Hvar

When we planned our trip to Croatia, we played around with different scenarios, (when to rent the car, what places we would visit etc). We found it was way cheaper to rent a car our entire time in Croatia and just park it when we did not need it. We got a crazy deal for $13/day so it totally made sense to have it the whole time. What a difference this made. The coast is full of hidden gems and gorgeous landscapes, small little villages and inlets with stunning beaches. We took a car ferry to Hvar from Split (only $90 return for the car and the 4 of us) and then drove from the port to Hvar Town where we decided to stay. Another spectacular ancient town, that looks like it came straight from the pages of  a fairy tale, (seriously the town looked like Arendelle from Frozen). An incredible waterfront with a trail to walk along the coast, backed by 7th century walls, while up on the hill a fortress overlooks the whole town. What a sight!

standing on the promenade overlooking the water

St Stephens Cathedral

standing in the Piazza, by St Stephens Cathedral

  

Aview of the town from the promenade

The town of Hvar has small little beaches and areas to swim in so many areas along the coast.

 

Johnny and Anneka went in for a dip 

My favourite streets, the narrow alleys that I could get lost in for hours

As I mentioned previously, there is only so much exploring the girls want to do, so we decided to do something a little different and rent a boat for the day to cruise around all the little islands. What an awesome time we had going from one beach to another (we even came across a nude beach, much to the girls chagrin!).

the water was cool but so refreshing on such a hot day

Perfect view of the fortress and old town from the boat

One of the many marvellous beaches we stumbled across

the port in Hvar town

Hiking up to the fortress was a very steep climb, but the views were totally worth it. The fortress was also the most beautiful one we have seen yet, very obviously refurbished, but done so well it felt like we were on a movie set.

The view of the town from the fortress with a glimpse at the old wall that surrounded the city

The prison steps in the fortress

from the highest point

you can see all the islands we toured in the boat

A very steep walk, much easier on the way down

After 3 days it was time to go... our ferry was not until 5pm so luckily we were able to cruise around the rest of the island. It is much bigger then I thought and full of many picturesque little villages that are all unique. I particularly loved Stari Grad and Jelsa. We also were on the search for the fields of lavender, unfortunately we were about 2-3 weeks too early, but we did manage to find a field that was almost in bloom. We could have easily spent the whole time we were in Croation on the island, it was THAT impressive.

Stari Grad harbour

a "not quite" in bloom field of lavender- it still smelt exquisit 

Jelsa

Jelsa

A tunnel we had to drive through over a km long, 

The Croatian Coast- Makarska and Beyond...

On our way to Split, we decided to stay 1 night in the little village of Makarska. From the moment we arrived we regretted staying only 1 night...we rented another lovely apartment that was right in town, dumped our bags and went exploring. Makarska is a picturesque village at the foot of the Biokovo Mountain, it has an "old town" with the required church and town square, narrow cobblestone streets (that I totally love) and exceptional waterfront. The village sits on a sheltered bay, backed by dramatic rocky mountains, which makes for some pretty spectacular pictures.

The old church in the town square

Man I can never tire of these streets

 The beach was typical of Croatia, small pebbles with crystal clear water (normally rammed in the summer). We headed there for a couple of hours, and even though the water was cool, it was so hot we all enjoyed a dip.

Anneka working on her handstands

can't resist with this background

After we left the beach we went for a walk on St Peter Peninsula, a beautiful trail that runs along the coast, at the top sits St Peters, an old church from the 13th century

I am always looking for beautiful backgrounds to totally show off my new skills

St Peter

looking at the bay from the peninsula

Sadly, we only really had 1 full day here, I can see why this is one of the most popular summer destinations on the coast. Even though we spent very little time here it remains one of our favourite spots.

Split

After Makarska we arrived in Split- it was way bigger then what we expected (a small city). We had rented an apartment right next to Diocletian's Palace, a walled city originally built in the 4th century. The palace was spectacular, (that said, after being in Dubrovnik, we all felt like it was a bit underwhelming, had we seen it first, I am sure it would have surpassed our expectations). The girls just thought it looked "the same as the last couple of old towns we visited" and were not impressed. I loved it though and again could have wandered the streets for hours.

This massive statue sits outside the main gates to the palace

We climbed the bell tower, but the girls and I were scared to go all the way to the top

Johnny taking the picture from where we stood:)

The whole palace area sits in a beautiful port, with restaurants and beaches all along the water front. The ferry to the islands leave from this area as well, so makes for a pretty busy place. On one end of the bay sits a huge park called Marjan Park (comparable to Central or High Park ) we spent the afternoon exploring, hiking up to the top and then renting bikes the second day to cover more ground, (although Anneka hadn't rode her bike since last year, and the old saying "once you ride a bike...." didn't really apply to her. Johnny had to spend half an hour reteaching her....)

View from Marjan Park

there she goes...again...

little beach are all throughout this park as it runs along the coastline

The next day we visited Klis- a medieval fortress situated about 15 minutes away from our apartment...(another GOT location). Pretty impressive and it very good shape considering it was built in the 3rd century BC.

Klis

As a Canadian I am a sucker for poppies. They grow wild here everywhere!

Klis

Klis

Klis

From Split, we took a day trip to the town of Trogir, a preserved old town (yup ANOTHER ONE!) known for its Renaissance and Roman buildings. On a small island connected to the mainland by bridges. There is an old 13th century Cathedral in the centre of town and a bell tower, (that I actually climbed, it was not nearly as scary as the one in Split). It also has an old fort that Anneka and Johnny went up while Liv and I sat at the waters edge.

Anneka and Johnny climbed the fort in Trogir

The fort in Trogir

Trogir- views from the bell tower

another beautiful courtyard in Trogir

Our last day in Split we went back into the palace for another look around, (passing through all the markets in between our place and old town) we also toured the crypts under the palace, that was super cool:)

Many people have asked how the kids are doing exploring all the old towns, asking if they are bored...to be honest, after the 3rd day in Dubrovnik I think they were all "old towned out". That said they are troupers not complaining (much)...we always try to find a park, go for ice cream or find somewhere to swim to break up the long continuous days of walking. I am sure Johnny and I are missing so much as there is only so much exploring the girls can take, but it's amazing what a chocolate gelato can do.