Throughout our last few days on the boat in Croatia, one question had been weighing on my husband and I: “Where are we going next, as in two days from now?” That’s right. We needed to pick a destination and book something! Fast!

The original plan had been to spend a few weeks chilling on an as-yet-to-be-determined island in Greece. We wanted to stay in one place for 2-3 weeks after so much hopping around for the previous month and with much hopping to come over the next few months. We also wanted to catch up on school work. So in keeping with an unintended theme of this trip, here I was researching and trying to plan it just in time – as in just days before we were to leave for there.

As I started looking into it, I came to realize that it would not be straightforward to get from Split, Croatia to a Greek island. And not cheap. Just looking at what it would take was exhausting.

I also had no idea which island would be best. There are over 200 inhabited islands and even more town and beach options. Given our kids’ entreaties throughout the week (and the month leading up to this), we needed a social environment. Where would we be likely to meet other families? What location would it be low-key but not so low-key as to get boring?  Where would we have decent Internet for school activities but be somewhat removed from the hubbub. Where would the water and weather still be good this late in the season? What would be relatively inexpensive but comfortable?

Ugh.

It should have been fun to figure out, but at this point it was feeling like a big, hairy research project and distraction from the paradise we were so enjoying. A trip to Greece deserves weeks, or even months, of planning – not hours. We also had only sporadic Internet access.

Plus, I was in heaven on this boat and didn’t want to rob myself of the present by focusing on the future. Mind you, by this point, we had planned and executed at least seven other “trips,” and anyone who has planned an international trip to a destination they aren’t familiar with knows what I’m talking about. It’s a project. And I was cooked.

[OMG, is this a first-world problem or what? In all fairness, though, this comes with the territory for a trip like this. Research and logistical planning can easily turn into a full-time, not-always-fun job…]

Going to Greece was a dream destination – another idyllic amazing place on this planet. My husband and I had both been there long before meeting and were so looking forward to going back, this time as a family. It should have been a joy to plan. But it wasn’t.

The other thing is that we weren’t quite ready to leave Croatia and this beautiful water.

Then it hit us. This place feels a lot like Greece. Why don’t we just stay here?!

I did a quick Airbnb search, which turned up a darling apartment at a very reasonable price in some random town down the coast. What caught my eye was the stunning water views and its location literally feet from the beach.

 

It felt like fate (not to mention significant $$ savings after having annihilated our budget with this boat trip). Right then and there, we decided to skip Greece and stay in Croatia while we figured out next steps and enjoyed the pristine, blue waters of the Adriatic Sea for just a little longer.

So on Friday, we finally determined what country we would be in on Sunday and booked a place to stay. Problem solved! There is something to be said for occasionally taking the easy way out of a dilemma.

Ah, the beauty of spontaneity. Plus, it felt right.  Immediately upon making that decision, I was flooded with relief.

Indeed, it turned out to be a good call. Something miraculous happened during our stay in that tiny, obscure little town…

Next up: Serendipity Comes Calling in Magical Podstrana, Croatia