As usual, we were pretty late in planning our summer vacation this year. We still managed to find some pretty decently priced flights to and from Croatia, but the catch was that we would be flying to Split and returning via Dubrovnik. I don't really know the coast all that well, having mostly spent time in northern Croatia, but luckily I had some well-connected help doing most of the planning.
Split
We flew to Split direct from Helsinki, and the balmy air greeted us at about ten in the evening after a slight delay before departure and the almost three hour flight. Our local hosts said they didn't remember the last time it rained over there, which of course could only mean there was an angry thunderstorm inbound the next morning. It cleared out soon enough, and for the rest of our stay in Split the weather stayed hot and humid. It seems stupid complaining about the weather when you have knowingly chosen to travel south, but I'll say that what seems pleasant during the day can really make nights uncomfortable.
The main tourist attraction in Split is the 1700 year old Diocletian's Palace by the sea, an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's been used as a shooting location for Game of Thrones - a true testament to the palace's photogenic features. Its narrow streets provide a nice setting for some maze wandering, and I enjoyed a couple of hours of walking around with the camera one evening. As with any GoT location in the summer, the streets are packed with tourists such as myself, and any potential business location is sure to be taken over by souvenir peddlers or cafés. This meant that I was left trying to frame my shots avoiding the crowds and advertisements, which most of the time didn't lead to great results.
Of course there's a lot more to Split than the palace, but somehow I found most of it just out of reach in our few days there. I think back to the TBF concert we attended the last time we were there, and this time around I couldn't quite reach the chillness. Maybe next time I should try giving it more, instead of holding myself back.
The islands Vis and Biševo
From Split we took a ferry to Vis, which turns out to be the farthest inhabited island off the Croatian mainland, with a population of 3,300. It also hosts a town called Vis, but we stayed on the other side of the small island, in Komiža. My sources tell me it's the destination for hipsters such as ourselves, and I must admit, I really did feel well at ease there. Somehow we managed to score a very nice AirBnB with views to the harbour boulevard (or riva), which would have proved adequate for even more ambitious content creators. There's a couple of nice pebble beaches within walking distance, a number of decent restaurants, a few shops, and not much else. OK, well there is a fortified church and some historical Benedictine tradition, but for us the charm of the town lie in how easy it was to slip into true vacation mode.
Drawing tourists like Cedevita draws bees, the island of Biševo some 30 minutes away from Vis by boat, is home to the famous Modra špilja. The sea cave was dug by waves in the limestone and glows azure due to how sunlight reflects within. If you take the boat operated by the municipality, you get to skip the line of tour organizers, all waiting to take their hordes through the short visit in the cave. I'd say it's worth the visit, even though you are accompanied by 50 others throughout the five minutes you get to stay, which strips away some of the magic.
From the harbor we took a golf cart to the visitor center at top of the hill, which seemed like a genius move at the time. The center was clearly funded by EU or some other financial backer, and featured a nice if concise introduction to the nature and past livelihoods on the island. Afterwards, we wanted to hit the beach, which the helpful staff told us was about 15 minutes walk away, down the sandy, winding road. Three quarters of an hour later, I was exhausted and angry about having been put through such an ordeal in the scorching heat. I was left composing myself in the (admittedly quite idyllic) bar on the Porat beach.
Back on Vis, we spent one day buzzing around the small island on a rental car. Srebrna beach fulfilled all our wishes in regards for swimming, though there were other gorgeous sites nearby in competition. We ate at Aerodrom, which was a solid restaurant near the military airfield used by the Allies during WW2. The town of Vis we didn't visit, other than when coming and going by the ferry. I'd say that getting out of Komiža was worth it for the incredible seaside vistas from the road alone, and I'm sure it would be a blast to rent a scooter or an ATV and spend all day riding around. Driving back to town on the serpentine roads when the sun was setting in the horizon is something I'll remember for a long time. Vis is a destination I would not hesitate to recommend. It's not too crowded and hosts amazing spots for swimming and civilized seaside lounging. Prices are a bit steeper all around (though not alarming when compared to the Finnish price range), but you can still find decent deals in restaurants and even a proper grocery store. Komiža is where it is.
Brela
Brela is one link in the chain of settlements that makes up the Makarska Riviera in continental Croatia. We got back from Vis by ferry to Split, and then headed south for an hour by car to reach Brela, where we had booked our longest continuous stay of the trip. The place has a different vibe than Komiža for sure. Tourism rules here, and pretty much all apartments within walking distance from the sea have been sacrificed to the AirBnB cult. There are a few internationally owned hotels in Brela, and countless others down the coast. Restaurants dapple the riva, masseuses offer their services, trampolines and games to lure kids to give up their coin. Even the most certain indicator of an all-out tourist destination, the glass-bottom boat in the shape of a submarine, can be found. Still - it all seems pretty refined.
I like Brela. I didn't get the slightly embarrassed, low-brow feeling that I get from remembering the rare beach vacations of my childhood. It makes sense that the Makarska is like this. People go there for a reason.
Our apartment was one in a complex of six. We had air conditioning, a small terrace and an even smaller kitchen. It wasn't fancy, but it was clean and good enough, and the owners and staff were super nice. There were, of course, apartments with incredible views just above the beachside "boulevard", but when I go back, I think I'd book a hotel if I was looking for an upgrade. The 20€ difference in daily price would probably be worth it, as you could then hit the pool and other services that are missing in the bed and breakfast scene. Depending on the company you travel with, it might also be worth it trying the trick a friend mentioned: you could go without booking accommodation at all. The whole industry of short-term homestays operates on maximum occupancy during the high season. Due to cancellations, there are always free beds in destinations such as Brela, and if you just waltz on in, you might be able to score some decent deals a few nights at a time.
Our ten days here quickly fell into a routine. Swim in the morning, try to hide from the sun during the hottest hours of the day and swim some more in the evening. Halfway through I came to the conclusion that one swim a day would suffice for me, and I'd sometimes stay and read a book in the refrigerated comfort of our place. I finished Gilgamesh and Dark Matter here, both of which I liked. My camera I didn't even take out the whole time, and it seemed that was just fine. I did make some killer Instagram reels though. There was a half-day trip to the island of Brač we went on, to the town of Povlja, which was quaint but nothing to write home about. It would make a nice spot for spending a while, for sure.
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik I can't quite grasp. In so many ways it's the same deal as I suppose with Venice, Pisa and the like, with hordes of tourists flocking each alleyway like ants in a death spiral. The old town is so compact and so popular that everyone who isn't a tourist is serving them. The architecture is interesting, of course, and there are a lot of worthwhile sights to check out, but it almost feels like visiting a movie set. I'm not just talking about the locations featured in Game of Thrones and the like, but the masses of visitors have a tendency to make everything feel fake. If we suddenly stopped coming, how would it look? I suppose life would find a way and the town would realign in a more wholesome arrangement.
There are things that are lovely to look at, for sure. There was a Michelin-rated restaurant just 100 meters from where we stayed. I know Dubrovnik can make a good impression, like it did on me on my first visit many years ago. Now we stayed within the walls for the first time, and it kind of felt like acting out being on vacation for someone else. The apartment was beautiful, and we even had a tiny balcony jutting out to the cramped, stair-encrusted street, but on the other hand we only had the luxury of staying in it from four until about ten the following day. That makes it 10€/hour all day long. You get into the mindset that now you do the Dubrovnik things, which may or may not be the things you would actually want to be doing. Maybe next time we'll try it in October. That would be interesting.
All in all I really liked our time by the sea, and will definitely be going again. Komiža and Brela were both lovely in their own ways.