Dalmatian Coast Road Trip
05.19.2011 - 05.19.2011
89 °F
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Eastern Mediterranean Trip
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We left at 8:30 this morning to make our way down to the public busses. We caught a bus right on time, and navigated it to the main bus terminal where we bought a ticket on another bus to Split, in northern Croatia. Of course the day we are leaving, it was a 87 degrees by 10:00 am with plenty of sun, a perfect day to be on a boat or at the beach. The bus trip is estimated to take 5 hours as we are traveling from the far southern edge, up about a 1/3 of the country. The bus travels along the coast, on small twisty roads high up through the cliffs. It allowed for a great view of the Dalmatian coast and to snap plenty of photos as we went in and out of many small towns. We also drove through part of Bosnia, so had to stop at the border and show passports to enter – I guess we can add one more country to our total count now. The bus radio was on for most of the trip, so it was a mix of Croatian pop songs and U.S. 80’s – 90’s tunes, and then all of a sudden it was the new song by J-Lo. Quite a mix, I guess a little for everyone. 
Dalmation coast town
Farming in Ploce
Fishing nets in Bosnia
With the sun beating in the windows, it was a very warm bus, and I quickly learned chocolate truffles and warm busses do not combine. I had quite a mess, with chocolate dripping out my bag and as I picked it up, it then dripped down my leg and onto my shoe. I did a good enough clean up until we got to the room, and when we got there, I then found that some of the bottles in my bag overflowed in the heat as well. I was tired, hungry and not happy, so Nate let me clean up the mess in silence and then we wondered out for some food. We tried a slice of the local pizza as well as French fries in a cone. The fries were just okay, but the little fork you get to eat them with was quite fun.
Fries and a tiny fork
Split is very different from Dubrovnik in that it is the second largest city and feels that way. I was surprised how much graffiti there was everywhere, as well as boarded up windows and deserted alleys. The center of town is set in the crumbling remains of Diocletian’s Palace, a retirement palace built from 295 to 305 for the Roman emperor Diocletian. The Italian influence is very present in the food here, as there is a lot of pasta, pizza, etc. along with seafood. We are staying in the heart of the town in another apartment which overlooks one of the main streets. It isn’t as great as the last place, but is clean. After an internet stop, as we had to pay for access in Dubrovnik so kept our check-ins short (sorry for the delay in our postings), we sat near the pier and watched the sunset and the people pass by and then headed back to the apartment for a good night’s sleep.
Split apartment
Sunset on the pier
Split on the Waterfront
Palace ruins
Posted by sellnow 05.20.2011 07:27 Archived in Croatia Tagged coastsplitdalmation
I've traveled all through Croatia on four trips since '03. Dubravnik and Split are way overtouristed and bus travel doesn't allow you to see the best Croatia offers. My best advice is to ditch the bus and take the ferry from Split to the island of Hvar. Go to the fishing village of Vrboska, stay for a few days, and explore the area. Get a room at the Welcome Inn. Slavin Derah owns it and he and his family are great hosts. Vrboska is an undiscovered paradise.
05.20.2011 by stevetut