This article was written by Amy Rogers, a student from London who went backpacking in Split in August 2010:
As soon as we got off the train there were people offering us a room for the night, which is very handy, but as we didn’t know this would happen and it does, every single train, we found it very daunting and refused them all, even though we needed a room. However these are generally safe people and very helpful people, so don’t be alarmed and if you are looking for a room, then this might be your best shot, but definitely try to haggle with them!
The Split area is lovely, it is based around an old derelict castle and this area contains many little markets, all of which you can haggle at. Just outside the castle is a fruit and veg market, which was very handy! Split has such a friendly atmosphere, probably one of the friendliest as long as you try and say thank you in Croatian, they love that! (Hvala = thank you, pronounced whovalah…ish). Again this was quite cheap but as it was a different currency we had to get use to it again, so check this before you get there.
In Split we didn’t find much to visit that wasn’t a day trip, the area is lovely and there is a local beach which is very shallow for quite a while, but not much else. However we did do a day trip to Krka National Park, which cost us around 45 euros. This was definitely worth it. It is a natural flowing river with hundreds of beautiful waterfalls and at the bottom of them, where it became the main river you were allowed to swim in the fresh water. There were other day trips as well, such as scuba diving or white water rafting. Also from Split you can get to just about anywhere, such as Dubrovnik or the popular island Hvar, also I have been told to go island hopping in Croatia, as it is meant to be amazing, so should definitely do that.
Split wasn’t too expensive, not as cheap as Prague but cheaper than the other places. We stayed in two different accommodations, the first was called ‘Kiss Hostel’, which was ok, around €14 per night, but it was someone’s apartment and didn’t have air con, luckily there were other travellers there, so met a few, also it was very close to the town centre. However if you do stay there make sure to stay in contact with them before you get there as they will offer the bed to other people if you are running late and they haven’t heard from you.
The second night we ended up in someones actual flat, they had two spare rooms, which he rented out every so often, again very local and around €15 per night, a little weird as his family were there too, but very welcoming just a little hard as his English was basically non existent. So try and find an actual hostel, with other travellers – also makes it safer that way.
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