So as our time in Split came to close, we decided to rent a car and drive to Dubrovnik since it is about the same price for a bus and we’d heard it is one of the most scenic drives in the world. We rented the car for seven days from Sixt for a very reasonable 120.00 USD. We had read a little about renting abroad and how to cover yourself and found out that if your credit card covers car rental collision that it is always better to decline the rental car company’s insurance and book with your credit card. Good thing we did, but we’ll get to to that later. On to the road trip!
Celeste and Pompoui
Getting out of Split was no problem since we knew as long as the Sea is on your right, we are good. To get to Dubrovnik, there is the A1 which is the Highway and 8 which goes along the coast. Naturally, you only live once and we were not in a hurry so we opted for the 8. For a good part of the first couple hours we were just driving through coastal towns with endless Sobes (Vacation Rentals), still it was a pleasure to drive through.
It was finally time for some lunch, we stopped in a town called Makarska. They also had a Riva with many cafes and bars to choose from. We enjoyed our lunch and walked around before we got back on the road.
As we drove through the next segment the roads began to be more coastal and the beautiful Adriatic Sea began to treat us to some unique landscapes.
Our photo stops became more frequent but we were also starting to chase the sun. It’s a delicate balance between walking and running through the garden. We hoped to not get to Dubrovnik when it was dark A) because we wanted a sunny first impression. B) The streets are probably confusing and signs harder to read as it is so why make it harder. C) Who cares, we’ll deal with it when we get there, check out that beautiful _______!
Aside from the scenery, it’s also notable that the borders between Croatia and Bosnia are a bit strange. Most of the coast belongs to Croatia with a brief 20 minute stretch belonging to Bosnia called Neum. We took it as serious as we could, there were lights and posts and prepared for a stamp and questions. Here goes…. Move along… OK that was easy. We are now in Bosnia!! Oh wait, here comes another border… Move along… We are now in Croatia!! OK cool. More on this in another post still need to get to Dubrovnik and the light is fading.
Another hour later we start seeing the signs and lights and we knew we were getting close. I should note that the most beautiful parts of this drive were closer to Dubrovnik so if you are doing the drive, expect the best for last. Luckily we had our car for a the next week so we knew we would see this gorgeous drive again.
You will know when you are really in Dubrovnik when you go over the Franjo Tudjman bridge or more commonly referred to as the Dubrovnik Bridge.
We were staying in Ploce which is toward the end of Dubrovnik, closer to the Old Town. It was not easy finding our place. Ploce was in the hills overlooking the old town so we went up and down a few streets.
We decided to park and look around since we knew we were close but the street did not look like what we saw on the google.
It was a very steep street and we were dreading having to get out so we parked and went to talk to some locals.
“Oh Matije Gupca that’s right over here” in Croatian as this older lady walked us around the corner to find that our place was only 200 steps up from where we were.
It was tough but we had come so far and we knew we were close. We get to our place, meet the lady who welcomed us and begin to get our stuff. Luckily there is a street closer to the house with parking in front. No problem, just have to go get our car from that street of death…
The lady says, I will wait right here at the top of the street. I started to pump myself up.. No problem, stick shift on this steep ass hill, after a full day of driving, lets do this… I manuever a three point turn, pulling into someone parking lot, and reverse and face the car up toward the top of the street. It wasn’t easy wrestling with the terrain but we are almost there.. A couple skids and as I try to put the car in 1st, I squeeze that knob which turns 1st into reverse… I back into a stone wall once.. Uh Oh what was that better do it again, back into it some more.. Oh man.. what have I done, after a perfect day, I managed to scrape the damn rental. I took a breath put into first and drive by the lady as she looks at me like “n00b” in a concerned kind of way.
Scrapes on the rental
I park the car and told Celeste, and being the wonderful partner she is, she tells me don’t worry it will be OK.
The road trip ends here but I will keep going in order to update on how this all turned out. We called the credit card company and submitted a claim, they were great and assured me that it will all be covered since we did NOT go with the rental car company’s insurance and DID pay with a credit card that covers rental collision.
Once again, very important, if your credit card covers rental collision, DO NOT, take coverage from the rental company or else it voids your cards insurance.
We end up returning the car to the rental car agency a week later, ready for whatever comes. Apparently it was not their first time dealing with this sort of thing and they had all the forms, procedures, and numbers ready within 20 minutes.
Fast forward 1 month and a few forms submitted to the card company and I was reimbursed 100% for the collision.
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