Posts with the label Croatia
Showing posts with label Croatia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Croatia. Show all posts
8 Oct 2018
The Split City Guide | Croatia
Despite not originally living up to my expectations, I really enjoyed Split, Croatia. If you just want to get a taste for the city itself, I’d say you only need a couple of days but if you want to explore some of the surrounding areas, then a week suited us well. Let’s get crackin’ shall we?
Where To Stay
Airbnb is your friend in Split. There’s a huge variety and all considerably cheaper than a hotel. I’d recommend staying perhaps 10 minutes out of the centre so everything is still accessible on foot but nice and quiet at night. This is the airbnb we stayed at and I can’t recommend enough. Really cute, epic view and lovely, lovely hosts who picked us up and dropped us back at the airport and brought us crepes for breakfast on our final morning. The location meant we were also in reasonable walking distance of some of the infinitely nicer beaches.
Where To Explore
Diocletian’s Palace is the place in Split; gorgeous roman ruins, twinkling bars and restaurants and allll the atmosphere. If you don’t get lost amongst the labyrinthine streets, then you’re doing it wrong. Definitely go up the bell tower for the stunning views although if you’re scared of heights, it might not be the one for you. It’s very ‘open’ when going up the stairs, with nothing more than a bar between you and the large-enough-to-fall-through glass-free windows. I wouldn’t consider myself to have a fear of heights but even I had jelly legs. Worth it for the view though.
Speaking of views, Marjan hill viewpoint has the best views of the city. I promise you, it’s worth the hill climb. Plus there’s a gorgeous café at the top which was my favourite place to eat.
In terms of beaches, our favourite was Kasjuni which was a bit out of the city but worth the walk in my opinion. It had lovely sun-loungers and a bar that served excellent drinks/food (the baileys and banana cocktails was incredible) but still maintained a chilled vibe. The sea was flippin’ gorgeous to swim in.
There are approx. 734749 different types of boat trips that you can take from Split and they are a great way to see more of the coast and nearby towns. We did a half-day one which took us to the Blue Lagoon for snorkelling and to Trogir – a lovely little town. I’d recommend going at sunset.
Krka National Park is a must. It’s only about an hour’s drive from Split; if you don’t have a car, there are plenty of companies that arrange coaches there and back.
Where To Eat
Oh god where to begin? After a bit of a bumpy start food-wise, we soon found our groove and ate at some great places. Vidilica, the café at Marjan hill viewpoint, was my favourite. The food was dreamy and the view insanely good. Not easily beaten and not one to miss.
In town, NoStress Bistro was probably our best meal – I would highly recommend the starter cheeseboard. Galija did some top-notch pizzas for cheap and we had the nicest homemade pasta at BEPA.
For dessert, get epic crepes from Choco Café or incredible ice cream from Luka’s Ice Cream & Cakes. If you want to go a bit bonkers, the bubble waffles from Juice + Waffle Box were, well, bonkers. Try Croatian doughnuts from a stall or pick up Krempita from a bakery. Krempita is essentially a orangey custard slice with pastry and icing sugar – so obvs I loved it.
Of course, it would be rude not to have a drink (or three) and there are more bars than you can dream of. Stick to the ones within the labyrinth streets of the palace – they’re the ones with the best atmosphere and the location speaks for itself. The bar is Lvxor which is set right in the heart of the palace, just under the bell tower. It’s the most unusual – the seats are simply cushions on the steps of imperial square where you can sit and watch the world go by. I adored it. Also, Croatian wine is dreamy folks. Drink lots.
30 Sept 2018
Golden Hour In Trogir, Croatia
On one of our days in Split, Croatia, we decided to do a boat trip so we could see a bit more of the dalmatian coast. It was a bit of a weird boat trip tbh, slightly hampered by the uncomfortable boat (I ended up with a really sore back the next day) and some drunk and rowdy Spaniards. It was a small group and small boat so pretty hard to ignore them and whilst at first, they were just plain annoying, by the end they actual became really aggressive and tried to start a physical fight with the boat captain (whilst he was steering the boat) because – and I quote – ‘I want a cold beer’. So, yeah, that did put a bit of a downer on the day but we did enjoy the actual stops. We had fun snorkelling in the blue lagoon and spent a short but truly sweet hour in Trogir, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Trogir is lovely but we were there at golden hour, as the sunset bathed the whole town in a beautiful light, which gave it a real magical feel. We did a lot of wandering, making a drink stop and another ice cream stop along the way. The closer to sunset we got, the more beautiful the town became and by the time we were in the boat heading home, the sky was truly spectacular.
Naturally I took a shit load of photos:
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| Feel I should probs point out that I had a wet swimsuit on underneath my clothes. Not quite at the leaking-boobs-stage-of-life just yet. |
23 Sept 2018
Swimming In Krka National Park, Croatia
I have a strange obsession with waterfalls. They’re really rather hypnotic don’t ya think?
I will admit, Krka National Park in Croatia was a lot busier than I was prepared for but still absolutely, 100%, worth visiting because it was just as beautiful as imagined. Croatia really knows how to do a sexy waterfall.
The practical bit – Krka is about an hour drive from Split. If, like us, you don’t have a car, we booked this tour which was perfect because it simply took us to and from the park and nothing else – exactly what we wanted. We took a coach ride to Skradin and then caught the boat that took us into the park itself. We spent about five hours in the park in total and that was plenty of time to do the walk all the way round the main area, have some lunch and then go swimming – yes, swimming.
It’s a stunning place. Lush foliage, crystal-clear, emerald-green waters and so. many. waterfalls. We wandered, gazed open-mouthed at the stunning water and took approx. 8968976 photos of the waterfalls. Couldn’t help myself.
There’s one area of the park where you’re allowed to go swimming in the water with a waterfall pounding down behind you, and it’s a little bit magical. If I could do it again, I would absolutely go first thing in the morning so you could swim by yourself – just to make the experience even more surreal. It felt once-in-a-lifetime and I had a little moment by myself as I hung onto the rope near the waterfall; I’m so lucky to be able to be able to do things like this.
Some photos!
17 Sept 2018
Postcards From Croatia
Hey hey.
Am currently living my most glamorous life: sat on an easy jet plane, middle seat, trying not to itch my mozzie-bite-covered legs and having dreams of a brie and pickle toastie. Don’t say I don’t treat ya with these little insights into my daily life.
We’re heading home! And I’m kinda okay with it. As good a time as I just had, I swear the mosquito bites and sweat-induced blisters were pushing me towards a mild tantrum. My ankle is swollen. My feet are truly battered. My legs look like I’m suffering from chicken pox. And don’t even get me started on what suncream does to my acne; jesus. I do not scream ‘week in the sun’ although I swear I was just in 30c heat for the past 7 days.
So yes, Croatia.
We based ourselves in Split, a coastal city surrounded by mountains; we settled on it because it was the most convenient for visiting a cheeky national park or two which was at the top of my to-do list whilst in Croatia.
On our first night – after arriving at 8 in the evening and immediately wanting food – we headed to the water front, drawn in like moths to a flame. It was heaving. There was a gag-inducing sulphur smell. There were bars with thumping music. We had an over-priced, underwhelming meal and yes, I felt a hint of mild panic that Split was way off what I’d imagined.
We were woefully unprepared for the expense (we literally spent double our food budget) and the level of tourists. Fuck me there were a lot of em. There were cruise ships piling in, and walking tours in abundance and so many freakin’ selfie sticks. Yes, yes I know; I was one of the tourists but I am not a cruise ship/walking tour/selfie stick kinda girl and there were aspects of Split (see: waterfront) that were there exactly for that kinda gal, hence why I wondered if I was in the wrong place.
I wasn’t. But it did take me a couple of days to start to get a grasp on Split, to decide if I liked it. It felt like a city that was still deciding what it wanted to be and I had to see both sides before making my mind up. Spoiler: big thumbs up from me. Yes, I was disappointed by the thumping bars, the crowds, the fast food places; but if you can put that aside (unless thumping bars are your bag, in which case, do your thang), Split has so much to offer and was a great base for us to get a little taste of Croatia.
We also visited Krka National Park which demonstrated the surreal beauty of Croatia and we swam amongst the emerald waters at the bottom of the waterfalls with big grins on our faces.
As for the city itself, we stayed in a lovely little Airbnb up the hill – about ten minutes out of town – with spectacular sea views and lovely hosts. They brought freshly-made crepes to our door on our final morning! I fell hard and fast in love with Diocletian’s Palace; the living heart of Split. For those not in the know, it’s an ancient Roman structure; not an actual palace or museum though. It’s enormous! An entire town packed full of atmosphere, quaint bars & fairy-lit restaurants. You enter a different world in the palace and it’s where we spent the majority of our time when we were in the centre. There was always something to stumble across; usually people dancing in some shape or form – both organised and spontaneous. We got lost amongst those labyrinthine streets countless times and would find yet another new undiscovered area, just waiting for us to set up camp, drink local wine and nibble on dalmatian cheese. I loved the terracotta rooftops and the narrow streets, the local buskers and the stray cats, the breadth of history and the gorgeous, ancient architecture.
Split was a slow-burner; I wish I could have stayed longer and I can’t wait to explore more of Croatia one day.
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