Made a big breakfast today for a good start. The other person in the airbnb looked at the mountain of food on my plate and seemed flabbergasted! HAHA
I walked to the bus station and it was all smooth though the Croatia Bus bus was 15 mins late. After loading, he chided me for not printing the ticket (I smiled and apologised profusely) and then he told me it was 10kn to put in my bag! While it’s not much (~1.5€), it seemed a bit dodgy but I’m not sure…. Bus driver was pretty agro as he drove. He was honking and rattling off in Croatian at other busses. These other locals just cackled on.
Lotsa of windy roads up and down the mountain. Spectacular views. Not for those who have travel sickness!
Got to the bus stop at Split at 11:15. on track as it was 30mins late. I then looked for the bus to get to my airbnb but it’s via train! Easy!! The attendant was friendly enough and I got a ticket for 13kn one-way. A return ticket is 25kn. Similar prices to France if not slightly cheaper. It was on time and they checked tickets on board. Easy and smooth ride so far. Nice train attendant even informed me of my stop! 🙂
I had an hour before I could check in so I stopped off at a little restaurant in my suburb of Kaštel Sućurac called Kod Bunara. It seemed like a very authentic, local stop. Everyone else was Croatian. Luckily the waiter was very friendly and spoke English. There was a cute kitty and I gave it a pat. Later on I saw that it had caught a gecko!
I ordered the roast veal as I saw on reviews that it was good. Together with that, I got some nice local Croatian Merlot and it was only 16kn/2€! Delicious wine and with the veal, it was really a great meal. All up, only 62kn/8€!! Cash only and would definitely recommend if you’re in the area.
After that, I took at break in the airbnb. Just had a bit of a rest and charged my phone. Then I went to the local supermarkets about only 5-10 mins walk away. Given it was a much smaller suburb, the shops were really more like a quick convenience store style market, like an express grocery shop. Nevertheless, there were 2: Tommy and Konzum. Both were mediocre but more or less had the basics I needed. I ended up shopping at Konzum as it was a bit cheaper and slightly fresher for the produce.
Then I went to the little nearby beach and had a rest. My friend M wasn’t able to help me secure somewhere to stay in Paris for early September so I was a bit anxious and went home 
Note to self to stay calm and remember that things will work out… as they did 🙂 I decided to give it a go and message the lovely couple who went away and I dog-sat for them in Paris. They were so friendly and offered for me to to stay as their guest! I felt very relieved and grateful 🙂
Then, after a simple vegetarian dinner of quinoa and stirfry veggies, I researched all the things to do, including:
- Top attractions to see in Split
- https://visitsplit.com/en/1316/split-in-1-day: all the Must Dos that one should see! Helpful itinerary and good highlights
- https://www.timeout.com/croatia/things-to-do/things-to-do-in-split: Includes some other different things to see. Ideas to compile your own itinerary
- Best islands to visit from Split mainland
- https://www.chasingthedonkey.com/island-hopping-croatia-best-croatian-islands/: Great breakdown about which island is ideal for what, such as best for nature, best for cycling, best for beaches, etc.
- https://www.timeout.com/croatia/travel/top-10-croatian-islands: helpful notes on options
- Ferry info and timetables
- https://prodaja.hzpp.hr/en/Ticket/Journey?StartId=76660&DestId=76509&DepartureDate=2019-08-23&DirectTrains=True&Class=2&ReturnTrip=False&Passenger1Count=1&Passenger2Count=0&Benefit1Id=11
- TIP:
- remember to select from the Left Hand Side navigation menu to look for ferries from Split mainland if that applies to you!
- in the first opening paragraph, once you choose the route, you can find the return trip timetables.
- for some smaller islands, you may have to book/research another connection from another island as there may be no direct crossings
Antics & Adventures 