Dubrovnik & Split

Dubrovnik

General

The airport is 25km from the city and flights are met by coaches which go to the edge of the walled city at the Pile Gate. It is difficult to find out where buses going back go from as the main bus station is not near the old town. There are also taxis and a local bus.

The main ferry port is in the suburb called Gruz which is about 10-15 minutes from the old town, Libertas the local bus company run a shuttle from the Pile Gate to the port.

You will probably make use of the buses to visit the Lapad peninsula and to go to Gruz, tickets can be bought on the bus or discounted ones from tobacco kiosks and day tickets from the Libertas Bus kiosk at the Pile Gate.

Hotels

Check out the usual booking sites such as www.booking.com or www.venere.com there are very few hotels in the old town, most hotels are either in Lapad or past the city beach at Ploce, the answer if you want to stay in the old town is a bed and breakfast or an apartment.

The best company we came across with a huge selection and excellent service is Rose of Dubrovnik, www.dubrovnikapartmentsvillas.com , their Introduction to Dubrovnik page and their staff will advise on how accessible your apartment choice is, in some cases they can be a very serious climb up from the main street the Stradun, worth it however for the views. The downside if you are downhill is given the narrow streets some apartments could be a bit dark. This is without doubt the best value in the city for accommodation.

Restaurants

The city is full of day trippers from cruise ships and this means that the majority of the restaurants have a reputation for trying to get customers inside and not being very good this applies in particular to the street called Prijeko, parallel to the Stradun.

This does not mean that there are not good places, you just have to be a bit more selective. Konobas are Croatian taverns and tend to be more old fashioned and cheaper.

Lokanda Peskarija, on the old harbour has a great setting and is also great value, stick to the mussels, shrimps, salad and wine and you will be amazed at how cheap it is they don’t do many other things and get there early as it fills up quickly.

Ekvinocijo, Ilije Sarka 10, down by the walls near the harbour and tricky to find but excellent cooking and lovely setting, it is not the place for a quick meal as it gets very busy and possibly understaffed in the kitchen but worth the wait.

Belverdere, Iva Vojnovica 58, is great after a visit to Lapad beach with excellent cooking and amazing value, just watch out for the cholesterol busting sauces. Lovely staff and a view over Gruz harbour, in fact it is so good go back for dinner and only 10 minutes on the bus from Pile Gate.

Blindinje, Lapaska Obala 21 this is also in Lapad but downhill and overlooking Gruz harbour and has an excellent roof terrace, the menu may have changed since we were there, now doing pizzas but still getting good reports, it is easy to get to only 10 minutes by bus from Pile Gate.

Konoba Zrinski, Obala Stijepana Radice 33, Gruz, is opposite the ferry port and next to the Jadrolinja office. There is an indoor restaurant but sit outside and have one of their excellent pizzas and a beer very reasonably priced.

Bars

In the Old Town the bars can be a bit of a disappointment, small loud and jammed with a very young crowd, the cafes along the Stradun can be a better bet. There are a few exceptions but some charge top end UK prices.

Netcafe, Prijeko 21, is a very smart modern bar and internet café and does good cocktails.

Café Cele, Stradun 1, is one of the many cafes in the Stradun and is a nice place to sit outside.

Buza II, Crijeviceva 9, if you do the wall walk then you will see it otherwise seek out the signs for cold drinks, whatever you do find it and have a drink on the terraces situated on the rocks, if you are brave have a swim, what a setting.

Libertina, Zlatarska 3, is the old town locals bar doesn’t seem to open every day but persevere it is very friendly and very cheap and could easily be your local for the duration of your stay.

Talir, Antuninska just off the Stradun is a gallery and bar catering for an older crowd than some in these narrow streets and is a delightful place for a drink and with reasonable prices.

Laura, Frana Supila 1, just outside the walls on the Ploce side, is a local bar with a pleasant terrace. If you go out to Lapad then visit one of the many bars on Iva Vojnovica just before the Belvedere restaurant, they all have terraces and Mirakul is particularly smart very reasonable after some prices in the old town. The pizzas get great reports so definitely worth a visit either for a drink or food.

Drink

Beer, pivo, is a favourite drink in Croatia and there are a number of different locals beers, some lager type others darker. Wine is produced in the country and most restaurant house wine is perfectly acceptable and reasonably priced. The quality is improving, presumably with a view to the export market but I do not have any types or labels to recommend. The locals often mix wine with soft drinks including cola. Plum brandy, sljivovica, is of course a local speciality, beware it can be fierce.

Culture

When the hoards of visitors arrive for the day from the cruise ships, the best bet is to head out of the centre and come back when it is at its best and quietest.

Walk the walls, but do it early to avoid the crowds and the heat, realistically it takes and hour and half and you can start from near the Pile Gate or the Ploce Gate, a bit more difficult to find.

Go to Lapad take the bus to the Dubrovnik Palace Hotel and walk back stopping at Lapad Beach

Visit the gallery of Modern Art in Ploce on Frana Supila, it is a wonderful building with interesting exhibitions and permanent collection

War Photography Gallery, Antuninska 6, is very worth visiting and brings back to you how recently the city was in fact a war zone.

Take a Ferry from Gruz to the Elaphite Islands, the ship calls at the three main islands and it is possible to do two in one day, the second Lipud is lovely and the last Sipan is worth a visit, the return fare to the furthest island is very cheap.

Split

General

The Airport is 20km from the city and there is a coach service which although it says Croatian Airlines is for general use and goes into the centre of Split stopping at the end of the Riva, the promenade.

There are local buses in the town but most places can be walked to, and the ferry port is just at the end of the Riva. There is a twice weekly car ferry to Dubrovnik via Hvar and Korcula and ferries to many other places from Split.

Hotels

Check out the usual booking sites such as www.booking.com or www.venere.com but here is not a huge choice of hotels, wherever you arrive you will be met by ladies offering rooms and apartments.

If you want to be near the heart of Split which is the old part and the Diocletian Palace then the place to stay is the Slavija Hotel www.hotelslavija.com. The building is just within the palace walls, the rooms have been recently renovated and the staff are very friendly, the only drawback is if you want an early night then its not for you, everything in the old town shuts at 1 am but before then the hotel steps tend to become an extension of the various great bars in the surrounding streets no bad behaviour however just people out having a good time.

The alternative in the old part is various Bed & Breakfast places and apartment accommodation.

Restaurants

Sperun, Sperun 3, is a lovely restaurant behind Sv Frane church on the way up to the Marjan headland, it became very popular with UK visitors when Michael Palin visited it for a TV programme. Excellent freshly cooked local specialities, and very good house wine.

Konoba Kod Joze, Sredmanuska 4, a short walk from the centre, head out of the palace by the Golden Gate and cross the park. Really well cooked local fish and meat, it is very popular with locals, as everywhere we tried in Split the house wine was excellent.

Konoba Marjan just up the hill from Sperun, is a real local place to have lunch, the menu is the same local dishes as most places but the cooking was just a touch better than some similarly priced places.

Bars

There are just too many to mention within the Diocletian Palace but do not be put off by that, it is great wandering the streets and finding lovely places to try. They are all signposted on the brown signs at the end of each street listing bars, shops etc, there are 40 plus, check out some of the places below.

Dioklecijan, Dosud 9 a locals bar serving food with a terrace overlooking the port.

Puls, Buvinina 1, can get a bit noisy at night but sit outside during the day and people watch, when it gets full people move up to Fluid further up the steps.

Luxor, Kraj sv Ivana, opposite the cathedral in the Peristil, not particularly exciting inside but sit outside on the cushions with small tables on the steps.

Ghetto Club & Art Academy, Dosud 10, is a very busy, good music garden bar and also has an inside bar, always busy but give it a go.

Gaga, Iva Loza 5 trendy with great outside seating, La Linea is next door if Gaga is too crowded.

Café Bar GET, Carrarina polijana, is in a wonderful square and has great outdoor seating. The square also contains Red Room Bar, again with good outdoor seating and a smart indoors as well.

Teak and Porta are excellent bars in a very busy area just on and off Majstora Jurja the most northern part of the palace.

Do sit out and have a refreshment on the Riva, there is one café bar which has an upstairs narrow terrace with some of the most prized seats in Split.

Culture

The Diocletian Palace is just fantastic, a lived in building with its warn of streets, squares, shops, bars and restaurants, make sure you wander all its streets as you will keep finding gems everywhere. Also visit the lower levels with have a local market on a Saturday and also visit the fish market.

Marjan Peninsula, climb up the steps and visit Vidlica café at the top, take in the views, there is then a longer walk you can do round the whole peninsula.

Bacvice beach is only 15 minutes walk and is lovely Zbirac is a great bar and café to chill out, look at the view and watch the guys playing picigin a ball game played in the shallow water. There is a complex of other places a bit further along the beach.

Trogir, just north of Split airport is supposed to be one of the most beautiful towns in Croatia and is on the list for the next visit.

Hvar Island

Stari Grad is where the main ferry from Split arrives although some catamarans arrive at the trendier town of Hvar on the other side of the island.

Stari Grad port is about ten minutes from the town but buses meet the ferry, and the town is fairly unspoilt with only one hotel and some apartment accommodation.

There are lots of places to eat and drink as it gets many yachts mooring along the estuary.

Antika, Duoljna Kola, is a lovely restaurant with variety of dishes all well cooked and incredibly reasonable, there is also has a bar area opposite which does great and cheap cocktails, they have really lovely staff.

Take the local bus over to Hvar town, the bus timetable is available in the tourist office or on a pole in the square, the spectacular journey across the island only takes twenty minutes. Hvar is lovely and has become very trendy as super rich yacht owners move here from the South of France.