Sam 28 Croatia / Venice / Canazei Italy / My Kosher Hotel TR during Covid Aug21

[sam28]

Croatia / Venice / Canazei Italy / My Kosher Hotel TR Covid

Flights

EWR MUC – DBV with Lufthansa Business class booked with Miles and more


Zadar – Vce with a Stop in Vie booked with Miles and more points was the best option

Vce EWR with stop in Fra with Lufthansa in business with Miles and more points


Hotels

Dubrovnik  Sun Gardens

Plitvice   Air BNB

Venice  Carnival Palace

Italy My Kosher Hotel

Cars Active - Sixt


Introduction

   Since covid was still ongoing it was a little hard to find a place where to vacation, that wasn’t so strict with covid rules. We decided to go to Croatia and then Venice for a weekend. Once in Venice we wanted to stay another few days so we chose Lake Garda. It’s about a 2 hour drive from VCE airport. In the end all the hotels and Airbnb were sold out. We managed to find something not our first choice but on our way up we changed our mind and headed to My Kosher Hotel in the Italian Alps, which is a 3 hour drive from where we were. We didn’t regret it one bit, and still plan to visit Lake Garda next time since it’s such a beautiful place.

July 27, day 1

Flight day

Our trip was scheduled for two weeks. In Croatia there’s no kosher food what so ever. We took along lots of food, vacuum packed suppers and food for Shabbos, lots of nosh, we took along our seven year old girl.

Going to the airport was a huge schlep! We had many suitcases, and boxes of food. We flew from EWR and everything went well. We sat in the lounge a little and then it was time to board. Since we flew business class they did not say anything about our overweight luggage. The flight went fast and we had a three hour stopover in MUC.

Our flight to MUC



We went to the lounge in Munich airport. They didn’t allow us in to the lounge only with Kn95 masks. They made everyone buy one in the duty free shop in order to go in. Once we went in they served some drinks and food, but nothing self-service like normal.


Our Flight to DBV

 

Our flight to DBV was full, and it went fast. Once we landed in Dubrovnik, a small airport we had to show our negative covid tests and fill out a record locator form. That was it! We were out of the airport with all our stuff about 20 minutes after landing.


We even got a meal on this small flight



Outside was a very hot 92 degree weather. We had to cross the street to the car rental, and had to wait for someone to come give us a car. He came with our car and took us to the main office to fill out paperwork about a 4 minute drive from the airport.

First view of Croatia





It’s very hard to find a car these days, so I rented from Active Car. Their service was good, but expensive. It took about 10 minutes till I was out of there.

Car rental



Then we were on our way to the hotel Sun Gardens. The way took about 35 minutes. The views on the way were gorgeous. We checked into the hotel, they have a main building and then they have bigger rooms called units. It’s a big room with a kitchen a porch and beautiful ocean view. We unpacked and needed more freezer space, they bought us a chest freezer. Then we went to tour the hotel. When we got back to our room was about 9pm and we called it a night.

First look outside our hotel look how many steps to go to the water and pools



July 29, Day 2 in Croatia

We woke up late, but went to check out the hotel grounds, ate breakfast, and got ready to go out.

Morning view from our room





Picture of the front main building. We stayed the side building where they have bigger rooms with kitchens,

 

View from the lobby.

 

 

At about 1 pm we left the hotel with our car and drove to the old city of Dubrovnik. The views of that drive is so stunning words can’t describe it. The way took about 25 minutes. We parked somewhere near the walls of the old city and managed to get a ticket because parking was for residents only.
Entering the old Citi

 

View from the harber



We walked around a bit then bought tickets to walk on the wall of the old city. It took us about two hours. We did it with our seven year old and it was 90 degrees with a strong sun. It was very hot. They do sell drinks along the way, but we had plenty with us and had to remember to keep drinking. The views are so beautiful; this walk is a must to do if you visit Dubrovnik.

Pictures from the walk on the wall


 


Its allot of steps up and down.

 

View of the old city from above

 



 

 

The old city



Look at this water.

 

 

Then we visited one of the oldest synagogues in Europe. They have a museum with a scroll from 700 years ago and many old stuff. It was interesting.

Pictures of the Synagogues





 

 


 

We walked around the old city and went to the port. There they have all kinds of boats that you can rent with a driver or a public boat with many people. We rented a private boat with a driver that took us around for an hour for $100.00 which is very cheap. He gave us a tour on the water around the city walls and more. It was a nice way to cool off a little from the heat. Then we went back to our hotel.

One of the old city walls



 

Pictures of the boat ride



 

 

 

Our boat

 

 

The walls from the water

 





 

Our kid only wanted to go swimming. So we enjoyed one of the eight pools the hotel has.

Here is a picture of some of the pools,
 


 

 

 

[VacationLover]

Sounds amazing.
We want more!
Did you travel with kids?

[sam28]

Sounds amazing.
We want more!
Did you travel with kids?

will come soon, yes, we took our 7-year-old daughter my other one was in camp.

[Mosheber]

Beautiful TR.

[sam28]

3rd day was Friday July 30

We went to buy some drinks for Shabbos. And food is whatever we took along from the USA. Tons! We had a lot of food.

We went back to the old city and took a boat to Lukrum Island. They have boats every 30 minutes to and from the island. It’s a very nice island with history, nice gardens and a good place to swim in crystal clear water. Then we came back to the hotel, took a swim in the hotels pool and got ready for a nice
relaxing Shabbos in Dubrovnik.

View on the way

 



Going it to the old city

 

 

The boat to Lukrum

 

Just look at this view

 

 

 

 

This is like a hot springs

 

 

And back to Dubrovnik we are

 

Part of our food

 

 

 

Supper our first night

 

They gave us a big freezer so we can keep all our frozen meals there




Shabbos went fast, we enjoyed it a lot, took some nice walks in the area, ate drank slept and then it was over.

[sam28]

Sunday day 5

Some trouble in paradise

The day we left NY I got an email for the owner of the Airbnb we booked in Split that the house was double booked and I lost my reservations. This was the first of many. Our plan was to go to Split on Sunday and stay there for two or three nights. From when we arrived to Croatia we tried finding a place to stay in Split everything was sold out or I booked then got an email that the house isn’t available. We were going crazy, we wasted most of Sunday and Monday to find any place, on any website. My credit card had over $10k holds of deposits, the credit card company said it’s the owners problem, it was messed up. The hotel we were staying was sold out, but they were very nice and made arrangements so that we can stay one more night. But Monday morning we had to be out of there. 

Monday morning came and we had no place to stay at in Split or anywhere close by. We had no choice and had to change plans. For this trip we skipped Split
and a boat trip to the Islands. We will come back one day to cover those.
With all that going on we still didn’t want to skip Plitvik Park. We ended up booking a nice apartment about 10 minutes away from the park. We stayed there for the rest of our trip in Croatia since we had lots of food and this apartment had a kitchen with a big refrigerator and freezer. It ended up being great but not the way we planned it.

So back to Sunday, we spent the day at the hotels pools and beach, enjoying the hot sunny day. Our kid enjoyed the pool the most she had a blast while we were trying to find where to stay for the rest of our trip.

For sunset we drove up the highest point in Dubrovnik. It’s called Fort Imperial. You can either take a cable car up the mountain or drive up yourself. We chose to drive up and the views were wow! Stunning! We watched sunset and drove down. I’d say it’s a must to do.

Pictures of the sunset view and way up

 



Here u see the old city of Dubrovnik and the walls what a view

 

 

 

 

 

[sam28]

Monday morning

We packed up checked out of the hotel and on our way to Plitvik.

Sun Garden Hotels service was the best, the views from the hotel were amazing, we really enjoyed our stay there, we would go back there in a heartbeat.

The way to Plitvik takes 5 hours. It’s a long way but you drive by the coast, so you have breathtaking views. An hour into the trip you cross a border into Bosnia. You drive about 15 minutes then cross the border again to enter Croatia. We made some stops along the way, and after a long drive we finally arrived to Plitvik.

Crossing the border

 

 

 

We checked into this small nice apartment, it was very clean. We anyways had no other choice. We went out to get some drinks. Behind the apartment was a little playground with swings, seesaw, balls, and more. It was a very relaxing place.

Our nice back yard

 

Supper for the night

 

[sam28]

Tuesday

We bought tickets online a night before for the most beautiful park. Plitvice Lakes National Park

We got tickets for 10am.

We got up early and off to the park we went. We parked by entrance 2 Then walked about 20 minutes including lots of steps till the entrance of the park. There are a few routes you can take to cover the park we took route H. It takes about 4-6 hours to cover this route. It includes a stunning boat ride. Once we got to the entrance of the park you take a shuttle that takes you to the start of your route. The wait area for the shuttles were packed but it moves quickly.

 When we got to the start of our route there were tons of people. The park is beautiful. The water is crystal clear you see fish swimming all over. The waterfalls are stunning. No words! No pictures can describe the beauty of this park. We did this park with a seven year old girl, and it was doable. This park is a must if you visit Croatia. It took us till 5pm to finish our route, then we walked back to our car, and ten minutes later we were back to our nice little apartment.

This is the hike before entering the park

 

This was the route we took H

 

The bus that takes you up where the route starts

 

First waterfall of many pictures can’t describe it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Signs that tell u where to go



Boat ride
 

 


Here u can buy drinks and place to relax.

 

Look at the walk way around this lake
 


 

 

 

We ate delicious vacuum packed hot supper, relaxed in our backyard and made plans for our last full day in Croatia.

[sam28]

Wednesday

We booked a tour with kayaks. You kayak down a river and waterfalls. They kept saying its safe for kids so how scary can it be? It was such a thrill, scary and fun! We left our phones in the car because they said they take pictures and videos and email it to you. So we have some pictures, I’ll share what I can. We got there and saw a place with all kinds of Atvs and boat tours, they are called Kayak Safari by Ratake  We booked Mreznica Waterfalls tours.
Some pictures I got from them.

 

Jumping of the cliff

 

 

 

 

 

Once you get there they drive you on a bus for about 30 minutes to the water. We were a group of about 15 boats. The tour takes 3 hours going down waterfalls, jumping off cliffs and rafting. This was a lot of fun. Once the tour is done they take you back to the place you parked your car. It took till about 2pm. If you’re looking for a thrill this is for you!

Then we were looking for something fun to do for our daughter. We went to an Adventure park. But there was nothing to do there for kids so we went to a place called Bara Caves. They give you a tour of old caves it takes about an hour. It was very interesting. Then we spent some times outside, they have a nice park and sitting area, and then we went back to our apartment.

Pictures of the cave.

 

 

Relaxing outside the cave
 

[SuperFlyer]

Very nice trip report, thank you very much.

I was supposed to visit Dubrovnik several years ago, but the airlines had such delays, that I ended up arriving on time for my flight out of Dubrovnik...

[sam28]

Very nice trip report, thank you very much.

I was supposed to visit Dubrovnik several years ago, but the airlines had such delays, that I ended up arriving on time for my flight out of Dubrovnik...

Thanks for the commend, it's a beautiful place.

[traveljph]

This looks like an amazing trip, planning to travel to Croatia early next year, any tips on things I must try while there?

[sam28]

This looks like an amazing trip, planning to travel to Croatia early next year, any tips on things I must try while there?

i think by reading this Trip report you should get allot of info if you have any questions, you can always ask.

[sam28]

Thursday

Our last day in Croatia.

 Our flight was out of Zader and was scheduled for 1pm. We left our hotel at 9am so that we can still take covid tests in the airport. The way to the airport is about an hour. The airport is so small we had about 2 hours to sit outside and watch planes, getting in our last views of Croatia and off to Venice!

Zadar Airport

 

 

 

Croatia is a beautiful place to visit. We hope to be back soon!

[sam28]

Venice Part

Our flight to VCE was with a stop in VIE since there were no direct flights. Our flight had an hour delay but we arrived in Vce about 5 pm.
We managed to be out of the airport in 30 minutes. We walked with all our luggage to take a boat taxi to our hotel.
All the taxis charged the same, and they took credit cards. 25 minutes later we got to our hotel. The views and the boat ride wow was it nice.

We arrive to our hotel Carnival Palace about 7pm. We checked in, and got a room with a view of the canal. They gave the best service. The room was beautiful. It was still during covid but the hotel was packed with yidden.

View of Venice while landing

 

Leaving the airport VCE

 

 

Sunset view while arriving with our water taxi.



We were starved after a long day of traveling. We went to GamGam to eat. They made us wait 30 minutes but then we got some yummy food.

I was trying to reach the Chabad Rabbi for about 2 weeks to book food for Shabbos but I couldn’t reach him. It looked like it was all booked for Shabbos. Once I was at the restaurant he told me he saw all my emails he will make sure I have a table for Shabbos with all food. He’s a real nice person, I gave him a nice donation after Shabbos.

After eating we strolled around Venice a little, got the feel of Venice at night. Checked out Chabad.

our room

 

Kids bed



 
Nice desk

 

View from the room

 

Some yummy food from GamGam

 

 

 

[sam28]

Friday Aug 6 2021

We woke up to the beautiful view of Venice. Davened had coffee and went to get some pizza from GamGam. Then we started our day.

First morning view from our room

 

Kosher store

 

 

 

From our gondola ride

 



The palace

 

 

 

Glass tour

 

 


We wanted to take a tour of the shul but that day Italy came out with a new law that you have to be vaccinated or have a negative covid test every 2nd day. We did have a test but there were no tours available till late. We walked around Venice took a gondola tour, took a boat to a glass factory, to see how glass is made. Took a public boat to come back from the glass factory. By the time we got back it was 4:30, we went back to our hotel and got ready for an amazing

Shabbos in Venice.

Friday night I davened in the old synagogue. I needed to send in my ID and negative covid test before Shabbos. We had a beautiful davening with masks on which I hated. They made early Shabbos davened early, 7:15 and it took about 1 hour.

We finished davening much earlier than Chabad so we needed to wait a little till the tables were set for the seudah. They gave us a table outside which was very nice at night. By day was very hot. Next time I’ll choose to sit inside.

They served us some yummy food. Overall the food there is delicious!
Shabbos day I davened at Chabad. They start about 10 and finish about 12:15. They make a small Kiddush outside. Then, again a delicious meal was served.

In the afternoon we went for a long walk and got to enjoy Venice.
About 7 I we went back for mincha, then they served a big shalosh seudahs. Went back to Chabad shul for mariv and they make Havdalah outside.

[sam28]

Sunday morning view
 


Sunday morning, we got some pizza from the dairy Gam Gam. We went to see some sites and we got a private taxi boat to the airport where we rented a car.
Venice is an amazing place to go to for a weekend. You can have good food. I hope to be back one day!   

We were supposed to go from the Venice airport to Lake Garda for a few days but all hotels were booked up. On our way out of VCE we decided maybe to change plans and go to My Kosher Hotel in Canazei Italy.       

We sent them an email asked if they have place for us and they replied that they did have a room available. So we booked it for 4 nights and we did not regret it.

My Kosher Hotel in Canazei Italy

It’s a 2 ½ hour beautiful drive. We kept stopping to take pictures of the amazing view.  Wow the way was gorgeous!

Pic on our way to Hotel

 

 

We arrived about 4pm. We checked in, unpacked and went to check out the park outside of the hotel. Supper was served at 7.

View of our room

 

First view outside My Kosher

 

 

 

Food is really good there. They serve breakfast and supper, and they let you pack up from breakfast for lunch.



Dining room

 

Shoul

 

 



Its buffet style and main course is served

 

 

 

 

 

Lamb chops

 

 

 

There are many beautiful places and views to go to in Canazei. Even just to sit outside the hotel with a coffee was just breathtaking. The waterfalls, the mountains were wow gorgeous! There’s plenty to do there for the kids too. I will list some of the places we went to with some pictures.

[sam28]

Morning view day 1 Monday Aug 21

Day 1 woke up, davened, had a yummy breakfast which you can eat either inside or outside. Enjoyed my coffee outside with this beautiful view. One of the major good things about this hotel is that the views around the hotel are so stunning, you can just there for hours and enjoy the view.



 

 

Breakfast
 


 

We went to Gardone Alpine Coaster, it’s a fun place for kids and adults too. You take a chairlift very high up, and up on the mountain there’s a coaster. We rode it a few times, the views from the coaster are absolutely gorgeous. Then there’s a playground there for kids. We spent there about 2 hours. The views of the mountains and waterfalls all around you are stunning.

Chair lift going up

 

 

On our way up

 

 

 

From there we drove to a place called  Rosengarten vigo Di Fasa one of the tallest mountain in Italy it’s the Dolomites u take about 3 chair lifts all the way up the views up there wow and some fun things to do for kids there.

 

View from up there

 

 

 

Instead of going down with the chairlift they have an option where you can take a zip line down the mountain. I never saw such a thing before. It’s called Catinaccio/Rosengarten Fly line. It’s 1100 Meters long. It’s a lot of fun and scary. The views going down are stunning. Here’s a link to the place.

https://www.catinacciodolomiti.it/en/catinaccio-rosengarten-fly-line/

From there we went to a place called Naturdenkmal Monumento, where you walk around a beautiful lake with the mountains reflecting in the water. In takes about 25 minutes. Pictures won’t do justice to this place. We just sat there and took in the views of Hashems wonders. Wow take a look!

 

 

Just look at this wow

 

 

 

Way in you go under this tunnel

 

It was almost suppertime so we drove back to the hotel and got served a delicious supper. Wow the food was so good. Then we davened. And every night we took a walk around the area. They have nice parks outside the hotels with nice playgrounds and water running through the area with small waterfalls. Good for all ages. You can sit there, relax, or walk around. 

Supper night 2

]

 

 

[mr.]

Wow
thanks so much
what an amazing trip report
looking forward to the rest!

[sam28]

Day 3

Our morning view for our coffee

 

This is a nice park outside the hotel.

 

We left in the morning to go to Marmolada Punta Rocca. The tallest mountain I think in Italy. On the way we passed a beautiful lake it’s called Lago Di Fedaia. We stopped for a few minutes to take pictures and take in the view. It’s a must to stop.

 

 

By the way the driving part is part of the fun. Each turn has a different view.

Once we arrived to Marmolada you buy tickets for the cable cars. You have to take three cable cars to get to the top of the mountain. It’s so high up, there’s snow up there, but it’s a must. We walked around, took pictures, spent about 30 minutes there then came down.

 

 

 

Going down look how steep it is.

 

Then we went to a nice lake called Lago Di Alleghe. Yes, it’s another lake, that you can walk around with such stunning views I can’t even describe it. We rented there a small paddle boat for an hour. The water was so relaxing; it was really nice.
 


 

 

Not far from this lake there is a nice park with many fun things to do for kids. The place is called Avvenparco Tura Localita Ronco. You drive all the way up on a high mountain. They have all kinds of slides, a big rope coarse with many zip lines. We spent there about 3 hours. It was fun and the views from up there were gorgeous. Then we went back to our hotel for some good food.

 

 

 

 

 

My Kosher Hotel is an amazing place to go just as a couple or with kids. They have so much to do around the hotel area that if you don’t drive that’s not an issue. All the food was very good. We enjoyed it so much that we went back in December for a few more days. Maybe I’ll write a TR about that too.

Supper the last night.

 

 

 

 

The hotel prepared us a lot of food for the next morning as we left the hotel 5:30am, to the airport. Our flight back to USA was from VCE with a stop in MUC. We flew with LF in business class and it was very nice as always.

LF 747 upstairs

 

I hope you enjoyed this TR. Hopefully it wasn’t too long and will be helpful for anyone that wants to go.

I would appreciate it if you can leave feed back thanks,