Day 35: Trogir to Split

July 09, 2026

Day 35: Trogir to Split

Two nights ago, I didn’t sleep well. My mind was active due to the caffeine I had during the day. I guess two cups of coffee and two Cokes really messed me up. I made some ramen noodles around midnight and ate that before finally falling to sleep at 1 AM.

The next morning, I was up at 4:45. I decided to ride the 17 miles from Trogir to Split rather than taking the ferry. I started at 5:30 and the ride was very enjoyable without many cars on the road. As I got close to the city of Split there were some hills, but nothing major that I couldn’t handle.

I arrived at Hostel Elli at 7 AM. I was too early and waited outside the building for a while before getting a cappuccino at a coffee shop nearby.

When I came back to the hostel, I met two young touring cyclists who were preparing to leave. Their names are Finn and Fin. I think they are both from New Zealand. They were heading for the bus station to take the Flixbus to Dubrovnik. I wondered if the bus would take bicycles. As it turned out, it all depended on the driver. Finn later messaged me on Instagram that they had to change route because the Dubrovnik driver didn’t allow bicycles so they took a different bus to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After getting inside the hostel, I stored my panniers in the kitchen then rode my bike to the bus station to inquire about the bicycle situation. I didn’t see any bike racks on the buses so I guess it really did depend on the driver. I didn’t like the idea of storing my bike in the storage compartment since something can break when the bike is leaned on its side. I decided I would stick to the original idea of taking the ferry to Dubrovnik, which is more expensive than the bus.

It was still early in the day. I walked around the old town in Split, saw the Diocletian's Palace, and took photos of the Saint Domnius Cathedral. I ate a really good Cevapi sandwich at Kantun Paulina. The sandwich is a pita bread stuffed with sausages, with some kind of a red sauce called ajvar, and onions. So good!

After this much needed meal, I spent a long time hiking up stairs to the top of Forest Park Marjan, where I was rewarded with great views of the sea and the mountains.

I saw everything I wanted to see in Split so I didn’t want to stay an extra night like in my original booking. If I could buy a ferry ticket then I will leave for Dubrovnik today. Unfortunately, all the ferry tickets were sold out for the Krilo line and there’s only the TP line that has a ferry leaving at 3:10 PM. I will buy that ticket this afternoon and hopefully I can take my bike on it. I’ll arrive in Dubrovnik around 8:20 PM.

In the afternoon, I came back to the hostel, checked in, took a shower, did laundry, and planned for my stays for the next few days. After eating some Chinese food at a nearby restaurant I went to bed soon after and slept for almost 11 hours.

Today, I’ll try to take the 3:10 PM ferry and I have plenty of time to do more exploration in Split. Not sure where I want to go, but I have to check out by 10 AM.