A-Z of The World: Split Leg Two of two on our Croatian adventure took us to Split, a little further up the Dalamatian coast. Well when I say little I mean a 4 hour coach ride. However don't let this put you off. The coaches are really comfortable, and they have lots of lovely precious air conditioning. We opted for getting the bus in the middle of the day to avoid finding our hostel in the midday sun, a plan which worked a treat. But the bus timetable is extensive with at least a bus every hour which is good.

The walk to the hostel was a little longer than we
expected. We had chosen Split Guesthouse and Hostel based on its excellent rating and I was surprised at its seemingly out of town location but after doing the walk back into town again without big backpacks, it was only 10 mins, and the actual hostel is close to lots of supermarkets, a bakery to die for and the famous Hajduk FC stadium. I know I sound a little over enthusiastic about this hostel, "its just a hostel" i hear you cry. But no it was much more, The owner Josko was absolutely fantastic, he would bend over backwards to make sure we had a good stay, taking us to the airport at the end of our trip, giving us his biggest room, even buying us free vodka. I seriously can't rate this place highly enough.

Josko recommended Fife for our first night meal, so off we went. Fife is a fantastic eatery. I say eatery rather than restaurant as Its really not as fancy as a restaurant. You tend not to get a table to yourself and there are no fancy dishes, just big plate fulls of hearty, cheap, yet delicious food. A fantastic taste of Croatian life. The way Split differs from Dubrovnik, Its a living city, the locals hang out on the harbour drinking in the sultry night time heat. So it would be rude not to join them, we bought a couple of InCiders from a Kiosk and whiled the night away staring at the twinkly lights across the harbour, easily entertained really.

The next day we set out on beach hopping adventure, as recommended (again) by Josko, we headed off into the forest that covers the west of the city, it is encompassed on 3 sides by the sea with many easy to reach beaches along the path. This is a wonderful way to spend a day, exploring each beach's character, and hopping in and out of the water whenever. The only thing I would be wary of is that the walk between beaches can be long and sometimes without shade, so take plenty of water and don't try to plough on fast!
After our relaxed beachy day we decided it was time for a proper night out. We headed into The Diocletian's Palace to a bar serving local rijeka, a strong spirit that comes in different flavours. the bar was packed so we say on a ledge a little way away and ordered the mixed selection which cane all packed up in egg cups which was quite a novelty. Vodka Revs might want to think about trying it! After a few more rounds we headed out of town to Vanilla Club. An odd set up really, it consisted of an outside terrace and a couple of rooms in a sports centre, an admittedly very post sports centre, but a sports centre none the less. It turns out we'd missed the touristy night so the music was predominantly Croatian, which was no bad thing, and we ended up partying away until 3am.

The next day was a late start, and the boys didn't even manage to start at all. So we decided a girlie sightseeing shopping day was in order. We headed into the old town to soak up some of Splits historical culture, we climbed the Bell Tower, rubbed Grgur of Nins toe, explored the City Museum, a welcome blast of air con in the hot climate (5kn for a student) and just generally explored the rabbit warren of roman streets filled with cafes and boutiques that is The Diocletian's Palace. Buts soon hunger pangs began to bite so we headed out of the old town onto the sleek marbled streets that encase the old town and found a fantastic little fast food place. Pepe serves simple but satisfying street food, kebabs, cones of fried squid, we went for the chicken grill and were very satisfied with.
That night we decided to head up to the view point, where we were promised we could see beautiful views over split, and after a short climb up some very dark stairs, we arrived. And the view, like all Croatia didn't disappoint. There's a small bar atop the hill too, which made for a blissful evening soaking up the atmosphere.
By the last day he heat was taking its toll, and we did some last minuet souvenir shopping the headed back to prepare a last supper before packing for our early morning flight.

I loved Split, Its atmosphere carries you along, and the mix of tourist and locals is just right. But If I return to Croatia, and I sincerely hope I will, I shall be Island hopping all the way.

Key Facts

• We fly with Easyjet back to London.
• We stayed at Split Guesthouse and Hostel. Brilliant value for money but likely to get booked up quickly.
• Best Time to Visit; Probably off peak but I wouldn't want to go too out of season as i imagine it looses it's atmosphere a little.
• Cake Rating; Fantastic, just fantastic.