I honestly didn’t think I’d like Split. I read a lot about it and had seen numerous descriptions about it’s very urban feel. As we were driving in it did indeed look like many cities I’ve seen in the U.S. with lots of traffic and not at all what I’d pick for a dream vacation. But once we entered Old Town that all faded away. I can honestly say it was one of my favorite places in Croatia.
I should tell you that I’m fascinated with history. I love walking on stone streets that have been worn down by centuries of footsteps. Split is that kind of place. In Split, the Roman Emperor Diocletian began the construction of an opulent and heavily fortified palace facing the sea in AD293. The Palace was built like a Roman military fortress with about half of it for Diocletian’s personal use and the rest to house his military. Today the “palace” is a UNESCO World Heritage site. As you wander through old town Split you’re wandering in and out of the palace walls. What I loved about it was how life has just continued there. People live there, you can shop there, you can sit on the steps of the Peristyle and have a cool beverage. It’s a living piece of history where you can touch the walls, sit on the steps, photograph to your heart’s content. It reminds me a bit of Venice which makes sense considering the Roman rule over Split for so many years.
Our flat in Split was just on the edge of the palace walls but still in old town in the midst of everything. The Adriatic sea, just a very short (2 mins) walk away, is lined with outdoor cafes where you can sit and watch the yachts and ferries that take passengers and cars to many of the incredible islands that are easily accessible to Split. I loved Dubrovnik, but on my next trip to Croatia I will base out of Split. Just can’t say enough about it.
We drove from Dubrovnik to Split (more on that in another post) and when we got to Split decided to ditch our car as it’s a place you really want to experience on foot. We had a good bit of trouble finding our rental car return location. Travel tip: return your car at the Split airport and Uber into old town. It would have saved us a good bit of time and frustration from circling a random office building trying to find the rental car return. Once that debacle was over with, a taxi magically appeared and a sweet little Croatian guy who had to be 80 helped us with our way too many bags and dropped us in old town. Have I mentioned how sweet the Croatian people are? Unfortunately, being a UNESCO World Heritage site means you can’t just drive up to the palace walls and park so he had to drop us at the promenade and we then went in search of our Airbnb. See model below to get a feel for what the old town looks like. See all of those Monopoly-looking game pieces, those are homes and businesses. That is the “palace”. It’s an interesting place to try to find an address, but oh so worth it.
We wandered around in the heat for a few minutes lugging our bags and this guy walks up and in perfect English asks us if he can help. The mother in me eyes him suspiciously but the Texan in me says “hey”. Thankfully Texas won and we struck up a conversation and I told him about our trip, our car rental challenges, and basically the story of my life in about 2 minutes while fanning myself. He asked if we had the address, I showed him the address on my phone and he walked with us to our flat. He showed us how to get in and how to dial a Croatian phone number to reach our Airbnb host (which would have been handy about 2 hours before–did you know there is a plus sign on your phone?). The American in me thinks I need to tip him but I have zero cash at this point, so I’m just thanking him profusely and he says have a great trip and strolls away. The next day, we are walking along the promenade searching for breakfast and we see our hero again. We walk up to say hi and thank him again and it turns out he’s a tour guide. He grew up in Split, lived for a while in the States and gives tours of the Palace. I’m not a big fan of organized tours but we want to return his kind gesture and it was an absolutely great tour. Loved it. Would do it again. He’s got so many interesting tidbits that I’m sure you wouldn’t get from a book. He even showed us where to eat, where to go to get cool (underground shopping!) and joined us for dinner at a really memorable Konoba.
Travel Tip: If you go to Split, take Josko’s tour! It can be found on Trip Advisor and is called Emperor’s City for History Lovers-Private & Exclusive Walking Tour of Split. You will absolutely not regret it. We were a group of 6 (2 couples, 2 singles) and everyone said they’d do it again hands down (even the 26 year old).
STAY
We loved our Airbnb in old town. I don’t think we could have had a more perfect spot. If you’re lucky enough to own property in Old Town Split you’re not able to do any exterior changes (which really protects the consistent look and feel) but you can update the interior. Our 2 bed/2 bath flat had been completely remodeled and had all the mod cons. See photos above. When you walk out the door you’re in the middle of everything–the pedestrian only center of Split–3 minutes walk from the Riva Promenade, steps from the palace walls, cafes and shopping at your doorstep.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/27054115. Mario was our host and his place is just perfect! His photos on Airbnb are perfectly accurate. Note: you will have to bring your bags up 2 flights of stairs but you’ll be glad you did. Don’t overpack like we did!
EAT
There are so many great places to eat, it’s hard to call out one in particular. Go and explore! My husband and son decided the fried potatoes were the best they’d ever had and were determined to have them with every meal. And they were pretty outstanding! We did find the places that are waterfront were typical tourist cuisine–nothing special. I’d recommend grabbing a cool drink there and maybe some starters. They do a great charcuterie. The seafood is amazing. Be aware that the fish will be served intact so if you’re queasy about that order something else. I thought I would be, but honestly I love to eat with hands and actually got quite good at removing the head and bones and savoring the delicious fresh fish. I also fell in love with lamb.
DO
If you have any soccer (aka futbol) or sports lovers in the family, you should visit Hadjuk Stadium. It’s pretty impressive. You get to see lots of behind the scenes stuff and the trophy room is incredible.
Hop on a ferry and visit some of the islands. We did not do that this trip so I’ll report back on that in future. There’s just so much you can pack into a few days in Split and do it justice. It’s a place where you want to go slow and look around and enjoy the people and amazing architecture. Visit a church. Eat a gelato. Have some seafood. Shop in the cool underground. Take a tour of the palace. Live in the moment.
Life is a journey 