EUROPE
Families on the beach in Croatia

Families on the beach in Croatia (Zimu - stock.adobe.com)

Fourteen hours, a lot of car breaks, many naps in the car, and we finally made it to Croatia. Those fourteen hours were worth the wait because Croatia is something out of a movie.

The people are so sweet, the water is crystal clear and the rocks look cool. If you go to the beach over there, depending on which beach you go to, you will be able to take a boat to an island that is close to the beach, and it gives you the best view ever.And all that makes those long hours in the car worth it.

Road trip

While we were in the car to Croatia there were many nice views. We saw a castle that looked like it came from the movie “Brave.” Like, everything about the castle looked like it was Disney. We were surrounded by mountains where the peak was covered with snow. Then we went into a tunnel that went through a mountain, and I’ve never been more terrified in my life. When the tunnel was over, there was a flower field that was astonishing and there were beautiful sun flowers. The field lasted for a lifetime, and so did the traffic.

After a while, we finally made it to the hotel, and for a big family like mine the room was really small. The hotel had two rooms and there were six people in my family. We stayed inside the hotel when we got there because we were too tired.

On the water

The next morning we went to see the sunrise and it was perfect because about ten minutes later there was a dolphin jumping out of the water. The water was rough and the waves were huge. We finally got back to the hotel and got ready to go into town.

As we were walking, we got stopped by one of those people who like to try and sell things but it wasn’t like a discount or anything. We stopped and he offered to take us on a boat trip. Surprisingly, my parents agreed and the next morning we got on a boat full of people and they took us to a cave. We had to stop on the side of the cliff because for us to see the inside of the cave we would have to swim to it.

Cave in a cliff, Croatia

Cave in a cliff, Croatia (johannes81 - stock.adobe.com)

I’m not a great swimmer, so I didn’t go, but my dad did. He said that the cave was beautiful, but it wasn’t really worth it because the swim was far and the current started to kick in, which scared my dad. Afterward, they took us to a little island and it was something I’ve never seen before. It was amazing. Then we made it back to the dock after a couple of hours.

We went to a restaurant and I got a pepperoni pizza that was really good for a regular pepperoni pizza. The food in Croatia is amazing. Then we went to the mall and like me and my dad always do, we went to a shoe store to see if there was anything new. Like always there wasn’t anything new. We left the mall and went back to the hotel and watched the sunset. Nothing Is better than watching a sunset with your family at a breathtaking place.

The next morning we went to get some breakfast, and right after we went Kayaking . I had to wait a whole 2 hours to go kayaking, and for me that was unbelievably long because I’m the most impatient person ever. It was finally time to go kayaking and I was with my dad and little sister, and it would be my mom and my older sisters because there were three on each kayak with only two paddling.

Kayaking in Croatia

Kayaking in Croatia (MAURO G CELOTTI)

We started off rough since I had know idea how to paddle but me and my dad figured it out. We made it to our first location and we had to go through a cave, which was stunning. Then we took a little tour of the cave, and then had to go back into the kayak and go to our next location. The next location took us a little while to get to, but we made it. We got to go cliff jumping and it was so much fun.

Where we stopped we were able to scuba, swim, and cliff jump.

I was a little scared to jump off a cliff but my mom made me do it. When I looked over the cliff a wave of fear came rushing in and I thought I couldn’t do it. I ended up jumping and it was kinda fun, but I only did it once. My dad jumped a lot until he lost his watch. He noticed his watch was gone the moment we got done kayaking. After kayaking we went out to eat and then went back to the hotel.

Cliff jumping in Croatia

Cliff jumping in Croatia (Fabiano - stock.adobe.com)

The next morning we had to drive back to Spangdahlem, and the drive was really boring. Overall, the trip was definitely a trip I’ll never forget; especially their gelato, and I would for sure go again.

Croatia is a place I would definitely recommend to someone if they ever went to Europe. I would also recommend them to live in Europe because my experiences living in Europe have made me love living here.      

Editors Note: Mykayla F.A. is a student writer in Dr. Wiedemer’s class at Spangdahlem Middle School (SY 24-25).                                                             

author picture
Kat is a travel and lifestyle writer based in Kaiserslautern, Germany with a special interest in anything theatrical, outdoorsy or ancient. She has a bachelor’s degree in geography from Penn State University and a master’s degree in archaeology from the University of the Highlands and Islands.

The best stories from EUROPE, in your inbox

Sign up to receive travel tips, local event details, restaurant reviews, recipes, community news, and more every week from Stripes Europe.

Sign Up Now