Split, Croatia – Travel Diaries

Summer 2019 – it’s time for the annual summer “baecation”. This year we set off to Split, Croatia. We were somewhat divided between visiting Split or maybe taking on the South of France or somewhere pretty in Italy; but Croatia, for this year, just seemed like the spot. Dubrovnik in Croatia was also considered however all the people we spoke to recommended Split as the “nicer” location – so, just over month or so ago, we booked our flights and got excited.

 

 

Where we stayed

I’ve done my fair share of not-so-great hotels in the past – especially when I was in uni and most likely booking my trip away using my overdraft or money from the government. I know people say “ah, who cares where you stay? You’re barely there anywhere…” But I simply can’t co-sign that anymore at my big age. The search for a hotel was therefore quite a lengthy one.

 

 

We (me) decided to pick a hotel over Airbnb just because I prefer this if I’m travelling in a small group (it was just me and my boyfriend), as I feel comfort in the fact that there’s someone at the reception 24 hours a day that can also answer to any problems I might have very quickly. Whilst I tend to organise flights, where to go and what to actually do whilst abroad, Levi usually takes the task of picking the hotel as he tends to have a better eye for that stuff. He booked us the Briig boutique hotel which is actually a hotel that has only been finished this year, this summer – and it definitely lived up to expectations:

• It’s super modern – I’m definitely a fan of some classic hotels (e.g. “Grand” hotels), but this one was clearly a step ahead in terms of having a modern, contemporary design. I was also pretty impressed at how they used tech – we could message reception on iPads and we just had to click a button on the wall to call for a cleaner, put on the aircon, or put up a “do not disturb” flag.
• Great facilities – The hotel had a pool, sauna and gym. Whilst we weren’t on a search for a place with a sauna or gym – a pool is just a must during an extended stay to a nice hot country!
• Buffet breakfasts – They serve a daily buffet breakfast with all you can ask for – fruits, salad, delicious veggies, all your English-breakfast-type meats, a selection of bread – the list is endless. You can also get it ordered to your room (which was perfect when we woke up one day with a hangover!)
• Convenient location – We were a 2 minute walk from the most popular beach in Split, a 5 minute walk from Split Port where you catch ferrys and finally we were 10 minutes on foot from the city centre/promenade.

 

What to do in Split

• Visit Doecletian’s Palace – Diocletian’s Palace forms a big part of the “Old Town” of Split near the promenade – it’s one of the more famous Roman ruins. It’s a nice place to go if you want to learn a bit of history (they have walking tours), and transport yourself back in time. If exploring on holiday is your thing – this is definitely a monument for you.

 





 

Wander around Marjan Forest Park – What was alarming when we got to Marjan Forest Park is that there was a “chance of a forest fire” indicator that said “high”…but I digress! Marjan Forest was a cute little park which also houses a lot of mini, gorgeous beaches that you can discover as you walk around it. A lot of people go to the park to bike and also to hike. To challenge ourselves – we decided to walk the whole park, which was 2.5hrs+ in total (we were pretty proud of ourselves)… it definitely wasn’t easy.

 

 

Take a day trip to Hvar – It was highly recommended to me before I went to Split to visit the island of Hvar whilst I’m there, so towards the end of the trip we hopped on a ferry and spent the day down on the island. It was definitely a beautiful island and I can see why everyone loves it – it looks very fancy in comparison to Split. We looked around a bit (wandering around the cobbled streets reminded me a bit of Mykonos), then we found a nearby beach and relaxed there for the day, it was so much fun. It’s certainly a much quieter city than Split and I wouldn’t imagine there’s tons to do there – so one or two days probably works just fine.

 

 

Do an escape room – When looking up what to do in Split a few suggestions came back to try an escape room – so we found one nearby called the “Mystery Room” which is supposedly one of the hardest escape rooms in Europe. I’ve only done one escape room before and this reminded me of how enjoyable they were. My boyfriend and I can get competitive but we definitely made for a good team and the experience was exhilarating to say the least. We did make it through the escape but but that was with 20 minutes extra time and err… just a few tips.

 

 

Join a bar crawl – On our first day exploring Split we were invited to a bar crawl (“Ziggy bar crawl“) which ended in a night at Central Club (the biggest club in Split) where Rudimental happened to be performing. Now I’m not even really big a fan of Rudimental but it sounded cool sooo, we went. It was actually a lot of fun, the group was huge and you essentially rode in a bus from bar to bar before ending up at the club. I usually don’t even get to clubs until at least 12:00AM so to be out and about since 10:00PM (when the bar crawl started), and out for hours and hours, I was absolutely DEAD the next day.

 

Onto the food…

I can definitely say that the food in Split was everything I could have hoped for and more. Honestly, the bulk of the trip was spent touring different restaurants – I can’t say the thought that reviewing restaurants for a career didn’t pop into my mind.

Here were a few of my favourite restaurants:

• Zoi
  Only after eating at Zoi did I find out that it’s actually a Michelin Star restaurant! I can totally see why it gets that tick though – the service was absolutely A* and the food was clearly made with a lot of thought. Not to mention you get a great view over the promenade. You do however have to book in advance to get a seat!
• Konoba Nevera
  Nevera Tavern was a bit away from the city (closer to the beach), but we went back twice for lunch on two occasions. The food there was simply delicioussss – service was fast (and to be honest – service in general in Split I found was pretty unbearably slow), the owners were so kind and the food was top quality. If you do visit – try some of their seafood, it was so good I think a tear left my eye.
• Chops Grill
  This place is popular for their steaks but I actually got grilled chicken when I went. Overall – good meat, good quality food, a good place if you’re not looking for anything too fancy. It gets very busy so you may have to book in advance!
• Terminal F
  A really lovely lunch place to eat in the sun – they have so many foods to pick from and it’s also pretty cheap. I would get the chicken burger when we went which was one of the best chicken burgers I’ve tasted.
• Bakra
  Another steak place, I was definitely impressed with this one. I also loved the general vibe of Bakra, is was very casual/fun/relaxed. They give you a shot upon arrival. Again – one to book in advance as it tends to get very busy.

 

 

A wrap up

Wrapping up this pretty lengthy post – I can say that this was one of the better holidays I’ve been on. Of course, the company matters too (I always love travelling with Levi); but also the good food, amazing hotel and just good vibes definitely made it for me; I was so heartbroken to have to leave and return to the daily grind. In fact, I’m still heartbroken. Anyways – next year – I will definitely need to pencil a 2-weeker in the diary!

Hope this itinerary is useful for any of you looking to experience Split. 🙂