Hello all,
I'm looking for a place to find sobes for various locations in Croatia -- Dubrovnik, Split, etc. Is there anything other than Air BnB? Sorry if that is a ridiculous question! I'm used to looking for accommodations on Hotels.com but I figure there is something better, especially for these, maybe something locals use?
OK - I'll bite - what are sobes?
Hi Christi,
Sobes are rooms or apartments that are rented out in Croatia.
I first discovered them through a travel talk about Croatia and Slovenia done by Cameron Hewitt, linked here: https://youtu.be/MGDn5kljtsI?t=1568
Thanks - never heard them called that before.
I don't have a website for finding them, but we used the RS book to choose our sobe several years ago.
We stayed at Jadranka Benussi outside the Pile Gate up the hill behind the Hilton on our first trip. We had a lovely terrace with a view of the Adriatic.
A lot of the usual accommodation services (e.g., Booking.com) offer apartment rentals nowadays. You can also go to the home page of every island and town for accommodation links. If you mean literally a room only and not an apartment, then I would go through tourist offices.
Older ladies meet arriving passengers with hand-written signs just as you get off an island ferry (you're supposed to come with them to see the room if interested - it's that simple and straightforward). "Sobes" (as I experienced them) were super informal ways of locals to rent out their rooms. I would not expect them to have any internet infrastructure behind them (that keep the costs down a lot), although I suppose they could be called "sobes" in various online listings. I don't speak Croatian, but "sobes" may simply mean "rooms".
In Rovinj (Istria), at least some of the local tourist agencies had books of sobe listings. I did not see any private parties hanging out around the bus station and offering rooms in either Rovinj or Zagreb. I did not go to any islands on my last trip to Croatia.
I believe I did see some "sobe" signs displayed on houses. Don't forget to check on the air conditioning situation if you're traveling during the summer.
Booking.com has some rather informal listings. I ended up in two efficiency apartments and one room, all found through booking.com. None was in somebody's private home; the latter happened only in Rovinj, via a travel agency.
One thing to keep in mind is that smoking is considerably more common in Croatia than in the US. Most if not all hotels have rooms that are non-smoking, at least in theory. (I think there's an EU regulation.) In someone's private home, the conditions can be quite different. I speak from experience when I say that you may be dealing with active second-hand smoke, not just a lingering odor.
Thanks for all your great responses!
re: Agnes, Is it easy and reliable enough to do that? Do you have a sense of the price of an average room for two backpackers who don't need much?
re: acraven, That's a great point, and would really make me second guess doing all of this.
I've only been to a few islands, so I cannot generalize how many options you should expect when you visit. I don't suspect the cost would be high, especially compared to formal hotels. And perhaps you can negotiate, although it may have to be in broken Croatian. I was in Croatia at the end of August/early Sept, if that makes any difference. Could you find some blogs online dealing with this so you could get at least some estimate of availability?
Split and Dubrovnik will certainly have people offering rooms at the port/bus station, unless things have drastically changed. Where else are you headed? As I said, if you don't meet anyone offering rooms, head straight to the closest tourist office. They will have books of rooms on offer and will set it up for you. Some might feel safer going about it that way, but I never had any trouble dealing with people on the spot--amazing country in that respect! If you want it to be cheaper, then booking in advance is not the way to go about it, but in high season you should book in advance for Dubrovnik at least (if you want to stay in/near old town).
re: valadelphia Great, thanks! I am very likely headed to Dubrovnik, and most likely to Split and perhaps Hvar or Korcula as well, so your advice is well taken.
Honestly if you just drive down any road you will see signs for Sobe / Zimmer / Rooms all over the country.
Many cities, as you pull into town have a TI - tourist info - usually marked with a sign that has "t"
They can arrange rooms and places to stay / eat.
I've done complete vacations where I did nothing but do Sobe at 5-6 pm every day...had a blast!
