Mention the name “Bosnia-Herzegovina” to many older adults and their first instinct is to react with horror and remember the gruesome images that flooded their TVs during the 90s from the Balkan War. I’ve seen the images myself and heard the stories and grew up under the impression the country still wasn’t safe. Well, it’s been 20+ years, and times have changed. The country is still just starting to blossom into an up & coming travel destination still very much off the travel mainstream but loaded with treasures waiting to be explored and I wanted to go!

Set on a peninsula jutting into the Adriatic Sea, Split is the home to one of the largest and best preserved Roman palaces in the world. In 295 AD the Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered an enormous palace to be built here, where one day he intended to retire. Diocletian was an unlikely Emperor as he was born into a family with a low status. He worked his way up through the military ranks and eventually became a cavalry commander under Emperor Carus.

Zadar is one of Croatia’s many small town peninsulas that date back to the Roman era which hugs the coast of Dalmatia along the Adriatic Sea. Surprisingly, this little peninsula (and the surrounding modern town) is Croatia’s 5th largest town with a rich history and many historic buildings.