On the road again -- Opatija to Split

We left Opatija fairly early for our long drive, anticipating Romanian-like conditions. But there were no construction delays, no stop-and-go traffic… it was smooth sailing all the way. The beautiful mountains and rolling hills scenery didn’t prevent the nearly 5-hour highway drive from being completely boring. Undoubtedly the coastal road would have been more interesting, but it probably would have also doubled our time.  

I have heard mixed reviews on the city of Split. My guidebook calls it “spectacular and unusual” and I have heard good things from other travelers as well. But recent reviews on Tripadvisor.com talk of garbage and bad conditions … so I guess I will just have to judge for myself in a visit. The first impression of Split, viewed from the road, is not a pretty one. We could see rows of concrete buildings and not much else. These must be the post WWII apartment complexes mentioned in my guidebook. Not so nice.

Saving Split for tomorrow, we drove past it on to our hotel. We are staying just down the coast of Split, in an area called Krilo. The drive along the coast was very pretty, the water clear and blue. It was really built up with hotels and apartments, and cluttered with signage. Lots of people. too. This is an extremely popular vacation spot, and we are here at the peak of the season. I should know better (I DO know better), but it’s just how it worked out with the schedule.

3-star Hotel Krilo, booked late and with a certain amount of desperation, is not as bad as I thought it would be. It’s right on the water and our room has a balcony. It’s also very clean, which in my book is absolutely the most important thing. But nothing is perfect… our room is small and dark (the balcony door is heavily shuttered against the sun, and there are no windows). The rate was $165/night… it’s really too high for this place, but reasonable compared to the overpriced options in Split (and all of those were full anyway).

We spent very little time in the room before we were back in the car, out for more exploration and dinner. We drove to yet another medieval town/island called Trojir. It was crowded and congested, but we somehow found free parking on the neighboring island (which is attached to Trojir by another bridge). We roamed around and admired the cuteness of the town (stone homes, cobblestones, flower boxes…the works) and then settled on a pizza place for dinner. I know, pizza again. It’s become a bad habit for us. It’s sooooo good here though, and this one was particularly delicious.

After more walking around and admiring the architecture and people’s ice creams (but not partaking this time), we drove back to the hotel. The other guests were out enjoying the hotel terrace with wine and beers (and of course, packs of cigarettes, which kept us away). The dusky pink light in the harbor was so pretty, it even made the rusting boats docked there look quaint and romantic. Still not worth $165, but not such a bad place at all.