Sunny Two Days in Split

To begin our Croatian adventure, we chose the port city of Split! Primarily for the beaches, access to more beaches and the lakes, and it was the shortest flight from the USA!

[divider class="" ]How?

From Birmingham, our flight began on a small city puddle jumper to Chicago, where we boarded another flight to Paris. Since I am awesome, I researched and ensured we had a great plane for the long flight. To top it off, we upgraded to premium economy - all courtsey of KPMG!

Mary Frances definitely enjoyed her premium seat as it came with the widest seat and most legroom she has ever experienced! I am not sure if she was tired from the wedding, but she fell asleep fairly quickly. We both enjoyed the flight and were sad to see it end!

Once in Paris, we connected through the airport, but luckily didn’t have to do much! Then, on the Croatia Airlines flight, I had by far the best airline snack food! It was boxed olive oil, crackers, and cheese, but tasted wonderful! Too bad Mary Frances chose sleep versus this delightful snack!

After a long 13 hour journey, we landed in sunny, warm Split!

[divider class="" ]Lodging at Le Mederien

One of the few SPG / American brand hotels, Le Mederien, offers a secluded getaway literally five or so miles outside the city. It is a beautiful property that lies directly on the water, offers several excursions, and has a direct sunset view! I primarily chose it because of the sunset view and we could eat at the property and go immediately to the beach. And, I was able to use my SPG points at 10k/night to really keep it affordable!

Other than the beach, it was a standard hotel. While the bars and restaurants were excellent, the distance to and from Split was a little annoying at times especially as we had to pay for the taxi. Overall, while nice, I think I would have preferred an island hotel! I guess that is why we will be returning to Croatia!

Arrival

One of the few resorts in Split is the Le Mederien, which lies about 5 miles from the city center of Split. Because of this distance, it is very secluded and provides a little bit of luxury! Because I kept requesting for upgrades and everything, they ‘treated’ us very nicely and gave us a wonderful room on the top floor! We had an amazing time simply relaxing in the sun!

To celebrate our first morning, I ordered chocolates and prosecco on our arrival. We simply could not top it! We debated going into Split, but ultimately decided we had to rest and relax!

Sunset Drinks and Dinner

As it was a five star resort, there were plenty of bars and restaurant options within the property. To celebrate, we first went to a sunset bar where we watched the sun disappear behind the Adriatic Sea. Plus, I had a lovely date to match!

For dinner, we simply walked downstairs to a cozy little Italian spot. Right below the hotel is a cute little marina full of yachts and beaches. Since it was slow season, we were able to get a seat right away and next to the water. The salty sea breeze felt wonderful as we no longer had to deal with the humid Southern heat!

For dinner, we started with garlic bread pizza which was very yummy. Since we were starving, we both ordered dishes. She ordered the beef tenderloin pasta and I ordered the linguine with clams. Since we had to have dessert on our first night, we finished with honey pancetta.

Shortly after that, we slept. I don’t even think it was 9pm!

[divider class="" ]Relax, eat, explore, repeat

In our one true day in Split, I did not want to waste any time! While Mary Frances wanted to lay by the beach, I wanted to explore!

Beachin’

I allocated the morning to Mary Frances as she was keen on catching the morning sun! I did not have any problems with this and did even bother setting an alarm! Slowly but surely, we slept for over 13 hours. Whoops!

The beach and pool at the Le Merderin is amazing! There are loads of beach chairs and umbrellas, completed with many drink and food stands. It was everything we could have asked for and more! Mary Frances literally didn’t move from the beach chair, but I opted to explore the property! In the pool area, I discovered there is an infinity pool! This overlooks the sunset spots and of course the lovely beach.

Walking Tour

Strangely, we had to pay for a walking tour as it apparently is a law and all guides have to be registered. Thus, we signed up for an evening tour and signed up at the last minute! It was fairly cheap at 15 euros per person and through XXX. We met at the XXX gate at dusk. It was almost sunset in Split!

Bloody Roman History

Split old town has a very conversional history dating back to the Roman times. In the fading days of the Roman Empire, Emperor Diocletian built a retirement palace fit for, well, an emperor! However, to do so, he literally destroys the Christian communities. Quite literally, he would invite them into the double gates, lock them, and then slay them where they stood. In fact, one gate was called blood gate as it faced the nearest Christian village and thousands died in those gates.

For the rest of Split, Diocletian was a welcomed guest in his retirement palace. In the city, the palace took up most of the city and then some! He designed the long, wide avenues perfect for Roman parades. Since Diocletian was also responsible for conquering Egypt and brought back several influences such as random Sphinxes that are now dotted throughout the city. Once he died, the neighboring Christian city of Solin came to his palace and destroyed half of it as Karma! Now, the entire present day old town is an UNESCO heritage site!

The Game of Thrones

For the more fun parts, Game of Thrones has several memorable sites. We visited the area where Barristan Selmy was killed by the Unsullied in Season 5. Our guide said the scene lasted 8 seconds, but filming took 5 days. For another scene, where there is a sign written in blood stating - "kill the masters" (season 4, episode 5), this scene took another 4 days to film a simple sign.

Rest of Split’s History

Similar to the other surrounding areas of Europe, this land was conquered by a few forces. After the Romans, the neighboring Venetians ruled for the longest and made Split into a powerful port. Once Naploean came into power, he took over Split and really changed it into the city it is today. The French rulers tore down the Venetian marble walls and created the wonderful marble streets and little alleys. Mary Frances and I definitely enjoyed our little tour and definitely recommend it!

Vino and Spaghetti

During my research, I noted famous wine bar, Zinfandel Food & Wine Bar, and knew if we had time, I would want to take Mary Frances there. Unfortunately, there was an extremely long wait, but it gave us time to explore Split until our reservation! There is so much nightlife in these tiny streets and we just enjoyed getting lost! We also went to an extremely nerdy Game of Thrones restaurant where I contemplated buying something just so nerdy. Thankfully, I avoided it!

Our meal was spectacular! Just for us, the place had soothing live music and we could hear the lovely nightlife sounds as well. We had two perfectly selected vinos - one Croatian blend and one red. I preferred the red, but didn’t get the name! Since we were still jetlagged, we weren’t entirely hungry. Thankfully, the spaghetti was terrific as we split it.  If this is how all our evenings were going to go in Croatia, we were going to have a blast!

[divider class="" ]Plitvice Lakes National Park

Since we were in north Croatia, I knew we had to visit Plitvice Lakes. Even from Zagreb, it is a long drive so I knew we ould have to suffer through it at some point in our lives! Through Sugaman Tours, we booked a roundtrip day trip from Split and only costs 65 euros.

It’s the Drive

Since our tour began at 7, we ordered room service and it was a fancy fruit cream cheese brioche and parfait. We sleepily ate it as we somewhat regretted our choice… We especially doubted ourselves once we read the weather forecast that predicted sunny skies and beachy weather to the islands!

Safe to say, the bus ride was insanely long. It was not pleasant at all. Our group was around 20 or so people and Mary Frances and I were definitely the youngest on the tour. Meaning, we fell into the old people tour group trap!

The Park

Our guided tour began shortly after we arrived. Our guide was a funny college aged girl who wore something out of the nineties!

Our Wonderful Morning

Our guide informed us the day’s plan: we would begin at Entrance 2, take a ferry to the other side, visit Big and Small Splash waterfalls, take a tram to Station 1, and then ended at the Big Waterfall. Yes, the names and descriptions are so original!

Everything in the park is beautiful. Reflecting off the scenery, the water is crystal clear and has a green-blue haze. There are loads of green trees and plenty of waterfalls!! Our hike through the park was on these boards and we could easily trip and fall into the lake. I definitely thought about pushing Mary Frances into the lake as a funny prank…

The pictures will do more justice to the park than my words ever will! Each waterfall is unique and is simply stunning. In this park, it feels as if we were transported to another world! Both Big and Small Splash were very impressive and deserved their plain names. One was definitely bigger!

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Sunny Afternoon

For the grand finale, we went to the most famous waterfall. I nicknamed it - the Big Show - in honor of the other plain names! We walked from the ‘top’ of the cliff into an awesome cave! Of course, there was a waterfall on the other side. After the cave, we arrived at the big show. It was simply amazing! I made sure Mary Frances got us some great pictures too!

For the best view, we walked out of the valley to the overlook. Yes, I had Mary Frances ‘hike’ or walk over a mile! Well, I should take credit for the entire day as we primarily spent it outdoors and not on the beach! At the overlook, while Mary Frances caught her breath, we took great photos over the entire park. Again, well worth the visit!

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The Longest Lunch/Dinner

Because our tour group was on the older side, they took their sweet time getting through the park and back to the bus. Therefore, we were the last ones to the only lunch spot on the road to Split… Our tour guide was not happy! Since we weren’t too hungry, we split skewers and some local brewskis. We somehow knew the trip back would be a long one…

Overall

For our honest review, I perhaps hyped the Plitvice Lakes too much. I wish we rented our own car and went separately as we could have beat the crowds and seen it at own pace. The lakes are definitely worth the visit, but perhaps when we were in town longer!

We all scream for Ice Cream

Perhaps, the best part of the tour was the guide gave us the BEST ice cream shop in Split, called Luka. Obviously, we went straight there because we all scream for ice cream. Mary Frances wasn’t going to get any, but then the long queue and delicious flavors convinced her otherwise! I obviously had chocolate while she had vanilla. Predictable.

[divider class="" ]The UnChartered 13 Summary:

Sunny Split is such a low-key, beachy, and chill little city. While old town can be crowded, the city is extremely charming and wonderful.

• Zinfandel Food & Wine ba Wine Bar is lovely and they even do wine flights in the day!
• Just go to the Game of Thrones store - it is hilarious.
• From everyone we spoke to, take a stereotypical island cruise. Just spend a bit more and go private!
• Plitvice Lakes is definitely worth the trip - if it is right! Ensure you have plenty of time to explore the islands! For those who want a sample of Plitvice, check out the Krka Waterfalls!