The girls trip. The timeless classic. Everyone knows the scenario. A few people in the group find themselves doing up travel agent and this was no different. With about a week to spare we had our flights, accommodation, airport transfers and a rough idea of what we wanted to do in Split, Croatia. 

We arrived and headed straight to lunch on Bačvice beach which was right down the road from our apartment. Although it’s one of the only sandy beaches in Split, the sandy part is very small so super busy. We ended up on sun beds which were on a pier. The waves were WILD and we decided we’d try other beaches of the rest of our time. 

That night we dressed and headed into the Old Town. The main attraction of the Old Town is Diocletian’s Palace. We walked in when the bells were ringing and the palace was lit up by moonlight, (and floodlights). There was a fair crowd moseying around looking for dinner and the further we walked around the Old Town, (which is like a rabbit warren), we found people in every corner of every street. The thing I noticed about Dubrovnik and Spilt is that even though it’s very touristy and busy it doesn’t feel overrun or suffocating.

A lot of our days consisted of this, mornings spent on the beach, (our favourites were Kašjuni beach and Monkey Beach Bar), and the evenings having dinner in the Old Town. We had a boat day, arrived at a very closed club one evening and climbed the tower of Diocletian’s Palace. Turns out my fear of heights has gotten far worse than I thought so I basically ended up having a panic attack on the way up… Not embaraazzing at all.

I would say my favourite day was my birthday, (yes, this trip happened in September), which my friends made super special. I woke up early to get a covid test for our return to the UK, on coming home I was greeted with birthday banners, balloons filling our hallway and Stevie Wonder singing happy birthday to me in the background. I opened my beaut gifts from my friends and got ready for the day. Our first stop was out for brunch, (obviously), then the beach. We frolicked on the beach, consumed a birthday appropriate amount of pizza and cocktails and discussed everything from beauty regimes to the afterlife. The day ended with a delicious dinner at Matoni, which is really great for vegetarians, and a wiggle at Flavour Bar. It was similar to what I imagine a Eurovision after party to be. There were, I can only assume British, men attempting to throw it down and providing so much entertainment. Croatia still had a curfew when we went so at midnight, we made our way home. In a way, the curfew was actually great as even if you had drunk a bit too much, you were home and in bed by 1am with more than enough time to sleep it off and be fresh for the morning.

In terms of recommendations, I would recommend staying in Bačvice as it’s a short walk into the Old Town. Although Bačvice isn’t the nicest of beaches, Ubers to and from the other two beaches were super cheap, (no more than £6 for an XL). Taboo Beach Club came recommended but when we were looking into it, it seemed unnecessarily expensive for what it was. I would say just walk a couple meters beyond and go to Monkey Bar instead. It’s only 35kn for a bed and 50kn for a parasol. The music is doable and the food, (ie, pizza), and cocktails are good. In terms of food in general, in the Old Town all the restaurants will essentially have the same offering: steak, pizza, pasta, risotto and salad so you can find something for everyone everywhere. We ate in a couple different places but my favourites were No Stress Bistro, Lola’s and Matoni.

I love Croatia and I’ve already decided that my next trip there will be an island hop of the various Croatian islands.