my favourite days in split

It has now been over a month since my friend, Maya, and I left the beautiful pebbly beaches of Split in return for miserable, cold London. And I still relive the trip daily. The 8 days we were in Croatia for were lazy but well spent, with slow mornings on the beach to late nights in Diocletian’s Palace square. So, I thought I’d talk about a few of my favourite days we spent in Croatia.

Thursday the 14th of September was my favourite day of the whole trip- and possibly the whole summer. We started the day with a boat trip around the Croatian Blue Lagoon which can’t be described as anything less than magical. We met the rest of the group and our captain, Ivan, at 2.15pm sharp and set sail to a beautiful island perhaps 15 minutes away. Ivan explained to us that our first stop was a place called ‘the quiet bay’ and that not only was this a beautiful swimming spot but that it also featured ‘mojito man’. Ivan steered us towards this little dinghy that had an array of spirits, juices and garnishes with a guy relaxing, waiting for customers. We were warned that the mojitos were famously strong and to ask for a mojito light if we weren’t up for heavy drinking. Safe to say, Ivan and the mojito man were not lying as one drink had Maya and I wobbling from side to side (and not just because we were on a boat). We spent about an hour at ‘the quiet bay’: jumping into the sea that reflected a bright shade of turquoise, snorkelling to marvel at the sunken ship that lay on the sea floor and drinking mojitos which kept us cool in the scorching heat. We then sped off to the Blue Lagoon, where we once again relaxed under the hot sun and swam in the sparkling blue sea. The final stop was an hour spent at a nearby town called Trogir where Maya and I treated ourselves to ice cream and dawdling around the winding, historic streets.

The trip ended with us walking back to our apartment from the dock to scrub ourselves clean before heading out for dinner at this lively restaurant: Bokeria. Everything about this place was incredible. Our drinks, for me a margarita and Maya an espresso martini, were delicious and were some of the best we had the whole trip. The food then promptly arrived and was heavenly. I had the rib-eye steak with truffle mash potato and coleslaw while Maya opted for the octopus with whipped sweet potato and a couscous salad, both cooked to perfection; half an hour later it looked like we had licked the plates clean. Our waiter then very skilfully persuaded us into at least sharing a dessert, a chocolate mousse with a salted caramel middle, that like our mains, had us wishing we had more room in our stomachs. For the second night in a row, we then headed to Diocletian’s Palace square for the live music. We had discovered that this restaurant situated right in the middle of the square had a different band playing every night and so we went I think 6 of the 7 nights we were there for. It was such a lovely experience as the whole square fills up with people crouching, sitting and leaning anywhere they can to be remotely in earshot of the dulcet music. The night ended with us people-watching and eavesdropping while indulged in our own conversations, surrounded by people dancing along with the music which was so sweet to watch. I can safely say that the sitting in the square listening to the beautiful music was Maya’s favourite part of the entire trip.

Undoubtedly, my favourite thing Maya and I did this trip were the sunset swims. Our host when we first checked in told us that next door to us was Marjan Park and a 10 minute walk through the forest was a very secluded part of the coast that a lot of locals went to instead of the more popular and crowded beaches to swim and relax. On our first night in Split we decided to check out this ‘beach’ we were told about and it was beautiful. It was my personal favourite place we visited in Split. I won’t lie, it was not the most comfortable as the entire area is very small, sharp pebbles as opposed to sand, nevertheless, it was still my most-loved part of the trip. Like visiting the Diocletian’s Palace square for the live music, we frequented here to swim and watch the sunset just as much. Sunset swimming was always one of those activities you watch in silly rom-coms or teenage tv shows that is heavily romanticised… and rightfully so. The beach has always been my happy place; floating in the ocean always seems to put my mind at ease- which I know a lot of people can agree with. Coupling that sense of peace I find by the sea with being able to marvel at a sunset with one of my best friends were memories I will cherish. The first night we decided to go was actually very funny because the sea was freezing. Maya unfortunately only got so far in as a couple of toes but I somehow managed to get up to my chest (which I instantly regretted because if I thought I was cold in the sea, it was even colder when i finally got out). However, by the third or fourth night of us swimming here, both of us had finally bucked up the courage to actually swim in the cold water.

When planning our trip to Split, Maya and I spent so much time online trying to curate the perfect list of things to do that we could cram into 8 days. And in all our time on Google, one activity kept popping up and it was to visit the Diocletian Palace Bell Tower. As previously mentioned, Maya and I spent more time in that square than anywhere else on our trip so on our final night before heading to dinner, we decided to climb the tower for quite literally the most beautiful view of the city. The sun also happened to be setting just as we reached the top which made the view even more amazing. The climb to the top was long, but well worth the wait, with it starting in a very dark, cramped staircase that still had the original stone as stairs before you reach the actual bell tower and its winding staircase. Climbing the bell tower was one of my favourite touristy things Maya and I did that week as not only do you get to learn a lot about Croatian history but you also get the most spectacular view of the city.

The final part of the Croatia trip I’ll mention is the dinner we had at Ciri Biri Bela which is a seasonal restaurant on the way to Old Town. Oh. My. Goodness. Delectable, mouth-watering and yummy are the only ways to describe the food Maya and I had here. In the space of 8 days we visited this restaurant 3 times, once for breakfast and twice for dinner because it was that good and literally a 3 minute walk away from where we were staying. And while all three times were amazing, nothing will compare to the first dinner we had there as we spent the whole evening constantly going back and forth saying “no try this, this is soooo good” after every dish. We chose to do the menu where you select as many dishes as you like from the sections which were separated into dips, cold and then hot. That first night we chose to have fresh bread with truffle butter, tzatziki and spicy sheep cream cheese followed by burrata and olives with lamb chops and grilled prawns dressed in olive oil to finish. The truffle butter, prawns and lamb chops were my personal favourites. Everything was perfect. I have never once in my life told so many different people about one meal I had at a restaurant that I sadly may not go to again for a very long time and so, because of that, Maya and I did go for our last night in Split and pretty much ordered the same things with a few additions to change it up slightly :)

Thank you for reading about my favourite days and experiences Maya and I shared in Croatia. It was a trip I know I’ll never forget- and to Maya, thank you for making the trip so memorable and there is no one else I would’ve loved to explore Split with than you <3