We dropped our car off in Mostar and hopped on an Autopoduzeće Imotskibus bus for the 5-hour ride to Split. (Most car rental agencies won’t allow you to pick up a car in Bosnia or Croatia and drop it off in the other.) The ride went by surprisingly quick, especially on the gorgeous seaside stretch from Makarska. On arrival in Split, we strolled from the bus stop to our Airbnb, walking the Riva Promenade along the way. After recharging with a banana split from BananaSplit in Split, we set off to see what the city had to offer.

Split

We oriented ourselves with panoramic views of the city from the Matejuška jetty, finally feeling a sea breeze after those inland hot days in Mostar. The old town beckoned, so we obliged. The old town is dominated by the ruined Diocletian's Palace, anchored by the Peristyle, the palace’s main square. After hanging out for a bit to people watch, we climbed the tower of nearby St. Domnius Cathedral for its dramatic views.

Our second day started with a climb up Marjan Hill for views of the city, sea, and mountains. We walked down the west side of the hill down to Kašjuni Beach where we rented beach chairs, grabbed an easy lunch from Joe’s Beach Lounge & Bar (which, yes, we ate from our beach chairs), and took dips in the Adriatic between naps.

We continued the standard of great food in Split with dinners at Pizzeria Portas (bacon and onion pizza), Bokeria (truffle cheeseburger, ravioli, lavender cheesecake, chocolate éclair), and Villa Spiza (pork and truffle pasta, tomato mozzarella pasta). Villa Spize, a cozy family-owned hole in the wall, was especially noteworthy for its atmosphere and the fresh small menu of high-quality dishes.

Trogir

We spent most of our third day outside of Split. Many bus companies make the 30-minute trip to and from the town of Trogir, whose attractive old town is set on a small rectangular mile. You can walk from one end of the other—long ways—in about 5 minutes and it only takes an hour or two to walk along every street. Take breaks with nice views from Kula Kamerlengo and the tower of St. Lawrence Cathedral (check out City Hall’s cute clock tower across the square) and lunch at Konoba Trs (chicken with baked gnocchi, truffle, and prosciutto pasta).

Hvar

Split is Croatia’s gateway to the country’s many islands, offering ferries of all shapes and sizes to the rocky chunks of land that dot the Adriatic Sea. While we enjoyed our three nights in the city, our end goal was to pick up a ferry to Hvar, one of Croatia’s largest and most populated islands. Friends of ours that had visited Hvar had only good things to say about it, so we went in with fairly high expectations. Within seconds of stepping off the ferry and taking in the view of the bobbing sailboats and yachts in the shimmering sea along the neat cobblestoned promenade up toward the imposing fortress perched on the hill above, we were in love! It is damn near impossible not to immediately fall in love with a place like this. Our Airbnb was a mere minute’s walk to the square and harbor, but tucked just enough away for peace and quiet in the evenings.

The square (Trg Svetog Stjepana) and harbor are the beating heart of Hvar Town, the largest town on the island. Snaking alleys of cobblestoned lanes lined with colorful potted flowers and packed with charming views run off of the main square. Following the coast on the east side of the harbor quickly brings you to the Franciscan Monastery which overlooks a small beach; we ended most of our days in Hvar either with a stroll or a swim here. And it doesn’t take long for that fortress above the town to beckon you up. We walked up a couple of hours before sunset to take in the views drenched in golden sunlight (it also helps that the temperature is a bit cooler!).

We rented a little 20 horsepower boat (Arta Vela) from Mario Rent for a whole day. After a quick tutorial on how to pilot the craft and use the anchor, we were off! Britt was the captain of the ship and Rico was responsible for navigation and working the anchor. The primary destination for anyone renting a boat out of Hvar Town are the Paklinski Islands. We anchored in a few different spots in the area, but our favorite was probably in the cove at 43.158323, 16.398324. Freely jumping off the boat into the open sea and swimming in the warm, vivid turquoise waters is one of our most cherished memories from the summer. Near the end of the day we anchored in the cove at 43.158914, 16.422264 and quickly realized we were in naturist territory. So we said “oh, what the hell?” and followed suit! What a way to wrap up an incredible day on the water.

Continuing on the theme of water and swimming, we spent our last full day at Robinson, a beach-restaurant area a 45-minute walk from Hvar Town. The walk is flat and straightforward: just follow the coast toward the southeast and enjoy the views! After a delicious, fresh lunch under the olive trees from the restaurant (pasticada and shrimp scampi), we claimed some chairs on the beach and shifted into relaxation mode. A constant light, refreshing breeze kept us cool in the hot sun, as did frequent dips in the sea.

We had a handful of great meals in Hvar Town. Lunch (breakfast burritos) and dinner (pulled pork burrito, chicken burrito) was had at Fig Cafe and on one occasion we met one of the co-owners, who recommended an alteration to the pulled pork burrito that kicked up the spice—and the deliciousness! We indulged in other noteworthy dinners at Dalmatino (chicken schnitzel and gnocchi with veggies) and Mizarola (steak in truffle sauce and grilled chicken). Last but not least, we grabbed goodies from Nonica (brownies, cheesecakes, cookies) almost every night!

We enjoyed our time in Hvar Town (memorializing it with a ceramic house souvenir from Galerija Sosa), but our visit to the island of Hvar wouldn’t have been complete without the trips we took outside of the town.

Stari Grad

You could spend your whole time on Hvar in Hvar Town, but the island is one of Croatia’s largest and boasts sights of all kinds worth exploring. For our first venture out of Hvar Town we took advantage of the busses (operated by Čazmatrans) that crisscross the island to get to Stari Grad (literally “Old Town”, as historians believe it’s Croatia’s oldest town). The old town is laced with picturesque cobblestoned lanes and dotted with some interesting sights (the pool and gardens at Tvrdalj Castle—which is more of a villa than a castle—and The Church of St. Peter and Dominican Monastery). We were excited to see that Fig Cafe—a restaurant we first discovered in Hvar Town—had a location in Stari Grad as well and sat down for lunch (burrito, yogurt, granola, fruit).

For our second venture out of Hvar Town we rented a car from one of the handful of local rental companies around the bus station. Our first order of business was to drive the old road between Hvar and Stari Grad (the local road via Brusje instead of highway 116) to take in the dramatic views from the island’s rugged western end. After joining up with the 116 closer to Stari Grad, we continued eastward to the small towns of Vrboska and Jelsa.

Vrboska

Vrboska was quite small and sleepy; the only sight of note here was the views from the Fortress Church of St. Mary.

Jelsa

Jelsa had a bit more going on. The harbor was buzzing with activity and the old town is chock full of cute streets (and a little church in a square!). Funny enough, Jelsa has its own Fortress Church of St. Mary which offers similar great views. We grabbed an outdoor seat by the harbor at Artichoke for lunch (pasticada and truffle and prosciutto pasta) and grabbed ice cream for dessert from nearby Slasticarna Jelsa.

Dubovica Beach

Back on the road, our original plan was to stop at picturesque Lucisca Beach, but the journey there was quite sketchy. The dodgy one-way tunnel through a mountain (Tunel Pitve) probably should have tipped us off, but that wasn’t so bad. At one point while driving westward along the island’s southern edge from Zavala, the road, without warning, turned into very rough loose dirt and gravel and tightened to a single track with no room to pull over for oncoming traffic (not that there was much of it) or turn around. Worse yet, we were high up on a cliff and there were no barriers on the cliff edge-side of the road. We are pretty comfortable driving in tough conditions, on tight roads, and perched up on cliffs, but suffice it to say this driving situation was the tensest one we’d ever been in. After what seemed like forever, we approached the stopping point for Lucisca Beach, but desperate to get off this damn road, we just drove right past it until we met back up with the 116. We settled for a rest at Dubovica Beach instead, which was more than sufficient as a substitute! (We would like to note that this was in July 2017 and at the time it looked like there was some work about to start to pave, or at least smooth, and widen this road. So hopefully others don’t have to experience the same tense drive in the future!)

Once we rested up at the beach, enjoyed some lemonade and watermelon from the cafe, and regained the color in our faces, we drove to Restoran Santa Marija, a guesthouse and restaurant situated on a farm in Dol which was recommended to us by some friends. We had a tasty, relaxing meal (cevapi, chicken, mixed salad) and then walked through the farm and made friends with some donkeys, ponies, goats, and chickens. On the drive back to Hvar Town we realized our sketchy drive did something to our rental car—we think some loose rocks were kicked up into the undercarriage. Unfortunately we couldn’t sort it out ourselves and had to pay for our mistake upon dropping the car off. Lesson learned!

Dodgy drive aside, our time on the island of Hvar was truly special and the perfect way to end our two-week trip to Bosnia and Croatia. There are some places we’ve traveled to that tug on our heart strings and make our souls ache when we look at pictures or recount stories. Hvar has firmly established itself as the latest addition to this group of special places. There is no doubt in our minds that we will someday be back. And next time we’ll rent a four-wheel drive!