Split: Old Towns & the Joy of Ocean Swimming
Our stay in the Split area did not only include celebrating Niklas’ birthday but also exploring the Old Towns of Split and Trogir as well as a boat trip to some of the nearby islands.
Split: Old and Modern, Relaxed and Buzzing
Split is Croatia’s second-largest city with a population of ~180,000 and renowned for its Old Town, surrounding islands and dynamic atmosphere. It is the major transportation hub in Croatia with a busy airport and port and as such a starting point for many tourists visiting the country.
We stayed a week at Podstrana Beach, just south of Split, which took us away from the buzz and hectic inner city life, yet it was still close enough for us to explore the city and its surroundings.
As with many other Croatian cities, Split has a beautiful Old Town with buildings dating back to times of the Roman Emperors. The most famous building is the Diocletian’s Palace, a fortress built in the forth century AD. The Old Town is a maze of cobblestone streets and well-kept old buildings, protected behind a stone wall. The narrow streets are full of modern day shops, restaurants and cafes and the mix of old and modern gives the Old Town a more vibrant feel than what we have experienced in many other historic town centers so far
Split also has a quaint seaside promenade where cafes are lined up next to each other and offer a perfect space for people watching with a view. We enjoyed strolling around the city, taking in the atmosphere and as always testing the local ice cream!
Trogir: Venetian Architecture & Game of Thrones
During our stay around Split, we also visited Trogir, a small town ~25kms west of Split and on the UNESCO world heritage list since 1997 due to its well-preserved Venetian architecture.
Located directly by the sea, Trogir offered stunning views of the coast combined with the historical Old Town and a yacht marina. In contrast to Split, Trogir is much smaller with just 13,000 inhabitants and it to some extent felt more like a tourist display than a town people actually live in. Tourism is the major economic factor in Trogir, and the popularity of the town has increased following the tv series Game of Thrones where Trogir was the film location for the City of Quarth.
Blue Lagoon & Island Tour
Our last bigger adventure during our stay in Split was a full-day boat trip to some of the many islands around Split. There are many different options for boat trips ranging from big ships to speedboats and from half-day to full-day trips. It was a bit of a jungle figuring out what would be best with children but after a bit of research, we decided for a trip on a mid-size boat which could fit 50 passengers. The advantage was that the boat was big enough to have toilets on board as well as tables and chairs, which made it more comfortable with the kids. Moreover, it included visiting three islands so we would not be on the boat the entire time.
The trip was a success although a bit different than what we had expected. The three island visits turned out just to be one short visit to an island and two visits where the boat stayed off the islands and we could jump into the water from the boat. The latter was a fun challenge for Niklas and Frederik, who love to swim and play in the water, but have never before tried jumping into deep water from a boat. It took some courage for them both to get into the water, but the boat had swim rings and SUPs which they could hold on to, and that gave them the necessary reassurance to get into the water!
Luckily, we had also brought some books and card games to pass time while on the boat – and we must definitely have set a new record in how many times one can play UNO in one day while on the boat😊
Following our time in Split, the next stop was Dubrovnik which will be the topic of our next blog.
