August 1, 2019 - Want to learn the secrets of a fabulous UNESCO World Heritage Site but have your small children in tow? Now you can with Explore Split With Your Kids, a new Diocletian's Palace by Ivica Profaca.

As parents, we have all been there.

On holiday in a historic and cultural place and desperate to explore the heritage and learn more of the fascinating history of the city we are visiting. 

But we are on holiday with the kids... 

There is absolutely no chance of you being able to enjoy a fascinating 2-hour walking tour of a historic place with bored kids pestering you every 5 minutes for ice cream or to do something more interesting. 

Until now. 

Meet Ivica Profaca and his (relatively) new Explore Split with Your Kids 2-hour walking tour of Diocletian's Palace and central Split. 

Longtime followers of TCN will be familiar with the name Ivica Profaca. He was arguably the most popular contributor to the TCN project during his time as the main writer for Total Split, and it was with heavy heart that we agreed to part due to his increasing commitments elsewhere. He taught me more about Split than anyone has about any city in the world, and I doubt there are many people alive who know their home town as well as young Ivica. 

Although busy schedules have prevented a catch-up cold one for some time, we keep in touch by Messenger, and I often send him things about Split he might not know about, but he always does. And then one day a few months ago in the bank in Varazdin, I came across a rather unusual painting of Diocletian's Palace surrounded by water. No, he knew nothing about it. Ha! Finally, after 6 years, I had found something about Split that was unknown to Profaca.

I digress.

Ivica's new direction was tourism and he took all the exams to qualify for a tour guide. With all that knowledge, a journalist background, time spent in the States, a great sense of humour and a great personal rapport with people, now he could make a living talking about the thing he loves as much as anything - his native city of Split. 

A few years ago, a friend asked me to organise a private walking tour of Diocletian's Palace for a world-renowned cathedral architect. He was gushing in his praise after Ivica's tour. Young Ivica is also a lot more proactive than most, offering the Expats meet Split group a free walking tour, so that they could learn more of their new home, meet new people, and fall in love with - and recommend - Ivica's tour. It was a hit. 

But his latest move is genius. Explore Split with Your Kids. Before I tell you about it, here are a couple of the several 5-star reviews so far: 

Ivica's tour was wonderful. We took the tour he offers aimed for children and it wasn't just the 8 and 6-year-olds who loved it; myself and my husband found it fascinating too. We definitely felt like we got to see parts of Diocletian's Palace that we would never have seen on our own. Ivica engaged our kids really well during the tour, not only using age-appropriate language and examples but also maps and tick charts for them to follow along; he also had personalised certificates for them at the end (plus a sweet treat). I cannot recommend this tour highly enough.

We organised this tour for our 8-year-old son. We got to see the city and keep the boy busy and engaged. We would not be able to interest him in a city tour otherwise...which I believe is quite important for kids development/education. It was equally interesting for us, as adults. Would recommend for anyone visiting with children.

As a loving father, Ivica knows all about dealing with children and how to make things more interesting for them. Here is how he introduces his tour:

It can be difficult to make children interested in historical tours, and Split is no exception. This is one of the very few children-friendly tours. I will give you an insight into historic attractions in a more simple and children-suitable way. As a father myself, I know stories and legends connected with Split. We will look for ancient hidden wall inscriptions and Egyptian sphinxes, pass through Roman gates, make a wish by rubbing a toe of Bishop Grgur's giant statue. Depending on when the tour takes place, we will attend the re-enactment of the Roman guard ceremony and Emperor Diocletian's salute, which takes place every day at 12. At the end, we will visit the oldest pastry shop in Split, tasting traditional homemade style treats. 

You can learn more about the tour and how to book it here.

Ivica has lots of other tours, of course, and you can follow Ivica Profaca's guide Facebook page - it is a great way to learn more about Split. 

And if you do go on the tour, tell him to contribute an article to TCN from time to time...