4-Day Intro Itinerary to Zagreb
When most people think of Croatia their mind can go a few ways. The Game of Throne fans picture themselves flying over Dubrovnik on a fire-spitting dragon. Others find their imagination taking them on a chartered yacht in the Adriatic, as if they were on a “Below Deck” episode. And, honestly, some people will simply ask you “where the hell is Croatia?”. No matter what picture your brain paints, the fact is, those who know about or have been to this former Yugoslav nation can tell you one thing… it’s a must go destination!
I traveled to Croatia to for the first time in 2022. My wife and I took 2 weeks to see the whole country, which turned out to be an ambitious goal. We decided to road trip it top to bottom. From the capitol city of Zagreb to the rolling hills of Istria, down to Split and through to the old city of Dubrovnik, (along with a few pit stops along the way) we had a packed itinerary. This article details our firsthand account across 4 days in Croatia’s beautiful, and lesser talked about Capital, Zagreb. Enjoy!
Day 1 - Arrival
There aren’t a ton of major airlines that fly to Croatia so we booked a round trip ticket from DC to Copenhagen, then booked one-way flights in and out of Zagreb from there, mostly to control costs. Once in Zagreb, we picked up our rental car and headed to our home base for the next 3 nights, Hotel Esplande. It is a beautiful property smack dab in the middle of Lenuci's Horseshoe, a U-shaped group of public squares and parks in a beautiful area of town. The staff were excellent and more than welcoming to our first experience with the Croatian people. Highly recommend making this your home base.
Zagreb is virtually untouched by western tourists, which makes it extremely charming and authentic. After check-in, we hustled over to Botaničar for hip libations inspired by fresh fruits before heading to dinner at Konoba Didovson for some classic local cuisine like pašticada, a stewed beef dish with gnocchi covered in gravy, and cuttlefish risotto.
After dinner we were craving a night cap. On the walk back to the hotel, we just so happened to stumble upon an outdoor cocktail party in upper town. Admission was free, music was a vibe, and the sunset views of the city were incredible. We found that Zagreb has a couple events like this going on during the summer. If you’re in town and the weather is nice, you’re bound to run into a good time.
Day 2 - A Day of Cheese and History
After a quick breakfast, we took a stroll up one of Zagrab’s most famous shopping streets, Tkalčićeva. The cobblestone lined street filled with local businesses was exactly the type of scenery we pictured when we booked our trip.
