Be Picky.

My personal favourite! I had never heard of Šibenik before, but it was super close to Krka National Park (a stop on my list), so upon a quick Google search and a Flixbus ticket, there I was!

I ended up staying at this amazing hostel (Hostel Sv. Lovre) for a couple of nights and couldn't recommend it enough! The owner was the chancellor of a school in the city, and they inclusively offered Croatian language courses at the facility too! The best of it all was the view you could enjoy from the rooftop which, in his words, was the biggest in the whole of Šibenik! Truth is, it was actually so small, you could capture the dimension of the city - and yet, the best sunset I have seen this summer was in that cozy lounge! (check my ig for a stunning video)

But, what if I told you I was supposed to end up in the hideous brick block you see in this picture? Yep, that's the beauty of traveling without a detailed plan or booked accommodations: you never know!

On the day I was leaving for Šibenik (in the evening), I still didn't have a confirmed place to stay. I had been texting this male host on Coachsurf for two days (red flag no.1: contact should be clear) and we still hadn't reached a conclusion.

Basically, he couldn't host me himself, so I asked whether he had any female friends who potentially could. I was gender-specific because even though I am not fond of having to do it, this was my first time traveling alone and using this app. Hence, I was either staying with female hosts or male hosts who had lots of positive reviews since (sadly) we must consider not everyone in these apps has the same intentions as us; and very unfairly, that becomes even more concerning when you are a woman.

Moving forward, he had a friend who had "the keys to a room where I could stay" (red flag no.2: it wasn't her place). He was being very vague and slightly reluctant to provide me with the location details or the phone number of this friend (told me he would hand me the keys himself), but he finally gave in after talking to him on the phone.

While in Zadar, my host and I searched for the place they conveyed to be a "youth hostel" (and it was, from the EU actually, but the website hadn't been updated for years and it didn't look any good). In the meantime, I called his friend. She said it was in an office and therefore people would come to work in the morning!

It sounded so sketchy! I asked whether I would say I was Couchsurfing, and she freaks out. "No, no 😅 you have to tell them you are there on behalf of *inserting ecological firm's name*" (red flag no.3).

That was it, I was laughing so much and definitely not settling for it! I knew I wouldn't be comfortable if I'd have to hide what I was actually there for... So I'd say that, if you can afford better, you should avoid such offers too as they might get you into some unwanted trouble, you never know!

I obviously ended up booking that hostel, which had been recommended by another CS host who couldn't host me but was kind enough to suggest it :) as that youth building was bullet number 2 dodged right there!

In that hostel, I ended up meeting lots of travelers and making new friends. The next morning, I went on a free tour with this wonderful American girl (from Guam) and learned so much about Šibenik's history and how they organized themselves for invasions! Croatia has been constantly under attack over the years and it has only been a little less than 30 years since no one has tried to conquer some of its beautiful municipalities - hopefully, things will remain that way!

I have so much to tell you about my stay in Šibenik and my "boat record" to Krka National park 😏 but this post is bigger than I anticipated, so stay tuned for the next one!

Lots and lots of love,

M.