My first hike in northern Croatia was a short, relatively easy one, just about 30 minutes up a hill to a ruined castle and then a tower overlook. The trails were quiet, the castle ruins gorgeously overgrown, the day sunny – a first hint of summer to come.
If you’re thinking about hiking to Samobor’s castle, here’s what it looks like and how to go.
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Want to experience the hike for yourself? Here are some relevant details:
Directions
The hike starts in Samobor, which is about 45 minutes from Zagreb by bus. To get there, you can take a bus from the Zagreb bus station (bus routes and times here). Please note that even if they say the bus takes 30 minutes, it’ll actually take more like 45 – 60 (I took a supposedly “direct” bus that was not direct).
Hiking times and local transportation
The hike to the ruins is very short (I didn’t time mine like I usually do, but I think it took less than 15 minutes to the ruins and less than 30 to the tower). Past the ruins, you can also continue up the hill to a church and then a metal tower that you can climb for views over the town and into the hills.
To get to the hike, follow the river and watch for signs for Stari Grad (that means castle in Croatian).
Dogs on trails
Dogs are welcome here and we saw several on our short hike. The tower is very precarious, so I wouldn’t suggest taking your pup up unless you have them secured in some way (Luna went up with me in her backpack).
Is the trail crowded?
Not when I did it on a sunny springtime Friday, but I imagine in summer it gets more popular with day-trippers from Zagreb.
What to bring
As always with hiking, wear good shoes (these are the ones I use) and weather-appropriate clothing. Bring your own water (there are no fountains on the trail). For the dog, I always carry a small carrier backpack just in case she needs a ride (which she did because of the tower). And because I love taking photos, you won’t find me on a trail without my camera. (All the photos above were taken with my Sony a6000.)
Happy hiking!
2 comments
Great pictures! so much greenery and definitely summery weather. I am moving back to the Balkans in summer 2022 for 2-3 years, so I will make sure to visit Croatia and this castle.
By the way, in a previous post I think you mentioned you were looking for good chapstick. For colour one I would definitely recommend this British brand https://fruuurskin.com/collections/colour-balm (vegan and made with fruit ingredients) and for non-colour one the best I have tried (and the only one I use these days) is Dr Organic multi action lip balm with aloe vera which also has SPF 15.
Ah lovely photos and blue skies. I have spent many nights in Samobor and yet not yet walked up to the castle. Language note: stari grad translates as “old town.” Grad = city, stari = old. Castle is “dvorac.” Fun fact: the “castle” in Trsat is called a castle for tourism, but it’s actually a Gradina, which is more like an outlook/post/fortress. I am no expert, but this is some basic vocab it took an extremely long time to learn if you would maybe like to try to impress anyone in Rijeka with your gradina knowledge :)