Monaco 

VS

Split

The best way to sum up the major differences between Monaco and Split are: Location, Cost, and Experience.

Location:

A tale of two cities on different sides of the Italian peninsula.

Monaco – Nestled between the French and Italian Rivieras, this small country (Second smallest country in the world, next to Vatican City) is less than one square mile in total area.

Split – Located on the Eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea, this Croatian city is the second largest city in Croatia, with more than eight square miles in total area.

Winner: Monaco.

Cost:

So, if you’re like me, you remember the James Bond films featuring expensive clothes, expensive cars, beautiful people, and luxury establishments in which to enjoy your Martini (shaken, not stirred). Let me tell you, both Monaco and Split have these attributes, but one has a much better exchange rate than the other.

Monaco – Expensive clothes, check. Expensive cars, check. Beautiful people, check. Luxury establishments, check. Add to that the historic areas, yachting experiences, royal residences and you have plenty to do. The question is how much is it going to really cost me?

Monaco uses the Euro as their currency, which has an exchange rate of approximately 1.25 US Dollars for every 1 Euro. Also, because this place has a history as a “luxury destination” for quite a while, the prices are quite horrendous. A cab from Nice (France), where the closest international airport is, will set you back right around $100. Ouch. Also, that cool casino where 007 had his drink of choice in, costs 10 Euros just to get in and you can’t take pictures. Seriously.

The only two categories that were inexpensive were 1) Good food & wine (the stuff was everywhere, so I don’t think they could gouge people and stay competitive) and 2) train tickets (7 Euros could get you almost anywhere on the French or Italian Riviera. Nice trains, too).

Split – Expensive clothes, check. Expensive cars, check. Beautiful people, check. Luxury establishments, check. Split also had historic areas, yachting experiences, and royal residences (from Roman times). Sure, the amount of opulence wasn’t as blatant as it was in Monaco, but it definitely was present.

The currency used in Croatia is the Kuna, which has an exchange rate of approximately 1 US Dollar for every 6 Kuna. The cat is out of the bag about Split being an awesome vacation destination in some of Europe, but definitely not around the whole world. As a rule, I would assume that I could live like a king on $20 a day (excluding lodging). The average four course meal, at a luxury restaurant would sent you back 50-70 Kuna (TIP: Avoid restaurants right on the sea. You will pay for that view), but I would much rather get something fresh from a deli or bakery for 7-10 Kuna and eat on a bench with a great view (even closer to the ocean than any restaurant).

Cabs were still pretty outrageous from the airport to the city, but in every other category this place was amazing.

Winner: Split. 

Experience:

Monaco and Split can be both categorized as “fun in the sun” locations. You have chances of running into celebrities in both places. There are historical sites to explore at both places, if you have nerd tendencies like me. Both destinations make it easy to live an active lifestyle (swimming, biking, hiking, running, etc). The differences are all too apparent though.

Monaco – The people, both year round citizens and visitors. The year round citizens of Monaco are nice people, easy to joke around with and like to have a good time. That being said, you have to remember that they have lived their lives around the ultra-rich of the world (most of whom treat Monaco like their Vegas), and that has an effect on people. Most of the time, the effect is to assume the worst of visitors as a default (or so I was told by locals).

The visitors are a different story. You have no idea what kind of people you will be running into here. There’s every personality  you can think of that visits Monaco, for many reasons, but the wealth aspect seemed to be the dominant theme. The “look at me” factor, as I call it (cars, clothes, jewelry, accessories) are just WAY over done.

Overall, the experience is fun, but the people seem fake in a lot of different ways. Hard to explain, but it didn’t feel warm and welcoming. I did have a great time though.

Split – The people here are amazing! Very warm and welcoming, both citizens and visitors alike. Maybe it was the scenery or the vibrancy of the city life, but the majority of people I met were just great people. The citizens here had great fashion sense, but didn’t rub it in your face. There was luxury everywhere, but it wasn’t over done. If I had to pick a place to have a summer home outside of the US, Split would be on the list.

Winner: Split. 

For me, Split wins every time. Everything and everyone was fun, honest, and welcoming.

Find out more for yourself at http://www.visitmonaco.com and http://www.visitsplit.com/en/1/city-of-split-croatian-tourism-champion

You are awesome!

-Mike

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