An Eventful Trip (Part 6): Split, Croatia

Day 12: Hvar

Yes, two more days to write..... this trip's blog posts are tiring me out and I'm getting a little bit bored......

We got on a Jetfoil ferry to the Island of Hvar, about an hour away from Split. Before I get into what we did on Hvar, I'll write about how difficult it was to find any info about booking ferry tickets and also finding out info about the ferries.

You'll read on many blogs that you need to take a ferry to Hvar or any of the other islands off the coast of Split. They just tell you there are ferries, but no websites from the actual ferry company and no info about sailing times and ticket prices. Or even if there is, it's all very confusing.

When we were there, there are 2 companies that sail to Hvar (and they also have other routes to other islands as well). One starts with J, and the other doesn't really have a name..... on my credit card bill it came up as Kaptan (with a K).

Ferry J (the one in the background in the photo above) is a boat that can carry cars as well, and takes longer to get to Hvar, and it will probably drop you off at Stari Grad port on Hvar. Whereas Ferry Kaptan is a Jetfoil (like the boats that you take between Hong Kong and Macau, if you've visited either of those places), it only carries people. Ferry J and Kaptan have websites, but they are not very helpful. There are different sailing times in the summer and winter. It's best to go to the port and check the sailing times at the ticket booth - then you can buy your ticket as well.

Ferry J actually cost more than Ferry Kaptan, and Kaptan also had better/more frequent sailing times, so we went with that.

And just like waiting for the bus in Dubrovnik, you don't know where to line up to board your ferry. We stood in a line while waiting for passengers to disembark from a ferry, and when they were nearly all off, we were told that the ferry behind it was the one for 10:00am (our ferry). And just like trains, the ferries are very popular and they were full when we traveled. Luckily we got on early and got seats.

After an hour, we arrived in Hvar and the sun was out and the day was already hot! We made a stop at the visitor's centre to pick up a map, and then sat at one of the many alley restaurants under the shade with a drink to cool down.

Then we made our way to hike up to the fortress. In every city/town there's a fortress, and well, this one gives you a great view of the bay around Hvar. We even got some photos while standing/sitting on the fortress walls!

On our way down from the fortress, we stopped at the only Lavender shop within the fortress grounds, and chatted with the lady who runs the shop. She's from Singapore originally but now lives in Croatia, and she stitches and prepares all the items she sells by hand.

Due to the heat, and the fact that Hvar really is just a small town, we decided to leave earlier and head back to Split. Our ferry ticket originally was for 7pm, but we were done with the town by 1pm...... so in case you want to go for an island trip, just know that there's not much to do on those islands. We could have had a meal, but that was it. When we walked around it just looked like any other Croatian town. Although Hvar does have a reputation to be a party island, but that's not what I want either.

We tried to get on the 2pm ticket, but that day was a holiday (which we didn't know about), and we were turned away at first as they said they were fully booked. There was another group of young men traveling and one of them had lost his ticket, he said he accidentally threw it out thinking it was garbage.... and they wouldn't let him on either.

They made him run back to the ticket sales office to try to get another ticket, and of course the ticket office said they are sold out. We waited till nearly all the passengers had boarded and decided to try another ticket employee and see if he would let us on - he did, after a bit of "please, we need to get back for ........" (I have forgotten what excuse we came up with). As we were one of the last ones on the boat, it was really hard to find a seat. And the guy who lost his ticket also got on as well.

After we got back to Split, I think we went back to our airbnb, relaxed and took a nap. I also started packing.

Later in the afternoon, we went out for a walk and walked around the Diocletian's Palace. not a very big space, and there is one of the big squares in the middle, and all the alleys inside the "palace" are quite narrow and have lots of shops now. I put quotation marks around "palace" because all the alleys, shops and homes you see are part of the Diocletian's Palace. So it's not the typical tourist attraction palace that you visit where each room is nicely kept with gilded ceilings, walls and furniture.

Day 13: Last day in Split

Fortunately we did our city tour of Split yesterday afternoon, so that left us with time on our last day for packing and shopping for souvenirs. We also had to leave around 1pm to make our way to the airport to catch our flight to London.

One of the many souvenirs you can get is a t-shirt, and in Split (and maybe in Croatia in general), they will press the image you want onto a t-shirt of your choice right away, so you can in a way customize your t-shirt. There are quite a few stalls who do this. You pick the image you want from their menu booklet, then you select the size and colour of your t-shirt and they will press/iron on the image right then and there!

We thought we would have enough time to have a meal before going to the airport, but in the end didn't, so we got lunch at the one restaurant in the airport. The food WAS HORRIBLE!!! If you ever visit Split, don't leave the city without eating first. We ordered pasta - which is supposed to be "safe" in Croatia, but the pasta that we got was really bad.

We had an alfredo tortellini and a spaghetti in a sauce (I can't remember what sauce it was).... but the tortellini wasn't cooked well.... the sauce was like flour and water...... and the spaghetti dish was a little better but still pretty bad - for airport food where they charge you more!

And then I had 13 Kunas left and there had coffee for 13 Kunas, but I thought maybe I'll wait till after I pass security and get a coffee there. Don't do that. Get your coffee before going through security, because it's more expensive inside! So I couldn't buy anything..... and now I still have 13 Kunas left! LOL.....

Our flight landed in Gatwick and we had to take a coach to Heathrow as we will be flying out the next morning. When we arrived at Heathrow, we had to take a bus to our hotel, one of the many that are just around the perimeter of the airport. We didn't know this, but apparently all the bus that drop off passengers to hotels around the airport are free. Other people have to pay, but if you're a hotel guest then you can take the bus for free!

We kept our oyster cards thinking we may need it for the bus, but we could have returned it and got our  £5 back! Oh well, I'll just keep it for the next time I travel to the UK.

The next day we checked in at Heathrow, and was shopping at duty free, then my cousin messages me to say they are boarding and for me to get my butt there asap! The gate unfortunately was really far - like 15mins walk.... I had to run most of the way there, and when I got to the gate, it said CLOSED!

I thought they had just closed it so I asked the employees if I can get on the flight, and they said no. I thought, no way! Phebe would have done anything to prevent them from closing the gate! But I saw other people walking towards the gate too..... and eventually the employees asked which flight I'm on, and then they told me that it's at the OTHER END! So I ran across the the hall all the way to the other end. Phebe was there talking to the staff (I'm guessing she was trying to tell them to wait) and I was able to board the plane after a bit of exercise! :)

And that, I think kind of concludes the trip..... we got back safe and sound, and went back to work the next day!

***** SPECIAL THANKS TO PHEBE for use of some of her photos *****

above: a pair of love birds on Dubrovnik's City Wall, awwww...

... unfortunately I somehow scared them and they flew away!

below right: someone decided to make holes in rocks and hang them on a tree

above left: my mom asked for lace and I saw this in Dubrovnik -

an idea for her to make something with the French lace I bought her!

below left: I like this garbage can that doesn't require you to use your hand to open a door,

they should have more of these around in cities all over the world!

One of the many stores in Le Marais, Paris - What a unique (and long) store name

above left: one of the many breakfasts we had on the trip - this one is in London.

British strawberries are smaller than the ones we get here, but they ARE SOOOOO SWEET! miss them!