We left Klenovica in the morning, the Adriatic coast disappearing in the rear-view mirror. Now we had about two and a half hours of driving north, toward Zagreb. The last leg of the Croatian part of our trip.
Croatia changed gradually through the windows. The rocky shoreline and island-dotted waters of Kvarner Bay gave way to green hills and inland valleys. The landscape became more Central European with each kilometre – less dramatic than the Dalmatian cliffs, but pleasant after weeks of sea views. Iwonka fell asleep almost as soon as we pulled out, which helped everyone else focus on the road through the hills.
About halfway through, the first signs of Zagreb started appearing – motorway interchanges, district names on the road signs, heavier traffic than on the coast. We weren’t going into the city itself, but you could feel its presence.
Camp Zagreb
The campsite sits on the outskirts of the Croatian capital – peaceful, well away from the city, but with easy motorway access. It’s clearly designed for transit guests: modern facilities, clean, everything where it should be. The pitches are grassy and shaded, the amenities well maintained. No surprises, no complications – exactly what you want when you’re passing through.
But what sets Camp Zagreb apart from a typical roadside campsite is the artificial lake the whole site is built around. A calm, quiet stretch of water surrounded by trees – no motorboats, no jet skis – just the lake, greenery all around, and a few kayaks tied up at the dock. We’d barely pitched the tent before the kids started asking about those kayaks.
Kayaking on the Lake
We didn’t need much convincing. We rented one kayak – Iwonka was just over a year old, so one of us stayed on shore with her while the other went out with one of the kids. We swapped regularly so everyone got a turn. The lake isn’t large – you can cross it comfortably in fifteen minutes – which was perfect: you could loop back, do another run, switch passengers, and keep going without anyone feeling rushed.
The lake was still, the water dark with the reflection of surrounding trees, and now and then swallows skimmed low over the surface. Time on the dock and on the water moved differently than it does on a driving day or a sightseeing stop.
At some point we spotted what looked like rocks jutting out of the water – they had the look of something that had always been there, breaking the surface naturally. We paddled over to take a closer look. Fake. Someone had simply put them there. The kids found this just as entertaining as if they’d been real, and we felt briefly outwitted, which is its own kind of fun.
After weeks in Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and along the Croatian coast, there was something genuinely refreshing about this kind of quiet kayaking on a calm lake. No waves, no rush, no need to watch out for motorboats cutting past. The sea is beautiful, but it has its own rules – the lake just let us paddle.
We came back from the water before evening, cooked something on the camping stove and settled in for a calm evening. Tomorrow we leave Croatia – but the trip isn’t over yet.
A Stop Before Vienna
Camp Zagreb closed the Croatian chapter of our trip. Trogir, Krka – Croatia had been generous from start to finish. Zagreb itself we’re saving for another time; the city is right there, and we’ll come back someday to see it properly.
But the trip wasn’t over yet. The next day we headed north – Vienna was next.