Journey through eastern Croatia: Discovering picturesque Posavina

by croatiaweek
May 28, 2023
in Travel

Stupnički dvori (Photo credit: Neven Nagy)

Combining the best of the plains, waters, hills and forests, the area of Slavonian Posavina is a hidden pearl of continental Croatia.

The fact that it is a hidden pearl is a both fascinating and unbelievable, since few Croatian regions are so accessible – in the Brod-Posavina County you are never more than a 20-minute drive from the highway.

However, if you start “digging”, in addition to traffic connections and picturesque landscapes, Posavina in Slavonia will put in front of you another, almost literally sweet concern. This is a region where you will find some great places for weekend battery charging.

(Photo credit: Igor Seler / HTZ Cernik)

Enriched with equally high-quality locations for gastronomic enjoyment in a homely way, the area that we have long experienced as a transit zone, imposes itself as a destination that you must visit and certainly taste. After all, it is not said in vain that Posavina destinations are guardians of tradition, taste and heritage.

Slavonski Brod (Photo: Ivo Biočina/HTZ)

Irresistible this spring as well – Slavonian farms are at your fingertips

If you get off the highway at the Lužani exit and take the old road to the east, you will soon find yourself in an environment that you might not have expected – bathed in the spring sun and greenery, a real little sea of wine-growing hills with a decently decorated building in the middle will emerge before your eyes.

A slightly Tuscan or Istrian sight is actually a postcard of Stupnički dvori, an excellent restaurant, winery and hotel in the heart of Stupnički vinogorje, not so famous, but very high quality wine-growing area on the southern slopes of the gentle Dilj-gora.

Stupnički dvori (Photo credit: Neven Nagy)

Originating from the wine tradition – here you will taste excellent Graševina, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – Stupnički dvori has grown to this day into a place that tells a historical story in a special way in a contemporary style. Top wines, selected delicacies and unavoidable wellness & spa facilities complete the experience of staying in this “Tuscan corner” of the border Posavina.

Stupnicki dvori – Legirana (Photo: Ena Kokanovic Nagy)

Out of love for horses

Closer to the Sava plain, the surroundings hide several other places that can match the quality of the experience to any rural tourist destination in the country.

East of Brod, in Garčin, a family story of passion and love for horses gave birth to a Slavonian estate for the 21st century – Ramarin Ranch.

(Photo: Ranč Ramarin)

Ranč Ramarin (Photo: Filip Beusan/HTZ)

Horseback riding courses, tours of the beautiful lowland landscape on horseback, a variety of facilities on site, as well as an excellent restaurant make this place a destination for which, easily, even an extended weekend will not be enough.

(Photo: Ranč Ramarin)

Of course, you can stay as long as you want, since you can spend the night on the ranch in several variants. Depending on what you like best, there are romantic bungalows by the lake, a campsite and a hostel.

(Photo: Ranč Ramarin)

In the embrace of the Sava

You will be convinced that Slavonian Posavina is worth every night by visiting the villages that form the heart of the old border Slavonia, located right next to the Sava.

(Photo: Seosko gospodarstvo Salaš)

A few kilometres south of Garčin, in the village of Oprisavci, tradition lives on in every scene of old Šokac houses and courtyards; in the ambience of the original Pannonian wilderness that you will find watching the indigenous breeds of cattle, pigs and horses on the huge floodplain pasture of Gajna, protected in the status of a significant landscape.

Sava (Photo credit: Nina Đurđević / HTZ)

Gajna (Photo credit: Saša Pjanić / HTZ)

(Photo credit: Saša Pjanić/HTZ)

But you don’t have to just watch here. In the nearby Kući dida Tunje (House of Grandpa Tunja), a traditional restaurant, ethno estate and lodging merge into one, offering you plenty of reasons to declare spring in Slavonian Posavina one of the most pleasant tourist surprises.