I’ll get right to the point and just say Sicily blew my mind and is totally underrated! It is much bigger than I thought and many different places to stay! There are 3 airports there so just need to think ahead where you plan to stay. We decided to stay in Cefalu which was a great decision. We stayed at Le Calette which was a stunning hotel with gorgeous pools, views, ocean and food!

I highly recommend renting a car! My sister and I did a lot of driving . Certain places we had on our list was anywhere from 1-3 hours of driving which would not have been possible without a car! Coming from Lake Como, the roads are easy to drive on there are real streets and highways just nobody follows any sort of traffic laws by any means😂.

If you’re not staying in Taormina I suggest doing a day trip there! We drove and parked in a parking lot which was right near a bus stop that took you straight to town. We walked around town for a little bit and went straight to the beach called Isola Bella.

We decided after the beach to have lunch at Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo. I’d highly recommend staying at this hotel if you wanted to spend some money in Taormina. If its out of your budget at least treat yourself to a gorgeous delicious lunch here. The food was delicious! and the views speak for themselves.

 

 

We did a day trip to Favignana which was honestly amazing to say the least.  In order to get to Favignana you have to take a ferry (Pre purchase) from the port of Trapani  which is about 2 hours from Cefalu. There are parking lots where you can leave your car. It’s a pretty short ferry ride that brings you right into the tiny town of Favignana. One of the nicest beaches on that island which is the only one I would recommend is Cala Rossa. Don’t even think twice about going to any other beach. Everyone rents bikes in order to get to the beach. It’s about a 20 min bike ride and you literally cannot get lost because everyone is pretty much headed that way.  It sounds more of hassle than it is but it is worth every second.

I’ve never seen nicer water in my entire entire life. BE PREPARED to have to literally climb up and down rocks to actually get into the water but it was worth it. If I actually had water shoes this would have made my life 400x easier but we life and we learn right.

 

There are so many things to do and see in Sicily that I just didn’t have the time to visit. I think it has the nicest beaches Italy has to offer. All in all, Sicily was nothing short of amazing and I would go back in a heartbeat.

Tips/Recommendations: 
1. GET WATER SHOES
2. Go to Taormina
3. Go to Favignana- Cala Rossa beach
4. Go to Scala Dei Turchi (wish I had the time)
5. Go to San Vito Lo Capo (wish I had the time)
6. Visit Sicilia Outlet Village if you want some designer stuff at outlet prices!!!!

Lake como blew my expectations point blank. We flew from Dubrovnik back to Milan and rented a car to drive to Lake Como. If you plan to stay in Lake Como (which I highly recommend) then I suggest renting a car. Uber’s are extremely pricey and I liked the freedom of driving around. Some hotels are absolutely stunning and a price to match, so we decided to stay at an airbnb. This air bnb was GORGEOUS. The grounds were beautiful it was so much nicer then the pictures portrayed. If i ever come back to Lake Como which I plan to do so next summer, I wouldn’t waste my time or money staying elsewhere. But if you do want to spend $800+ a night I do have amazing recommendations for you 😇.

So this air bnb is a part of a small community where a few other apartments I believe are rented out so you do share the pool but I don’t think there was every more then 6 people at a time. Our air bnb had the cutest balcony with a gorgeous view over looking the lake.

Paola the host was always a text message away and was really amazing. There is a cute restaurant over looking the lake that is right down by the lake near the air bnb. The pictures really do not do it any justice. If lake como or this air bnb is not on your list you are missing out!!

Take a day trip to Bellagio. We drove about 20 minutes on the tiniest roads to get there but it was worth it. It is so picturesque and stunning to just walk around there. There are many things you can do there like have some lunch, do some shopping, go to their botanical garden. On trip advisor there are a list of things you can do in Bellagio– if you can I would make a day out of it.

We decided to do a fancy dinner at Villa D’este. The food was absolutely delicious and the  service was impeccable. If you don’t want to eat there you can just walk the grounds but I highly recommend eating there.

We also decided to do Kayaking in the lake which was a day of decision. It really was beautiful (if you could plan it ahead I would). I found Bellagio Water Sports on trip advisor, sent a message on Whats app and then had our kayaks booked.

I have to say Dubrovnik was probably my favorite place in Croatia. I’m not a Game of Thrones fan by any means but I’m sure by that alone you’d really enjoy this place. I stayed a Sun Garden Dubrovnik which could have been one of the nicest hotels of my trip. The pictures online really do not do it any justice; you could actually stay at this hotel for a week and probably never have to leave! It’s massive first off– theres a beautiful beach, it has restaurants, a supermarket it’s own marina and a welcome drink which is always a plus in my book.

 

We decided to rent a private boat for the day which I simply found a few days prior on trip advisor. I sent a whats app message to Denies from Dubrovnik Rentals and with some negotiating we got a really awesome deal. Our skipper was awesome and literally stopped anywhere we wanted. He also can give you suggestions on where to go if you don’t have anywhere in mind. I highly recommend doing a private boat if you can– its worth it.

On one of the beach stops where you have lunch– Dubrovnik boat rentals will make a reservation for you at this restaurant called Obala. The food was amazing as was the view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh Hvar, you are stunning! You cannot go to Croatia without going to Hvar. At first I was going to do a day trip but decided last minute to stay here for a few days. We stayed at Amfora Hvar Grand Beach Hotel which did not disappoint. The grounds were beautiful, they were super accommodating and the food was delicious!

 

 

You definitely do not need to leave this hotel but we decided to go to Hula Hula Hvar for the day. Its this cute little beach club that you can pay for lounges and hang all day (cash only) or if you want to just eat there you can. There is music and a live DJ. The day I went the Dj was notttttt my cup of tea BUT the place was stunning and a really fun young vibe.

 

 

Overall Hvar is a young crowd and there is a fun nightlife as well. Walk into town and you’ll find bunch of bars and restaurants.

One club that was recommended to me was Carpe Diem Beach Club . It is this club on its own little island. You take a sketchy yet fun 10 min boat ride from the pier to the club and are welcoming with a shot.. can’t go wrong.

Tips/Recommendations:
1. Bring Cash
2. Water shoes are helpful if you’re going to the beach
3. Walk into town
4. Go to Hula Hula Hvar
5. Check out Carpe Diem Beach club

 

The hype of Croatia is real.  We took a direct flight from Milan to Split and spent 2.5 days here. I wasn’t really sure how long to stay in each place so we decided to split our time in Split, Hvar, and Dubrovnik. We stayed at Marvie Hotel which was a super cute hotel with a rooftop pool. It was in walking distance to the beach and about a 20 min walk into the town of split.

We did a full day tour to Krka water falls and wine tasting that we booked on Viator. You can’t go to Croatia and not see these unreal waterfalls. You don’t have to go with a tour but I found it helpful. Plus it included wine tasting which never hurts the soul.

It was the perfect time to be in Croatia because they were playing against England in the semi finals for the world cup. Thankfully they won and people in the streets and town were going crazy. There were fire works, everyone honking and partying the street.

Tips/ Recommendations:
1. Have some of their currency with you
2. BRING WATER SHOES– everything is rocks