Solin/Salona

Trip Start Aug 06, 2010

Trip End Aug 29, 2010

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Flag of Croatia Solin, Splitsko-Dalmatinska, Croatia
Monday, August 16, 2010

Another day trip today. I headed to the tourist information office to check out how to get there, as I wasn't quite sure whether to believe the LP guide or not. I'm quite glad as did, as if wasn't for the advice from them I probably would have got a bit lost! For some advice on combining this trip with a trip to Trogir see further down this post. I got on the number 1 local bus and after winding our way round the suburbs eventually came to the right stop for the Roman ruins of Solin or Salona as it was known in Roman times. The Emperor Diocletian aparently built his palace at Split because of its proximity to Salona which was the headquarters of the Roman empire in this neck of the woods. There were plenty of ruins to see, and some very good info boards with text in English and a couple of other languages. What suprised me was the mix of Christian as well as purely Roman remains, including a Christian burial ground and cathedral. There were some great mosaics, but the highlight for me was the remains of an amphitheatre - wandering about it I could imagine people sitting there roaring at the gladiators fighting below. There were only about half and dozen other visitors, and I was suprised there weren't more. Maybe people didn't fancy negotiating the local public transport.

So to get there get the number 1 Split city bus. The LP guides note of the cafe and yellow bus stop is there but it's
on the opposite side and you don't really see it until you're right on
it. I'm pretty sure there was a supermarket at the bus stop for it, so look out for that. This brings you to the main entrance. Go round the site and finish at the ampitheatre. Pick your way past some houses to get to the main road which is a dual carriageway. If you're going back to Split use the underpass to cross to the other side and get the 37 back to Split or stay on this side and get the 37 on to Trogir. I recommend getting the number 1 local bus to Solin and the 37 back/onwards for two reasons. The number 1 brings you to the front of the site whilst the 37 brings you to the back, so coming in one way and out the other makes more sense than doubling back on yourself. Secondly, you can't actually see the ruins from the dual carriageway, so I think if you get the 37 there it will be extremely difficult to work out where you want to get off unless the driver tells you and not obvious that you need to pick your way through some bushes/houses to get there.

On to Trogir...

Mali Losinj hotels

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