After hearing so much about Croatia, its crystal clear beaches and its ancient roman cities, my friends and I decided we should spend our vacation over there this year. We had booked an apartment for four people in the middle Dalmatian region, in a small village called Mimice (aprox. 30km south of the famous town Split). Self catering villas and apartments are very popular accommodation types in Croatia, they are cheap and they are the best solution when traveling with big family or friends. Our apartment turned out to be an excellent choice: it was clean, with fully equipped kitchen, with an amazing sea view terrace and with very helpful owners.
       We got off the highway at Split; from there we made our way down south on a coastal road. That was the moment we realized we are going to be frequent visitors of this region: we just couldn’t get enough of the scenery: on the right side of the road the abrupt limestone hillside covered with the typical Mediterranean vegetation, while on our left side a series of small, turquoise blue water bays. After settling in at our apartment we went down at our beach. It was a small, rather quite family friendly beach and I personally liked that it was pebbly, (as most of the beaches in Croatia). A pair of beach sandals is a must though. The water is very, very salty in this region…good news for those who cannot swim!
       After sunset we moved to the terrace of the local pub (sea view of course) and enjoyed our Croatian dinner and draft beers. Naturally, this quickly became an everyday routine for us. (Fish main dish – aprox. 40kn, 1 draft beer 15kn, note that fancier restaurants have higher prices) During our stay we visited two towns in the area. The closest one to our village was Omis, situated at the mouth of the river Cetina, surrounded by huge mountain cliffs. Being a smaller town, the tourist traffic was smaller as well, which we didn’t really mind. Given its beautiful location (end of the canyon of River Cetina) we had plenty of outdoor activities to choose from (besides going to the beach of course): rafting, kayaking, cycling, hiking. We chose to rent a bike (aprox 70kn for the whole day) and planned on riding our bikes alongside the river. After couple of miles the road goes uphill, moving away from the river and it is a pretty good climb; don’t recommend it to starters, the view from the top of the ridge is spectacular though.
       The other town we visited was Split, the second largest city in Croatia, a busy seaport, economic, administrative and educational center of Middle Dalmatia and definitely a huge tourist attraction as well. Dating back to ancient Roman times (3rd century AD), Split was founded by the Roman Emperor Diocletian who built his palace here, which is in a very well preserved shape. We only spent an afternoon in this city, but I quickly realize that Split is the kind of city in which you just have to let yourself get lost while wandering through the narrow streets of the inner city.
       I think I can say on behalf of my friends as well that we definitely had a great time on our Croatian holiday. It is great country of an overwhelming Mediterranean relaxed feeling, with beautiful beaches, good weather and with extremely friendly people. We have already decided we are spending our next vacation in Croatia as well and I can only recommend that to everybody.