Update: Split, Croatia
We took a bus from Slovenia to Split and arrived around 6:15 at night. We got dropped off just outside of the Old Town and had to walk 10 minutes to our apartment for the week since cars aren’t allowed in the historic old town. We were quite impressed with the size of the apartment and all the amenities we have for the week. AC, kitchen, fast wifi, cable TV and an amazing shower. As soon as we dropped off our bags and grabbed a shower we were off to find dinner. Our apartment is a 2 minute walk from the main strip of shops and restaurants along the marina promenade. We took a short walk after dinner and enjoyed the sunset before calling it a night. Day 2 w got an early start and went exploring. First, we walked to the outskirts of the Old Town and climbed 300 steps to the Marjan Hill viewpoint where we took in an epic view of the city, mountains, marina and sea. The climb was shady and easy and only took a few minutes. Next we walked back into town and visited the Diocletian’s Palace. Not too impressive but worth a quick stop. Split is a very charming medieval town with cobble stone alleys loaded with shops and restaurants you can explore all day. Very touristy but not overcrowded. After walking around for a few hours we decided to jump in a taxi and head 25 minutes out of town to visit the Klis Fortress. The fortress has lots of history being a strategic stronghold on the Dalmatian coast but we had to learn most of it off google as the fort didn’t have many signs. We didn’t see any guides to hire but we saw some waking around. Maybe you need to reserve one in advance. Our taxi driver volunteered to wait for us while we explored for about 90 minutes. Then on the way home he said if we had 10 minutes to spare, he would show us an old arena where gladiators used to fight animals for free. Once back in town we headed to our room and relaxed until we were ready for another sunset dinner along the promenade. So far we are loving Split and Croatia.
The next morning we were up bright and early again. First we went for our run along the promenade then we caught a tour bus and headed to Krka National Park for the day. We choose to do the tour because the park is a 1 hour drive from town and a private ride cost more than the tour. The tour took us to the park and gave us a quick intro to the park then set us loose on our own. You have around 5.5 hours to explore however you must catch one of 3 boats that leave from the park and go to a small medieval town where the bus meets you. So we spent the first half of our time hiking the boardwalk trail in the park until we found the main waterfalls then we caught the boat up the river to the town of Skradin. As soon as we jumped off the boat we found a café for a nice sidewalk café lunch and then headed to a fortress perched above the city. The view was worth the small walk. After that we walked around the small town, grabbed some gelato and relaxed until it was time to catch our bus. After a day exploring we spent the night in a hookah bar and enjoying the nightlife along the marina promenade.
Our last day in Split we had planned to catch a boat to the World Heritage Island of Hvar for a daytrip but the weather was calling for rain and being the weekend there were fewer ferry options. So instead we just went to a mall, did some laundry and spent the day working. We really loved our time in Split and getting to Hvar is a good excuse to come back someday. We plan to explore Dubrovnik in southern Croatia but first we are going to take a short detour to visit our 29th country.
