Road Trip Travel Guide | Croatia Part 2
- The Tahmi Life
- Jun 22, 2019
- 7 min read
Check out the first part of my Croatia Road Trip Travel Guide before you read this post.
After starting off the road trip on a high, I didn't think it could get any better. Boy I was wrong.
Stop #3: Krka National Park
This national park was beyond incredible. I thought I had seen it all when I visited Plitvice Lakes National Park the day before but this one blew it out of the water too (quite literally too). Entrance fee tickets were 100HRK (£12) so fairly cheap, but prices vary depending on the season. This included access to the boat ride from Skradin to Lozovac where the trek began.
Waiting for our boat to arrive to take us across the bridge to Lozovac and begin the trek.
The boat ride was such a peaceful and relaxing ride, allowing you to see the beauty of Croatia. It really puts your mind at peace and clarity and I found it a beautiful time to think about life. Check out my #TahmiTravels IG Stories if you want to see this amazing place in action.
Krka has so many waterfalls from the small ones to huge ones which you can actually swim in. The views were incredible, especially once you've reached the highest point of the national park. One of the biggest differences with Krka vs. Plitvice is that this one allows you to swim in the lakes whereas the other one doesn't. But the water is freezing cold so be prepared! The entire trek was between 4-5 hours with several pit stops for food and ice cream.
Peak viewpoint of the national park
To think we started off travelling across the bridge in the photo and climbed this high.
There are two different paths to take once you reached the main viewpoint of the national park, the view of the biggest waterfall. You can choose to go through this wondrous path (shown above) and explore a little further as you make your way down back to the main entrance and swimming area, or you can choose to to take a route that goes directly to the main entrance. Obviously we chose the former... I mean, how could I miss out these views?!
We ended up going for a swim towards the end of the trek which was a lot of fun but freezing cold. I personally would advise you to go swimming at the beginning of your trek so you can have fun and dry off in the sun. As it is a long 4-5 trek, you can get very tired and may not even go swimming if that's the last activity to do. Can't lie, we didn't go for a proper swim as the water was too cold, it was more so a quick photoshoot then hop on out.
Now for some top tips:
1. The boat ride from Skradinski Buk to Krka comes every hour, so check the timetable beforehand as you may have to wait an hour like us for the next one. Also bear in mind that even if you queue up, you may still have to wait another hour for the next boat ride if it reaches it full capacity, so stay in the queue!
2. You have the option of walking it for an hour to reach Krka or you can wait for the boat ride. You can also drive the car there but unsure as to where parking is because I didn't see any when we reached there. So make sure to research beforehand!
3. Spare set of clothes - depending on what time of the year you are visiting, you may have to take a change of underwear at the very least if you are planning to go swimming. Or if you are brave enough and the weather is doing you well like our day, just dry off in the sun.
Stop #4: Split
The final part of our road trip to Split was definitely a fun 3 days. We were on the move so much for the entire trip that it was nice just to relax a little and do things at a slower pace.
Split is a really pretty town by the port which has the beauty of both beach life and Croatian history. There is enough to do for a relaxed 'beach sun and sea' trip but also explore the history of the town. Surrounded by plentiful restaurants and bars by the strip, there was enough to do as well as enjoy some decent food.
A little history lesson - the centre of Split is formed from the ancient fortress that was built by the Roman emperor in the 4th century, called Diocletian's Palace. The shops and restaurants are literally made within what is left of the palace, which looks amazing. They also offer tours around the Diocletian's Palace including a historical tour of Split as well as a Game of Thrones Tour. You have the option of buying them separately but as the GoT was quite expensive, we decided to go for the historical tour which still covers the GoT tour. 2-in-1, score. You can buy from any tour guide representatives that are floating around the grounds, just shop around to see who can give you the best price. We bought the tickets for 90 kunas (£10ish) which covered both the historical and GoT tour.
The Silver Gate from outside Diocletian's Palace
The Silver Gate from inside Diocletian's Palace
Standing in the dining hall of the palace
View from the top of the palace
Click on the photos above to view them properly.
The views in Split were absolutely beautiful. Especially with the sun beaming down, the crystal blue waters looked like they were glistening. You can have a stroll along the strip day or night, as well as see the views during breakfast, lunch or dinner. Or if you're like us, we literally sat down and admired the view whilst having ice cream!
Bacvice Beach was the most popular beach as it was the closest to the central town of Split. It wasn't the most amazing beach I've seen, pretty standard like your typical beaches in Spain, but still enjoyable as it was a sandy beach. To get there you need to trek uphill from the port side which is about 10-15 mins... or if you're lazy like us you can Uber it for next to nothing.
Bacvice Beach
We did a little day trip biking up the hills towards Marjan Forest Park, where we could experience the panoramic views of the beautiful city. We spent a couple of ours exploring uphill before we reached the main viewpoint. The struggles of riding the bikes in the scorching heat were worth it. We hired city bikes from Toto Travel Excursions, a shop right near the water fountain next to the strip. Tickets cost 80 kunas (£8) for a full day bike hire which is great.
Viewpoint in Marjan Forest Park
There are other excursions such as visiting Hvar, Blue Caves and Zip Lining which we would have done if we had the time and money for it! I would definitely go there again to visit these places for a round trip 2 of Croatia!
We spent out last living a more luxury and relaxation lifestyle as we booked a spa day with massage. This was the perfect way to end the trip in complete body peace. We booked it at the Hotel Luxe for a full spa day which includes access to sauna, jacuzzi and gym facilities, as well as a one hour full body massage all for £40! Not bad, right?! The staff were extremely pleasant and professional and the facilities were good. (8/10)
Food
Terminal F - Dinner here was absolute glory. I can't lie, we ordered a lot but this food was probably the best food I had during my time in Split. Mexican/American food involving burgers, fries, sides, absolute glory. Service was good also. (8.5/10)
Restaurant Verneranda - We had brekkie here, with amazing views of the sun and sea which was really nice. Staff were nice and helpful and the food itself was decent. Happy bunny. (8/10)
Adriana - We went multiple times for ice cream at this place with again, spectacular views of the sea front, that's how good it was. Bit pricey for what it is but still worth it in my opinion. (9/10)
Shisha Bar Aktuell - of course we had to do it up a shisha bar. To be honest it was the only shisha place in all of Split, so clearly shisha is not a popular thing within the Croatian borders. The place was in the middle of nowhere really but that was okay. The shisha wasn't that great but this is normal for most shishas that I have experienced abroad. (6/10)
Cheesy pics that had to be taken
View from our AirBnB apartment
We also passed through the Split Food Festival and their National Army Day Fair where they had the army tanks displayed for the public to view. As we were heading back to the airport we found a hidden beach right next to the airport which was an absolute beaut.
Hidden Beach next to Split Airport
Transport in Split
Everything in Split is pretty much within walking distance so there was not really any need for our rental car for the 3 days. If you are just travelling to Split for your trip, do not bother hiring a car. In hindsight, we would probably return the car once we arrived in Split and just catch a cab back to the airport. We also used Uber there quite a few times to get around to destinations including Bacvice Beach and Hotel Luxe and a few other places. In total, we spent just less than £8 each on Uber which was very cheap considering we used it throughout the 3 days. Top tip: be wary of the cabs as they will try to bump you off with extortionate prices seeing as you are a tourist. We used Uber to compare prices ad they charged over triple in price.
Split was an amazing end to our road trip in Hungary and Croatia. I would 1000% recommend visiting all of Croatia as there are some incredible places to visit. If you haven't checked out my previous posts, have a look at them here - Budapest Travel Guide and Croatia Travel Guide Part 1.
Have you been to Croatia before? What places would you recommend? If you haven't been, would you add Croatia to your bucket list? Let me know in the comments below!
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