Rafting Experience Cetina - white water rafting in Split — Attraction in Grad Split

The best day of our holiday! Stunning scenery, gentle paddling, adrenaline rushes, and so many different activities throughout the day. We chose to do our rafting experience with Duje and Selma as it's pretty much the same distance that other tours offer in a morning or afternoon, but Duje makes it a whole day trip with a relaxed start, broken up with lots of breaks for activities, so it never got tiring and we experienced so much more. And what amazing experiences! We started with a delicious breakfast at their house that included courgette fritters, fried dough balls and dried figs, then headed off onto the river. Within ten minutes of paddling we were already at the first rapid, so you don't have to wait long for the excitement to begin. Soon after there's also a rope swing too that you can jump into the river from, which was lots of fun. The rapids are exciting and come fairly frequently, and even the harder ones are fine. There's one that's more difficult about halfway and Duje does that by himself, whilst we all either went through a cold water cave or bypassed the cave on an alternative path. I can only swim a very little, but Duje kept me at the back near him to keep an eye on me and it felt so safe I even joined in floating down a stream in the river on my back - a real highlight for me! There was plenty of other fun - cliff jumps, spinning through the rapids, even doing a gentle rapid backwards! You can definitely paddle at a gentle pace, which makes it suitable for all ages, but with great adrenaline rushes too. I have had some back issues in the past and had some concerns beforehand about whether it might be too much of a strain, but Selma reassured me I'd be fine, and I could take whatever breaks necessary and even sit in the boat and not paddle at all if needed. My back was completely fine as there's so many fun breaks (plus a delicious picnic stop for lunch) we were never paddling for more than 10 minutes at a time without a rest of some sort. Plus, it's possible to take breaks all the time even during the paddling stages. Because of the time we started, we mostly had the river to ourselves, so the day felt like a very tranquil and private experience. We finished off back at their house with more snacks and picking peaches from a neighbour's tree. Really amazing experience and...

Fantastic ! We've been to Croatia on several occasions & been on a lot of similar activities . Our day with Duje tops them all ! From the pick up in Split , trip to his family home & onto the river , everything was seamless . Before we went to the river, we had snacks - coffee , juice , croissants , figs etc . A couple of our party were a bit apprehensive but on chatting with Duje we knew we were in safe hands . Born in the area , it became apparent that Duje knows every twist , turn & rock on the Cetina river . The rafting experience was amazing - seeing turtles , swimming , 'cliff jumping ' , going through waterfalls etc it was all very exciting ( but felt very safe ) . Duje was at pains to stress that there was no hurry at any stage ( unlike other activities we've been on ) . We had melon , chocolate & a few beers on our stops along the way. When we finished the rafting we stopped again at Duje's house for more snacks & a taste of his home produced flavoured ' grappa' - the cherry one was superb ( we got 2 bottles to bring home to Ireland but alas they didnt make it , having been enjoyed over the next two nights :) On the trip back to Split we stopped at amazing view point high above the river as it enters the sea . Duje then dropped us back to our Airbnb)

So , all in all , this was a great experience that we all loved ( 5 of us aged 15, 18 , 19 & us two old parents :)

Finally , one if the highlights for me was chatting to Duje about his life & how his community live - growing all their own foods , helping each other build , exchanging produce, etc . We even managed to talk about history & politics :)

Duje is a lovely guy & we wish him & his wife all best in their future .

Thank you

Ps . The go-pro video we received a few days later was superb - very professional compilation & editing .

This is also the longest review I've ever left & I could have written...

Amazing experience rafting on the Cetina River! The water was so lovely and clear, it was really beautiful surroundings. Our guide Duje was really what made the experience stand out though! He carefully planned the entire day to make it as fun as possible, from the breakfast spread (coffee, homemade pastries, figs, Belgian chocolates!) before taking the raft out, to cliff jumping from 7m! He clearly knew the river like the back of his hand, and the entire experience was thrilling but still felt safe! You get to jump from 2m, 4m, 6m, 7m and 10m! And you can 'float' down the river at certain places (float meaning get smashed about by the rapids! Very fun though!). The cave was a highlight, swim through 8°c water in a dark cave! It is really beautiful. The timing couldn't be any better too. Duje takes only one raft out a day, whereas other more 'touristy' companies cram 2 in a day. This means by the time you set off down the river (about 10.30) the morning rafts from other companies are just finishing and the afternoon one hasn't started yet. For the first 3 or so hours, we did not see a single other boat. Not one. We only saw some at the end because of our lunch stop and cliff jumping stop! The entire experience was fun all the way through! Duje made the day extra fun, never rushed us and gave us lots of choice on what to do. The river was beautiful, swimming was great. Overall, probably the best day we had of our week in Croatia! Highly highly recommend. Please pick this one over other ones, it is a lot less crowded, a lot more personal and probable the only tour that has such a small group so you aren't rushed.

(And theres brandy and Belgian chocolate at the end!)

(And you get sent all the pictures a couple days after in a great compilation)

Thank you Duje for such a...