Trogir is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known by some as the Little Venice of Dalmatia or The Stone Beauty.  The islet of Trogir, just 500m long and 250m wide, lies in a narrow sea passage between the mainland and Čiovo.

SEXIST Warning:  Do not read without compassion or sense of humour!

Having had an interesting week of weather, waking up to a promising forecast of sunshine, we decided Friday 16th April was our day to explore Trogir. Leaving the campsite, we aimed for Split knowing that route very well after several excursions.  Our landmarks to pass are the supermarkets Lidl and Kunzum, JYSK (our favourite bits and pieces store (think mini Range), the two shopping centres – Mall of Split – over four floors if you include Ikea in the basement and the other, our preferred, Salona Mall which houses Decathlon, small boutiques and a branch of JYSK. You wouldn’t believe how many Lidls there are en route. Getting to the other side of Split we followed further landmarks of INA where we fill up our gas and Pevex, where we go for things we don’t really need, following the signs towards Trogir.  The views, like everywhere else we’ve been so far, continue to be astounding, what with mountain ranges to our right and the coast line full of twists, turns and marinas to our left each blink of an eye captured a perfect picture postcard snap.  Even the dual carriageway was spotless; there were road sweepers on it!  I wonder where they did their training – Bands Hatch?

Trogir is accessed from a short bridge from the mainland and without any problem at all we were able to park as close as we could be right by the Bus Station. Exiting the Poacher, we did another check of everything we needed for our exploration and meticulously synchronised the clocks on our cameras and phones for ease of sorting out images in chronological order on our return, for me to write this up.  You see, we’re getting the hang of taking pictures we might need before we write the posts, rather than scrabbling desperately post event.

Making our way to the bridge along the footpath we admired how clear the water was, saw some fish, took pictures; our timing, as always, was perfect as the morning market was still open.  It was spaced along several walkways with kiosks selling more practical items than tourist tit tat. The clothing stalls had the regular items you see everywhere but different ones too. Unlike Spain, whether the markets are busy in usual times or currently empty, the stall holders didn’t pounce but left us alone to meander through in peace.  We were both impressed by the food section comprising butchers, cheese, fresh produce and speciality food items, like honey and bakery.  To us, it seemed based more for locals than the market we saw in Split, but we hear the Split market on Saturdays is the best day to go. On our visit, it was devoid of customers, the permanent concrete rows of stations for sellers were barely 10% taken and we didn’t take any pictures of people’s businesses suffering through Covid.  We saw with our saddened eyes and that was enough.

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We crossed the bridge into Trogir and were taken into magical streets, some so narrow you couldn’t cycle through, most of the buildings having survived many centuries with structural repairs standing out in modern compounds.  As with most places we visit, the streets were empty. 

We stopped for lunch along the ferry front where not one sea vessels moved and were given blankets to keep us warm whilst we sat outside, as per restrictions.  Steve had a fresh sea food lasagne and I had fresh calamari with chips; both delicious but his was better.

After lunch we walked towards Kamerlengo Castle so we could zig zag back through the island working out that it was mostly residential to the west with shops, bars and restaurants to the eastern side.  We managed to walk around every landmark on the map above, plus the few shops which were open. As you can see from the photos the Parade Ground at the Castle has been turned into a football field.

After yet another wonderful trip full of food, enjoyment, touring and exploring, returning to Stobec we stopped off at The Solar Bar which is set on a cliff with a sheer drop to the sea, which we hadn’t visited before. We braved the winds outside for beer and red wine and appreciated yet more spectacular views. Then it was home to tend to the herb garden.

Official website: https://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/croatia-destinations/north-dalmatia/trogir/

Writer’s Note: Did you spot the 6 Euro Lions Charity Shop Bargain?