Gradac

A taste of pomalo

Gradac is a municipality and small village on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast bordering the Adriatic Sea, in the southernmost part of Split-Dalmatia County. It is located halfway between the cities of Split and Dubrovnik.

Approximately 1000 residents call the village home year around (the entire municipality, 2400 people), but during the high season – from mid-June until the first week of September – that number swells tremendously as tourists flock to the coast “on holiday.”

I discovered Gradac last year, as it’s where the owners of Croatian Premium Wine Imports have a second home, which they rent when they’re not there. I stayed there for a week in May 2024, before the tourists arrived, and we visited a couple of wineries – Terra Madre and Rizman – in nearby Komarna. So, when I was offered the opportunity to return for a few days in July 2025, I said yes.

By car, Gradac is about six hours from Zagreb, depending on traffic. However, I don’t have a car, so I decided to take the bus, FlixBus.

The 6:00 AM departure was a 10-hour trip with many stops. It was the longest bus I’ve ever taken. While it might seem miserable to some, I enjoyed the ride as this Zagreb to Dubrovnik route took us along the Adriatic Sea coast from Zadar to Gradac. The return trip was eight hours – fewer stops – and did not follow the coast after a stop in Split.

Our first break stop was in Zadar for about 20 minutes. I had just enough time to use the WC (toilet), get a coffee, and meet a cat.

The next major stop was Šibenik. We were behind schedule, so instead of an hour-long break, it was only about 10 minutes. I had been hoping to have lunch and explore, but alas, it was not meant to be.

The next break was Split, but it was a stop that only lasted long enough for passengers to disembark and new ones to board. The Split bus station is at the ferry terminal, so it’s very busy and congested during the high season.

We made one more quick stop at Makarska before continuing on to Gradac.

I finally reached Gradac about an hour past my scheduled arrival, so the ride was really 11 hours. The walk to the house was about a mile. When I was here in May 2024, someone had picked me up in Makarska and dropped me off at the house by car, so I hadn’t really seen Gradac.

I stopped at a Studenac (a convenience/grocery store chain) to pick up coffee and a few other items. Shortly thereafter, I arrived at the house, unpacked, and walked to the closest restaurant only a few steps away.

The experience was my first real taste of how unhurried Dalmatians can be. When I arrived, the server was sitting at a table. I had to get his attention to be seated with a menu. Once he finally waited on me, it seemed to take a long time to get my Gemišt.

He departed and sat down again and I didn’t see him again until the pizza was ready, which he delivered, then returned to sitting.

I was going to order another drink, but I wanted to be at the house for sunset. Once he returned, I asked for a to-go box and arrived just in time to enjoy my first sunset of the trip.

The next two days were similar. I didn’t have a plan. I slid right into Dalmatian culture, not in a hurry, not needing to do anything. I would eventually venture out and walk through town each day, learning my way around by the day I departed.

The second evening, I had dinner in another restaurant. Fun fact: it was the first time I was ever served a whole fish, not deboned. I didn’t even know how to eat it, but I managed to eat most of it.

The service was slow – or at least I thought. But in retrospect, it allowed me to simply savor the food, the view – and life.

The last full day, I met a few of Gradac’s cats, including this beauty.

During my visit, most of the tourists seemed to be focused on one thing – sitting on the beach and swimming in the sea all day long. They would arrive mid-morning and leave just before sunset. It reminded me of when my family and I would go to Daytona Beach, Florida, for one week in the summer: we would spend all day sunning and swimming, then come in to shower and go out to dinner. Life was so much simpler then.

In Gradac, people still live the simple, easy life. There’s a Croatian/Dalmatian word for it – pomalo – which means to relax, take it easy, enjoy life little by little – one bite, one sip, one moment at a time.

For me, it’s hard to slow down. I always feel like I should be doing something. A friend once told me, “Your slow is everyone else’s full speed” – I am an impatient go-getter, wanting things to happen quickly.

But, I’ve learned that doing can mean simply being – and that’s the greatest lesson I’ve learned since I moved to Croatia. Pomalo.