GUIDE / PHOTOS

When: June

Where we stayed, where we ate and what we did...

Croatia was a place that kept coming in at the top of my "to-visit" list then disappearing and then coming back. We were due a summer holiday spent with friends and when Mirvet and Harry mentioned the trip to us we were sold and all tried our hardest to get 7 days off work at the same time. We might have left the apartment booking until very last minute but it all worked out well and we had an extremely good holiday. So we decided to visit Split for 3 nights and Hvar for 4 nights, we got return flights to Split that cost us 148 pounds. 

Split and Hvar were similar but different, it's so hard to chose a favourite. We found them hard to research because most restaurants/bars aren't online but everything about Croatia was 100x better than what I had imagined. I felt more relaxed and on an a summer holiday in Hvar but in Split we did two day trips, one to Brela by coach and one to Krka National Park by rented car.

I wrote a day - to - day journal whilst away and thought that was how I would set out my Croatia travel guide but now I've decided against that and will carry on with how I usually do it.. so expect this up in a few days! 

Stay - Apartment Marmonaut

Since we left it so late (nothing knew with us) we didn't see many nice apartments but Harry managed to find this gem. A modern two bedroom in the centre of Split, with high ceilings and big windows. It looked like an Ikea showroom but not in a bad way, funky coloured theme and wacky patterns. The kitchen had everything we needed and in the living area their was a magazine stand with lots of helpful books. I would recommend this place for it's unique style and it being so near to everything. The coach station was about a 10 minute walk, which we used a few times. 

Eat - Bepa!

I added this place to my Croatia map but we didn't actually plan to go here on the first day but it was so near to our apartment we literally just bumped in to it, so decided to have lunch. We went for pasta dishes which was so tasty. So tasty we decided to come for breakfast here before renting a car. Me and Harry went for the eggs and avocado with bacon and the others went for the eggs benedict. Great food.

Eat - Konoba Marjan

This was the night we let Rakesh decide on a restaurant (he thinks he's a food critic) and he picked good, however it was a small restaurant and we spent the whole time listening to a loud american lady talking to this couple about her whole life it seemed but that didn't completely ruin the experience. The food was delicious but I regrettably let Rakesh chose my starter... he picked me grilled prawns... they were really good but I had ordered scampi for my main and it was pretty much the exact same thing. I'm not a fan of peeling my own shellfish. It was still delicious, the others had tuna steak which I wish I went for as it was really good. 

Eat - Bobis

A chain bakery in Split that we had passed in the evening and suggested Rakesh and I should do a pastry run one morning which we did and we did go a bit over the top (typical). I made the decision of the cherry filled pastries which were a bit too much but still good. Very heavy. 

Eat - Konoba Feral 

We visited Brela and went here for lunch and I got my mussels fix. Then we also came back here for a rushed dinner and all had the same thing, steak and fries! Such good food right on the harbour.

Eat - 50 Hvar

I knew I wanted to visit here but was unsure if my friends would, it's a great place to fill up before heading out for drinks. I went for the lamb burger and truffle chips which were amazing! Pictured with the truffle chips is Rakesh's squid roll which was also tasty but I preferred my burger. This place was run by all girls and we got to enjoy this on the rooftop looking over Hvar but it was a bit too dark up there.

Eat - Fig

I'm pretty sure I can speak for all of us and say this place did the best breakfasts of the trip, of course we went here twice, we obviously like doing this. Fig is something special, a different twist on breakfast foods. The first trip I went for the vegetarian burrito and despite the questionable sauce on top well looks can be deceiving, such a flavoursome breakfast. The second trip I went for the spicy eggs which is like a Mexican potato and pepper hash thing topped with eggs, yogurt and sriracha. We asked for added sausages sometimes you need a meat fix. I wish we had a Fig at home.

Eat - Luna

We went for a wander and we stumbled across this menu on the street, I noticed that it looked like something pretty good and the menu stood out to us. We bought the gang back here for the evening and headed up to the roof terrace, it seemed to attract a lot of British ladies. This was our starter, fried fish. Then we all seemed to go for pasta, mine was a rocket prawn pasta dish that was so good.

Eat - Lungomare

Rakesh found a gem, he told us it was a short walk from our apartment but it was about 15 minutes which is even that bad. It was a busy restaurant in the outskirts of Hvar centre, it seemed like it was family run which made it even better.  One of the best seafood spaghettis of the trip (I had it loads) we had a bottle of house white too which was super cheap and ended the meal with lemon chellos... they did this at a few restaurants actually.

Eat - Mlinar

Everywhere we go we like to make sure we're staying near a bakery it seems, it's not on purpose but thinking about it now it seems like it. We were staying above this one and had some pastries for breakfast and even stocked up before heading to the beach for a sunbathing day. The potato pastry and the calzones were super tasty!

Do - Krka National Park

We rented a car for the day and drove an hour-ish from Split to Krka National Park... we stopped of at Lidl on the way for picnic supplies as you do. There's something fun about hiring a car when away (even though i'm not a driver). We spent the whole day here and it was a really fun day. We went into the water in front of the waterfall, it took me awhile to build the courage to go in but was super glad I did as it was alot of fun. 

Do - Brela

Take a coach from Split to Brela, it's like a private town/beach area with a little harbour and the journey was only an hour. We set up camp on the beach then went for lunch and an ice cream then walked a bit further down and had one game of Uno then all napped. We got woken up by the sun beaming down on our faces then took a dip in the freezing cold ocean. We had drinks (I had aperol spritz) as the sun was setting.

Do - Bacvice

We walked here from Split, it took about 20 minutes and it's a very scenic walk. People sunbathing on free bits of concrete, we found a nice bit of concrete to sunbathe on so napped then woke up and took another wander. We spotted Dvor up in the hills so climbed the stairs and had a drink with a pretty view!

Do - Jerolim Island

Jerolim is one of the Pakleni Islands, which is made up of 21 little islands, with clear seas, hidden beaches and deserted lagoons. We got a taxi boat over from Hvar harbour which cost about £2 for a return. The taxi boat can also take you to Carpe Diem and Palmižana which we decided to explore ourselves when we hired a boat for a day. Jarolim was by far our favourite one though, very peaceful and the beach shack that was run by a couple was very cool. We also headed out to Carpe Diem for the night party one evening, I wasn't too fussed about going myself but I am easily persuaded. It was actually quite good but wasn't that busy when we went. 

Do - Hvar Fortica

The Fortica is very easy to find, but we had to climb a million stairs then walk up a winding slope but it's worth it.