hi,
I'm currently searching online for private accommodation/rooms for 2 people in the following places: bol on brac, vis town on vis, and hvar town on hvar. There's loads to choose from I've found but can anybody recommend any places they've stayed in to help me choose? From the looks of things it is significantly cheaper than staying in a hotel.
thanks!
In Croatia you'll never find the kind of room you're looking for online. You have to just show up. In bigger places like Dubrovnik you can walk into a travel agency and they'll help you find a room. In smaller places like Hvar there will be people meeting the boat (or bus) with offers of a room. They'll take you to the room and let you see it before you buy. Make sure it's in the center of town, not way out in the boonies (you should be able to walk there from the bus station or ferry dock). A lot of the people with rooms to rent are older "babushka women" and they often don't speak much (or any) English; German or Italian are much more common there. But it's also not difficult at all to learn enough simple phrases in Croatian to get you through a room rental.
Actually I never paid anything near 30 euros for a private room in Croatia; for one person it was more like 10-15 euros.
One caveat: although there will be people meeting the boat/bus in Dubrovnik with room offers, I would recommend taking a taxi or bus straight into the old town and finding a travel agency. Most of the people meeting the boat/bus live way out in the suburbs, not where you want to be.
Yes, definitely go with an apartment and not a hotel.
Bol was a spur of the moment thing, so I just went to the tourist office.
In Hvar, I stayed at http://dalmacija.net/hvar/scepanovic/. I booked direct with the owner via email.
In Vis, I stayed at http://www.adria-island.org/en/apartments/croatia/island_vis/vis/01804VIS. I booked through a service, so there's a surcharge.
I would recommend both.
If you are not as picky as me, you can pay less and pick something up upon arrival--but if you are going in July or August you probably should prebook. I have done both, and if I know where I am going and how long I want to be there I choose to prebook so I can just relax when I get to town rather than finding a place.
I usually check out the accommodation links of the specific town/island first, then google the place and "apartment" until I find something I like.
You're right that private rooms and guesthouses are the budget place to go in Croatia. Hotels can be quite expensive.
I usually just showed up and booked a room from a little old lady at the bus/ferry station, or went to an accommodation agency which exist in most towns that attract tourists.
The Jagoda & Ante Bracanovic Guesthouse was an excellent budget place in Hvar Town. It's clean, cheap, only a short walk from the center/harbor, and the owner will pick you up from the ferry and help you with arrangements like scooter rentals, etc.
Dave
www.bol.hr/online/karnincic/photo.htm
Nice apartment. Owner is really nice person. His son met us at the port and offered to drive us back. They gave us a bottle of wine as we were leaving (very sweet). Short walk into town (mind you, small town so everything is a short walk into town). Clean.
Great place. Nice views. Short walk into main area. Nice friendly owner who picked us up from the bus station, offered to drive us down, gave us his cell phone number to call him at any time. Clean.