A quick trip to Split, Croatia
After visiting Mostar, it made sense to make my way back into Croatia to visit Split so I hopped on a FlixBus and I arrived in Split by mid-morning. I quickly dropped my bags off at my accommodation, which was perfect for the couple of days that I was there.
It was at the top of the Old Town, which meant it was quiet but also only took a few minutes for me to be on the main streets. The hosts were lovely as well and welcomed me with big smiles. You can check out their availability here. I love using Booking.com as it is such a simple website to use and the more you book, the higher Genius level you gain which equals better discounts, extras etc for your holidays.
If you haven’t been able to tell already, I am always hungry so I trekked (5 minute walk) to the main streets and found a place called Focaccina. This is definitely a social media spot but for good reason, the focaccias are fresh and made right in front of you. The bread itself was delicious and they had some good vegetarian and vegan options. I opted for the vegan option and was not disappointed. If you continue walking a few minutes you will then reach the promenade which is where I sat to eat it.
Once you’re on the promenade there will be a lot of other restaurants and likely a little market so I wandered along this before heading back into the Old town streets to check out the ruins. I am not a Game of Thrones fan and never will be, so I won’t be making any references to the show in this or connections to the ruins (sorry in advance). Along the promenade there are some little passageways that you can spot to connect you to the Old Town. I chose Ulica Iza Vestibula which actually took me under a little bit of the town and pops you straight out at the Diocletian’s Palace.
If you have seen any photos of Split, you will likely have seen this being photographed. It was quite pretty but at the time I was there, was also extremely busy so I didn’t admire it for too long. In my opinion, if you wake up early one morning head down and check it out then as there will basically be no one and the sunrise will look magnificent.
If you take the next right, there are ruins that connect to it and for some reason not many people seemed to walk this way so it was a bit calmer to gaze at them from here. I had built up a bit more of an appetite by now and it was quite warm so my next choice was ICE CREAM! Now, I ended up finding this place randomly and when I later did some googling, there are a few locations you can go to so obviously I tried out both whilst in Split.
BUT it was honestly some of the best gelato I have had. It’s called Gelato Amare, the staff were so so kind at both locations I went to. They had a great range of vegan flavours, and I opted for the dark choc and lemon sorbet to begin. I’ll let the photo speak for itself.
For the afternoon, I wanted to be by a beach and had found one on google maps which required a bit of a walk. It’s located on one of the far sides of Marjan Hill, which gives you a nice opportunity to walk up to the top and see Split from above.
The hill can get a little bit steep but if you take it slowly and make it at your own pace then it’s not too bad. There are also stairs which lead you up for a fair chunk of the ascent.
At the top you get some gorgeous views of Split, passage of ocean between Split and the island Brač. Keep on walking to then spend the late afternoon at Kasjuni beach, which felt like a little slice of haven in Split.
The water was quite clear and it wasn’t packed with people so you could easily find an area to lay down on. I ended up walking back into the Old Town after this, which took me about 50 minutes. You can also get a bus, but they seemed pretty unreliable whilst I was there.
If you have read my very first blog post, I spoke about loving the books “The Seven Sisters”. Amazingly, and I say amazingly because I didn’t make the connection until I sat down and read the menu, but the restaurant I ate at this evening was literally called “The Seven Sisters”. Sette Sorelle has a very simple menu of seven pizzas each named after a sister and the pizzas were amazing. Unfortunately, the vegetarian/vegan options aren’t wide so you can get the Maia which is just a margherita but again it was great.
To finish of the evening on a high, you can then head to Puffy Lil Pancakes which is a very fun concept. They make tiny little pancakes in front of you and then you get to choose your toppings. It was slightly expensive but for one evening, I did enjoy going a little bit crazy on my dessert.
My second day in Split was a bit more of a relaxing day with the main activity being a boat tour. I went for a quick run around Marjan Hill to start my morning and I actually really enjoyed the route. Again, there are some bits which are on an incline but they don’t last long and it makes for a good loop to end back in town. I would recommend getting this done early though or in the late afternoon once the bite of the sun has gone.
If you love fresh fruit and produce then you have to go to the Green Market which is located just off the promenade. There are quite a few stalls with a variety of things being sold, but mostly fresh produce or souvenir’s. I opted for some fruit and veg as the quality was amazing and the prices were even better. Considering some of the supermarkets were much more expensive for lower quality, I would highly recommend buying any produce from the markets.
Now for the boat trip, I booked this through GetYourGuide and absolutely loved it. I don’t know if it’s always a smaller group but there was only 6 of us and everyone was very friendly so it made it even more enjoyable. The tour guides themselves didn’t share too much information but there wasn’t a lot to learn as you visit the following places: Krknjaši Blue Lagoon, Maslinica and Duga Cove.
The water at Krknjaši Blue Lagoon and Duga Cove made for a perfect swim spot with it being so so clear. Maslinica was a sweet little town (I found this stop slightly boring as you could swim but it wasn’t as nice as the others) so unless you’re planning to eat at a restaurant here there isn’t much to do. The restaurants are also limited but you can gaze at the yachts that are parked up and wonder how on earth people can afford them.
Overall, the tour would be fantastic in peak summer as the water would be very refreshing and the boat isn’t a slow boat so you get some reprieve from the wind.
I had made myself some dinner at home to be a bit more budget friendly as I wasn’t used to prices being so high again after travelling to some cheaper cities, but I did get a second helping of Gelato aMare 🤌🏻
I didn’t expect to like Split as much as I did but in saying that I found there wasn’t A LOT of things to do so you need to either come prepared to relax a bit more or only spend a two days in the city before hopping along the coast.
