Split or Trogir in Croatia - How to Visit Both

After our three days on the Island of Hvar, we loaded up and took one last ferry to the city of Split. We had debated the question whether we should visit Split or Trogir in Croatia. And I’m so glad we landed on the answer: let’s visit both!

I mentioned before that we had been warned that Split could be “miss-able.” I mean, it’s one of the bigger cities in Croatia and maybe it wasn’t as quaint as the others we had seen. And in my mind there’s nothing like a quaint European city with webs of alleyways to explore.

But man, we underestimated how much we would love that place.

Things we loved in Split:

The “Riva” lined with palm trees and just such a fantastic feeling in the air
Diocletian’s Palace
The Bell Tower

Oh we were not there for long, but there really was just the coolest feeling in the air as we explored.

The Riva

We walked along the “Riva” lined with palm trees to get to the ancient palace.

I loved people watching as we lugged our suitcases along. (Yes, since we weren’t going to be there that long, we opted to keep our bags with us. It was a pain, but worth it so we didn’t have to hassle trying to find storage.)

Diocletian’s Palace

This place blew me away. I loved it.

That picture up there may not look like much, but the whole entire complex of Diocletian’s Palace was once an ancient Roman palace. It was built at the end of the third century AD by the Roman Emperor, who was named Diocletian, of course.

It has become so interwoven with the city of Split that it’s actually tricky to know where the palace ruins end and the city begins. There are actually apartments built right into the complex, and look how cool this little restaurant/bar is right there in the main section of the palace ruins:

This “vestibule” room once had a dome on top of it and was used for greeting guests:

Now it’s just a really cool spot where you can marvel at the stone work and wonder about the builders and how they created this space all those years ago.

Egyptian Sphinxes in Split

Let’s talk about the Egyptian Sphinxes in Split because this is pretty cool. This one below is in the main palace complex.

And I’m going to let this Instagram post tell you all about it:

Pretty crazy, right? I mean, 3,500 years old?

Incredible.

The Bell Tower

I climbed the bell tower while Dave relaxed in the ruins of that cool palace complex with our bags.

The plan was for us to take turns, but he ended up being fine just hanging and I must say I GLORIED in the beauty of this climb.

I mean, look at these views framed by this architecture!

My favorite companion:

The People’s Square

We walked to see the People’s Square (nothing to write home about, but all the cool alleyways to get there? Really loved them.

Can you see that guy heading into one of the alleys on the left below? So small!

I’m sure there were things we missed, but that wrapped up our time in Split.

Trogir, Croatia

We took an Uber to Trogir, our last stop. It’s a tiny town my friend recommended closer to the Split airport and it was incredibly picturesque.

No cars, and tiny alleyways all lined with so much character.

We found a good spot for dinner in that web of magical alleyways, and sat talking about the five-facets of our kids under the bistro lights.

For anyone asking “what is a five-facet review,” follow that link.

This five-facet review was so special to me as we sat at that table on a cobblestone courtyard in the middle of Trogir.

We continued that “review” while walking the streets, eating our last gelato. And sitting on the polished-from-so-many-years-of-use church steps in the crowded night-time church square, music from a nearby club pumping through the rocks, perfect equilibrium temperature.

I think we saved the best for last in the gelato category. Makes my mouth water to see that coconut and dark chocolate deliciousness.

Where we Stayed in Trogir

We stayed at a tiny little top room hotel where some party went on below until the wee hours of the morning. And then the church bells started to chime in at 6am. But it was still pretty charming to me.

Church in Croatia

I realized in horror the next morning that there had been a branch of our church we could have gone to back in Split. I didn’t think to check, just figured there wouldn’t be anything close, darn it!!

But instead, we had our own version of church studying “Come Follow Me” at breakfast on a patio looking over the harbor, talking through repentance and forgiveness…times when we felt forgiven of the Lord. And what is Zion?

And I loved it.