Croatia: Trogir or Split & which island?

[JRC1]

Looking to go to Croatia in September for a week. Initial thoughts are to stay in either Trogir or Split for 3 nights and then one of the islands (Brac or Hvar) for 3 nights.

From some initial reading online I'm leaning towards staying in Trogir over Split, but welcome opinions from those who have been.

It's closer to the airport and seems more quaint... is it a good base? From here we were thinking of visiting the Krka national park, a day trip to Split, etc. Then onto one of the islands for a few nights.
Would this seem a reasonable plan and a good split (ha) of time?

Car hire seems very cheap, like 5 or so quid per day, so was thinking of hiring a car.

Any particular types of accommodation worth considering or avoiding? (left it quite late to book so probably can't be too fussy)
Any must see attractions or restaurants?

Thanks in advance
James

[J4CKO]

Cant advise specifically on that, but we went through Split onthe way to and from the airport (which is chaos) , it didn't seem that picturesque, looked a bit like Barrow in Furness or somewhere, we stayed near Makarska, a 2 hour drive away and it was great.

[djsmith74]

We spent a week on the Dalmatian Coast back in May so I may be able to offer some advice. Trogir is very pretty but very touristy and can be very busy at times. It's fine for a day trip, but I wouldn't want to spend a few days there. Split will offer you more choices and is big enough not to feel cramped. We didn't go to any of the islands, but we did do the following:

Sibenik
This was our base for the week as we felt it was more central. It's a lovely little harbour town with a great old town section, and a good bus terminal - we used public transport for the whole week we were there.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28703702@N08/albums/...

Trogir
As I said above, a very pretty town and a nice place to go for a day trip but it was very busy
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28703702@N08/albums/...

Zadar
The furthest north we travelled and a nice little historic town, with a couple of impressive art installations on the sea front (Google Sea Organ and Sun Salutation)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28703702@N08/albums/...

Split
A lovely city with plenty to explore and decent bars / restaurants, and a rather impressive Roman centre
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28703702@N08/albums/...

Primosten
This was recommended to us by some locals in Sibenik, with a gorgeous little beach, lovely cliffs and historic town. A great place to chill by the sea
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28703702@N08/albums/...

Krka National Park
An amazing day at this place. You can easily spend a whole day just walking around the boardwalks at the bottom of the park, and you'd need another full day or two to do the boat trips. Well worth a trip.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28703702@N08/albums/...

Hope this helps!

[JRC1]

Really helpful and insightful post, thanks. Great pics too!

We appear to have left it too late to book a place to stay in Split. Most accomodation that is left is out of our budget, so we are looking at apartments in Trogir - hoping it will be slightly less busy in September. Did you stay in a hotel or an apartment, out of interest?

Sibenik looks nice, so may take a day trip there, or combine it with Krka and go there in the evening or something. Also considering the zipline at Omis?

How was driving out there? Any car hire companies to avoid or anything to look out for?

Thanks!

[joshleb]

Last time I went I arrived in the morning and went to Trogir and stayed there for the day and night.

The next day I then got the boat down to Split and had a couple nights there before going to Dubrovnik for a couple nights, then Hvar for a couple.

I really would recommend the boat trip between Trogir and Split though!!!

I found Trogir a lot less busy than Split, and certainly a lot less english speaking!!

[Darranu]

We've been sailing around this area a few times now and really enjoy Trogir as a base for a couple of nights before we pick up the boat.

Split is a bit of a dump if I'm honest and has some shocking restaurants, hence why we favour Trogir.

In the past we've spent a week sailing, then a night in Trogir before catching the ferry from Split to Hvar and it's been great.

Hvar is a lovely place and excellent for a few nights and the Amfora Grand beach resort is a cracking base.
You can also get a ferry from the other side of the island down to Dubrovnik, this takes about 8 hours but its a relaxing 8 hours.

You could then have a couple of nights in Dubrovnik before flying back from there instead of Split.

Hope this helps.

[djsmith74]

JRC1 said:

Really helpful and insightful post, thanks. Great pics too!

We appear to have left it too late to book a place to stay in Split. Most accomodation that is left is out of our budget, so we are looking at apartments in Trogir - hoping it will be slightly less busy in September. Did you stay in a hotel or an apartment, out of interest?

Sibenik looks nice, so may take a day trip there, or combine it with Krka and go there in the evening or something. Also considering the zipline at Omis?

How was driving out there? Any car hire companies to avoid or anything to look out for?

Thanks!

We stayed in a lovely little apartment in Sibenik, that was literally 5mins walk from the old town where all the bars & restaurants were. There was a supermarket round the corner, where we stocked up on basic supplies, i.e. breakfast, etc. The apartment was booked through Booking.com and we wouldn't hesitate doing that again. Depending on where you go, the hotels can be away from the centre, certainly with the smaller towns, so it's best to go for apartment in my opinion.

We didn't drive, and used the public transport (coaches) instead, of which the timetable was optimistic to say the least, but that added to the sense of adventure! In terms of driving, I wouldn't hesitate as the roads are pretty decent and well sign posted. The motorways/auto-routes are fairly new and smooth with little traffic. A bit of trivia for you - the total population of Croatia is about 4.5million. Compare this with the population of Greater Manchester which is at 3million, gives you some idea of how sparsely populated the country is, and how quiet it is, including road traffic.

[JRC1]

Thanks all for the advice it has been most useful.

We are off to Trogir next week, staying in an apartment for 5 full days.

Plan to visit Krka national park, boat to Split, trip to Sibenik & Primosten, Ciovo, day trip to another island and anything else that we come across.

Any final recommendations? We will have a car for the time that we are there.

Cheers

[djsmith74]

JRC1 said:

Thanks all for the advice it has been most useful.

We are off to Trogir next week, staying in an apartment for 5 full days.

Plan to visit Krka national park, boat to Split, trip to Sibenik & Primosten, Ciovo, day trip to another island and anything else that we come across.

Any final recommendations? We will have a car for the time that we are there.

Cheers

Excellent. I'm sure you'll have a cracking time. With regards to Krka, there are two main entrances if you are travelling by car from the South (Skradin and Lozovac). Skradin is a little village, that you park up and catch a boat along the river to the park entrance. Lozovac is just a big car/coach park, with shuttle buses down the valley to the park itself. From memory, the drive to Skradin is lovely, and if you've got a bit of time before the next boat, you can hike up to some ruins with great views of the river and surrounding hills. I'd also get to Krka as early as possible as it does get very busy especially if the weather is nice.

As far as Sibenik goes, there are plenty of bars, cafes and restaurants along the front, but the best ones are tucked away in the narrow streets of the old town. If you want recommendations, I can dig out my guidebook and list a few.

During your stay at Trogir, make sure you walk across the main river to the harbour on the other side, where there are some lovely sailing boats and a couple of cracking open-air café/restaurants.

If you need more advice, let me know.

Cheers

[JRC1]

djsmith74 said:

Excellent. I'm sure you'll have a cracking time. With regards to Krka, there are two main entrances if you are travelling by car from the South (Skradin and Lozovac). Skradin is a little village, that you park up and catch a boat along the river to the park entrance. Lozovac is just a big car/coach park, with shuttle buses down the valley to the park itself. From memory, the drive to Skradin is lovely, and if you've got a bit of time before the next boat, you can hike up to some ruins with great views of the river and surrounding hills. I'd also get to Krka as early as possible as it does get very busy especially if the weather is nice.

As far as Sibenik goes, there are plenty of bars, cafes and restaurants along the front, but the best ones are tucked away in the narrow streets of the old town. If you want recommendations, I can dig out my guidebook and list a few.

During your stay at Trogir, make sure you walk across the main river to the harbour on the other side, where there are some lovely sailing boats and a couple of cracking open-air café/restaurants.

If you need more advice, let me know.

Cheers

Great - will make sure we enter Krka from Skradin.

If you don't mind - a couple of recommendations for Sibenik would be great!

Thanks

[djsmith74]

JRC1 said:

djsmith74 said:

Excellent. I'm sure you'll have a cracking time. With regards to Krka, there are two main entrances if you are travelling by car from the South (Skradin and Lozovac). Skradin is a little village, that you park up and catch a boat along the river to the park entrance. Lozovac is just a big car/coach park, with shuttle buses down the valley to the park itself. From memory, the drive to Skradin is lovely, and if you've got a bit of time before the next boat, you can hike up to some ruins with great views of the river and surrounding hills. I'd also get to Krka as early as possible as it does get very busy especially if the weather is nice.

As far as Sibenik goes, there are plenty of bars, cafes and restaurants along the front, but the best ones are tucked away in the narrow streets of the old town. If you want recommendations, I can dig out my guidebook and list a few.

During your stay at Trogir, make sure you walk across the main river to the harbour on the other side, where there are some lovely sailing boats and a couple of cracking open-air café/restaurants.

If you need more advice, let me know.

Cheers

Great - will make sure we enter Krka from Skradin.

If you don't mind - a couple of recommendations for Sibenik would be great!

Thanks

Vintage Bar (https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g295375-d10470647-Reviews-Vintage_Bar-Sibenik_Sibenik_Knin_County_Dalmatia.html). Cool little bar in a small square, serving great cocktails. There is a pizza place nearby that serves great, cheap pizza.

Konoba Nostalgija (https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g295375-d3610822-Reviews-Konoba_Nostalgija-Sibenik_Sibenik_Knin_County_Dalmatia.html). Excellent little restaurant, serving traditional Croatian dishes

Lovre Café (https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g295375-d8562890-Reviews-Lovre_Cafe-Sibenik_Sibenik_Knin_County_Dalmatia.html). Well worth climbing the steps to get to this medieval garden, with its café.

As I say there are plenty of bars and pubs along the waterfront so you can dip in/out of the weather is hot.

If you get chance, climb up to St Michael's Fortress for some cracking views across Sibenik, and there's also an interesting little graveyard just to the side of the fortress.

[tobeee]

It's all lovely! We're just back from Croatia (four days Zadar and 8 in Split). From Zadar, we had a great day in Plitvice lakes which was fantastic, and Zadar itself was fun but four days enough. Into Split, and the approach had me feeling nervous - a sprawling industrial city to drive through, and news that our apartment was just a couple of minutes from the bus station/ferry port! However, it turned out that our apartment was in a great area, right near the sandy beach and just a couple of minutes from the beautiful old town (and we never needed to see the industrial area or the bus station again til the last day).

Visited lots of islands, Krka and Trojir, and although all attractive and fun and worth a day, we were always pleased to return to Split. All restaurants we ate at were really good, and with a foodie background we're probably more critical than most, so maybe we were just lucky.

Going to have a long weekend/few days in Dubrovnik soon.

One thing that anyone about to go to Croatia should be aware of is that card payment is a rarety so take lots of cash! Oh, and try to look beyond the graffiti, which is EVERYWHERE and never the cool arty stuff!

[TeeRev]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

I'll report back in a week..... picking up this little pedalo at noon tomorrow out of Trogir.



Used the PH 'sailing holiday' thread for a few ideas, but mostly ad lib'ing it.

Niiiicccceeee!!!

[JRC1]

I thought I would report back after a fantastic 6 days in Croatia.

We thoroughly enjoyed staying in Trogir, would highly recommend it. It wasn't too busy (kids back at school) so I would go in September again. The apartment we stayed in was a 5 min walk down to the main square.
Had a few great evening meals here, we religiously use Tripadvisor and it doesn't lie - the places we chose lived up to the reviews.

Despite mixed reviews regarding Split on here, we both loved it and went back for a second day. Hiked up Park Marjan which was great and again had a couple of very good meals. Thought the city was fun to explore, reminded me of Venice some of the narrow streets. Glad we didn't stay here, though.

Visited Primosten & Sibenik and enjoyed both. St Michael's Fortress in Sibenik was a highlight. Ciovo, the island south of Trogir was great - 'beach labadusa' all the way to the south was a hidden gem - a 30 min drive on twisty roads from Trogir but well worth it.

Krka national park was brilliant, as to be expected. Also randomly visited Makarska on the only rainy day we had. Was ok, but quiet and not a lot going on.

Overall, really liked the country and would go back. I think Plitvicka national park and Dubrovnik would be on the list if we return. Thanks all for your hints and tips, they were much appreciated.

[djsmith74]

JRC1 said:

I thought I would report back after a fantastic 6 days in Croatia.

We thoroughly enjoyed staying in Trogir, would highly recommend it. It wasn't too busy (kids back at school) so I would go in September again. The apartment we stayed in was a 5 min walk down to the main square.
Had a few great evening meals here, we religiously use Tripadvisor and it doesn't lie - the places we chose lived up to the reviews.

Despite mixed reviews regarding Split on here, we both loved it and went back for a second day. Hiked up Park Marjan which was great and again had a couple of very good meals. Thought the city was fun to explore, reminded me of Venice some of the narrow streets. Glad we didn't stay here, though.

Visited Primosten & Sibenik and enjoyed both. St Michael's Fortress in Sibenik was a highlight. Ciovo, the island south of Trogir was great - 'beach labadusa' all the way to the south was a hidden gem - a 30 min drive on twisty roads from Trogir but well worth it.

Krka national park was brilliant, as to be expected. Also randomly visited Makarska on the only rainy day we had. Was ok, but quiet and not a lot going on.

Overall, really liked the country and would go back. I think Plitvicka national park and Dubrovnik would be on the list if we return. Thanks all for your hints and tips, they were much appreciated.

Excellent. Glad you enjoyed it, and hopefully my tips were of some use!. We're hoping to go back next year and do the northern part of Dalmatia, using Pula as a base and visit Plitvicka.

[gazapc]

Only just spotted this but we had a fab time in Croatia last year when we went.

[quote=JRC1Also randomly visited Makarska on the only rainy day we had. Was ok, but quiet and not a lot going on.
[/quote]

A bit late now (but may help someone else who searches for croatia threads).. just up behind Makarska is a 1750+m altitude mountain you can drive up. It gets a bit hair raising at points but the views are spectacular, loads of hair pin bends, sheer drops etc.. It is tarmac all the way up but you have to be confident with your hire car; we picked up the car from split and then straight up the road on our first day!! It was early evening so not busy and we could bomb along (relatively speaking) on the way down.

The road features on this website
http://www.dangerousroads.org/eastern-europe/croat...

[JRC1]

djsmith74 said:

Excellent. Glad you enjoyed it, and hopefully my tips were of some use!. We're hoping to go back next year and do the northern part of Dalmatia, using Pula as a base and visit Plitvicka.

They were indeed, thanks again!

gazapc said:

A bit late now (but may help someone else who searches for croatia threads).. just up behind Makarska is a 1750+m altitude mountain you can drive up. It gets a bit hair raising at points but the views are spectacular, loads of hair pin bends, sheer drops etc.. It is tarmac all the way up but you have to be confident with your hire car; we picked up the car from split and then straight up the road on our first day!! It was early evening so not busy and we could bomb along (relatively speaking) on the way down.

The road features on this website
http://www.dangerousroads.org/eastern-europe/croat...

Saw the mountain and did contemplate driving up it as read some great reviews but this was on our penultimate day and the weather was terrible, very windy and lots of thundery downpours.

[sammyboy]

Sorry to open an old thread...

Can anyone recommend a tour or excursion from split of the Krka Waterfalls?

Thanks.