the world of adventures: Boat-tripping in Split Croatia

Starting off with a picture of my bruised and not-so-sausagy legs.

Spent the most amazing week in Split, Croatia during the summer. Could have stayed there for longer if it wasn't because I had some place else to be. It's freaking paradise, like every other city bordering the Adriatic Sea. The sun, sea and salt; perfect formula for an adventure. Of course, the fact that I was there for Ultra Europe only made it better.

One of the best things in Split is the boat tour I took, highlighting the Blue Cave and party town, Hvar Island. Speaking to many Ultra-ravers, quite a handful pre-partied in Hvar a few days before heading to Split for the real action. So merely 'happening' is an understatement of the atmosphere in Hvar (and Split) at that point. But, back to the boat trip.

So the boat trip includes hours of sun, endless snorkeling dives and a lifetime of memories. It starts off first from Split in the morning and arrive back at the same spot in the evening. It should take around 9-10 hours, enough Vitamin D to last the year. Just remember the sunblock if you don't want to peel the rest of the trip. An underwater camera would help too (Definitely recommend my Sony AS100V or its later versions).

Our first stop on the boat trip was a old war bunk for the war ships. Can't remember precisely if it was used for the WWI or the WWII. It's nothing but a big creepy hole today. The captain suggested that we can dive in if we want to but it was kinda spooky and there was a piece of watermelon rind floating around, which I'm sure it's thanks to environmentally ignorant tourists. Don't get me started. Anyway, instead of diving inside, the captain took us out to the entrance where we were more comfortable diving. Got my first taste of the Adriatic outside the old bunker. So salty, yet so refreshing.

The second stop was the Green Cave. The 'green' comes from the reflection of the light off the water's surface, resulting in a green hue. No polluted green (or shallow- dangerous for diving) water, if that's what you're leading to. The captain will stop there for an hour or so for some snorkelling. You'll have to watch out for the jagged rock edges because the waves can get quite rough and swimming too close to the walls could get your hurt.

Legend says that if you dive under the bright spot reflected via the hole on the cave's roof, you'll get to live a hundred years. Legend or not, snorkeling in the was such an experience. Rough waves aside, the underwater looks so peaceful. It can get quite frightening in the beginning because it's a little dark but you'll soon find yourself distracted with the beauty.

The tour was also supposed to include the Blue Cave. You guessed it, the cave glows blue (again, due to light reflection). The Blue Cave in Croatia is the second one, besides the Blue Cave in Capri Italy. I was so sure that the dive would be the highlight of my trip. Unfortunately, the entrance of the Blue Cave is quite erratic. High waves meant that the cave entrance (although enlarged from its previous size), will be underwater. Diving underwater through the entrance if not advised because the waves are super rough. A friend's friend during another tour actually got hurt trying to attempt the dive. But just to give you a hint as to why I really wanted to dive into the Blue cave...

Photo credits: tandtoerisme.com

Picture credits: thebigsail.com

I'll just hide and cry my disappointment away, again.

There was also a stop at the Stiniva Cove, where there's a beach for tanners and a hill for adventurers. I basically swam from the boat to the beach with my slippers as flippers (Ha!), just so I could at least have some form of feet protection climbing up the hill. Being a sucker for amazing views, a dusty bum and risking the possibility of a life-ending tumble was worth it. It's not that bad really, just have to be a little more careful because the hill is pretty much made of sharp rocks and thorn bushes.

Since the Stiniva Cove is within the vicinity of the Vis town, the tour made a pitstop there for coffee (and crepes for me). Town seems like a perfect place to start dreaming of what your future yacht would look like, because there's more than plenty for you to snoop on in the town's docks.

After a couple more snorkeling stops here, there and along the way (such as the Budikovac Island lagoon above), the tour made it to lunch. It's a small island called Palmizana Bay, with a few restaurants and a beach. There wasn't loads of choices but what was there wasn't bad, just a little off my budget.

Of course the tour had to also stop at Hvar Island, but I'll leave that for another day. Here's one picture.

Captain (and skipper) was too cool. They gave every single passenger the opportunity to steer the boat on the way back to Split and gave us a fantastic speed ride. Over-the-moon thankful that I had such a great captain, because his steering is seriously on point. Fast (and probably reckless to some) as it may be, I'm too resilient to die. So bring it on.