Road Trip Begins!
We were slated to pick up our car at around 9 AM this morning for our drive to Split. We needed head back to the airport and that meant getting on an early transfer bus. While we weren’t happy about the early start, it did afford us some cool views of Dubrovnik’s old city in a different morning light!
The ride to the airport was nice in the morning. It was another beautiful sunny day and the ride along the coast to the airport was beautiful. We arrived, filled out the necessary paperwork, and within half an hour was leaving the airport for our road trip through Croatia!
Breakfast in Cavtat
Our first order of business after getting the car was to grab a quick breakfast before setting off. We didn’t have any specific place in mind, but there were a few options in a small town called Cavtat which is between airport and Dubrovnik. So we exited the highway and was pleasantly surprised! Cavtat is what seems like a quiet, quaint and lovely town along the water. We parked our car and walked along the water admiring the town, the parked boats and the seaside restaurants.
Walking along the water, we looked at different restaurants and none of the menus appealed to us. We weren’t looking for anything heavy, just simple breakfast with a view! I ordered another English breakfast, but this one was only average, so nothing to write home about.
Drive to Split
With our bellies full we got back on the road towards Split. We had a 3-4 hour drive ahead of us. I was excited for this portion of the trip. I’d always heard how beautiful the coast of Croatia is and I was eager to drive it! We didn’t stop too much along the way and in some ways I regret this. The drive is INCREDIBLY beautiful, and while I thoroughly enjoyed driving the winding road along the water. I don’t have many photos to show for it. So its difficult to convey just how lovely this part of the world is.
One of the other cool parts of the drive is that for a very short time, we actually have to pass through Bosnia. The way in which the countries are laid out, there is a small sliver of Bosnia that divides Croatia, so there isn’t a direct land crossing that stays in Croatia the whole time. While I wouldn’t really count my time in Bosnia worthy of checking it off my list, it’s still a neat nuance to the road trip!
Stops
We didn’t stop much along the way but we did make two. The first was so that Gimpy could use the washroom at a rest stop. However, this was unlike any rest stop I’ve ever seen (especially in North America!) This was a rest stop that was sponsored by a winery and had a great patio overlooking its vineyards. While the view of the vineyards and patio to taste wine was awesome, I do wonder about the logic of having an automobile rest stop that serves alcohol! It must be a European thing!
Vino actually ended up purchasing a bottle for us to have at our AirBnb so I guess the rest stop strategy works!
Our second stop, was at a small fruit stand on the side of the road to grab some fruit! We’d passed by a few of them and read that the fruit in this area is great. So the next one we saw we decided to stop and buy some. We decided to pick up a bundle of mandarin oranges to snack on during our road trip.
Brasserie on 7
After a little more driving we arrived in Split, parked our car by the ferry terminal and set out to walk around. It was early afternoon and we hadn’t had lunch yet. So we visited a place that was high on Vino’s list of restaurants, Brasserie on 7. Gimpy and I both ordered the seafood risotto while Vino had the Dalmatian pasta.
It was SO Good. We must have been hungry because we devoured it all, it really did remind me of Italy and I was really happy we visited this restaurant.
Split
We didn’t have any specific plans for Split, we just wanted to explore. So that’s what we did. We ended up strolling through parts of the old town. Its a lovely looking town, and in some ways the old town of Split felt similar to that of Dubrovnik (without the walls). Maybe the main differences would be the promenade along the water, no stairs, and some of the designer stores in the little alleyways. It was a pleasant way to enjoy this part of Split.
We eventually found ourselves at Luka Ice Cream. This is another one of those places that was on Vino’s list. Its really hard to say no to Ice Cream, so, we didn’t! While I’m not a connoisseur, it was tasty and I wouldn’t have any issues suggesting it to others. I had the Mango.
Cathedral of Saint Domnius
Through our explorations, we also had the opportunity to visit the Cathedral of Saint Domnius. Namely the bell tower. Part of the fun is actually getting to the top. While the tower itself isn’t super high, the stairs to get up can be quite narrow and do feel a bit rickety. So, if you have a fear of heights it does become an adventure going up. To add to it, I think every half hour, the bell rings. So, if you get caught going up the stairs while the bell rings, you have the choice of holding onto the railing, or covering your ears.
But, once you get to the top, the view is rather incredible. We were lucky too, because we got up there right when the sun was starting to set. So the colors and reflections of the sun on the city were amazing. We spent a good amount of time up top, but it did get crowded which was a bit of a bummer.
Nonetheless we enjoyed the experience and made our way back down. We ended up sticking together on the way down, just for a bit of security and comfort for some of us afraid of heights (Gimpy).
Ferry to Hvar Island
From the old town, we returned to our car and drove into the Ferry terminal to wait for our ferry. We’d read that there is a possibility that the ferry gets full, and since it was the last ferry of the night, we didn’t want to miss it. Unfortunately, we ended up getting there quite early, and ended up waiting on the dock for a good hour or so before it was ready to board. While it wasn’t a huge deal, we did get to enjoy the tail end of the sunset right on the water. It gave us a chance to get some late sunset photography in before having to board the ferry to Stari Grad.
Hvar
The ferry ride was pretty normal. It takes about an hour and a half to cross to the island of Hvar. We dozed in and out of sleep during that hour. When we got near, we returned to our car, and drove off the ferry.
From there it was a half hour drive to our AirBnB where we checked in and got settled. We hadn’t had dinner yet, and we didn’t feel like making the walk into town to find food. Thankfully RIGHT BESIDE our airBnb, was an actual fast food / burger shop called Big Bang. It was SO random that in the middle of this quiet neighborhood is this great little burger joint! We ordered some burgers which were very good, scarfed them down back at our AirBNB and settled in for the night.
Our plan tomorrow was to cruise around the Islands and make a visit to the Blue Cave. We needed to meet the boat early so sleep was much needed.
Did you mention how confusing it was when we got to the ferry terminal at both Split and Hvar and didn’t know which line to get into? It felt like people (at least the locals) knew where to go, but we had to ask! I also wonder if it was high season, if it would be harder for us to ask and turn around (you know, our illegal U-turn in Split) haha
SHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Nothing Illegal happened! But yes we were lucky to have people around to ask, if not we likely would have gotten on the wrong ferry! which……would have been bad!