Intro to Split

We travelled from Dubrovnik to Split by ferry and as you come into the Harbour you can see the reason why the Emperor Diocletian built his palace to retire to in Split. The palace was finished in AD 305 and much of it is still in place today. Now the area has been built up making the Palace the focal point of the area. The white of the marble and limestone against the blue of the Adriatic Sea is something spectacular to see.

Getting There

We sailed into Split via ferry from Dubrovnik it takes about four and a half hours. It stops at several islands on the way such as Hvar, Korcula and others if you are planning to island hop what a great way.
If you are flying from the UK the flight cost around £50 in May and takes about 2 hours 25 minutes, we flew back.

Where to stay

Airbnb – we stayed in a loft about 10 minutes walk from the Riva (which is the main strip). The area is quite hilly when you come out of the main town area. Paid £288 for five nights
Hotels in the area range from £85 upwards.

What to do

Diocletian Palace- we would suggest to have a wander round yourself and then see if you want to go into different parts, something you can see for free. We did pay to go into the basement/sewers section and found the filming location from Game of Thrones where Daenerys tied up her dragons. Around the Palace there other film location too which you can see for free. The Palace has four main gates Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron to help with layout. The gold gates are the easiest and most distinct to find as there is a great statue of a man outside.
For people watching and food and drinks the main area is the ‘riva’ which is in front of the silver gate and facing the sea, good area to just sit and take it all in.
Marjan Forest Park – great place for a good walk lots of areas for good photos and if you get to the top there is some awesome views over Split and surrounding areas. There is also a little church and seating if you need a rest all the way all over.
There is a hop on hop off bus with several routes – we took the green line which is covered in another blog which includes a walking tour of Split
From here we went by coach to Krka National Park where there are paths and waterfalls again from June you can swim here.
Recent addition to Split is the Game of Thrones museum which is a great stop for a fan. The museum front there is a dragon statue. There are also lots of GOT official shop and an iron throne in one.
This being a coastal town the harbour has lots of trips to the island we passed on our sail over different combinations of island hopping and day trips, we weren’t lucky enough to get on these as we had some very unseasonal weather. They looked very good and if we are lucky to return we would definitely give these a go
We were going to Plitvice Lakes due to the amount of rainfall they were shut so make sure of the weather (much as you can) when planning your excursions

What to eat

Breakfast – our fav was on the riva at a place called olive tree with vintage furniture and a great ambience with great food and service
Lunch – Pizza always a good option we went to a place a few times near the gold gate .
Dinner – A Croatian dish called Pastacada which is beef served in a rich red sweet and sour sauce usually with gnocchi, we tried at Fyfe which is just along from the Riva going away from the centre.
Cafe – there a lot of places for drinks and coffee

Other Things to Know

Currency – Kuna however some places take Euros
Weather – we stayed in May we were told it usually ok for swimming but we had some ‘unseasonal’ rainy days
We flew with Easyjet out of Split and they made us put our hand luggage (which was our only luggage)in the hold, as there was limited room. Luckily for us we hadn’t booked our return transport from the airport home as it took ages for the luggage to come out. Just keep that in mind if you are doing the same, if we had booked our train tickets we would have missed it.
If you are planning this trip you may be better starting in Split and travelling down to Dubrovnik as in May the ferry service runs from Split and returns at 430pm getting in at 9 pm. The ferry service become more frequent in the summer months.
Getting Around – we used a taxi from the airport which was 250 kuna but they are shuttle buses are cheaper