A quick flight from Geneva, we finally landed in Split via EasyJet*.  It was a beautiful landing flying over the islands surrounded by blue waters, boats and Europeans on holiday.  Croatia has been a place we’ve wanted to go, but just haven’t had the opportunity to travel there.  Since we were in Geneva, flying to Split was not even a second thought in our mind since it was direct, cheap and less than 2 hours away!  We enjoyed spending one night in Split to kick off our Croatia holiday! See tips below.

Split Tips

1. *EasyJet – its cheap, but our experience with the airline was stressful.  Expect long baggage lines at the airport which resulted in a us given a time slot to check in our bags 15 minutes before our scheduled departure. YIKES…because then we had to go through security, customs and finally jump on a bus to our plane. Needless to say, 1/2 the plane was in the same situation and we were 1 hour delayed.  A little too much stress for our 4:30am arrival at the airport.
2. How long to spend in Split – give yourself one full day….you don’t need any more than that in our opinion unless you are going to Krka National Park.
3. You can drink the water from the facets in Croatia…Its really good!
4. At the airport (or before landing make sure you have cash if you plan to take a taxi….there are no credit card machines in the vehicles.
5. Split has Uber!

Hotel Luxe

We booked Hotel Luxe while using Tablet Hotels as a resource to help us find the best place to stay.  Hotel Luxe is perfectly located – 5 minute walk to Old Town, the Riva and a 8 minute walk to the beach.  The staff at the hotel were very helpful and greeted us with a warm Croatia welcome.  Included with the room reservation was breakfast.  It was a lovely spread – cheeses, yogurts, fruit, coffee, fresh pastries and cereals.  We highly suggest staying at Hotel Luxe if you are in Split.

F Marine/ F de Mar

F Marine is part of the F group – a restaurant group with a couple different restaurants around Split.  We grabbed a glass of rosé here in the afternoon and enjoyed the lounge chairs and beautiful views looking back on the town.

Villa Spiza

WELL WORTH THE WAIT! This was one of our favorite dinners in Croatia…not only was the food amazing, the service was phenomenal.  Villa Spiza is a family-owned restaurant in Old Town.  They purchase all their ingredients locally – fish at the fish market down the street, the vegetables at a farm nearby and the wine sourced straight from Croatia.  While waiting for our seats in the alley (they don’t take reservations), we made friends, drank wine and watched items get crossed off the menu. Don’t let that deter you from leaving…the sea bream we were eyeing ran out, but the owner promised he would make us a lovely meal.  They cooked us up amberjack filets, potatoes and spinach.  It was honestly one of the best pieces of fish we’ve tasted.  Our three hour dinner with seats at the bar was so fun – the entire restaurant took a shot of Rakia, we took pictures with the chef + family members that owned the restaurant and cheers with glasses of wine.  It was a restaurant experience we will never forget – felt like we were in a family home.  What a warm welcome, Villa Spiza gave us to Croatia.  THANK YOU!

Bokeria Kitchen & Wine Bar

Bokeria Kitchen & Wine Bar is a vibrant beautiful space in Old Town featuring tapas,  Mediterranean dishes and delicious wine. We had come here without reservations since we only wanted a cheese plate before we enjoyed the sunset and headed to dinner at Villa Spiza.  Luckily they were able to sit us inside, so noted for future visits…make a reservations! The cheese board was HUGE and the local wine was crisp and refreshing. We really enjoyed ourselves at Bokeria and would suggest having a proper meal there if you have time.

D16

If you care about how  your coffee tastes like us, check out D16 in Old Town.  Its a small space serving hot and cold brew coffee.  We ordered the cold brew since it was about 88 degrees outside.  So happy we found D16 – it was one of the best cups of caffeine we had on our trip!!

Fabarique Bar

Part of the F Group, Fabarique Bar was a fun place to dance after dinner.  Most people might recognize it from the Bravo Show Below Deck…no celebrity sightings for us though.  There was a good crowd and it was especially special when the DJ played our favorite song by Clean Bandit…” No Place I’d Rather Be”. Anthem song for all our travels!

The Riva

The Riva is the boardwalk along the quay.  The Riva is lined with seating benches, palm trees and restaurants. At night, people would be out strolling, eating ice cream, watching the sunset and enjoying the street performers.

Old Town

The Old Town was a fun maze to stroll both during the day and at night.  There were a ton of shops, restaurants and bars to enjoy.  We particularly enjoyed the small alleys that led to secrete squares with beautiful plants draping from the windows.  People living in Old Town would hang their laundry out on lines and you could smell home cooked meals coming from the open windows over the cobbled stone alleys.  Be sure to check out Old Town – you will find some fun here!

Bacvice Beach

We enjoyed a couple hours at Bacvice Beach after a couple hours of touring.  It was a nice way to cool down before we got ready for dinner.  Its a crowded beach, so don’t expect much personal space!

Cheers,