Split, Omis and Brac, Croatia

I had travelled to Croatia once before, to the city of Dubrovnik and absolutely loved it.  So,  I thought I'd see where in Croatia we could get a flight to, from Newcastle Airport.  The destination of Split was the only place there were flights to and although the name didn't sound appealing, the photos and the reviews I read were excellent.


Podstrana

We stayed at The Residence right next to the prestigious Le Meridian Lav, just a 15 minutes bus ride out of Split.  For a surcharge you can use the pool and spa facilities of the Meridian and watch the sun set in their infinity pool.  We had a few great meals at their rooftop restaurant and visited nearly every night for their fantastic cocktails.

If your a millionaire with a sunseeker, there is a marina at the Meridien for you to dock and there are some nice bars and restaurants here too.

Split

Split is the second largest city in Croatia and was once the home to Roman Emporor Diocletian who built his palace here in 300AD.  The palace has to be the no.1 sight to see in Split as it is now a UNESCO World Heritage sight.  The area is beautifully lit at night so make sure you visit both night and day.  There are some great restaurants and the street atmosphere is very friendly and relaxed. 

There are many museums and art galleries to keep you entertained including that of Ivan Mestrovic, Croatia's most renowned modern sculptor.  One of his creations, the statue of Grgur Ninski is located just outside the city walls - rubbing the toe of this 10th century towering bishop is said to bring good luck!

Omis

One of the days we decided to take the bus in the opposite direction to Split and ended up in the town of Omis, a town on the mouth of the Cetina River, surrounded by massive gorges.

One of the things you won't miss here are adverts for Rafting on the Cetina River.  We booked ourselves on a trip for the following day and for those who love active holidays this really must not be missed, we had a fantastic time and it was certainly one of the highlights of our trip. 

This really is a beautiful town with lots of history, including a Pirate one!  I'd recommend a trek up the steps of the fortress for the impressive views you will find at the top. 

Island of Brac, Croatia

We took the ferry from the port of Split over to Supertar on Brac in search of the herb fed lamb we were told about by the waiter the night before.  Brac doesn't have much grass so the sheep there feed on sage and rosemary.  We hired a little car from the port on arrival and off we went exploring.  The island is very small so you can easily tour the whole area in a day.

Another interesting fact we learnt about Brac is that it's famous for its white stone.  I was surprised to hear the stone that built The White House was sourced from here and so was the stone for Diocletian palace in Split and the Arc de Triomphe in France.

One of our stops was Zlatni Rat beach, which has to be one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe.  For Kite and Windsurf fans this beach has a perfect landscape, we sat captivated by the kitesurfers for a few hours

Our search the the herb fed lamb took us to the village of Dol.  The road to the village comes to a dead end and there we found a lovely, very rustic old family owned restaurant.  The lamb was fantastic but unfortunately it wasn't just us who had an appetite for lamb... we were attacked by wasps who decided to create a flight path to our table.  We tried everything to divert them from electric fans, giving them their own "scrap plate", to murder but still they came, flying off with chunks twice their size!  So needless to say that kind of spoilt our experience but I suppose highlights how good the lamb was.  To top off our evening a reasonably large snake passed our table and scared my fella to death.

We had a great time on Brac, when we return to Croatia i am definitely going to plan island hopping into the itinerary.

an interesting little boat in Supertar's port

Supertar by night

El Medano, Tenerife

We loved El Medano, Tenerife.  We went the second week of December 2010 and found it a refreshing break from the UK's Christmas rush - there were no Christmas tree's in sight and there was a lovely mild temperature.

I booked a last minute deal from Thomson holidays and stayed at the Arenas Del Mar on an All Inclusive basis.  The hotel had a lovely modern design on the inside, although it did look a bit like a prison from the outside and was just 10 minutes walk from the centre of the town. 

if your feeling active take a walk or run up the mountain you see in these photos - the top of Mount Roja has some excellent views.

if your interested in kite surfing this is a great place to be as it is a well known High Wind Area.  If you have never watched kitesurfing before, grab yourself a mojito and watch it from one of the beach bars - you will be captivated.  I wouldn't recommend learning in El Medano, we had a few lessons but they were very expensive compared to other places we visited.

If your into scuba diving get in touch with El Medano Dive Centre before you go.  We did a reef dive and saw lots of marine life.  It is also possible to see turtles and ray's in Tenerife

My Favourite Road

I travel approximately 30,000 miles per year for work, mainly in the North of England.  The favourite road on my travels has to be the one between Ponteland just to the West of Newcastle Upon Tyne and Jedburgh.  I travel this road approximately 6 times a year and every time I do I am in awe of the beautiful countryside Northumberland and the Scottish Borders has to offer.  In November, the spectrum of shades of the foliage is brilliant - yellows, oranges, reds, browns and greens.  There is a beautiful reservoir and the mist over the lake and trees, adds to the atmosphere of the landscape.  As you drive into Jedburgh you will be greeted with the view of the impressive Jedburgh Abbey, which was founded in 1138. 

If you are travelling between Newcastle and Edinburgh, this route is a much better alternative to the A1 if you fancy a more relaxing drive. 

Road Trip Spain

After returning from a road trip down the West Coast of America, I wondered why I had never tried something like this closer to home.  Then that little light bulb went off in my head – Road Trip Spain!  I had been to many of Spain’s Holiday destinations in the past so thought on this occasion I’d plan destinations I had either not spent much time in or discovered before.

I flew with Jet2 from Newcastle Airport into Malaga and picked another destination to fly back home from, which on this occasion was Murcia.  I considered ending in Portugal but when looking at the cost of hire car found that the prices became astronomical if you were returning the car to another country.

The route I planned was Malaga City – Tarifa – Cadiz - Seville – Cordoba – Granada – Almeria – Vera (as my Dad has a place there) and Cartagena to conclude.  Other destinations I would recommend are Rhonda and Marbella if you have never been before.

Tips when planning a road trip in Spain

1.       Check low cost airlines website to see where you can fly to from your local airport

2.       Check the cost of the hire car, from your pick-up and drop-off locations. 

3.       Give yourself a budget per night, before you start picking hotels.  I budgeted £50 per night,  you will find some come in cheaper and some more expensive, but make sure they balance out.  I managed to get some great 4 Star Hotels too

4.       Check the major hotel search websites Hotels.com, Expedia and Bookings.com and book with them via a Cashback website such as Quidco.  Booking via a Cashback website means extra savings, I found I saved a further 5% on my accommodation costs. 

5.       If you are booking in advance, check to see if the hotels you book are refundable or not.  If they are you can check prices again at a later date and if they are cheaper you can cancel your booking and re-book. 

6.       If possible try to pick hotels with Free Parking, where possible; otherwise budget 11-16 Euros per night in city centres.  You can also try parking on the street but make sure you get the hotel receptionist to translate the parking signs for you if you don’t speak Spanish.

7.       One other point about parking in Spain, the Spanish often bump their cars without concern.  When you walk down the streets in Spain, you can play the game, spot the car without any damage.  On this note, you may want to ensure your insurance covers all damage! 

8.       If you have a smartphone, install the app FourSquare.  We noticed some of the hotels we stayed at gave Free Breakfast if you checked in on the FourSquare App.

Malaga

At our first stop, Malaga, we stayed at the Barcelo right next to the Malaga’s main train station.  The hotel had a beautiful contemporary design and an interesting slide feature in reception that the occasional adult came flying down.  The location of the hotel was ok but if you don’t like walking or catching taxi’s you may prefer to be a little closer to the city.

Most British tourists bypass this city and head straight off to Marbella, but if you have time it is definitely worth a visit, it is after all one of the world’s oldest cities.  We started off walking through the beautiful botanical gardens which were full with an abundance of beautiful, unique plants and trees, we then walked up to The Alcazaba.  The Alcazaba was the palace-fortress of past muslim rulers Spain in the 11^th century.  If you look up the huge hill from the Alcazaba, you can see the impressive Castillo de Gilbralfaro, which overlooks Malaga city, the port and the Bullring, this castle dates back to the 10th century.  At the bottom of the hill, as you leave the Alcazaba, on the right hand side we found the Roman Ampitheatre which dates back to the 1st century BC. 

Opposite the Roman Amphitheatre we found a street of fantastic tapas bars, we ate at the first one on the corner and had a fantastic lunch.  We then walked up this street and off to the left where we found the main shopping area, here, we found some unique shops.  Further into the evening the streets in this area came alive with more great bars and restaurants with  a great  friendly atmosphere.  We found Malaga to be a very popular destination for many of the American tourists that were there.

Tarifa

This has to be one of my favourite destinations on the south coast of Spain.  Tarifa is very much a kite-surfer town, so it goes without saying – be prepared for the wind!  If you want to learn to kitesuft it’s a great destination with many shops offering lessons and equipment at affordable prices.  

Peurto Santa Maria 
We stayed at the Bodega Real at Puerto Santa Maria.  It’s a great location if you’re a Sherry Wine and Brandy lover, as this  area is home to some of the largest Bodega’s including Terry and Osbourne’s.

Make sure you visit the Castle of San Marcos, which was constructed during the 10th Century and looks like the perfect sandcastle.

And if your an ice cream lover, make sure you check out the amazing Italian ice cream shop on calle Luna, called Da Massimo (that deliver’s too!).  Flavours included Nutella, Cheesecake and Ferraro Rocher.... yummy


On our first  evening we took a short dive over to Puerto Sherry

We also found 2 perfect pirate ships at Puerto Sherry

Cadiz

We took the catermaran (public transport) from Puerto Santa Maria where we were staying over to the city of Cadiz.  Torre Taviras, Camera Obscura

You could take a bus tour of Cadiz, but to be honest I don’t really see the point as the busses would never be able to go down the most interesting narrow streets, plus Cadiz is quite a small island anyway.

Jerez

We drove through Jerez on the way to Seville as I had been here before.  If you have time you may want to visit the Jerez School of Equestrian Art where you will find the beautiful white dancing horses

Seville

This is my favorite city in Spain.  We stayed at the Marriott AC Hotel, a modern hotel about 15 minutes walk from the city wall.  There were plenty of buses which stopped just at the back of the hotel, which take you straight into the city.  


Most of the city centre is pedestrianised and the thing we noticed first was how active the city was, with people running, using the city hire bikes, women roller blading with push chairs and rowing down the river.  It was great to see a city that coped so well without the car.


The buildings in Seville are simply breathtaking and the old buildings are very well  preserved.  The Cathedral and the Plaza de Espana in Maria Luisa Park, must not be missed!

Cordoba

By the time we arrived in Cordoba, we were a bit tired if old buildings.   Again there is a strong Roman and Islamic history in this city


The Roman Bridge

At night you may want to try out the ultra contemporary SOJO Ribera Lounge Bar on

Flamenco

We stayed at the El Triunfo Hostal, this was a great location, right next to the Roman Bridge, however I wouldn’t recommend it as I wasn’t impressed with the rooms, my first words the following morning we're "get me out of here".

Granada

You can't visit Granada without a trip to The Alhambra, in October it wasn't too busy but I heard the queues were bad so booked our tickets online through the Alhambra website. I booked a half day tour which took us through the most important parts of the Alhambra and also gave us a tour of the city.  It ended with entry into the Monastery of Saint Jerome in the city, I would definitely recommend you see the Altarpiece in the Church of St Jerome -  stunning!

Cabo de Gata, Almeria

We stayed at the Barcelo Cabo de Gata a newly built, modern hotel ocated right on the beach.  

Carboneras

The road between Carbonera and Mojácar is very scenic, it winds perilously through the hills some way inland, and offers only occasional access to some tempting beaches.

Mojacar - Vera Playa

We stayed at my Dad's house in Vera Playa which is close to Garrucha and Mojacar. Vera Playa boasts the world's best naturist beach, so that is an area to either embrace or avoid dependent upon your outlook.  There are some great bikini beaches at Mojacar Playa and there are plenty of beach bars and restaurants there too.  

Cartagena
Before I chose this destination on our road trip, I did some research on this city online.    I read that the city have undergone some regeneration, but I think it still has a way to go before it can compare to some of the others we visited.  However, on our day of exploring this city it was wet and drizzly.


We stayed at the Sercotel Hotel Carlos III which was a great affordable contemporary style hotel, just 15 minutes walk to the main shopping area. At the time of our visit if you check-in using the foursquare app for smartphones you could get free breakfast too :-)


Cartagena has a very strong naval history, along the modern harbour promenade, you will find ships of all sizes and some military ones too.  If you are really interested in naval history and diving, there is a great Naval Museum on the harbour and further along the port you can also find the Peral Submarine, the first practical submarine ever built.