Split, Croatia

[steelyman]

I have ancestors that lived there and I am thinking of going. Has anyone been and has tips?

[6miths]

I have a good friend whose daughter married a local. They had the wedding there and loved the entire experience. No much else as far as useful details for you though.

[HawkeyeNFO]

Did a port call there 8 years ago, so was only there for 4 days. Plenty of things to do, and I recall that everything was much less expensive than most of the rest of Europe. Lots of history there as it was an important part of the Roman Empire. The town is not overwhelmingly large. I'd be happy to go back.

[Calgary_Girl]

My family is Croatian and I took DH there in 2004. Split is very nice but we personally prefer Dubrovnik. If you do go, you have to see Diocletian's Palace built around 300 AD....simply amazing. Not sure if you're going to stay in a hotel but there are tons of little old ladies who will offer you a bedroom in their house for next to nothing. I believe it cost us $40 CAD/night and freshly baked Croatian pastries and coffee were included every morning. Tell them your ancestors are Croatian and they will practically adopt you! :-)

[Calgary_Girl]

Like Hawkeye said, less expensive than other parts of Europe (i.e. Italy) although now they are part of the EU so I've heard from relatives that prices are crazy. If you get the chance, try to visit Dubrovnik and walk along the wall surrounding the historic city...amazing!

[stepford]

My wife and I spent a month wandering around Croatia a couple of years ago and passed through Split a couple of times. While Split is a modern European city with all the services you'll need we didn't give it the full attention it deserves. Other than the tourist mecca of Diocletian's Palace (which deserves a day to explore) we treated it more as a transit hub than anything else.

Split was our first point of entry into Croatia (there are cheap flights from Belgrade), but we didn't spend much time in town. The ferry port in Split is the gateway to many of Croatia's prettiest islands (we hit Brac, Hvar, Vis and Krk, but there are hundreds) and it's immediately adjacent to the bus station that will take you down to Dubrovnik (also a must see).

In short I can't offer you much advice about the city proper, but can only encourage you to visit Croatia. It's a beautiful country that so far is much less visited by American tourists than western Europe, yet is every bit as friendly and easy to get around in as the more usual destinations further west.

[steelyman]

Thank you for these comments, they are appreciated. I have a year to plan.

Calgary_Girl: where do you find those little old ladies? Hang out in little old brothels?

[Calgary_Girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelyman Calgary_Girl: where do you find those little old ladies? Hang out in little old brothels?

Ha ha! Trust me, they'll find YOU the minute you step off the ferry or bus! :-)

Like another poster said, try to visit some of the islands, you won't regret it. DH and I only spent a couple of days in Split and treated it as our jumping off point to Dubrovnik, Imotski and Zagreb.

[springnr]

Airbnb, adjust price slider bar.

https://www.airbnb.com/s/Split--Croa...s=2&room_types[]=Private+room&price_max=90

[billman]

Steelyman, my ancestors are from split as well. I spent a week over there tracing the roots of my family. It's a beautiful place, we also took the ferry to hvar, which if my memory serves me well took about an hour. One bonus; if you can trace your family roots back to at a maximum the great grandfather level, you can apply for Croatian citizenship. FYI, I just completed the process.

Good luck,

Billman

[steelyman]

Thank you! I had no idea there are so many Croats around

I am Austrian-Croatian.

[kcowan]

We did an Adriatic tour 2 years ago. Stopped in Split as well as 7 other ports (Croatian islands). Then rented a car in Dubrovnik and drove north spending a couple of days in Split. We also did the rest of the country going right up to the Iberian Peninsula, and Zagreb, before flying to Istanbul. Fabulous place. And cheap for Europe.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcowan We did an Adriatic tour 2 years ago. Stopped in Split as well as 7 other ports (Croatian islands). Then rented a car in Dubrovnik and drove north spending a couple of days in Split. We also did the rest of the country going right up to the Iberian Peninsula, and Zagreb, before flying to Istanbul. Fabulous place. And cheap for Europe.

My late wife & I, (on an R&R from Saudi), around 1987, (I hadn't been to (what was then) Yugoslavia since 1963 & 1965), rented a car in Beograd, went down to Sarajevo, thence Montenegro and on to Dubrovnik, (which we loved). Loaded the car onto the Dubrovnik-Split ferry and on to Plitvice & Zagreb......love to go back....but other countries keep getting in the way.

[gauss]

DGF immigrated from Croatia at a very young age (ie 12 or 13) in the early part of the last century. Met his older brother on the older side. My surname is very Croatian. Looking forward to visiting someday.

-gauss

[steelyman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gauss My surname is very Croatian. -gauss

So is mine. It's short and none of those Zs or stuff like that. The pronunciation was Anglicized when my family came over but only about 25% of people get it right the first time!

[gauss]

When people are curious about the surname, I often say that it is Croatian for 'Smith' -- jokingly.

-gauss

[kcowan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 Loaded the car onto the Dubrovnik-Split ferry and on to Plitvice & Zagreb......love to go back....but other countries keep getting in the way.

We visited Plitvice but were disappointed because it was so much like BC. We stayed in Krk for a few days and toured the rest of the island. Even went swimming in a nude beach.