Croatia
09/06/2017 / Croatia , Travel
A pocket guide to Zagreb
Zagreb was the fourth stop on my interrail trip. We'd already been to Split but Zagreb is very different. I mean I wasn't expecting any ocean or beach but the architecture of the city is also very different to Split. We only had one full day in Zagreb and it was surprisingly hot! We also decided to have our first night out of the trip in Zagreb. On a Tuesday night. Probably not the best day of the week to see what Zagreb had on offer but all the bars were surprisingly busy. More on that later!11/01/2017 / Croatia , Hvar , Travel
How to spend an afternoon in Hvar | Croatia
Whilst in Split for three days I took a day trip to the nearby island of Hvar. The island is easy to reach from the mainland. A ferry from the Split pier takes around an hour and costs 90 Kuna each way.
We headed straight into the town area, there's a square with shops and restaurants. We were quite hungry (we are basically always hungry) so we went to find somewhere to eat. Like Split there are lots of narrow alleyways and streets, however, in Hvar they lead uphill. We stopped off for coffee and a quick snack because I needed the toilet and refused to pay to use the public one. This probably sounds illogical; paying for a coffee to use the restaurant toilet surely costs more?! But we were planning a coffee break anyway just it ended up being a tad ahead of schedule. Anyway, enough of my toilet habits.
We stopped off at the first place we found because quite frankly it looked really cute. The menu was fab too and we ended up having brunch rather than a snack. The restaurant was called Ka'lavanda and served various food options; the brunch menu was particularly lovely. They also served lots of cocktails but seeing as it was only around 10.30 we decided it was best to stick to coffee!
I opted for the waffles. There were a couple of choices for toppings, I went for the Nutella and cherry jam after the waitress recommended it. I was a bit unsure about the cherry but it tasted amazing. Just writing about them make me want to eat them all over again. They were some of the best waffles I've ever eaten and that is a very bold statement because I like waffles a lot. Soph had poached eggs and smoked salmon which looked equally as yummy but I'm glad I opted for a sweet treat.
After eating we headed up to the fort. We wandered up little streets and found some stairs, these led us up until we hit a small road. Across from this was the path up to the fort. There were no longer any stairs just a winding path on an incline. This part of the walk took around 15 minutes (including a break in the shade because it was hot). There was a car park area at the top and you could begin to see the stunning view. We decided to continue into the fort itself so we could get a better look at the view.
To enter the fort you must pay 30 kuna. It's well worth paying the entrance fee because the views are stunning! The sun was shining so we enjoyed sitting, looking out onto Hvar and of course getting lots of pictures. There are various viewing points in the fort as well as information about it. There's also a restaurant and a few shops. We didn't look in either as we'd just eaten and weren't bothered by the shops so I can't comment on the quality of the food. I imagine the prices are quite steep seeing as it is a tourist attraction and you can probably get better food back in the main town but that's just a guess.
Make sure you check out the old prison whilst at the fort. We happened to stumble upon it and weren't sure if we were allowed in but seeing as the door was open we thought we'd go and see. It was a tad creepy and reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean. It was also a good way to escape the heat of the sun for a bit.
Once we'd finished exploring the fort we headed back down to the town. We walked down a slightly different way so came to a little area with lots of stalls. There was lots of souvenirs, as well as, handmade jewellery. I stocked up on some postcards since I'd decided to send one home from each place I visited on the trip.
We then had an hour or so to kill before our ferry back to mainland. We walked past a couple of cafes and found a juice bar called Vita. We decided to stop off and get a juice. I didn't have one but Soph had an apple, carrot and ginger one. The juices and smoothies were 40 kuna. They also sold wraps and sandwiches.
By the time Soph finished her juice a queue for the ferry had started to form so we headed to get into the queue just incase we missed out on seats. The ferry on the way back wasn't as nice as the one going. There was no wifi and the seats weren't so comfy. Not that it really mattered as it was only an hour or so to get back. Once we got back to mainland we headed to get some food and then to the hostel to grab our bags ready to get the bus to Mostar.
I really enjoyed Hvar even though we were only there for half a day. I think it's definitely worth while to take a day trip or do what many people visiting Croatia do and spend a couple of days here to fully explore. We didn't get a chance to see the beach area but I've heard there are a few cool bars there but seeing as we had time constraints and it was the afternoon we thought our time was better spent exploring the fort and old town.
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Conclusion
- The ferry from Split costs 90 Kuna each way and lasts around an hour. It's a pretty smooth journey but if you get very sea sick then best to take a tablet!
- The fort is worth a visit; the views are amazing!
- Explore the small streets off of the main square, you'll find cute shops and lots of nice cafes to stop off at
- Take a trip to the beach area, if there's time, to check out the bars
Have you visited Hvar? What did you think of it?
Sophie
06/01/2017 / Croatia , Split , Travel
How to spend three days in Split | Croatia
Split was the starting point for my five and a half week trip interrailing around Europe. I flew into Split from Heathrow. I was excited to be heading off somewhere slightly warmer, it was early September so England was still pleasant but I thought Split would be even sunnier. However, Split greeted us with rain. Not it's still warm rain but cold, harsh rain falling from a grey, dull sky.
Arriving in Split
After collecting our luggage and being completely disorganised with currency we left the airport on a bus to the main town. Long story short make sure you know the exchange rate before you turn up and want to get money out sing your currency card. In my defence I'd only had four days to prep for the trip having just come back from a six week trip around India and Sri Lanka. Meaning time was not something I had a lot of.
We got on the bus just in time and managed to secure some of the last seats. I'm so glad we did as it was about a 40 minute journey and I was exhausted so standing was very unappealing. The journey did nothing for my first impressions. The bus journey was gloomy and the buildings outside where as glum as the weather. I was expecting to see all the beautiful buildings I'd seem on Instagram.
Once we arrived at the Split bus station we realised we had no idea where our hostel was. We asked at one of the kiosks and the women was extremely helpful, she told us we could walk to the hostel in five minutes. This was a relief as we could save money and not have to walk for ages with our backpacks on. Although I was skeptical about whether the walk would be five minutes (trust me, there's been many a time I've been told a walk is five minutes and it's turned out to be at least half an hour...)
Once we arrived at the Split bus station we realised we had no idea where our hostel was. We asked at one of the kiosks and the women was extremely helpful, she told us we could walk to the hostel in five minutes. This was a relief as we could save money and not have to walk for ages with our backpacks on. Although I was skeptical about whether the walk would be five minutes (trust me, there's been many a time I've been told a walk is five minutes and it's turned out to be at least half an hour...)
We headed out into the rain, got absolutely soaked and slightly lost (even with a map at hand) but managed to get to our hostel in under 10 minutes. Celebration dance. Well actually more of a celebration collapse onto the bed when we got into our room. Our room was actually in another building, this meant more walking when all I wanted was a lie down. We had booked a private room as we wanted to start our trip with a good nights sleep. The room was in a two bedroomed apartment, we were sharing a kitchen and bathroom with one other room. This was great compared to the number of people you have to sometimes share with in a hostel. It was pretty basic but a good apartment. We didn't experience much of the hostel lifestyle but I still really enjoyed my stay as it felt like we were on holiday rather than travelling and with five and a half weeks ahead of me a little relaxation was a good thing!
The hostel was called Cro paradise Green hostel. A slightly odd name, green because there was also a blue one! Note: the actual hostel was not painted green.
When we headed out for our first meal I discovered that my first impressions were completely wrong and that the centre of Split is lovely! Plus the rain had stopped by this point meaning I could take in my surroundings.
I've decided to split the rest of the post into the separate days with a brief description of what I did and tips for visiting the places.
Day one
After a lie in and a walk to the supermarket for breakfast we headed out to the Old Town and Diocletins Palace. It was a lot closer to our hostel than we thought. Turns out this was the case for most attractions in Split.
The cold weather from the previous day had gone. It was actually hot. I got out my shorts, chucked on a vest top and felt like I was finally getting the sun I had hoped for.
We discovered a giant statue on our way into the Old Town. Lots of people were rubbing it's massive bronze toe. Yep, you did read that sentence correctly. This was an odd sight, until we went back to the hostel and googled it. Apparently, the statue is a wizard and you rub his toe to make a wish. I was a bad blogger and didn't get a picture of the statue or it's toe! I did rub the toe the next day once the crowds had died down.
After the whole 'why the hell are people rubbing a giant bronzed toe?!' moment we headed through to to Old Town. It was lovely. Like I said my first impression of Split was quite negative but as soon as I walked into this area this completely changed. There were so many small streets to wander down and lovely little shops that weren't all full of the standard touristy souvenirs.
We wandered through the tiny streets then headed to the palace. It was 30 kuna to go up to the top. However, I only made it half way. The final stairs were terrifying so I stayed in the middle and snapped some pictures and sent my friend Soph up to the top with the go pro.
We then wandered around a bit more and soon decided we were hungry. There are quite a few squares in the Old Town area with restaurants in. We looked at a few menus before settling on a restaurant called Bupa. I talk more about places to eat at the end of this post so won't go into detail here.
I say lunch but by the time we'd eaten it was around 3pm. After this we headed to the Riva which is the promenade area along the water. There are plenty of fancy boats along here to have a nosey at. We wanted to walk up to Marjan Hill. We asked for directions and were told that we needed to find some stairs that would lead us up. We found these stairs on our way back down. Luckily, we did find another way up. We were going to stay for sunset but had heard that the sunset was nice at some of the beaches around the park. We made our way back down and hopped on a bus, we asked the driver to stop at the beach he thought would be best for sunset.
The beach area looked like it would have been really nice for a day of relaxation but due to our lack of time in Split we'd chosen not to have any full beach days. We watched the sunset then headed back to town. Unfortunately, we'd just missed a bus and the next one was in 40 minutes so we cut out losses and decided to walk back, the walk wasn't too bad as the weather was know quite cool.
We had an early night ready for our trip to the Krkr national park the next day.
We then wandered around a bit more and soon decided we were hungry. There are quite a few squares in the Old Town area with restaurants in. We looked at a few menus before settling on a restaurant called Bupa. I talk more about places to eat at the end of this post so won't go into detail here.
I say lunch but by the time we'd eaten it was around 3pm. After this we headed to the Riva which is the promenade area along the water. There are plenty of fancy boats along here to have a nosey at. We wanted to walk up to Marjan Hill. We asked for directions and were told that we needed to find some stairs that would lead us up. We found these stairs on our way back down. Luckily, we did find another way up. We were going to stay for sunset but had heard that the sunset was nice at some of the beaches around the park. We made our way back down and hopped on a bus, we asked the driver to stop at the beach he thought would be best for sunset.
The beach area looked like it would have been really nice for a day of relaxation but due to our lack of time in Split we'd chosen not to have any full beach days. We watched the sunset then headed back to town. Unfortunately, we'd just missed a bus and the next one was in 40 minutes so we cut out losses and decided to walk back, the walk wasn't too bad as the weather was know quite cool.
We had an early night ready for our trip to the Krkr national park the next day.
Day Two
Day two began with an early start. We headed to the bus station for our day trip to Krkr national park. Buying tickets was straight forward, we simply asked the women in the booth which bus we needed and off we went. The bus took about an hour and a half. When we arrived we had to walk about five minutes to the ticket centre for the park.
When you get there you must book your return bus ticket before you head to the park. I guess this is so you get a place on one of the buses as there are only a certain amount. The only problem was we were one of the first in line meaning the man had no change and we only had large notes! It probably didn't help that I was half asleep and tried to give him €40 instead of 40 kuna (€40 is quite a bit more than 40 kunas!!).
Once we had sorted the problem of change out we bought our ticket for the actual park. Remember to bring your student card if you have one. I had bought a smaller bag with me, meaning my student card and purse where back in our room. I had a habit, on the trip, of leaving it at home on days I needed it and carrying with me every other day!
Once we had sorted the problem of change out we bought our ticket for the actual park. Remember to bring your student card if you have one. I had bought a smaller bag with me, meaning my student card and purse where back in our room. I had a habit, on the trip, of leaving it at home on days I needed it and carrying with me every other day!
To get to the waterfalls you have to get a boat, this is included in your ticket and takes around 15 minutes. You can buy snacks on board and there's also a toilet. It was pretty busy by the time we got there; it must be heaving in the summer. We went in September so the weather wasn't quite so warm but still warm enough to go into the water. We ate our lunch (a very average home made cheese sandwich and some just as average crisps). I discovered that crisp flavours aren't that great in Croatia, there's a lot of paprika but they mostly taste of nothing.
After letting our dinner go down we headed into the water. It was freezing and very slippery. Getting in was a struggle because there were so many rocks to get over. Once I was in the water I soon warmed up. A lot of people had water shoes and as soon as I got into the water I understood why. I'd recommend buying some cheap ones to make moving around in the water a bit easier. There's fish in the water which nibble but they're easy to ignore.
Day three
We only had half a day for our last day in Split. On the evening we got a bus to Mostar which is in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We wanted to make the most of our last day and while it would have been nice to explore Split a bit more we decided to head on a day trip to the nearby island of Hvar. We booked our ferry tickets the day before, just incase they sold out. We caught the ferry at around 9am and returned at around 2.30 pm. While we only had a few hours in Hvar it was very enjoyable. I'm planning on writing a separate blogpost about this so won't go into any more detail in this post.
We decided to get a later bus than we'd originally planned so we could get some proper dinner and have one last explore. We then headed back to our hostel to pick up our luggage and walk to the bus terminal.
One thing I didn't realise when getting a bus with luggage is that you have to pay €1 to store your luggage in the luggage compartment. Luckily, I had some euros with me, even though they weren't the currency in Croatia. It was quite hard to communicate with the man, who spoke very little english. When I tried to ask if this was something we had to pay he got angry very quickly and started to pull our bags back off the bus! I didn't have my euros at hand either because I wasn't planning on needing them and he didn't appreciate this. I'd advise having some euros with you and having them somewhere easy to get to so you don't have to deal with an angry Croatian man.
One thing I didn't realise when getting a bus with luggage is that you have to pay €1 to store your luggage in the luggage compartment. Luckily, I had some euros with me, even though they weren't the currency in Croatia. It was quite hard to communicate with the man, who spoke very little english. When I tried to ask if this was something we had to pay he got angry very quickly and started to pull our bags back off the bus! I didn't have my euros at hand either because I wasn't planning on needing them and he didn't appreciate this. I'd advise having some euros with you and having them somewhere easy to get to so you don't have to deal with an angry Croatian man.
Where to eat
If you want somewhere cute to eat lunch then you should head to Bupa. We ate here on our first day, it was reasonably priced and very yummy. I had the lamb and Soph had a veggie burger which she said was one of the best she's ever had. Split is touristy and the prices reflect this, however, the meal was cheaper than it would have been in England but not dirt cheap. For my lamb main and infused water I paid around £11.
We ate at a Mexican restaurant called To Je Tako, it was really cheap and the food was great. I was really impressed with the tacos (and I've been to Mexico so tried the 'real stuff'). They were stuffed with lots of fillings rather than some where you get about two pieces of chicken.
If you need a refreshment then you should head to one of the juice bars dotted around. This one was just within the Old Town in a little square which led out onto the Riva. We didn't personally get a juice from here, we had planned to get one when we walked past again but we ended up going a different route home. The juices and cocktails did look really good though. They had a seating area and music playing giving a good vibe to the place.
In conclusion
- Take the bus (or walk) to one of the beaches in the park for a relaxed morning or afternoon
- Make the most of the surrounding area and go on a day trip or two
- If you're travelling by bus with luggage remember to have a euro or two handy!
- Have some ice cream, the flavours are amazing
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I enjoyed writing more of a diary styled post, hopefully the information is useful if you're planning a trip to Split in the future. Let me know if you've visited Split in the comments.
Sophie
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