4 Croatian campsites we love that you should try

Yup, we're camping people. And nope, we don't have a camper-van. We're the kind of campers who sleep in a tent. Back in 2018 I shared some tips for camping with small children. It was our very first camping experience with the kids. If you're not a camper-van or a tent person, don't worry, all of the children-friendly campsites we've tried also offer other types of accommodation like apartments, mobile homes and glamping tents. 

There are a lot of things about campsites that we absolutely love, from being outdoors all the time, being in the close proximity to the beach, to the fact that the kids have organised activities and entertainment most days. I did have an idea to skip camping this year and fly my family to a more exotic destination for the summer, but my idea got trashed and bashed in the family meeting by our kids so, yes, we're absolutely going camping again this summer in their favourite campsites. With summer slowly approaching and needing a planning, these are our four favourite campsites on the Croatian coast which I think you should give a try:

1. Zaton Holiday Resort is my kids' (and our whole extended family's) number one. For a campsite, it's on the expensive side, so we like going here in June, before the peak season starts. We haven't tried camping with our own tent here, but we did try their two-bedroom glamping tent, which is super cool. It caters all needs: plots for tents and camper-van, mobile homes, glamping tents and apartments. I love the pine forest and the sandy beaches, my kids are crazy about the amazing water park and the disco nights, my husband loves the cocktail bars and the warm sea. Even their communal sanitary facilities look like those of a five-star hotels, it's insane! Family evening entertainments are super cool. Both of our kids participated in a cabaret show on our last evening there.   
    
   
2. Camping Straško on Pag island is where we'll be coming back most summers on peak season. We camped here for eight days with our own tent last year and it was marvelous. The sea water is crystal clear, the whole camp is a forest so most plots are in cool shades. The parcel is big enough that we could place a big tent, a dining/kitchen pavilion and our car comfortably. The animation team is not as well equipped as it is in Zaton, but our kids still enjoyed their disco nights and evening shows. They also have a little farm where the children can volunteer to care for the animals. This camp books really quickly, sometimes even a year in advance. 
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Aminess Atea Camping Resort on Krk island is much smaller than the our first two favourites, but it is so close from Zagreb that it had become our weekend destination. We have never tried camping in a tent since we've visited this camp only for weekends. On all three occasions we booked their beautiful mobile home, a three-bedroom home big enough for a weekend with friends. The campsite is rather small, so our kids roamed around freely and confidently. The swimming pool with the slide is not too big, but kept them entertained. I love that the playground area is central and visible from most mobile homes.
    
   
   
   
4. 
   Arena Medulin Campsite is at the south end of the Istrian penisula and was our very first
   
   camping experience. We have tried both their mobile home and their plot with our own tent. Definitely on the more modest site compared to the first three camps, although still well equipped. No fancy sanitary facilities, but very clean and functional ones. I remember they had baby bath facility as well. The campsite consists of two connected islets, make each and every plot very close from the beach. 

There are many other great campsites along the Croatian coast that we still haven't had the opportunity to check out, and I've heard great things about ones in the Istrian peninsula. I'm hoping we'll get the chance to try out some new campsites next year, since our summer this year is already booked :) 

Enjoy planning your summer vacation!

Small children in big sport events: 5 tips!

I realised it's been two years I've gone without any new entry. Heavily influenced by the current situation related to the coronavirus, we hadn't been traveling much these last two years. Apart from that, though, we had moved two countries which brought in even more chaos into our lives. But hey, new exciting adventures! New travel destinations! In short, we left Brussels in 2020 to move back to Zagreb, and had decided to leave Zagreb and move to Belgrade for professional reasons in 2021.

To start the new year, my husband convinced me that we all should go watch the Croatia-Serbia match at the European Handball Competition. When we learned that the very match was being held in Szeged, in Hungary -just two hour drive away from Belgrade- we decided to give it a go. Now, if you've been following our journey, it's not the first time we take the kids to big sport events. We took them to Zagreb indoors tennis matches, to EuroBasket when Croatia was hosting, and to UEFA Euro in Paris when France was hosting. We had also brought them to rock music festival in Slovenia. Generally they were fine, but they were much smaller then, therefore mostly asleep during the matches or carried in a carrier. But now, finally, at the age of 5 and almost 8, both of them are really into the match and able to follow the game flow.

 

In the end, Croatia beat Serbia and won the match 23:20. It was a great match, enjoyable to watch. Now, if you're a sport fan yourself but hadn't had the courage to take your little ones to a sport event, these are our little tips that might help planning your next sport adventure:

Buy the tickets online, and choose a neutral zone

You don't want to stand in line in front of the ticket box just to find out later that there's no more tickets, so get them beforehand and print at home. Generally when you're buying tickets, you can choose a seat in each of the playing team's fan zone, or in a neutral zone. Unless you're a really big fan and want to be in your team's fan tribunes, I'd suggest to get seats in the neutral zone. We did cheer for Croatia, of course, but getting seats in the fan area might have been too loud and overwhelming for the kids. Most country fans would have drums and trumpets, and might be cheering loudly constantly. We decided it would be less stressful to be in a neutral zone, which turned out very well. 

Let the kids get acquainted with the basic rules of the sport

Both of our children are gymnasts, so they don't play any group sports. We let them watch several handball matches before going to watch it live, just so that they're familiar with the basic rules. Later in the arena, our younger one was more into the reindeer mascot of the competition that anything else, but our 7-year-old followed the game very seriously, half explaining to herself every time a player gets 2-minute suspension or gets a penalty shoot. Be ready to get a lot of questions. Most of the time I was just answering questions that our 7-year-old had during the game.

Arrive early, prepare water and snacks, get comfortable

Most stadiums or arena won't let you in with any kind of bottles, so we didn't bring the water bottles with us. You'd need to arrive early, find your seats, and head to the bar to get glasses of water for the kids (and beers for yourselves). We arrived a bit late, so my husband had to stand in line for over half an hour to get us our drinks. We used the half-time break to stretch our legs. We bought seats closest to the aisle so we can get out easily, and walked around admiring the new Arena during the break.

Talk about fair play, tolerance and the unpredictable result of every match

Yes, we came to cheer Croatia, and yes, we wore the Croatian jerseys and all that. But prior to the event, we had to have a lot of talks about how everyone can cheer for different team and for their own country; and although it's okay to support different teams, everyone has to respect the end result without personally insulting the other team. Things happen on the court. Players might start a fight, fans throw things to the court. The kids need to be told that these are all not part of a fair play and are unacceptable behaviour.

Combine the match with something interesting nearby

We don't normally just go to a match and go home. We usually combine the whole experience with some activities that the kids would love, so they can get a positive experience in general. On the day of the match, we arrived early in Szeged, and decided to spend the lovely sunny day in Szeged zoo which was really great. The day after the match, after a good night sleep, we spent the morning in this amazing waterpark called Szeged Aquapolis with its indoor pools and endless water slides. Overall, we made the whole weekend a nice weekend getaway for the whole family!