I did a roadtrip around the coast of Croatia for four days with my couple and I will share some ideas
We rented a car in Dubrovnik airport and dropped it in Zagreb airport
No matter where you go along the coast, this country is really beautiful and worth it
Main places visited:
a) Dubrovnik
b) Split - Hvar
c) Zadar
d) Plitvice National Park
a) Dubrovnik:
Arrival in Dubrovnik was beautiful, seeing the city center along the road as we were getting closer and excited
There are several beaches, such as the main public beach...
or more secluded ones such as Sveti Jakov beach
We entered the city center and due to summer time and World Cup 2018 going on, the vibe was excellent
The city looked very nice at night as well
b) Split - Hvar:
Second day, on our way to Split, we stopped by several villages
First one, also by the coast, was Neum, officially belonging to Bosnia, so we had to pass a quick inmigration point but no issues at all
Along the way, we had a few stops by the beach
We passed through a beautiful valley as well
Makarska was the first town we stopped by, also worth it
I liked Omis even more, and we enjoyed lunch there
Split
was also nice. Peristil square is gorgeous and the Old Town
looks very nice, alligned with the rest of Croatian coastal cities
Anyway, our idea was to visit Hvar, so third day we took ferry to Hvar pier, 1 hour approx (there are ferries to other piers in Hvar such as Stari Grad for longer stays in the island)
Hvar is an impressive island, where you can spend a day, or weeks!
After breakfast and some walking, we realized all chances were expensive (bus, scooter rental, boat tours...) and our time limited
Adviced by two friends before the trip who had done it before, we talked with a guy by the pier who offered rental of a small motorboat with no need for skipper... after a brief negotiation, we took it for 50 euro, he taught us basic skills in 5 minutes and we enjoyed visiting the area by ourselves... really nice expeience!
c) Zadar
On our way to Zadar, we stopped for a bit in Trogir, the city of the 700 steps, very small and cute town, an island in the past connected nowadays through a bridge to the mainland
We reached Zadar in the afternoon, ready for the city that according to Alfred Hitchcock offered the greatest sunsets in the world
Sadly our day was very cloudy and a bit rainy so the sunset was nice but not the best ever for sure
Again, we found the old town beautiful and quite similar to the other coastal cities previously visited
d) Plitvice National Park
Last day, we changed cities for a gorgeous park, Plitvice, easily accessible by car or buses to any of its two entrances
After visiting the park for about 4 hours, we realized you can park the car, walk a bit by the road and just sneak into the park for free
We enjoyed a lot our days in Croatia, we had only a few days but we could have spent weeks and I think some day I will be back for sure
48h layover in Yinchuan & 24h layover in Xian (July 2018)
I had the opportunity of visiting Yinchuan during 3 days, probably a place where I did not ever think of visiting, and one of these days I decided to visit Xian
a) Yinchuan
One day I went for some sightseeing within the city, while the second day we did a short roadtrip for Suyukou National Park & Shahu Sand Lake
a1) Yinchuan:
Capital of the Ningxia province in North China, the initial impression I had of Yinchuan was that it is a phantom city which is however developing fast
The Yellow River, second largest river in China, passes through Yinchuan (it has that yellowish colour due to the sediments it transports)
The city is not overcrowded as many other Chinese cities, and despite not having lot of attractions, I cycled a bit around Yinchuan and found a few decent spots
The Bell & Drum Tower, traditional in Chinese cities as ancient musical intruments and official timekeeping tools, is the start of the commercial Gulou street
Nearby you can observe the Yuhuang Pavilion, dedicated to Jade Emperor, originally a Taoist temple which cannot be accessed currently anymore
Between the Bell & Drum tower and this Pavilion you can enjoy Ningyuan park
Not far you can find Nanguang Mosque, an original and colourful mosque which combines Arab and Chinese traditions (as a curiosity, nowadays Yinchuan has close ties for cultural and economic exchanges with the Arab world)
I enjoyed plenty of green areas and the cyling lanes across the city
a2) Suyukou National Park:
For the second day, we took a taxi 2 of us to visit Suyukou & Sand Lake for 500 yuan (a bit pricy but our time was limited)
Suyukou is really worth it, in our case for a short trek, and also apparently for good ski during winter
Entrance was 80 yuan including bus to the start point, but we paid other 30 yuan for a cable chair ride to a higher point
a3) Shahu Sand Lake:
The Sand Lake was very disappointing, even if some photos might looks nice
Being in the north of China we expected to enjoy Gobi desert, but we found a kind of artificial Disneyland desert surrounded by water and attractions such as a few camels for tourists
Apart from that, entrance was very pricy, 130 yuan
We wished we would have visited Shapotou where hopefully the Gobi desert is more authentic... maybe next time
b) Xian
We were excited about visiting the city of the Terracotta Army of the considered first emperor of China, and we found an internal return flight with China Eastern airlines for 100 euro
We landed in Xian before 9am and we took taxi straight to Terracotta warrios (60km, 200 yuan)
The day was expensive as our time was limited, we wanted to take the most of the opportunity and we did not want to risk wasting time in buses which by the way are quite convenient (one bus to Xian city center, and from there, direct bus to Terracotta)
Entrance to see Terracotta Army was very expensive as well:150 yuan
There are three different areas, being pit 1 the most impressive
I would recommend watching some documentaries to understand the huge magnitude of Terracotta warriors...23 centuries ago, an Emperor unifying 7 territories in war, with population decreasing so much. The considered First Emperor of China decided to stop burying army alive with him as had been done in the past but ordered the construction of a huge Terracotta army of over 8,000 pieces to be buried next to his tomb... a crazy job with exhaustive detaisl that entailed thousands of workers probably exploited during many years, certainly impressive!
The area surrounding the exposition is very nice the way, green, withn plenty of trees, mountains... and touristic shops I am afraid too
After visiting the priority of our short trip, we took the bus to Xian and we liked the city a lot, mainly the walls surrounding the city (entrance 45 yuan), a total of 13km which can be cycled!
There are 4 main gates to go up the city walls (North, East, West and South), all open till 8pm but for the South gate which opens till 10pm
Within the walls, you can find a Bell & Drum tower as well, which you can also visit paying 34 yuan for 1 or 50 yuan for both
