Split {Adriatic: Day 10}

Croatia has been the shining star of this itinerary, and Split was no different.

Originally, we planned to do a ship excursion to Krka National Park to see the waterfalls. But when we saw that we were only going to be in port for 6.5 hours, we decided against spending 2.5 hours in a charter bus and not having any time in the actual town of Split. 

Arriving in Split, Croatia

While looking up some of the independent tours on Viator.com, I came across some general info about Split. Remember how I said Croatia feels so young?  Well, 50% of the population of Split are in their 20s. Isn't that crazy?  Maybe we'll get a little extra respect as their thirty-something elders.

Though we took a pass on the Krka National Park tour, I really did want to do something around the water.  Dubrovnik's coastline was breathtaking, but we never actually got to stick our toes in that crystal clear water.  So, when we packed up to leave the ship today at 11:00 a.m., we threw our bathing suits in Sam's backpack and some tennis shoes, knowing that we could run into a variety of different adventures.

Old Town Split was a short walk from the port, so we walked down to the market area and toured around Diocletian's Palace.  We were content to just observe its majesty from the outside, so we felt content with our sightseeing in Old Town within about an hour. 

Diocletian's Palace Watchtower from the port

Basement Tunnels under Diocletian's Palace

 

We walked into the less tourist-y area, through a fresh market.  We learned quickly that while Croatia is in the EU, it is not yet part of the Euro Zone, so they mostly deal in Croatian Kunas.  Since we have been in countries using the euro, lira, and kuna, we have tried to avoid exchanging for money because of the costly fees associated with it.  It may cost $6 to exchange $100, and if you have some left over at the end of your time there, you have to pay another $6 to get your US dollars back.  Plus, the money exchanges near the port almost always offer a horrible rate.  Good news, our credit card has no international exchange fees and generally a much more favorable exchange rate.  Unfortunately, very few places in Split accept credit cards (unlike every other place we've been), which we didn't realize until we were away from the port and in the town.  I had a twenty euro bill left, so we had to make it stretch for the whole day.

Knowing that A) we were Kuna poor, and B) we wanted to spend some time around the water, we asked a local touring agency if they offered any boat rides out to the small neighboring islands or beaches.  The tricky thing about when we ported in Split was that it was late morning with an early evening departure, so we were too late for the tours that left in the early morning and would need to be back before when the evening tours returned.  Bummer.  But, it ended up working well.  The sweet girl told us that we were only a fifteen minute walk from a really nice pebble beach the locals love-- Bacvice Beach.  We asked her how much it was to visit, and she looked at us like we were crazy, and said free.  Definitely worth checking out.  I can't say that I was walking up the hill expecting to see this...

Seeing this did make us miss our girls!  They would LOVE it.