Split is the biggest town in Dalmatia and one of the oldest. Like other cities in the area it has a long history of wars and occupation by other nations. The historic city centre is another UNESCO World Heritage Site but outside of the fairly small old centre, the city comprises an urban sprawl of houses and apartments with extensive industrial areas.
The town sits on a peninsula with the main tourist area contained beside the busy harbour with a really nice waterfront aspect and a promenade, Riva, which has apparently seen a lot of investment in recent years. It’s a lovely place to sit and watch the world go by.
The promenade on the seafront at Split provides a great place for people watching. Known as Riva, the promenade provides a large open space but with plenty of stalls selling tourist stuff, ice creams and drinks. To the rear is Diocletian’s Palace with open air cafes and restaurants looking on to Riva at the rear fronting Diocletian’s Palace.
Some of the restaurants lining the outside of Diocletian’s Palace overlooking Riva
A different view of the City and Diocletian’s Palace with its clock tower and the palm tree lined Riva in the foreground
The central area facing the Riva is dominated by Diocletian’s Palace which was built as Diocletian’s retirement home around 1700 years ago and is now a warren of buildings which have been extensively added to over the centuries. The Palace is now a mish-mash of architectural styles and it’s not the prettiest building but some of the ancient features remain with a maze of narrow streets with shops selling tourist tat alongside others selling high end clothing and jewellery leading into squares and courtyards lined with restaurants.
The pictures below are inside and outside of Diocletian’s Palace and the neighbouring streets. Beyond this area there is little of interest to tourists outside of the beaches, water sports etc and Marjan Park.
Marjan Hill
Overlooking the city and reached by various pathways from the centre is Marjan Park. This was a highlight for us with some really nice walking up Marjan Hill to give some great views over the town and it’s harbour. The walk to the top is a decent workout but there is a resting point with cafe/restaurant half-way up and those not inclined or unable to walk up can take a taxi or join one of several available town tours which include Majan in the itinerary. A rather modern crucifix sits on top of the hill and from the summit tracks lead off in all directions down to various points on the coast road that encircles the peninsula. We spent a day walking up the hill taking a random track down the in the direction opposite the town and then walked the coast road for a couple of hours back into town passing some nice beaches en route.
Another view of the City showing the backdrop of mountains – picture taken from Majan Hill…
With three cruise ships in the harbour we had picked a good day to get out of town
Split, like all the other towns we visited, is full of churches. There seems to be one on every street even in the narrowest of back streets. There are quite a few on Marjan Hill – this is one of them….
These are walled in hermit caves where monks once lived to protect a nearby church. It beggars belief how they got in and out of this place.
We spent 3 nights here in Split in a small studio flat, Fabio Residence, in the old town.
The apartment was small but ultra modern and really cleverly and well kitted out. We were impressed.
Travellers with less time (or those who want to tick off as many visits to as many towns as possible in double quick time) could easily see all that Split has to offer in a day or even half a day if necessary but it would be a shame not to spend at least a night or two here.
We enjoyed our visit but after 3 nights we were ready to move on – to Trogir.
Following our week in Dubrovnik, we took a bus to Split and then a ferry to Hvar, one of the biggest islands off this part of the Dalmatian coast.
Hvar is a lovely little island with its main hub, Hvar Town, comprising a picturesque historic port with some great architecture in a spectacular setting. This is another historic World Heritage town sat on a harbour with a backdrop of mountains with a hilltop fortress and fortified city walls. There are amazing views from the top of the hill looking down on the town and harbour which is constantly busy with boats going backwards and forwards all day long taking tourists to and from nearby islands and beaches.
Hvar is regarded as quite glamorous and it certainly attracts a glam crowd who pack the many bars and restaurants in the evening. There are some excellent restaurants but as usual there are options for all budgets with inexpensive cafes and the omni-present bakeries for those of us with not so deep pockets.
Here are some photographs from the harbour area
Some photos around town
And some views on and from the hillside and from the fort above the city…
Stari Grad
Stari Grad is Croatia’s oldest town and lies about half way along the island of Hvar near the main ferry port. It’s a pleasant enough excursion as the journey is scenic and there are some interesting old buildings to stroll around for an hour or two. The town was almost totally dead on the day we visited and there didn’t seem a lot of accommodation for tourists around the place. We completed a quick tour, sunk a couple of beers and got back on the bus to Hvar Town. Here are a few pictures:
We spent 5 nights in Hvar staying in a nice apartment 10 minutes outside of the old city. Five nights was perfect for us as slow travellers but this is really a very small place and everything the town has to offer can be seen in a leisurely day trip and is by many visiting via a cruise ship.
Cavtat is a small picturesque village about 20km south of Dubrovnik . There is very little to see but there’s a nice seafront walk and it’s a pleasant excursion by bus from busy Dubrovnik and a nice place to pass a few quiet hours over a leisurely lunch – there are some nice restaurants.
We arrived in Dubrovnik from Kotor on 1st June 2016.
Generally regarded as the pearl of the Adriatic and the jewel in Croatia’s crown, Dubrovnik is at the extreme south of the country. Its probably Croatia’s main tourist town and like many of the towns on this coast it’s best seen early in the morning or in the evening when the hordes of cruise passengers have returned to their ships.
The old city stands at the foot of a mountain and is encircled with massive stone walls complete with towers and forts. Its possible to walk around the tops of the walls which give some awesome views over the city within and the ocean.
The city, rebuilt after an earthquake in 1667, was bombarded and extensively damaged during the Siege of Dubrovnik over a 9 month period during the War of Independence in late 1991/1992. Repairs were completed over a period of 10 years or so and it would be hard to believe the extent of the damage except that its clear that most of the red tile roofs across the city are new but there is still plenty of evidence of war damage all over the city.
The city is stunning with a maze of narrow streets filled with shops, bars and restaurants leading off a main street paved in marble. There are plenty of historic buildings, churches and museums to keep keen photographers and history buffs busy for days and dozens of street cafes provide plenty of opportunity to sit and people watch.
Some photographs….
A small industry exists to market and sell Game of Thrones – this is one of several GoT shops in Dubrovnik
Huge areas of almost new red roof tiles replacing those destroyed in the Siege of Dubrovnik
The view from our apartment looking down on the city.
The nearest proper beach is just a short stroll outside the city walls.
We very much enjoyed our Dubrovnik visit and especially so as our good friend David Laughlin was able to join us for a few days. We enjoyed a good few drinks and some nice meals together!
Our visit was at the beginning of June in which is fairly early in the season but it was already very hot during the day and the cruise crowds were a pain but nevertheless this is definitely a highlight of a visit to this part of the world and we highly recommend it.
Following our few days in Zagreb, we flew down to Dubrovnik and took a bus to Kotor in Montenegro where we spent 5 nights in a lovely flat at Pearl Apartments in the Old Town.
Kotor is a coastal town on the Adriatic sitting in a dramatic and secluded part of Kotor Bay. We planned to spend 2 days in Kotor itself and 2 days on tours but after a very long day touring the northern highlights of Montenego, we decided to sack the second tour and instead just visit Budva, the highlight of the tour we had planned to join, under our own steam.
Kotor and Budva both have very photogenic Old Town areas full of tiny streets and quaint squares with ancient churches, boutiques, bars and restaurants. Lovely places to spend a day or two.
Five nights were about right for us slow travellers but an overnight and a couple of days would be enough for most people – indeed many will visit these 2 places and more besides in a one day tour from Dubrovnik – too much rushing about for us. Both places are chocolate box pretty and worth a visit….but ideally find a day to visit when there are no cruise ships visiting – the cruise crowds are horrendous!
Our very smart apartment in Old Town Kotor handily placed twitx two bar/restaurants
Kotor Cathedral
St Nicholas Church
St Luke’s Church
Try to visit on a day when there are no cruise ships scheduled to visit
Kotor town is fortified with the city walls climbing high above the town. For a small fee you can walk/climb up the walls, a fair workout, for fabulous views over town – as below.
Entranceway leading up to the city walls
Its quite a hike getting to the top in the heat of the day – go early or late!
Day Trip to Durmitor National Park, Tara River Canyon and Ostrog Monastery
This was a very long minibus day tour leaving Kotor around 8am and returning early evening. This wouldn’t suit everyone but we were a group of only 6 and with plenty of leg room and comfort breaks and stops for refreshments, it was fine. Indeed, breaks tended to be longer than they needed to be and in truth the tour could easily be shortened by an hour or more still giving the driver ample break time from driving.
Here are some pictures but the best of the pictures were probably not taken as the scenery was fabulous from start to finish but of course it’s almost impossible (for me anyway) to get decent photos from a moving vehicle!
Ostrog Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox Church and the most import pilgrimage place in Montenegro. Regarded as a “must see” of Montenegro, it was the high-light of the tour.
The monastery is high up a mountain built into a vertical cliff face with 2 small churches built into caves. There’s a scary steep drive (they reckon proper pilgrims walk up barefooted but we didn’t see any) involving one hairpin bend after another. Thankfully there were very few cars about on the morning we visited but this must be a nightmare stretch of road when pilgrims come in their numbers which they clearly do from the stacks of foam mattresses that were being cleared away when we visited. There are plenty of opportunities to buy souvenirs and make donations to the church and given the numbers of pilgrims who visit, it’s a shame that none is spent on refurbishing/rebuilding the disgusting toilets!
Ample opportunity to buy souvenirs of your visit. Over 100,000 people visit each year and on the occasion of a major orthodox service , many will sleep overnight on foam mattresses (see the photo) and blankets provided.
Tara River Canyon
The Tara River Canyon, also known as the Tara River Gorge, is the longest canyon in Montenegro. It is 82 kilometers long and is 1,300 meters at its deepest, making it the deepest river canyon in Europe.
The Durdevica Bridge over the Tara River Canyon. Lots of opportunities here for outdoor pursuits such as white water rafting , off road driving mountain biking
and at Durdevica Bridge you can slide down the longest zip line in Europe which is 350M long and 170m above the river. Great value at €10 a pop for those so inclined.Two of the 4 other people on this tour were a charming well heeled Australian couple, originally from Shanghai. She was a very interesting 65 year old fashion designer, he a sculptor – very entertaining and great company for the day.
Durmitor National Park
This NP is in a beautiful mountainous region with glacial lakes and lots of opportunities for hiking , climbing and fishing. For me this place would have been worth a two day trip in its own right but in truth, whilst we stopped for an hour or so here, we had little time to do anything other than take a stroll down to a lake and take a few snaps.
Perast
Perast is a small village just a few kilometres around the bay from Kotor. As small as it is there are the usual typical old churches and a lovely promenade lined with restaurants.
A short distance out from the shore lie two small islands. Our Lady of the Rocks is an artificial man made island built by the dumping of rocks and wrecked rock filled boats. A church of the same name stands on the island. The second island also has a church, the Abbey of St George. Unsurprisingly there is a small fleet of boats based on the shore in Perast offering boat rides out to the islands.
A different and distant view of the two islands off Perast
Budvar
We originally planned to do a full day tour from Kotor to include Budva and various other places along the coast but decided against it – too much time on a bus! We had already spent a very long day on the Northern Highlights of Montenegro trip and didn’t fancy more of the same. Instead we just jumped on a regular bus that took about an hour, spent a couple of hours wandering around, had some lunch and then returned to Kotor. A very pleasant day!
Budva is another coastal town a tad bigger than Kotor and probablly attracts more holiday makers as there are nearby beaches. Like Kotor there is a well preserved walled medieval Old City with a marina just outside the city walls with a pleasant restaurant lined promenade where we enjoyed a lunch of grilled fish in one of many fish restaurants. Also like Kotor, this is a place visited by the dreaded cruise ships but we were lucky – no ships on the day we visited and the town was very quiet.
Approaching the Old City along the promenade via the marina.
We enjoyed our 5 nights in Montenegro. The countryside and coastal scenery is stunning, the climate is good with temperatures upper 20 degrees C in late May ( I wouldn’t want to visit in the fierce heat of July and August although for me that applies anywhere in the Med or Adriatic. The people are friendly and the local food and drink is good with restaurants to suit all budgets and really nice bakeries everywhere providing inexpensive sandwiches and delicious fattening pastries and pies !
