Last year I visited Split, Croatia through Bus2Alps, a travel agency that caters trips to study abroad students in Europe. After looking up different flights to Dubrovnik and Split and becoming disappointed at the expensive airline prices for such a short amount of time, booking my travels through Bus2Alps was the best option for me financially. The departing points for the trip were in Florence and Rome– and while the 12+ hour bus ride was not ideal (especially getting dropped off at the sketchiest train station ever in Rome at 2 AM at the end of the trip), the amount of time spent in Split with the added excursions to Brač Island and Krka National park made the trip one I would reccomend to anyone ~~who likes being around other people all of the time~~ studying abroad.

Day 1: Split

Leaving the prior evening at around 7 PM, we arrived in Split the following morning. After checking into our very nice hostel, we were given the day to explore and do our own thing. The beaches are really beautiful (and rocky), but unless you’re a beach person it can get a bit boring, so I’d reccomend staying only the weekend in Split unless you plan on going elsewhere. At night there is an optional pub crawl, where they take you to a few bars (many of them outside) and a club at the end. I don’t remember this pub crawl whatsoever, but all I know is that there were free shots and lots of techno.

Day 2: Brač Island

Brač Island. I was so hungover in this photo.

Admittedly I was too hungover to appreciate the beauty of Brač, but regardless the island was lovely. This day trip was optional, but I definitely did not regret paying the extra 48 euros, because as mentioned, Split for three days can get old and if you don’t do an excursion you’ll probably end up eating and drinking all day. We traveled to the island by boat with both lunch and booze included. The excursion lasted about 6 hours, and it was nice being able to venture outside of Split with a group rather than going solo.

Day 3: Krka National Park

Visiting Krka National Park was the highlight of the trip. Included in the total price, the Bus2Alps group was able to explore the park for a few hours right before our late afternoon departure. Here you will see a beautiful waterfall and turquoise pools to take a dip. Definitely one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited thus far and it is the first place I will tell people to visit when asking about Split.

Unless you’re a rich study abroad kid with an infinite amount of money to spend, do the trip on your own if you can.

I was satisfied with my trip to Croatia and would reccomend the excursion to anyone studying abroad in Italy who cannot find affordable flights to Croatia last minute. I spent a total of 300 fucking euros (but luckily the Croatian Kuna to Euro conversion made up for the extra spending) for three days. While that is SUPER expensive for those who prefer traveling on their own, and I will probably never go on a group tour ever again in my traveling life, Croatia was a country I desperately wanted to visit, and thanks to Bus2Alps I was able to add another stamp of another beautiful country to my passport.