Images courtesy Pixabay and Giannis Pitarokills, used under the Creative Commons license
IT’S NORMAL around this time of year to start craving a holiday. The festive season is done and dusted, your New Year’s resolutions have taken the fun out of your weekends, and your bank account is finally returning to normal after the craziness of Christmas.
While it’s not always possible to get a week off from work and responsibilities, it’s usually fairly easy to book yourself a long weekend. If you are thinking about a couple of days away then Split in Croatia is one destination to seriously consider. With its sun-baked coast, rich history, stunning natural landscapes and lively nightlife, Split has everything you could want from a revitalizing weekend break.
Panoramic view of Split, Croatia
Getting In and Out
Split is accessible by boat and bus from other Croatian cities, but the easiest way to get in is by plane. Because it’s so centrally located in Europe, you can get cheap flights in and out of Croatia that only take a couple of hours. From London, Split is a two and a half hour flight – and it’s even closer to Paris, Berlin and Rome. Once you’ve arrived at the airport (only 20km out of town), you can hop on an airport bus and get taken directly into the city.
Tour Diocletian’s Palace
Diocletian’s Palace isn’t your everyday historical landmark. The palace is actually many things at once: a Roman imperial residence, a stone-walled fortress and a labyrinthine town. Covering an area of over 30,000 square metres, the palace is a network of narrow winding streets, residential buildings, restaurants, bars, shops and museums. It’s certainly the beating heart of Split, and one that requires a good few hours’ wandering.
Old Town, Split, Croatia
Sunbathe on Bačvice Beach
If you’re heading to Split hoping for soft, white sand beaches and bath-temperature seawater you’ll probably be disappointed. The Dalmatian coast is a little tougher and rougher than what you’d find on a Caribbean getaway, and Split’s all about pebbled beaches, rocky coastlines and cool, clear water. The best place to get a taste of this is at the city’s most famous beach, Bačvice. In the day, Bačvice is lined with sun-loungers and people playing a traditional ball game called picigin in the shallows. Come nightfall, everyone flocks to the bars and clubs that line the water and party until the small hours.
Sample the Seafood
Northern areas of Croatia are famed for their hearty, Eastern European-influenced stews and meat dishes, but down in Split it’s all about the seafood, freshly caught that day in the Adriatic. The best seafood can be found at Konoba Matejuska, Konoba Marjan and Dvor, three restaurants that serve up delicious platters of grilled seafood and fish alongside their own in-house specialities.
If you have a little more time in Split, or if you’re up for a really jam-packed two days, then it can be worth doing some island-hopping to Brac, Solta or Hvar. But there’s definitely more than enough going on in Split to keep you busy for those 48 hours of your weekend break.
