We arrived in Split after an overnight train journey from the Croatian capital, Zagreb. I'll never forget my first view of the Adriatic. I woke up to find sunlight starting to come throught the chink in the curtains in the compartment and pulled them back to see the white crags for which the Dalmatian coast is noted. At this early hour, old ladies, dressed from head to toe in black, were herding goats or carrying water. They didn't even seem to notice the train rush by.

When we got off the train, we were immediately approached by locals with rooms to rent. Some even had big folders showing photographs of the property and leaflets about local attractions close to the rooms. One guy told us he had rooms 5 minutes from the beach so we went with him to see the house. It was close to the station and very near the market and old town. The room was on the first floor of a house he owned and in which his mother lived on the ground floor. The room was basic but clean and comfortable and shared a bathroom with a neighbouring room. There was also a terrace outside with a table and chairs and, thankfully, a washing line (so vital on back-packing holidays when you have to do your own handwashing!)

Many older people, mostly Croatians, prefer to sunbathe and dive off the concrete piers rather than lie on the beach and it looks like a kind of "Muscle beach" for pensioners!
The main beach in town has a good beach side bar - you can either sit outside the bar or take bottles onto the beach - so long as you return them. Amazingly, you can leave your things unattended on the beach while you go to buy drinks or go off for lunch without them being disturbed (but of course, don't leave anything really valuable lying around). One side of this beach has a number of bars and cafes and a really good restuarant which does great octopus salad.

Underneath the Palace is a very good craft market where you can buy all kinds of locally made goods to take home - the jewellery is especially pretty.

For breakfast or a snack try a burek - a big traingle of flaky pastry stuffed with either meat or soft curd cheese. They're very naughty but highly delicious. Ice cream shops abound selling every flavour under the sun (and more besides), my favourite was blueberry.

Split reminds me alot of an Italian resort and this is probably inevitable given that Italy lies just across the Adriatic. The beautiful people hang out in bars next to the port and sip Campari, wearing their Chanel sunglasses and designer gear. As well as the big ferries, there are also luxury cruisers and yachts moored in Split so the whole place feels very like Rimini or Cannes.