We did know what were getting ourselves into by
choosing to travel to the Adriatic coast on
one of the hottest months of year, but since our travel schedule was pretty
full for the summer, we just simply had to squeeze it in somewhere. Besides, it
was going to be mostly on islands, so we thought we could probably handle it
(although it is always better to try to travel there off season).
Our first place to stay was Trogir, a historic town on the coast,
(about 30km from Split) which has a UNESCO- listed center. It actually lies on a small island between the mainland and another, bigger island
called Ciovo, all connected with bridges. We had booked a
small studio inside of the town walls and on the first day out in the daylight,
we found ourselves right in the middle of narrow limestone streets, that one
could follow in any direction. The historic center is very attractive; its
alleys, small plazas, traditional stone houses, monuments and cooler air. Yes, the air stayed
cooler inside of the walls and the reality or say the heat hit us pretty hard as we got out to the waterfront and
the main promenade they call Riva. This
is the place to be: for breakfast, lunch, dinner, nightlife, or generally just
chilling and watching people and yachts come and go. Speaking of which, we
happened to co-travel with one of the biggest party events of the season,
namely the Yachtweek. It was
impossible not to get into the vibe
as almost 100 yachts full of partiers docked their boats into the harbour that
night. And not only they come in 100 yachts but they also have the “mother ship” that hosts the main party at each place. Just imagine…
We had planned for two nights in Trogir, so on the first day we rented a car in order to get around the coast and check out
If you want to see all of the Krka, it’s good
to go there early enough. There are other parts to the park we didn’t have time
to see, such as Roski Slap (the
cascades) and Visovac (a small island
with a monastery) and also some archaeological sites.
After Krka we headed to Sibenik, a
harbour town couple of kilometres south, where the river Krka flows into the
sea. The town is really cute and it seems like it’s built on the slope that
ends at the top in a fortification. Sibenik,
just like Trogir, has a lot of history to offer. The first thing to see is the Cathedral of St. James (also UNESCO
World Heritage site), which is located just above the harbour strip. A thousand
stairs later there’s the St. Nicolas
Fortress, that’s overlooking the entire coastal area and its many islands. That’s
one fantastic view- worth every step. Another thing what we noticed was that
the town’s historic centre was really quiet and peaceful. With only few locals
wandering on those tiny alleyways, and the few tourists looking for the sites,
we really felt like the only living things there. Even the beach strip seemed
very calm, probably comes more alive later in the evening.
On the way back we wanted to pull over for a
swim somewhere near Marina (a very
small coastal town) as the road was literally following the beach. Somehow we ended
up driving all the way back and looked up a beach in Ciovo (the island across Trogir). Sun was already
setting as we dipped in…
Later in the night we had delicious seafood on
the strip and walked around the place. Trogir can truly surprise you with its
bars and nightlife- a few times we had tunes carried to our ears from somewhere
around the corner, and as we navigated towards it, we came across this tiny plaza
with an outdoor bar and a live band. The atmosphere’s very authentic. It was also
nice to cross the bridge to the other side to Ciovo and see all the yachts and the strip from across
the water.
The next morning I had a crazy idea of going for a jog before breakfast. To
this day I regret the whole idea. We got our shoes on and went across to the other island, climbed
a steep hill to the top and suffered (what it felt like), both, a heatstroke
and dehydration. The only positive thing was the nice view down to Trogir.
Later in the day we looked for a nice chill beach and dipped into that clear
blue water while waiting to board for Split Split-
Similar to the other towns so far, Split Split Split
The time had come to move on to the next part
of our trip- the islands. We got down
to the harbour, bought our tickets and hopped on board direction Hvar…
TIPS &
LINKS:
Accommodation
Trogir: http://www.booking.com/hotel/hr/trogir-old-town-apartments.en-gb.html?sid=bf3cf700fe4963782a46d8330c5808bb;dcid=1;checkin=2013-03-27;checkout=2013-03-28;srfid=b0222f66646d1c3c69c0627cdcca3edcc8c97bdeX57
(with a free pick-up from Split airport)
Sites & Places
An overall guide to Croatia: http://www.find-croatia.com/dalmatia/
(can find information of every area, island, national park, ferry schedules and more)
Ferry Info
Schedules: http://www.croatiaferries.com/split-hvar-ferry.htm
Attention: if you travel in high season, be
early in the harbour for your ferry tickets. It’s not possible to buy them in
advance and the demand is super high. Especially if your schedule is tight, be well in advance!
