A few years ago, I had one of my most interesting experiences - I spent 2 weeks in Split assisting disabled women in a wheelchair. It was a very challenging, experiencing, and interesting trip. We wanted to find a wheelchair-friendly beach, relax and swim in the Adriatic sea for the first time. We wanted to find the beach matching our needs, make the best memories, and don't worry about anything.
Unfortunately, the information on the internet isn't always trustworthy and full, so we needed to visit several beaches before finding the right ones. Interesting, but these three beaches are very different, so you need to know what are you looking for – people and parties, equipment and large parking spot or nature and calm.
Bacvice Beach
The first beach you will hear about after arriving in Split is Bacvice Beach – the most famous beach in the city. It was opened in 1919 and is situated just near the city center. It has a great location and many parking spaces, you can enjoy many different fast food facilities, ice cream shops, and cafes, but at night go party in one of the several nightclubs! For families with children, there is also a mini amusement park on the land and a rubber castle, trampoline, and slides on the water.
The Bacvive Beach is a perfect place for families and young people, for those who like to have fun and party a little bit (or a lot). Bacvice is a very well-equipped beach in Split. It has many important additional facilities such as outdoor showers and changing cabins, but the supervised lifeguards are there to watch out for you and your beloved ones. You can rent there a lounge chair and relax under the umbrella.
As you can imagine, on Bacvice Beach is thought about everything and everyone, also disabled people. It is a popular, active, and well-equipped place. Nevertheless, if you want privacy at the beach, you need to avoid Bacvice. This was also the reason why we stayed there only once. For us, it was too crowded and loud.
Znjan Beach
The Znjan beach is the biggest Split beach, consisting of several smaller beaches. It was completely reconstructed only a few years ago and is surprising with its equipment. There is everything – a huge parking space, children's and sports grounds, trampolines, coffee shops and beach bars, pedals boats, and other facilities. You can find there also the beach for disabled persons and pet owners.
On every Znjan Beach, there are lifeguards, showers and dressing rooms, sunbeds, loungers,s and sun umbrellas. For disabled people, there are special ramps and lift for descending into the sea, but the daily assistance in the form of rescue service was very friendly and always ready to help.
Nevertheless, we didn't like that Znjan Beach was so rocky. This made it difficult for the wheelchair to get into the water, and the walking itself was very unpleasant. If you would like to visit this beach, you need to have some good slippers. I also would like to mention that the only place where to hide from the sun was under sun umbrellas. It felt a little bit like being on the pan all the time.
The Znjan beach is a very well-equipped beach that is easily approachable by car and bus. Sometimes you can also visit some festivals and concerts here and easily find a beach section that meets your wishes and needs.
Bene Beach
The Bene Beach on Marjan Hill is a relaxation paradise and a perfect spot for nature lovers. It is located in the Marjan park pine forest, so it takes a time to get there. Nevertheless, getting there you can combine with a nice walk or jogging or rent a bike or segway.
The Bene beach is quiet, surrounded by nature, and a very wheelchair-friendly place. You are having there a ramp, adapted toilets and showers, special wheelchairs and facilities for bathing.
I loved how well this beach is made and equipped, how beautiful and clean it was, and what a wonderful view of the mountains and floating sailing boats you have! There was always also a lifeguard, who helped us with different tips, and was polite and understanding.
The Bene beach is also a very popular place for families with children. On the other end of the beach, you can find sports courts and a children's playground, restaurants, cafes, and bars. Nevertheless, every section of Bene beach seemed to be somehow separated and no one bothered anyone. Everyone had access to privacy and peace.
Conclusion
It's very important not to exclude people from social life only because they have some physical, mental or social restrictions. We need to give the opportunity to travel, swim and enjoy life for everyone but, unfortunately, not in every country, you can find beaches suitable for wheelchairs and that's very sad!
I am pleased that I had a chance to travel with a person with special needs and see how happy this person is for the first time in her life to swim in the Adriatic sea. That smile and sparkling eyes I will never forget.
BUT THAT’S ALL FROM ME TODAY!
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