A cozy house steps away from the beach, our family home consists of living rm + kitchen, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths + outdoor shower, 2 front terraces w hot tub + large covered back terrace with an additional kitchen, hearth and grill, and living/dining area. AC in all rooms. Sleeps 7-10, but max 8 adults. We welcome diverse groups of people, as long as you are over 25.
The bedrooms have all new mattresses and all pillows have allergy protective covers. Bed linens, house and beach towels are provided.
INFO for entry to Croatia: https://croatia.hr/en-GB/coronavirus-2019-ncov-q-and-a
Villa Lavanda is a front-row beach house with art gallery, luscious terraced gardens, three covered terraces, each w/seating set (one that seats 16 for large groups); 120m2 indoors + 50m covered terraces, + 300m2 gardens + tandem parking for 3 SMALL cars. If you have a bigger car, there are paid parking lots in the area.
It is equipped with modern amenities: AC, internet access, wifi, TV+ cable chanels, washing/drying machines, dishwasher, microwave, coffee machine, ice maker, and a gas BBQ grill. Organic gardens are filled with lavender mixed with fig, orange and lemon trees, rosemary and sage, which you can pick to add to your BBQ.
SUMMER SEASON: If your group is larger and needs additional sleeping, but wants to use our home as your base, we can book extra rooms at neighbors adjacent to the house. Pls ask about this in an email.
Here is a video about our house: clip and paste into your browser: https://www.facebook.com/726065340824184/videos/331426941376132
In addition, we organize immersive experiences for you – wine tastings at local vineyards, or bringing a reputable local chef who will spend an afternoon/evening at Villa Lavanda and teach you how to prepare a local Dalmatian meal (seafood, vegetarian, you pick!) You can participate or just watch. Meals can range from a traditional Dalmatian “peka” to “buzara.” These meals will be prepared with fresh food coming from a local organic farm.
In addition to the perfect beach location, and the luscious garden terraces, Villa Lavanda is filled with art. The owner, whose ancestors are from this village, is an art history professor who collected and displayed pieces of art, making this both a charming and sophisticated house. Art pieces are either replicas of historically important art, or originals from local artists (hung high on the wall, so you don’t need to worry about your children reaching them).
The Modern bedroom (king-size bed) exhibits modern art pieces. It also has a sea view. The other bedrooms have views toward the gardens. The Classic bedroom also has a king-size bed and has classic art pieces, including some replicas of greek and roman art. The third bedroom is the children's room with a bunkbed (adult size) - full on the bottom, single on top. The Rustic bedroom has a queen size bed, and in addition has one single bed in the loft. There is a chair-mattrass in a loft. The living room also has a sleep sofa, if needed.
KITCHENS: there are two: indoor and outdoor. The indoor kitchen is fully equipped with stove/oven, fridge, two sets of pots and bowls, sets of dishes for 12 people, spices, wine glasses, etc., as well as a coffee machine, microwave and dishwasher. The outdoor kitchen includes another fridge, an additional stove and microwave, ice making machine, as well as a very large gas grill.
Bed linen, house and beach towels are provided and so are many “beach toys,” such as beach chairs and umbrella, sand toys, and balls, as well as masks for snorkeling.
GETTING THERE: Cultural Cross-Roads
Gradac is the most southern beach village on the Makarska Riviera. It is placed at the crossroads from the Roman Split and the Renaissance Dubrovnik, to UNESCO-protected Muslim village. The region has many cultural and religious sites including the Catholic churches and the Pilgrimage Medjugorje, Sephardic synagogues, Orthodox churches, and mosques. Gradac is also very close to a few recognized wine appellations. - organic one Komarna, near the Peljesac bridge and many on Peljesac penninsula.
Gradac is centrally located between the Split and Dubrovnik airports, so you can fly to either one. Split Airport is time-wise closer. Depending on how you plan to spend your vacation, having a car is not a necessity at our house as there are stores and restaurants nearby. If you don’t plan on renting a car and need an airport transportation to and from, or occasional additional rides, we can organize that. Just let us know.
It is a faster trip from Split, as the A1 highway from Split goes all the way to Ploce, so you only have a few kilometers on a two-way road to Gradac, making it an 1.5 hour drive. The drive to Dubrovnik airport is an hour longer as it is only a two-way road. Getting to Gradac is not an issue, but getting back to the Dubrovnik airport to your return flight might be, so we recommend people stay south of Dubrovnik (Cavtat) for the last night before their trip back home.
GRADAC
Take a stroll on the beach and enjoy snorkeling, diving, peddle boat and surf rentals, etc. You can rent bikes in the nearby hotel. The local bakery is a few meters away, a convenience store about 100 m away, and both the pharmacy and a medical office are in town (which you hopefully will not need on your vacation).
During the summer, there is a waterpark perfect for children and adventurous adults.
There are plenty of small restaurants and cafés in town. So, if you chose to, you can stay on the beach and relax for days, and just walk everywhere.
HIDDEN NEARBY GEMS
In addition to the beautiful Adriatic sea and all watersport activities, there are many points of interest in this area, which is a genuine cultural cross-road. From Split to Dubrovnik (both of which have very old Sephardic synagogues; the one in Dubrovnik being the oldest one still in use in Europe) to Mostar and Počitelj with their Otoman Empire architecture - you will be mesmerized with the beauty of the geography, architecture and music and the notion of inclusivity regardless of the recent wars.
Add to that a few hidden adventures like a photo safari in the Neretva valley or kite surfing on the delta sand beaches, you will wish time has stopped.
We encourage you take advantage of being close to many sites that are not as frequently visited, and all are within a short distance of Gradac. Upon your booking we will send you a list with links to many sites, including these:
Komarna Appellation Wineries – organic appellation with tastings - Rizman, Terra madre
Kite surfing on Neretva delta
Metkovic -- Narona, old Roman city, in situ archeological museum
Bacina Lakes
Pocitelj and Mostar, one day trip to Herzegovina
Day-trips by boat to the islands of Korcula and Hvar
Zaostrog - old Franciscan monastery with an ethno museum
Makarska - from Shell museum to the Skywalk
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