UKC

Thinking of planning a trip to Croatia later this year and was wondering if anyone had any recomendations for places to visit with a family?

The criteria are:

* Single pitch sport routes from 5 - 7c
* Child friendly
* Beaches
* Interesting rest day activities
* Cheap(ish) apartments or villas for 4 adults and 2 kids
* Cheap(ish) flights
* DWS if possible

Been looking at Istria and Paklenica mainly but would kinda like to go to Split as I'd like to visit Dubrovnik...

Not familar with Croatia at all so if anyone's been and got any good tips for me I'd really appreciate it...

Cheers,

In reply to Duncan Disorderly:

I've been to Istria. Busy now but will email you later.

In reply to Duncan Disorderly: We've spent the last two summers camping just outside Staligrad which is the resort for Paklenika - it was great, ticks quite a few of your boxes. Climbing's good, swimmings good, it's all relatively inexpensive and there are interesting places like Zadar not too far away. We drove over a couple of days from the UK with family camping gear but appartments and flights are plentiful I think. It's quite a trek from there to Split (which is well worth a visit) and even further to Dubrovnik though.

In reply to Duncan Disorderly:

We went to Croatia in Sept 2003 for 2 wks.
Itinery went...

Fly to Debrovnik, had a couple of nights incl visiting local island of Mljet. Got ferry to Zadar (about 12hs) and bus to Paklenica (90mins). Camped and climbed for 6 days (there's also cheap accom and a hotel, small beach, mini golf etc. Got ferry back to Debrov via a 2 night stop over on Hvar where there's also some DWS. Worked very well.

In reply to Duncan Disorderly:

Hey,

Myself and a few friends went to Hvar for a week in September and climbed at Cliff Base Sveta Nedilja (spleeling?). It's a pretty quality spot if you're climbing in those grades, and has brilliant DWS. Only downsides I'd say are that the routes are a bit tightly packed together.

If you get bored, there are a couple of other cool crags within half an hour of the town. We rented an apartment with ensuite double rooms and a sea view for something like 100 euro a week. Bargain! It's a top spot for kids too, nice beach nearby and even a kids area at the crag.

If you fly into Zadar and get the ferry there, Split is definitely worth spending a night or two in. Really nice town.

In reply to Duncan Disorderly: I think Paklenica would be a great location for you - there's loads of variety in the climbing there (I know you're after single pitch, but there's good 2 or 3 pitch cragging and mountain routes too) and the area is well set up to cater for families. There are good, cheap facilities and beaches all within easy reach. You can also easily arrange trips out to the islands.

We didn't find any big crags in Istria where there was a concentration of routes, but there was plenty to travel about to and the peninsula is understandably attractive to Italian, Austrian and German tourists because it is a very beautiful area. There would be plenty of stuff for the family, but the climbing is not as easy to arrange.

We flew to Venice, which would be great for Istria, but if you were looking at a visit to Split then there'd be a long drive inthe offing.

From Venice, we travelled to Osp (approx 3 hrs, including getting lost at the border), then drove to Paklenica (1/2 day) and returned via Istria.

It's a beautiful place for a holiday.

In reply to Duncan Disorderly:

With your criteria in mind:
1. Paklenica
2. Split/Omis
3. Hvar

Have a look round http://www.climb-europe.com/croatia.htm

In reply to Duncan Disorderly:
Hi Duncan,

Starigrad-Paklenica pretty much ticks all those boxes. Cheap flights will depend on when you go. Ryanair start flying to Zadar (Starigrad is 40km from airport) late March and flights are going really cheap (15 euros one way!) Split is an hour and a half drive, Trogir less etc

I've just posted a "premier post", feel free to check out details from there.

Ben

In reply to Duncan Disorderly: I would definitely not recommend Paklenica. I was there in late september last year. It'S really crowded and a lot of the easier routes are polished. It'd really much more of a multi-pitch place - for this it's great. I also went climbing around Omis, which was really nice. Directly on the coast, lots of great climbing in the 5-6 range and lots of other things to see and do.
Mike

In reply to all:

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions guys... I'm psyched!

Just gotta make up me mind and check out some accomodation. Thinking of possibly doing a week in one place then going to check one of the others... Split - Paklenica or Istria - Paklenica or Split - Hvar.... Maybe...

Thinking about the end of May so hopefully before the main tourist season but reckon the decision will probably just be made on the basis of cheapest ace accomodation and flights.. as it all sounds good. I personally really want to be somewhere with decent steep 7's tho so might just get a guidebook beforehand.

Not too worried about polish, I've been climbing peak limestone for the past few summers so it can't be that bad

In reply to Duncan Disorderly: While Paklenica is a fine place to climb, especially for the multi-pitch routes, it is not the best place to find "...decent steep 7s", unless you are in the market for run-out multi-pitch routes in that range. Most of the sport routes tended to be somewhat slabby to slightly overhanging and mostly graded in the 6s--though as has been noted in the past, the grading there is pretty stiff, so several of the upper 6s probably would be rated 7s elsewhere. I do remember a couple of short, bouldery-looking 7s on a bulge near the top of the area containing the sport routes(there is a bit of "zoning" of the climbs in the national park)but most of the other routes in that range were lower angle. While there are undoubtedly areas in Croatia that have concentrations of steeper climbs, your best bet for such routes in that region is surely Osp in Slovenia.

In reply to Duncan Disorderly:

This may help,

http://tinyurl.com/yaarkh9

the guidebook has been slightly updated and a couple of the grades in this are incorrect, but will give you a good idea of the area without having to get hold of the specific guidebook.

Starigrad had a very nice looking Spa resort which was quite cheap, unfortunately the excellent weather we had meant we didn't have a day off from climbing. Also lots of alternative activities were advertised in the reception of Hotel Alan (the spa).

HTH
Jonny

In reply to Duncan Disorderly:

I thought Paklenica was a grand place although the grades were very tight. The routes vary from single pitch to mega long. Bolts are good but spaced at times (take some wires).There is the sea close by and mountain bikes are hired at some of the hotels. The scenery is good and it looks like there is planty of walking as well. We stayed at Dado apartments contact is(Marijan Busljeta [[email protected]]). Marijan speaks English and he will arrange to collect you from airport (we flew into Zadar with Ryanair from Stansted - cheap but low baggage allowance). Hope you go and enjoy.

In reply to Duncan Disorderly:

Yes sorry I didn't get round to emailing you - you've had more comprehensive answers from more experienced people than I, already.

FYI I flew into Ljubljana last May and drove 3 hours south to Brsec on the west coast of Istria, and found simply the car journey itself to be beautiful! Between 5 of us we rented a house, I think at least in Istria a common set-up is for a family to own a HUGE house and let out half of it as an apartment. It worked out great, and cheap.
I can't comment on the climbing as I don't go anywhere near your grades!

Have fun

In reply to Duncan Disorderly:
>


I found that knowing how to speak a little bit of German was very helpful - certainly in Istria where there is a lot of tourist trade from Austria and Italy, people are as likely to speak Italian or German, as English. The lady running our apartment didn't speak a word of English, so I was put on the spot in a crash course of having to suddenly remember some basic German, a language which I stopped studying in 1991! Not a biggie, but certainly if any of your group have at least a smattering of either language, it wouldn't hurt to brush up a bit before the trip. Maybe in central and southern Croatia, English is more prevalent.

In reply to Duncan Disorderly:

hey dunc

i'm liking the look of http://www.climb-europe.com/croatia/split.htm

would be nice to see some photos of the climbing though! you gonna buy the guide?

In reply to Duncan Disorderly:

just seen - the guide is £30! might be worth starting a thread on here if anyone has a guide they would like to sell!

In reply to JessClmbr: The guide is much cheaper if you buy it there. I have a figure of 26 euros in mind, but I can't be sure. Also, it's definitely a good idea to get the latest version. Friends of mine came with an older version and there was a lot of routes missing from it.
Mike

In reply to Duncan Disorderly: In reply to Duncan Disorderly: I was last year in Paklenica. Because of the crowd I went to Camping Planik http://www.planik.hr/en/. It is a smaller camp, I hired a tent http://www.planik.hr/en/najam/ . I traveled every day in Paklenica. Not far away.

In reply to mike1979:
Definitely agree, get the guidebook there. We came there last summer with and old one and there were many climbs missing. It's also cheaper to get it there, I vaguely remember paying something just under £20. Btw, I'm Croatian in case you have any more questions