We left rainy Plitvice Lakes National Park behind, and were told that once we got to the other side of the mountains, the weather would be totally different.

That certainly was no lie, and as we got to the coast, we were greeted with beautiful blue skies. I couldn’t have been happier.

A few days in Split, Croatia

We had huge ice creams by the water’s edge, and explored the windy lanes of the old town. We found our favourite place to eat and drink hidden in there somewhere – Figa Food Bar. If you can find it, you won’t be disappointed. Outside you can sit on the steps and sip on cocktails, and inside you can eat yummy food.

Doug was kind enough to let me have a beach day on our second day – a whole day at the beach, bliss. We walked quite far so that we could find a quieter beach, had a picnic and little swim.

After walking back to the town and having a little rest, we went for dinner at Fife, which was an awesome experience. Loads of people go there because it’s super cheap and you get a lot of food – I had a huge pile of squid. The waiter was hilarious, and we chatted to a really cool old guy next to us.

The next day we got the speed boat (NOTE: this is not a speed boat that you’d expect. It’s a huge ferry. Don’t be scared, like I was.) over to the island of Hvar where we spent the next couple of nights – scroll down to see what we got up to.

My highlights of our days in Split, Croatia

• all the cats everywhere
• being by the sea
• squid & fish on almost every menu – yum

What I’d do differently if I visited Split again

Spend the whole time staying in the hostel we stayed in on our final night

Two nights on Hvar island, Croatia

After about an hour on the boat, we reached the more relaxed and quiet island of Hvar – this was much more my pace. I was exhausted when we made it up the hill to our hostel, so I had a nap, while Doug went up to the fort. From there you can see all the islands which we explored the next day.

In the evening we went out for dinner followed by a couple of cocktails at Lola Bar, which we went back to the next night as well, because we loved it so much.

The next day we went on a boat trip that we booked through a tourist agency on the island. We went around the smaller islands just off Hvar, stopping to swim here and there, and stopping on one of the islands for a couple of hours.

You could pay to have lunch on the boat, but all they offered was fish, so vegetarian Doug wouldn’t have been able to eat that. We decided to have lunch on the little island, but loads of wasps turned up which made it a bit of a stressful affair…

We had a little explore, swim and a lie down on a sun lounger (we were apparently supposed to pay for the privilege… we found out the hard way) before making our way back to the boat.

One more stop in a little cove, and then we went back to Hvar for some amazing little cakes at Nonica. I had a hazelnut mousse covered in chocolate, and Doug had a peanut butter cheesecake. So delicious. Go there. Along the front of Hvar we found a restaurant that had more than one vegetarian option (!!!) so we ate there for dinner.

The next day we got the ferry back to Split, but we felt really unwell (probably a combination of heat stroke, being out at sea for too long, and just general travelling weariness) so we just stayed in our hostel room, which was awesome because we had a tv that we could stream stuff on, and a disco light.

We needed the rest before our journey to our last stop – Zadar.

My highlights of our days in Hvar, Croatia

• our host, Luka
• island hopping
• Lola Bar

What I’d do differently if I visited Hvar again

Stay another night!

One night in Zadar, Croatia

Zadar was nicer than I expected, with lots more narrow streets to explore. We weren’t there for very long, but I think it was long enough. The first afternoon we mostly chilled, before going to watch the sunset and listen to the sea organ. The sunsets are famous in Zadar, and although we only caught the end of it, we could see why.

The sea organ was something else – we were totally mesmerised by it. It’s some kind of musical instrument that is powered by the waves. It’s incredible, and so hard to describe – you just have to go there and listen to it.

The next day we killed time until finally making our way back to the UK – I was so ready to come home!

My highlights of our days in Zadar, Croatia

The sea organ

What I’d do differently if I visited Zadar again

Stay in a different hostel – ours was so noisy 🙁

This trip was part of a 2 week adventure through Eastern Europe. We also visited Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Plitvice Lakes National Park – click the links to read those blog posts 🙂