With supplies replenished via the local Lidl, we left Rovinj with a comparatively short, two hour thirty minute stint to our next destination on the island of Krk.

The temperature had been rising the further south we came, and staying cool while travelling was becoming a bit off a losing battle. Climate control in our classic camper tends to be done by altering the window aperture to one degree or another. However, due to the ridiculous heat even early morning, opening the windows was just letting warm air into the cab, so we had started to be creative with small USB travel fans positioned to try and offer a little extra help.

I would like to say that the journey was an uneventful one but a hiccup at a set of roadworks put us on the wrong side of the motorway with no possible option other than to carry on up to the next junction some 15 kilometres up the road. I was a little miffed as I was knowingly travelling in exactly the opposite direction which increased our ETA to the next campsite and wasted fuel in the process. Not to mention the fact we had just entered a toll section and I was convinced I was going to have to pay to get off, before I could get back on again.

Mandy tried to make me feel better about the mistake by telling me the roadworks would have confused anybody and they should have made things clearer. But I wouldn’t be happy until I knew I was back on the right trajectory again. My foot was to the floor and at 120kph+ Wolfgang was certainly getting the brunt of my annoyance. Fortunately as we entered the slip road, toll booths in sight, Google maps said something that for the first time I was happy to hear. “Do a U turn when possible!” . It was s bit naughty but there wasn’t any traffic so that’s exactly what I did meaning we didn’t have to pay. That would have really rubbed salt in my wounds.

We eventually arrived an hour or so later than predicted to find weren’t due until the following day ?. Not sure exactly how this happened but they managed to accommodate us for a night before we could move to our allocated pitch the the following day.

We set the van up as quickly as possible, had a walk round to get out bearings for the essentials like the toilets,  showers and water points, then sought the sanctuary of the van and the shade the trees around it offered.

It was always going to be the most expensive camp site we had on the agenda, but after our brief site exploration we could see that this was all about the location, and very special it was indeed. I had booked it after looking on the Cool Camping website. You always pay a premium for these locations, but I’ve never had a bad experience yet. This was pretty much the pinnacle of our holiday, so for it to be spoiled by scrimping on funds would have made a mockery of the whole holiday knowing it had taken so much time, fuel and effort, just to be let down by a mediocre location. We realised at this point it was well worth the extra!

The following day our booked pitch was vacated relatively early, so we quickly bundled everything into the van in a rather unorganised manner, dropped the pop-top roof and wound the awning in. It took about 2 minutes to literally drive round the corner to our new spot with an amazing sea view. Things just couldn’t get better. Crystal clear seas, the shade of the trees, and a 30 second walk to the beach. Bliss.

The facilities included bakery,  swimming / infinity pool, and a really nice restaurant. It was lacking nothing.

I can’t really say anymore about this place, but it’s really one of those rare instances where you don’t need to say anymore. Everything is to like, and less is more. Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!

ECO Camping Glavotok
(Arrival: 12 June – Depart: 15 June)

Contact address: Glavotok 4
51500 KRK
Croatia (HR)

Telephone: +385 51 867 880
Fax: +385 51 867 882

Info: info@kamp-glavotok.hr

www.kamp-glavotok.hr

A long day at the wheel, but been through some amazing scenery which included the Dolomite mountain range. We set off from north Austria at 9am, drove into Italy, Slovenia and Croatia arriving at Rovinj for 6.30pm. It was warm as we entered the campsite’s reception where we explained that we would like a pitch for five nights. We made enquiries before our trip, but couldn’t book in advance because we were staying less than one week. As it transpired, the feedback from the campsite at the time was such that we shouldn’t have an issue finding a pitch as it wasn’t high season.

The options were they could allocate us a pitch or we could find one ourselves. My concern was the solar panels having enough light as I like to live on free energy whilst camping and not using electric hook up if we can. Proof of concept and all that :). So we wandered around the campsite looking for the perfect pitch. A couple were in contention , but the one that Mandy was drawn to was in a line of three, newly created pitches overlooking the sea. It was right next to the main coastal road, which I said could potentially cause us issues from a noise point of view, but we committed to the location and we’re pretty happy, although it was narrow.

Our first full day in Croatia was fantastic. Beach lounging, swimming, and in the afternoon a walk into the town of Rovinj. The icing on the cake has been a climb to the top of the church of St. Euphemia. Really proud of Mandy for accompanying me as I know she struggles with heights, but we did it all the same and both really enjoyed it. We had to remind ourselves that since having the campervan, we hadn’t been this close to the equator as all of our holidays had been in the van. We had done some nice travelling don’t get me wrong, but this put us on the beach with crystal clear seas in temperatures of 30+.

On day three our neighbours left for their home in Switzerland and after a brief conversation with the campsite reception we found that their pitch was free for the rest of our stay. It was far bigger than our pitch for just a couple of Euros more per night. This gave us much more sunlight which was also good for the solar panels

Shortly after relocating we were approached by a couple of young Austrian guys who admired the van, and said that they had just setup on the campsite with similar age VW vans. I took a walk over to find they were both pretty rare. One a syncro multivan, the other a panel van that used to be used as a funeral van. Both in excellent condition. I was invited round for cold Austrian beers later that evening, but due to a decision to go paddle boarding sadly this didn’t transpire.

We had committed to a boat trip and were due to be collected at just after 11am. This was to view the 13 Islands close to Rovinj, and immediately after we were due to head inland via an estuary to visit a local fishing village for an hour, with one final short stop to view some caves late afternoon before heading to port in the evening. This turned out to be a really good day out. We learnt a great deal and it gave us a better perspective of the town of Rovinj and its surrounding locations. Lunch was free as we had subscribed to two trips in succession, which also included wine throughout the duration of both trips. All for 70 euros (£63) for both of us.

In the afternoon of the fifth and final day we took one last walk into Rovinj. We were trying our best to be sensible to seek shade by the narrow streets in the heart of the town. We didn’t feel the need to do another boat trip, but the timing was right when we found ourselves on the harbor for the dolphin spotting, sunset tour. At 10€ each (£8) for two hours on the sea in such idyllic conditions seemed like a nice way to finish our five day stop in this wonderful location. Boy was it worth every penny. We saw dolphins, and although they were distant, we felt strangely humbled.

The following morning we got up knowing that we were moving on, so after breakfast we packed up, went to the local Lidl supermarket for supplies (very prominent throughout Europe), and headed over to our next stop some 2 hours away on the island of Krk.

Note: Currency for Croatia is the Kunar. Accept euros at some of the main attractions and fuel stops, but better to use kunar, or a card that lets you pay in their currency. Halifax Clarity card offers this functionality.

5,Autocamp Porton Biondi
Porton Biondi 1
52210 Rovinj
Croatia
Tel: +385 / 52 / 81 35 57
fax: +385 / 52 / 81 15 09
Mail: portonbiondi@web.de
google maps Coordinates: 45.094922 , 13.641508