We flew from Zagreb to Dubrovnik but took the bus to Split, since it was only 3 hours.  We soon discovered that was 3 hours, if you went in a car….by bus, it was a 5 hour ride as it stopped in about every small town along the way.

The ride was beautiful.  The road hugged the coastline the whole trip and as we got closer to Split, the rugged mountains appeared.  The bus was not very comfortable.  It was a very warm day….in the high 60s, the air conditioning on the bus was minimal and the seats were very uncomfortable.  In hindsight, I am not certain the best way to get to Split.  There is a ferry, which I didn’t look into so that might be a possibility.  Renting a car might be another option to explore. Or, possibly flying….I just checked that and the ticket would cost $140 and we would have had to fly back to Zagreb, changed planes and then fly to Split….so, not really an option.  Anyway…..we got there and upon arrival we were glad to be there!  It was a long, hot ride!

The ride was long but the scenery was spectacular  –

I read somewhere that Croatia has 1,100 islands off the coast.  Here is a sample of a few of them. 

I have no idea the name of this town.  I just found the wall going up the mountainside incredible.  The buoys in the water are for a fish farm.

Here they are working the fish farm…maybe harvesting the crop?

Just before we reached the city of Ploce, we passed through the “Neretva River Delta” which was a very fertile area and much of Croatia’s fruits and vegetables are grown here.  There were citrus groves and vegetable gardens framed by the rugged mountains.  

We were fairly close to Split when we saw these mountains….on the other side of them is Split.

We usually rent apartments wherever we go and I had found an adorable one in Split online.  Josip was our “host” and met us at the bus station, which was so close to the apartment, we were able to walk to it.  On our way there, we were commenting about the bus ride and how we were excited to take the train back to Split.  Josip looked at us and said that the train would be much worse than the bus!  I thought he was joking but he wasn’t!  I asked how the locals get to Zagreb from Split and he said that they either drove or flew.  He explained that the mass transit system in Croatia has been neglected and that if we took the train, it would take 8 hours.  I checked with a couple of other locals in Split and they confirmed what Josip said, so I got on the computer and booked two flights to Zagreb…$55 and one hour of flying…well worth it!

The apartment was adorable!!! It was a studio with a loft for the bedroom.  It was on a major street but was very quiet.  We so enjoyed staying there.  Of all the apartments we have rented over the years, this is in the “Top 5”!!!

Looking down into the living room/dining area/kitchen

The kitchen and dining area.  

The stairway to the loft, without lights…..

And….with lights…..the lights reminded me of the inside of an airplane!

The bedroom loft

This is the shower that was under the staircase going to the loft.  As you can see, the space in the apartment was very well utilized.  

By the time we got checked into the apartment and settled, it was around 5:00 PM.  We were anxious to explore Split and headed towards the “Old Town” area which was about a 10 minute walk from our apartment.  My next posting will be the sights of Split…stay tuned!