Outrunning My Feet
Outgrowing My Shoes
• Croatia •

A Four-Hour Bus Ride for a Burger & a Lesson in Perspective

After getting into our Bolt (Eastern Europe’s Uber) our driver immediately started telling us about all the beauty Croatia had to offer, filling our wallets with tiny pink tickets for buses and excursions before we even reached our Airbnb.

The plan was to wake up early, take a train to Plitvice, and spend the day hiking. In reality, we woke up around 9:00 a.m., grabbed pastries from a boulangerie outside our accommodations, and realized we’d need to take a two-hour FlixBus instead. Once we were on the bus, we started planning our hikes, only to realize we would have about thirty minutes to explore before heading back to catch our flight.

While I sat there quietly mourning the version of the day I thought we were supposed to have, a man on the bus began opening up to us about the recent death of his father. He told us about the difficulty of traveling back and forth between Bosnia and Croatia, and about the bureaucratic mess that came with wills, trusts, and estates. He explained that between managing documents and comforting his own children, he had not really had time to process his own grief. His honest, very valid lamenting pulled me back into my own very privileged reality.

July 15–16, 2024
Zagreb + Plitvice Lakes
Central stay, buses, pastries, nature, summer chaos
Mountain and nature landscape representing Croatia
This trip definitely reminded us that sometimes the journey ends up mattering more than the destination.

The quick snapshot

Dates
July 15–16, 2024
Where we stayed
Zagreb, Croatia
Trip style
Quick city stop, bus adventure, nature detour, and chaotic summer exploring
Overall rating
6.5 / 10
Where we stayed

Stay details

Hotel / Airbnb

Link: Airbnb in Zagreb

Area: Zagreb

What I liked: The Airbnb was in a pretty central area, which made the city feel lively and fun right away. There was plenty of energy around us, and it was super easy to just head outside and see what we found. Maybe it's our love of Eastern European old towns, but Zagreb is definitely a place we want to return to with a bit more time.

Would I stay here again? For sure.

Booking notes

  • Price: $78.78
  • Best part: Central location with lots going on around us
  • Good fit for: A quick city stay where you want to be close to the action
  • Overall: A solid little home base for a very fast-moving stop

Getting there

Travel: Flew in from Italy

Travel cost: $28.00

Rental car: None

Arrival notes: Getting in was easy, and our rides into the city were super cheap. We used Bolt, which I am a huge fan of. We had no issues and it was one of the smoother arrival days of the trip.

Recommendation: Yes. I would absolutely do this part the same way again.

Food + drink

Where we ate and what we ordered

A Morning Boulangerie Trip

Pekara Dubravica

Best surprise: Luckily, this place was just a few minutes of walking outside of our Airbnb. It sported delicious pastries and bread that smelled incredible.

Would I do it again? Yes!

Our order: We got an apricot croissant that was to die for, a cheese pastry, and some chocolate crepes. While I prefer my host mom's Шоколадные блинчики, these were truly yummy.

Burgers in the Park

Burger Park Plitvice

Most memorable setting: After a rough ride and a bit of a crazy travel day, we really just wanted something quick and yummy. This place checked all of the boxes with a great view.

Would I do it again? While it was convenient, upon further research it seems that there are plenty of other places nearby with more variety and better reviews.

Our order: I got the Smokin' Cheese burger while Aiden got the Double Trouble. Both were served with a side of fries. I would rate the meal as a 6 overall. It wasn't anything special but it did get the job done.

Daily notes

What we did, day by day

Day 1

Date: July 15, 2024

Main plan: Arrive in Zagreb, get settled into the Airbnb, and spend time exploring the busy central area around us via Bolt.

Best part: The city had a fun little hustle to it, which made even casual wandering feel lively.

Worth repeating? Yes

Day 2

Date: July 16, 2024

Main plan: Take the bus out to Plitvice Lakes, see as much as we could, then make it back in time to catch our flight.

Best part: Even with only a short time there, the nature was still beautiful enough to make an impression. The round-trip bus ride itself was also such a cool part of the day.

Worth repeating? Yes — but with far better planning next time.

The Cherry on Top

After all of the planning we had done, and the realization of our travel fail, we decided not to trek into the forest so we would not risk missing our bus back to the airport. Said bus ended up being over an hour late (classic FlixBus) and gave us ample time to explore. If I could go back, we would have skipped the average burgers and simply enjoyed our time. Lessons learned!

Favorites

Best part: The unexpectedly beautiful bus ride and tiny glimpse of Plitvice

Best view: The nature around Plitvice Lakes

Best activity: Exploring Zagreb and its central energy between travel legs

Best little moment: Realizing that a trip can look messy from the outside and still feel special when you are living it.

What I’d recommend

Give Plitvice much more time than we did, stay somewhere central in Zagreb, and leave room for the small moments too. Croatia felt like a place that deserved slower planning than we gave it.

What I’d skip

I would skip our rushed timing entirely. Thirty minutes at Plitvice was absolutely not enough, and that was fully a planning mistake on our part. The destination deserved better than the timeline we gave it.