Sometimes the best nights when you are travelling is actually having a night in a hostel you are staying in. The Wild Fig Hostel is no exception.
Dinner At the Wild Fig Hostel
Feeling traumatised after being attacked by the lurking monster of Zadar, it’s quite right that Mark, my travel buddy would cook dinner for me. After all, we were on a budget and we shouldn’t be going out every night on the trot to find food. Luckily, the hostel, the Wild Fig Hostel, was just yards away from Zadar’s supermarket.
However, such a simple meal of pasta and sauce would turn into such a palaver.
After grabbing the ingredients, we checked into our room, and got to work in their kitchen. By work, I mean, Mark cooking everything including his very own bruschetta and pasta.
Me? I just supervised and helpfully cut apart an onion disgracefully. But as soon we were about to pour into the sauce, we were stopped by the Hostel’s owner. She told us we were about to pour into our pan a burger relish instead of sauce. Huh? We were confused and tasted our jar. Guess what, she was right. Oh dear, it was a common mistake with backpackers in her hostel getting confused with the jar labels.
I was sent out to the supermarket to get the right ingredient. Cue me being confused and asking a Croatian local to help me find a pasta sauce in their language. It all looked rather the same to me.
Returning with the correct ingredient, we could finally sit down in the warm night outside in their quirky garden and eat in peace whilst reflecting our first week in Croatia.
The Garden and Chill out area
After dinner, after invitation from the Dutch boys who also stayed in our dorm room, we joined them along with an English girl to have a few drinks. I mean, what could a few drinks do?
Drinks In the Wild Fig Hostel
If there’s anything the Wild Fig Hostel prides itself on, it’s the friendly party atmosphere. Mark and I had trouble finding a good place to hang out in Croatia in our first week of backpacking but in Zadar, we had arrived. Creating an ambient chilled out room in their outdoor bar area, you couldn’t help but converse with other backpackers seen as seats were directly faced each other to listen into people’s conversations. Yes, there was a discussion about crime rates in Detroit. (I’m seriously not kidding…zzzz)
The Wild Fig Hostel Bar – pic by tripadvisor
Making friends with the Dutch boys and Jenny along with a couple of Americans and Germans, we were soon toasting rakia drinks and discussing highbrow conversations (who was hotter) into the night until the doors had to be closed not to disturb the neighbours.
The staff were absolutely crazily funny and couldn’t help make you laugh along with them. More so, they were available for your ever need. We wanted to go to Plitvice Lakes the next day for a day out to attune ourselves with nature. Therefore, the staff really tried to find other backpackers to join us to share costs for a minibus. Unfortunately, as much as they tried, they couldn’t anyway but they did give us very detailed information how we could make our way to Plitvice Lakes via public transport.
It was easily the best night we’ve ever had fun in Croatia and it goes to show that with nationalities joining together, we were all one people with common interests and experiences.
So once, we were in bed, we were more than happy to stay longer if we had the time. The hostel is so much fun!
Review: Wild Fig Hostel
So how was the Wild Fig Hostel?
Dorm Room: Mark and I stayed in a 10 bed dorm room. Luckily, it wasn’t at all cramped and did have some space to swing a backpack round. The bunk beds were sturdy and didn’t make any noises. Secured lockers were available to be used. Also, a huge tick in my book is that there were individual power points for each bed and had your very own lamp.
Bathroom: There were separate bathrooms for each sex which is a plus. (I don’t want to be waiting for a girl to finish getting ready hours later). The boys’ bathroom was slightly bizarre and provided a merry source of amusement as an urinal was firmly anchored next to the shower entrance. This meant you had to breathe in to avoid touching the urinal going by after you washed yourself. The shower itself was fine.
Bar and Entertainment: There are themed nights every night at the hostel. On our first day, there was a BBQ night in full swing that served exceedingly good value burgers. I do have to say that it was rather yummy. The layout of the main living space and the outdoor area was rather well staged to get everyone talking with each other. So much so, you won’t feel left out at all. The bar is manned with hilarious staff who likes to play practical jokes on each other.
Service: Absolutely fantastic. The hostel staff were extremely helpful and tried to get a group together to go to Plitvice Lakes in a mini-bus at a cheaper price. They also gave invaluable local advice and often went out of their way to inspire you.
Cleanliness: This was probably the main drawback of the hostel I found. When we arrived early in the morning, we found a lot of rubbish about the place (possibly due to last night). Also, the main living area was rather dusty and had cat hair due to the 2 cats that skulked about the place. Over time, the rubbish was cleaned up so the rest of our time there and the cleanliness was average.
Location: Set just outside Zadar’s city centre, the hostel is only seven minutes walk from the main bus station. which makes the hostel a very convenient place for transport. Furthermore, it takes 20 minutes to walk to the city centre or you take a very beautiful scenic walk that takes forty minutes long. The area was quiet and the only sounds you’d probably hear is the occasional car driving to the local supermarket just two minutes walk away.
Overall rating: I would give the Wild Fig Hostel 4 out of 5 stars.
So, as I settled in bed, I went to charge my iPhone to get it ready to take pictures the next day when we would be in Plitvice Lakes. But as I connected it to the PowerPoint, I saw the battery wasn’t charging. Trying it out on different plug sockets, the battery still refused to charge. What’s happening? It is broken?
Going to sleep, I assumed my phone was being temperamental and would charge itself at some point in the night…but would it?
Find out in my next post in my backpacking adventure in Croatia as we go to Plitvice Lakes…
Want to read more Croatian Adventures? Check out the following:
Day 5: Hitching Croatian Airlines to Zadar
Day 5 (Continued): The Lurking Monster of Zadar
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nice place , looks like the staff are really nice and helpful