and swim in the lake. And yes, that’s exactly what we did, regardless of the low water level – us and a bunch of small lake snakes that kept us company in the water, peeked above the surface every few seconds or tickled our feet 😲. But of course we had to take a swim 😁.
You can’t go down to Red Lake shore (at least not by walking 😁), but there is a circular trail along the ridge that offers really nice views of the lake. This lake left us breathless – for over an hour we just sat on some rock, an improvised lookout, and simply enjoyed the view (even the heat didn’t bother us, and it was terribly hot 😁). We talked about how it would be great to dive in this lake – we do not know how to dive, but this wonder of nature tickled our imagination and encouraged various explore – adventure – philosophical – life – based conversations. Goal and effect of this beautiful landscape are absolutely achieved 😀.
Considering that it was the first day of our vacation, the day of the trip, we set off from Imotski for Makarska and on the way we stopped in Zadvarje. There is the Cetina river canyon, which seemed ideal for cooling off a bit from these karst heats (Cetina is really icy 😁).
Day 2 – Biokovo mountain
The very next day we decided to make a planned hiking trip to Biokovo. From the small village Makar we climbed to Vošac and from Vošac to Sv.Jure and back. We have already described this awesome hiking trip in a separate blog story – you can find all the details and our impressions at this LINK.
Day 3 – Makarska Riviera
After yesterday’s hiking, we decided we needed a day off and some beach time 😁. But it seems we can’t help ourselves – after an hour of chilling on the beach, the female part of The Mountain Echo sent the male part back to the apartment to get sneakers so we could explore the promenades by the sea and the various beaches there 😁. A chill day, our way 😁.
From the center of Makarska, we walked through the park forest Osejava to the famous FKK beach Nugal. We rested a bit here and sunbathed. Then we headed back to the center of Makarska and to the other side of Makarska Riviera. We walked on the promenade by the sea and the beaches, al the way to Baška Voda and back.
At the end of the day, we walked over 20km, sunbathed and went swimming on various beaches along the way. What can we do when they are all so beautiful, we needed to see and try them all 😍.
Day 4 – Makarski Jadran boat trip (islands Hvar and Brač)
What to say about this day, except that it turned out to be unexpectedly crazy 😁. Lying on the beach the day before, we thought about what we could do tomorrow. Initially, our plan was to hike on Sv.Ilija, but due to unfortunate circumstances and the crowds in the wider area of Sv.Ilija in those days (due to the disappearance of a tourist from Poland), we gave up on that plan. Additionally, we were somehow drawn to another “sea” day. And so, quite by accident, we came across tourist boats on the boardwalk. These boats all do full-day trips to Hvar (Jelsa, 1h stop) and Brač (Bol, 3h stop), every day. Sounds good, why not 😁?
There are several such tourist boats in Makarska, and we chose the Makarski Jadran (although they all have more or less the same route and the same price). Why Makarski Jadran? We don’t even know ourselves. If you just compare these few tourist boats by appearance, you would never opt for the Makarski Jadran. It is inconspicuous in relation to the others and somehow it looks the oldest and the least tidy. But the boat inexplicably attracted us from the beginning. Maybe because of the smiling sailors on it and the good atmosphere, and maybe just because of that worn-out, charming look of a fishing boat that has been converted into a touristic one 😊.
The price per person is 250 HRK and it includes transportation, lunch on board and drinks during lunch – at least it says so on their web. We were expecting a little longer, touristic boat ride with sightseeing and swimming on the islands – a quiet and relaxing day, just the way we wanted at the time. However, what we got in the end was something a little different.
We settled on the deck at a larger wooden table with benches. Given the coronavirus circumstances, the staff made sure to accommodate a maximum of 4 strangers or one team traveling together at one table. Also, the boat wasn’t crowded – there was enough space for everyone to keep the safety distance. There were two of us and we got a young couple from Slovenia at our table, with whom we quickly became friendly. Eventually we spent the whole day together, laughing and talking, except the free time on the islands where everyone went their own way, to see what they wanted. As soon as we realized that they are from Slovenia, we enthusiastically started talking about hiking and their Alps and how much we miss these trips. They just laughed and said that they miss our sea, and that they do not hike at all – of course, out of a bunch of Slovenian hikers we came across the city ones, who were never in the mountains 😂. But, we still had a nice time – so much so that after returning to Makarska we went for a drink together and a night swim 😁.
Regarding the drinks – from the early morning, immediately after departure, the staff on the boat started to give us (free) coffee, and then brandy (rakija in Croatian), which in the next iteration turned into white and red wine…and so it went on and on (just without further coffee), all day 😂.
The hosts on the Makarski Jadran really tried to “relax” the tourists and create a party atmosphere. It was something we really didn’t expect – we came across a party boat and we used every minute of it 😂. An additional atmosphere was created by the captain, who every 10 minutes shouted greetings and sentences in all foreign languages known to mankind and played local Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, German, Italian and all sorts of other songs of welcome to all types of tourists on board 😁. Also, the playful captain greeted every person on the shore we passed at that moment – by trumpeting and turning the ship 2, 3 times around its axis, in front of the mentioned shore 😁.
On the boat itself the atmosphere was so good that even the rain in Jelsa (Hvar island) did not spoil our fun (it was, I guess, that one rainy day a year there 😂).
It was sunny and hot in Bol on Brač. We used our free time here for a short walk around the place and some swimming at famous Zlatni rat beach.
Day 5 – Baćina Lakes and Makarska Riviera
After yesterday’s crazy and long day, we decided to drive to Baćina Lakes and walk around them. The day was cloudy and we were tired so we don’t have a lot of pictures, but we still had a nice time – it’s always nice to see new natural attractions and beauties. We spent half a day walking on Baćina Lakes, and then returned to Makarska for lunch, afternoon swimming and chilling on the beach.
Day 6 – via ferrata Fortica Omiš and Kula peak
Ugh, this day… this day left us wanting more 😍.
Due to the ascent to Fortica by via ferrata we planned this trip way back, in Rijeka – we had to take via ferrata equipment with us to Makarska. We roughly knew what awaited us, we looked at the pictures on the web and read the descriptions of this route.
But nothing could prepare us for the impression you get live, as you hang on the edge of the rock tied to a steel cable and trying to turn to catch a view of Omiš and Cetina river… simply, wow 😍. This was, without a doubt in our mind, our best day so far. We are only sorry that this via ferrata is not a bit longer – it ended too quickly. We say that every time, but whenever a hiking trip has some climbing sections like this, we are like little children – happy, playful, excited and simply overjoyed. And when the ascent honors you with this view…wow, it’s simply a miracle 😍.
Via ferrata starts from the parking lot after the first tunnel from the center of Omiš towards Radmanove Mlinice. The ascent along the via ferrata to the Fortica tower takes about an hour. As with Biokovo trip, we started early because of the heat – although this time a little later, at 7.30AM (we knew that a shorter route was waiting for us, so we allowed ourselves to sleep an hour more 😊).
This via ferrata is, in our opinion, an ideal beginner’s via ferrata – it’s not long (about 1h, 1.30h with slightly longer breaks and taking photos), it’s not hard or steep, has no overhangs and heavily exposed parts, it’s well secured with steel cables along the entire length and most importantly – if this view (which follows you all the way) does not make you fall in love with this type of hiking/mountaineering, nothing ever will 😂.
At Fortica tower, we packed the via ferrata equipment in our backpacks and continued on the normal hiking path to the top of Kula (863 m). At Fortica you can immediately start the descent towards the parking lot or the center of Omiš, along a normal hiking path. We wanted to extend our hiking trip a bit more so we continued on, towards Kula. It took us a little less than 2 hours to reach the top of Kula. We made a partially rounded route on our descent – along the normal path back to the center of Omiš and along the Cetina river to the parking lot where we left our car. All in all, there was a 5 hour walk (and climb 😊) and 10 kilometers distance on this day.
At the end of this hiking trip, we drove deeper into the Cetina river canyon, to the popular picnic area and restaurant Radmanove Mlinice. We first swam in Cetina river and rested in the shade for an hour or two, and then sat down to eat something in the restaurant. A warm recommendation is this local restaurant – its location is excellent (right next to the Cetina river), it has a huge terrace in the shade of trees, and the food is traditional and top quality. They are known for meat under the baking bell (“peka” in Croatian), but we ordered “Dalmatinska pašticada” with homemade gnocchi and bread made under the baking bell – and we did not regret it (but we forgot to take the photo too 😊).
Day 7 – Lake Peruća, Cetina river source, Kuda’s bridge on Krupa river
And we come to the last day, the day we return home. As per usual, we decided to spice up that “trip day” with some additional sightseeing and short walks along the way.
We planned several stops on our return to Rijeka: to Peruća Lake, to the source of the Cetina river, to Kuda’s bridge on Krupa river and the confluence of Krupa and Zrmanja rivers, and then a short break for refreshment in the Lika river alonf the Lika’s highway (brr, it’s really cold 😁).
All these locations were great and if there was more time than one day, we would surely take our time with all of them. However, they inspired us to come visit them again in some other time, a time when we will be able to explore them in more detail.
We were especially impressed by Kuda’s bridge on the river Krupa – because of the beauty and the simplicity of the place itself, and because of the timeless love story behind it 😍. The story goes like this: A young man named Kude built a bridge of dry stone walls, travertine blocks and pillars more than 200 years ago to get to the other side of the river, to the girl he loved. He bridged the river that separated him from his beloved, and in his memory the bridge was named.
We started from the parking lot in the village of Golubić (parking lot is easiest to find by typing “Kudin Most Parking” in Google Maps) and descended on the marked path to Kuda’s bridge (maybe 20-30 minutes of descent). From Kuda’s bridge you can continue walking along the Krupa river canyon, to the right towards the confluence of Krupa and Zrmanja rivers, but also to the left towards the Krupa Monastery (the trail is somewhat more technically demanding here, pegs and steel cables are placed on the parts of the trail).
If you want to pass the entire Krupa river canyon, it is best to start from the village of Ravni Golubić, descend to the confluence of the Krupa in Zrmanja rivers and continue through the canyon towards the Kuda’s bridge and the Krupa Monastery. Unfortunately, we did not have time to hike the whole trail along the Krupa river canyon, but we already know that we will return here and dedicate the whole day to this wonderful place (and then we will have more first-hand details about the trail).