Split and Brac, Croatia

September 21 - 28, 2019

Split, the second largest city in Croatia, is a beautiful port city with an impressive old town and quick connections to beautiful islands and the gorgeous Krka National Park. We enjoyed a relaxing week in town and three days on Brac island. Brac island was beautiful, wish we had more time there.

Day 0: Arrived in Split

Day 1 & 2: Old town Split

Day 3: Krka National Park

Day 4-6, Home school & catch up

Day 7-9 - Ferry to Brac, explored the island

Voyagers tips: Stay close to Old Town where most attractions are located. Visit the bell tower early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the long line with the cruise ship crowd. Walk farther away from Old Town center to find restaurants with better values. No car is necessary to explore Split, and finding street parking is a pain, but there are many nearby places to visit with a car, such as Krka National Park. Nearby islands are as much an attraction as Split itself: Hvar and Brac are the two most popular islands. Many people choose to stay on the islands instead of in Split. Ferries are very convenient, but directions are unclear; visit the ferries ticket stand to get schedules and understand where the boat departs from. The islands are nicer, spend more time on the islands and less time in Split. We did not visit Hvar, but Brac was lovely.

Day 1 & 2 - Old Town Split

The Riva, the waterfront promenade in Split, is a great hangout place.

The drive from Dubrovnik to Split was very scenic.

We arrived at our vacation rental.

Green market, with fruits and vegetables sold each morning.

The Riva is pedestrian only, so is the rest of Old Town Split.

The Republic Square at the end of Old Town pedestrian area.

Strolling through the streets of Old Town Split.

We grabbed a bite to eat at a fast food place in Old Town. Big mistake. We all agreed this was the worst meal of our entire world trip so far.

Much of the Diacletian Palace walls has deteriorated and left un-restored.

Inside the really small Cathedral of St. Domnius.

Inside the Cathedral of St. Domnius.

The narrow walkway into the Crypt.

The crypt. A fairly small area. Kind of creepy.

Looking up the tower next to the cathedral.

The statue in front of Temple of Jupiter has an Egyptian feel to it.

The entrance to the Temple of Jupiter.

The Temple of Jupiter is actually quite small. A bit underwhelming for a major attraction.

The architecture throughout old town is quite nice.

This gate to the art museum inside the Diacletian Palace was interesting.

The girls found a small playground to have some fun.

The statue of Grgur Ninski, created by the most famous Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic.

It is believed that touching his big toe brings happiness and the realization of desires.

We took turn touching the big toes and making wishes.

The Sug restaurant, a few streets away from old town, provides a great lunch at much better value than the restaurants in Old Town.

Croatian meals with a twist.

The influence of Game of Thrones is seen throughout Croatia. Not as much in Split as in Dubrovnik, but this GOT museum was interesting.

The Bell Tower next to the Cathedral of St. Domnius.

We climbed up the bell tower for a nice view.

There is 360 view of nearby area. The bell tower is the tallest building inside old town.

We walked by the bells during the climb to the top.

Peristyle Square, in front of the cathedral. A cool hangout spot, and you can get pictures with these roman soldiers.

The way the palace is integrated into the current town layout is very unique. The old structure is not well restored but is instead repurposed as much as possible for current needs.

Old town split has its charm. It’s not quite as grand or well-restored as Old Town Dubrovnik, and many deteriorated buildings are left as is, but the way historical structures are re-purposed for modern uses (restaurants, bars, museums) is uniquely Split. We explored this area over two days; nice mixture of sea-side scenery, ancient structures, and tourist-friendly shops and restaurants. Still, if we were to do it again, we’d spend less days in Split and more days on Brac or other nearby islands.

Day 3 - Krka national park

The "Long exposure" feature on iPhones came in very handy here.

The boardwalk is nicely built throughout the walk, but can be too narrow when the crowds pick up. The crowds were still light when we first arrived.

Unlike the national parks in the US where people are free to roam around, the walk paths are very clearly defined and controlled in Krka.

Looking down at the downstream area of Krka. This waterfall is the lowest of seven waterfalls throughout Krka.

Skrandinski, the lowest of the 7th waterfalls at Krka. This is by far the most popular waterfall of Krka.

We went in to swim next to the waterfall.

There weren't many people swimming when we first got there, then the crowd picked up.

After the lower part (Lozovac entrance), we drove up to the upstream part of the park (Roski Slap).

A water stream near the Roski Slap entrance.

This is a steep climb up to a nice viewpoint.

Several small drops in this area look like many necklaces from the aerial view, thus this section is nicknamed the necklaces.

Nice view from up here.

Maren and Megan decided to turn back, but Ashlyn and Ivan kept going to the top for an even better view.

Going back down a steep climb is always harder than going up.

Climbing up to see the cave.

The Ozidana Pecina cave was a bit of a let down, to be honest. Nothing spectacular.

Enjoying the view before coming back down.

Getting to Waterfall

Krka Waterfall

Skradinski Buk Pan Shot

Snake 1 s

Krka National Park - Beautiful waterfalls, amazing swim by the waterfall and breathtaking views. It's no wonder this is the second most visited national parks in Croatia.

Voyagers tips: There are several entrances to Krka, do your research to see which one you want to go to. If you have a car, the best entrance for the most popular lower-falls area is the Lozovac entrance, where you can park for free in a large parking lot and take a shuttle to the park. The upstream section of the park is much less crowded, and it’s beautiful with a very different feel, highly recommended as well. The best upstream entrance for self-driving is Roski Slap, about a half-hour drive from Lozovac entrance.

Day 7-9 - brac

We spent three nights at Brac, a beautiful island off of the coast of Split. Zlatni Rat, arguably the most famous and beautiful beach in Croatia, sits near the town of Bol. We truly enjoyed our time on Brac near Zlatni Rat and Bol, and wished we had more time here.

Car Ferry to hotel

Bol

Zlatni Rat beach

Vidova Gora

Car Ferry to hotel

View from our balcony.

We took the car ferry from Split to Brac island and drove to the hotel. There were some logistical challenges along the way, so check out our tips below if you want to do this trip.

Voyagers tips:

Car ferry: (1) The car ferry is very nicely run, but information online is scarce, so stop by the booth to get info before your trip. (2) There are two ends of the port, with old town in the middle being pedestrian only, so if you go to the wrong side of the port (Google doesn’t tell you which side to go), you’re looking at a 20-minute drive around the city from one end to the next. Make sure you look for car ferry port on GPS. (3) The schedule is different (4) The most popular car ferry company is Jadrolinija. Check their website for schedule: https://www.jadrolinija.hr/en/ferry-croatia. (5) The ticket counter tells you to show up 1 hour before scheduled departure, which is good during peak seasons because there are no guaranteed spots on the ferry. If you don’t get onto a ferry, you just wait for the next one, as the tickets are for a specific day, not a specific ferry. Since we traveled during off-peak season, showing up 30min before departure was more than enough. (6) For Brac island, the ferry goes to the southern port of Supetar, then you can drive to Bol on the northern part of the island.

Bol: There is a nice pedestrian walkway along the ocean between the town of Bol and Zlatni Rat beach, which means there are no roads for cars. If you’re staying at a hotel or vacation rental near the water, call them ahead of time to ask for the closest parking spot; in our case, they had to come greet us and get into our car to show us the best parking spot available.

Bol

Bol is a nice town, the most popular town on Brac, likely due to the location near the Zlatni Rat beach. It’s about a 20min walk or a short ferry ride between the two. We found a nice hotel that’s half way between the two. The walking path between the town and the beach is very scenic.

Zlatni Rat (Golden Cape / Golden Horn) Beach

Typical of Croatia beaches, it's a pebbles beach, where sandals or water-shoes are appreciated.

The kids wanted to play on this massive jumper obstacle course on the ocean... so did Ivan!

Plenty of beach area due to the shape of the beach. Much less crowded by late September.

The water is crystal clear.

Clear water makes for great underwater photos.

Here we go!

Ashlyn did two belly flops from the jumper obstacle course, her belly turned a bit red. She needs more practice.

Zlatni Rat

Trampoline at Zlatni Rat

Maren Jumping into Zlatni Rat water

This is the tip of the beach that juts out to the ocean. There’s nice beach on both sides.

Zlatni Rat (Golden Horn / Golden Cape) is one of the most famous beaches in Croatia, even makes it to many list of the world’s best beaches. The beach’s shape changes slightly with shifting tides, and is best known for the unique shape that juts out to the ocean, creating nice beach on all three sides. It’s a great place to relax for a day… or three.

Vidova Gora

The view here is amazing!

They clearly are proud of the fact that this is the highest peak of all Adriatic islands. This is the sign that also says only authorized vehicles allowed beyond this point.

An aerial view of Zlatni Rat beach from here.

A small memorial nearby.

We waited until the sun is about to set.

Caught a nice view on the drive back down.

Breathtaking views at Vidova Gora, the highest peak of all Adriatic Islands, on Brac island of Croatia. It’s supposedly possible to see Italy from here on a clear day, but we had no such luck on our visit.

Voyagers’ Tips: You can hike up to Vidova Gora from Bol, a steep hike that takes about 3-5 hours. Or you can drive up to the top. We only had a short stay on Bol so we decided to drive up to save some time. To drive, follow Google Map’s direction to Vidova Gora, you’ll see a parking lot at the end of the road. There’s a small path to go to the actual view spot, but the sign says “authorized vehicles only” in Croatian. The walk from the parking lot isn’t far, about 8-10 minutes. The hike is supposed to be gorgeous though.