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With its sun-bleached stone architecture and arid rocky landscape adorned with olive groves, it could be Italy or Spain or even somewhere in North Africa. But this is "The Med" with a uniquely Croatian twist. It is a culture shaped over time since before the Romans.
The common answer to a question about where to visit the Croatian coast is “Dubrovnik,” but if you’re looking for a remedy from elbow-tight crowds, there may be a better way. With flights available from Frankfurt International Airport, the coastal town of Split is an easy and rewarding alternative. Here are a few secrets waiting to be exposed.
From Split airport, a four-mile cab ride up the coastline will get you to Trogir. There are many bed and breakfast options in the area, and visitors can find them on websites such as booking.com or bedandbreakfast.eu. Trogir, actually an island, is accessible via a footbridge over a boat filled canal separating it from the mainland. Worthy of mention among the great European medieval cities such as Brugge, Rothenburg and Prague, Trogir is Mediterranean lifestyle gone medieval. A small island steeped in history, it's a UNESCO World Heritage site because of its progression of surviving architecture.
While in Trogir, touring the Kamerlengo Castle allows a respite from the intense sun within its thick stone walls. A hike up the belltower of St. Lawrence Cathedral is rewarded by views of blue sky meets turquoise water and beautiful boats lazing past the island. Sunscape, seafood, old churches, a seaside promenade and the castle collaborate to make this a satisfying and educational place to spend a vacation.
Trogir was part of the Venetian Empire, and then became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918. It’s the home of a still-active Benedictine Nunnery and a Dominican Monastery active since the 1300s. In 1571 Trogir contributed one war galley and crew to the Battle of Lepanto, where they sank a Turkish warship.
If you’re more interested in outdoor sports activities, there are yet more options. A short bus ride from Split airport will get you to the harborside bus station in Split.
Directly across the street is the ferry terminal. Here you will find a ferry to Hvar Island or, ‘Otok Hvar.” No reservations are needed for a ticket costing 47 Croatian Kuna, which is about $8.50. You might want to cut the enjoyable two-hour boat ride in half for a few extra dollars with the hydro-foil boat ticket instead, but for that you must arrive early because those tickets sell out quickly. Visit www.jadrolinija.hr/pdfs/635.2012.ljeto.en.pdf for a timetable when planning your trip.
The slow ferry will take you to Stari Grad town. At Stari Grad the sunscape becomes an ancient village of decaying little stone buildings arranged around a cozy coastal inlet. From here scooter travel is the Euro trendy, fun and inexpensive choice for independant mobility -> no experience needed. Just outside town are the “fields of Stari Grad.” Another UNESCO site, these cultivated fields are ancient.
Colonists created them thousands of years ago, and they still support the same crops; figs, olive groves and vineyards. The stone storage huts and field walls may be falling apart -> some repaired, some not, but this is the same view local inhabitants had so long ago during the age of Homer and Hippocrates -> the age of the founding of democracy.
If you came for the lure of watersports or leisurely sunscape inactivity, a picturesque 10-mile road over Hvar Island’s mountain spine and along the southern coast will get you to Hvar Town. This is your destination of choice easily reached from Stari Grad with your scooter or by cab. There are hotel options which could be pricey but here too, there are many inexpensive bed and breakfast options. Whether fishing or tourism, most locals make their livelihood from the water. An idyllic harbor town with a meandering coastline, it’s a place theme parks want to imitate. Hvar Town lies close to many nearby islands which offer beach-easy, sun-seeking, water-frolicking recreational activities.
While planning your outdoor sporting activities in Hvar Town, contact www.hvaradventure.com for many biking, hiking, boating and off-road driving options -> either guided or self guided. For example: book an inexpensive kayak trip from Hvar harbor to one of the nearby smaller islands for lunch and a nap on the beach. Fortezza Spanjola -> the Venetian period fort, reassuringly sits atop the hill overlooking Hvar harbor like Zeus in Olympus watching over his minions. Hvar harbor is good for evening walks after dinner with a gelato cone while gawking at the yachts that come to port every night.
When satiated with your sunscape rehabilitation, you might make a Roman retreat back to Split. The hydro-foil to Split leaves from Hvar Town and back on the mainland, Diocletian’s Palace is directly next to the ferry port in Split harbor.
Diocletian’s palace complex, also a UNESCO site, includes architecture representing many succeeding historical periods starting with late Roman. Within and around the sprawling complex are many bed and breakfast options.
The complex itself is like a theme park of ruins. Some parts remain in decay leaving the mystery and intrigue of what it originally looked like, and some parts beautifully preserved for the education and enjoyment of new visitors. There are modern structures built amongst the ruins and some new businesses using ancient structures, like Luxor Cafe which is in the ancient Temple of Venus.
Places like that beg your attendance just for the novelty of having coffee and cake in an ancient temple.
Gleaming forests of columns support majestic arches, and the colors of marble vary with the passing of time. All the original gateways are still open. Enter the “Brass Gate” and walk through the basement, and you’ll enter the complex at ‘the peristile’ (an ancient outdoor plaza). This is the place beautiful people go to be seen while sipping cafe latte on the red seat cushioned marble steps outside Diocletians Mausoleum.
In and around Diocletian’s Palace you’ll find seven museums, eight hotels, 10 hostels, 15 tourist agencies and 35 places of historical or cultural interest. Diocletian grew up poor not far from Split. He rose through the military ranks to become a Roman emperor. After founding a system of rule-by-merit, he retired in Split, dying in the year 316AD saddened by the greedy collapse of the system he worked so hard to create.
Tourist information is easy to come by and self-guided walking tours are rewarded with descriptive plaques strategically located around the palace complex.
Outside the palace is a harbor front promenade called ‘The Riva,’ which is full of palm trees and canvas awnings offering shade. Stop to enjoy a brief rest and honey-soaked pastries from one of the many shops lining the outer wall of the palace.
From Diocletian’s Palace it’s just a quick walk around the harbor to the bus station. There you’ll find a direct bus ride back to the airport.
While this area, known as the ‘Dalmatian Coast,’ can get crowded in the summer time, with a little strategic planning you can avoid too much competition during the high season.