Accommodations

The Airbnb we rented was just outside of Split in Podstrana and it was perfect for our family (and a good price at $85 Canadian a night). It was fully renovated, modern and had a nice workout space on a large patio.  A beautiful view of the Ocean was the finishing touch. The host provided a welcome package including bread, cheese, meats and a bottle of wine. We highly recommend this place. Here’s a link to their page: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/16857130

Things to Do:

• Krka National Park
• Plitvice Lakes National Park
• Marjan Hill Park
• Diocletian’s Palace & Old Town
• Klis Fortress
• The town of Omis
• Beaches
  

Krka National Park

This amazing place only took about 45 minutes from Split. This is one of the places in Croatia I saw photos of on Instagram (as well as Plitvice Lakes) and knew I had to go. Krka is a river that has 7 different cascading waterfalls where you hike on a well-marked path to various lookout points to see them. You can swim at the base of the first cascade until October 1^st and then you are not allowed (not sure why) until next summer. We went after October 1^st and tried to go in to get the shot but quickly got told to get out. We were there during the low season but found it super busy so I can’t imagine what it would be like during the summer. We spent about 2-3 hours taking in the magnificent beauty.

Adventure Campitelli Tip: There is Free Parking at the park but we didn’t find it until after. There are large signs leading into the park that say Free Parking but once we got in they told us it was the property of the restaurant so we had to buy something after our hike and show our receipt. We found free parking at the very end of the road right near the entrance.

Plitvice Lakes National Park

OMG….this place is stunning! The photos and videos you see do not do it justice. The place needs to be on everyone’s bucket list to visit. It is a large forest reserve with a chain of 16 lakes that are connected by waterfalls, divided into upper and lower lakes. This park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and considered one of the most beautiful parks in the world and we absolutely agree! It is crazy to imagine that this place even exists…I felt like I was in a fairy tale.

We read that the park can get up to 12,000 visitors per day with people walking shoulder to shoulder along the boardwalk lining up to take photos. We were there in mid-October and experienced hardly any crowds and it was super easy to get photos. There were far fewer people than in Krka Falls so this was a nice surprise. Being Fall, we got to enjoy stunning autumn colours of reds, oranges, yellows and remaining green leaves.

There are two entrances to this park: Entrance 1 and Entrance 2. Most of the tourists from the tourist buses go to Entrance 1 making it busier. We went to Entrance 2 and hopped on a boat to take across the lake so we could see the famous Veliki waterfalls at the beginning as we didn’t know how long we would stay. At the park, there is an electric bus/train that can take you to different jump-off points as well as small boats that can take you across one of the lakes to various points. We chose to walk the main trail to see some of the Upper and lower lakes. We packed a lunch and hiked for about 4 hours. Once again we were impressed by our kids’ endurance.

We decided to do a day trip from Split which took us about 2.5 hrs to get there. We left at 7am, spent 4-5 hours at the park and drove back. If we didn’t have the kids with us, we likely would have done the park over two days so we could have hiked more of it. One day is totally doable though and you can see a lot of the park in a few hours to get a good feel for it.

Adventure Campitelli Tip: Go in low season and if you can’t go early when the park opens at 7am. Take Entrance 2, which is less busy.

Marjan Hill Park

Our family loves to hike so that is the first thing we look for on our travels. When I searched on trails near Split, Marjan Hill came up and it is so spectacular to have something this beautiful right in the city. It kind of reminded me of a Mediterranean version of Stanley Park in Vancouver. Marjan Park is known as the “Green Lung” of Split as it is a beautiful natural oasis filled with Mediterranean Pine trees and the most spectacular view from the top. We walked to the bottom through the park at the start as we weren’t sure where to go and I’m so glad we did this as the trail is lined with small sandy beaches and clear aqua blue water. We saw several swimmers and people on their boats.

The park isn’t well marked and I guess we did the trail in reverse (with the stairs at the end leading back down) but this also made it less busy and crowded on our hike. Most people start from Old Town in Split and take a path past an outdoor café called Vidilica, which has a great view part way up before heading up the hill on a wide path of stairs.

The view from the top is absolutely amazing! You get an almost 360-degree view of Split and on a clear blue day (which is what we had), you couldn’t do any better.

This is a great hike/walk with kids as the paths are wide, not very technical and have a couple of parks along the way. This hike was a breeze compared to our Cinque Terre hike in Italy.

We liked this park so much that we came a second time to rent bikes. There are bike rentals at one of the entrances and they have bikes for the whole family. They didn’t have helmets though which made me nervous. Although the bikes weren’t of great quality, we had a lot of fun biking on the flat wide pathway that followed the coast so we could take in the scenery and stop to put our toes in the Adriatic Sea. This park is a must-do!

Diocletian’s Palace & Old Town

This place was so cool! It was built to be a retirement residence and military camp for the Roman Emperor Diocletian at the end of the 13^th Century. This place is huge and now lined with cool shops and cafes. Old Town is so different than the rest of Split with all the Roman Architecture. We also visited “Cathedral of Saint Domnius” Church and the Bell Tower where we climbed the steps of this 57-metre structure. The final staircase leading to the top made me extremely nervous because the handrails were wide open between the top and bottom and I was worried one of my kids would fall through to the ground (silly mom worries!). In some parts, the staircase is also very narrow. The view is spectacular and terrifying at the same time! I’m okay with narrow spaces but uneasy with heights.

The streets in Old Town Split reminded us of Italy with narrow cobblestone streets and colourful buildings. There are lots of apartments to rent here which makes it close to everything but we were lucky to have rented a car so we enjoyed being out of town in a quieter area.

Just in front of Diocletian’s Palace was the Split waterfront called Riva. It is very busy lined with restaurants and shops and it is the main harbour for taking boat tours. We walked up and down a few times to take in the scenery.

Adventure Campitelli tip: Do not eat in Old Town or Riva Harbour as things are very expensive. We paid $5 Cdn for a 12oz slushy for the kids and $9 for a watered-down smoothie. We found prices all over the map in Croatia with some things cheap and others really expensive. We ordered in Pizza one night and it was only $20Cdn for 2 pizzas including delivery.

Klis Fortress

Used as a set location in Game of Thrones, this Fortress is a must-see! It is located about 15km North of Split and is perched up on a mountain overlooking the city of Split. Klis is a medieval fortress that is over 2000 years old. It was occupied many times over its history from being a royal palace of Croatian Kings to a large fortress during the Ottoman wars in Europe and others in between. It is quite large with various passages and the views from the top are spectacular. There is a small entrance fee but it is worth it. We love to hike so you get a pretty good workout climbing up to the top.

Visit the town of Omis

This is a cute little peaceful coastal town about 25km South of Split that used to be the home of Pirates in the 13^th and 14^th centuries. Fun Fact: It is located by the Centina River so the Pirates would use the river to attack merchant ships and then escape back through the river where the ships were unable to pass through. Omis is a fun place to visit with the family with a few things to do:

Mirabella Fortress

This fortress is behind the center of town up the mountain. It is called a “Romanesque” fortress as it resembles Roman Ruins but it was actually used by the Omis pirates as a hideout. There is a lookout with narrow steps leading up and then you have to climb a ladder in a narrow space to reach the very top. The kids and Marco did this with no problem and I was completely terrified. The ladder was secure but I felt like I would fall to the bottom. I’m glad I did it as there was a spectacular view and it’s good to face your fears. There was a small fee to get in that worked out to about $5 CDN per adult and the kids were free.

Starigrad Fortica Fortress

This fortress is also close to the center of Omis and even higher up than Mirabella. We didn’t climb this one as it was a fairly steep climb, good shoes were recommended and Marco and I were wearing sandals. It looked really cool viewing it from the town as it is amazing to see these fortresses so high up in the mountains.

Other adventure activities: From Omis there is Zip lining, white water rafting and canyoning. We didn’t have enough time to do these activities but they are very popular here.

Beach Velika Plaza

This is a pebbly beach in the centre of Omis. It was so quiet when we went mid-week in the middle of October which was perfect! The water is calm, clear and shallow, perfect for the kids. There was a playground nearby as well as an outdoor fitness park which our kids preferred.

Go to the Beach

The beaches in Croatia are mainly made up of small pebbles but they are still very beautiful. The colour of the water is aqua blue and the water is crystal clear so you can see right to the bottom. What also surprised us is how calm the water is making it great for families. We visited 3 beaches:

Bacvice Beach

This is the main central beach in Split located close to Old Town and where all the tourist attractions are. It is a sandy beach and extremely busy so if you are looking for a quieter beach this is not the one. We didn’t stay long here as we found it dirty with cigarette butts all over the place and far too busy. It is fun to stroll along it though taking in all the action. There was also a children’s park close by which was good for the kids.

Strozanac Beach

This beach was close to our place in Podstrana (just outside of split). We ended up going there at the end of the day to take in the sunset and it was so beautiful. Calm, clear waters, and hardly anyone else on the beach. It felt like our own little haven.