When to go to Split?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with real weather records
Best time: May to June and September to October
At a glance
Why go to Split?
Split is the only city in the world built inside a Roman palace. Diocletian, an emperor born in Salona a few kilometres away, had a 30,000 m2 retirement residence built between 295 and 305, enclosed by walls and four gates. When Salona fell in the 7th century, its inhabitants took refuge inside and built their houses in the corridors and on the roofs. The whole thing has stood for seventeen centuries and is still home to 3,000 people, along with bars, workshops and a cathedral set inside the emperor's mausoleum.
The city is not a museum. Split has around 160,000 inhabitants, a commercial port, a university and a football club that fills its stadium. The terraces of the Peristyle serve coffee to people who live upstairs, the Pazar vegetable market has always set up along the walls, and picigin is played at Bačvice on 1 January just as in August. This everyday life amid the Roman stones explains why people often stay longer than planned.
Everything around it is close by. Klis guards its pass at 360 metres, twelve kilometres to the north. Salona spreads its 2 km of ruins across the fields of Solin. Trogir, another World Heritage town, sits on its islet thirty minutes away by bus. Ferries leave the Riva for Brač in fifty minutes, Hvar in an hour and Vis in two and a quarter hours. The Krka waterfalls are an hour and a half's drive away. Split works as much as a base as a destination.
Map of Split: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Split
- Marjan
- Klis
- Salona
- Trogir
- Bol, Brač
How much does a trip to Split cost?
Split is no longer a cheap destination: summer prices have caught up with those of neighbouring Italy, led by accommodation and seafront restaurants. In May, June and October the same week costs a third less, with the sea already or still warm enough to swim and the ferries running.
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €55-85/day | Dorm or studio on the outskirts, Pazar market, city buses, free sights and one island by ferry |
| Comfort | €120-190/day | Apartment in the palace, konobas in the evening, two guided excursions, catamarans to the islands |
| Premium | €350+/day | Boutique hotel within the Roman walls, private boat to the Pakleni Islands, whole-fish dinners |
Croatia switched to the euro in January 2023. Cards are accepted everywhere, even for a coffee. Avoid the independent cash machines in the centre, which charge high fees and a poor exchange rate, and use bank ones instead. The usual tip is around 10% in restaurants.
Is Split safe?
Split is among the safest cities in the Mediterranean, and you can get around without worry by day or night. Reported incidents are mostly petty summer crime: pickpockets on the Riva and in the crowded lanes of the palace in July and August, bags left unattended on Bačvice beach, and thefts from hire cars parked near the port. The sea calls for a little care, with slippery rocks, sea urchins in the Marjan coves that make water shoes worthwhile, and harsh sun between 12:00 and 16:00. In winter the bora can blow at more than 100 km/h and halt both the ferries and the Maslenica bridge. Heavy-drinking nights around Bačvice sometimes cause tension, and unofficial taxis at the port charge whatever they like.
What to see and do in Split
- Diocletian's Palace
- Cathedral of Saint Domnius
- Marjan Hill
- Klis Fortress
- Ancient ruins of Salona
- Bačvice Beach
- Brač and Zlatni Rat
- Krka National Park
Diocletian's Palace
Thirty thousand square metres of imperial residence built between 295 and 305 and turned into a lived-in town over the centuries. The Peristyle, a colonnaded courtyard of granite brought from Aswan, opens onto the mausoleum that became a cathedral and onto the Temple of Jupiter, now a baptistery. The substructures, long filled with rubble, reproduce the plan of the vanished apartments above. Four gates keep their Roman names, and the vegetable market still sets up against the east wall.
Marjan and the southern coves
The wooded peninsula that closes off the city to the west, 3.4 km² of Aleppo pines planted in the 19th century, with a high point at 178 metres. The Varoš steps climb up in fifteen minutes from the old town and lead to three successive viewpoints. The southern slope drops down to pebble coves, Kašjuni and Bene, and to hermitages carved into the cliff between the 14th and 16th centuries. It is Split's green lung, used all year round by locals.
Klis and Salona
Two sites less than fifteen kilometres away that tell the city's prehistory. Salona, the Roman capital of Dalmatia, had up to 60,000 inhabitants and has left 2 km of ruins in open fields at Solin, including an 18,000-seat amphitheatre demolished in the 17th century. Klis, higher up, holds a limestone ridge at 360 metres that locks the route into the hinterland; it was the seat of the Croatian kings in the 9th century and a bulwark against the Ottomans until 1537.
Trogir
27 km to the west, a small town set on an islet between the mainland and the island of Čiovo, linked by two bridges and listed as a World Heritage Site in 1997. The medieval core is just 400 metres long, with a cathedral portal carved by Master Radovan in 1240, considered the high point of Romanesque art in Croatia. The Venetian Kamerlengo Fortress closes off the western tip. Bus 37 from Split takes an hour along the coast.
Brač, Hvar and Vis
Three islands from the Riva, three different moods. Brač, fifty minutes by ferry, has the pebble spit of Zlatni Rat and the white limestone quarries that supplied the palace. Hvar, an hour by catamaran, combines a Venetian old town, lavender fields and very lively summer nights. Vis, two and a quarter hours away, was closed to foreigners as a military base until 1989, which has left it with almost untouched villages.
Krka National Park
An hour and a half's drive to the north, the Krka River cuts through a limestone canyon and deposits tufa in successive barriers over which the water falls in sheets. Skradinski Buk lines up seventeen cascades over 800 metres, with wooden boardwalks running between the pools and restored old mills. Upstream, the islet of Visovac holds a Franciscan monastery occupied since 1445. Swimming at the foot of the falls has been banned since 2021.
How many days, and which itinerary?
Three days are enough for the palace, Marjan, an evening on the Riva and a trip to Klis or Salona. Five to seven days let you add two islands, Trogir and a day at Krka, without spending half your stay on ferries.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Split guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of Croatia
Split in 3 days
Day 1: the palace at daybreak, the cathedral and its bell tower, the substructures, then the Pazar market and the Riva at the end of the day. Day 2: up Marjan by the Varoš steps, a swim at Kašjuni, an afternoon at the Archaeological Museum and the Meštrović Gallery. Day 3: bus 22 to Klis in the morning, bus 1 to Salona in the afternoon, then back for a fish dinner in a Varoš konoba, booked the day before in high season.
Split and the islands (1 week)
Three days in the city, then two nights on Brač, staying in Bol rather than Supetar to be next to Zlatni Rat, and two nights on Hvar with a boat trip to the Pakleni Islands. Keep a day for Trogir, an hour by bus along the coast. Book catamarans online a few days ahead in July and August, as they sell out fast, especially the Sunday evening returns to Split.
Central Dalmatia (2 weeks)
The one-week base, extended inland and to the south. Add a day at Krka and a night in Šibenik, whose stone cathedral, assembled without mortar, is a World Heritage Site. Then Vis, two and a quarter hours by catamaran, for two nights in a village that has escaped mass tourism. Finish at Makarska and its coast at the foot of Biokovo, or carry on to Dubrovnik, four and a half hours by bus.
Getting there and getting around
Split airport is in Kaštela, 24 km to the west. A shuttle reaches the bus station in thirty to forty minutes for €7 to 9; city bus 37 costs half as much but takes an hour. A taxi costs around €35, paid by the meter.
Ferries and catamarans leave from the Riva, five minutes' walk from the palace: Supetar on Brač in fifty minutes, Hvar in an hour, Vis in two and a quarter hours. Crossings with a car must be booked several weeks ahead in July and August, or you risk waiting for two sailings.
The bus station is next to the port and serves Zadar in two and a half hours, Dubrovnik in four and a half hours and Zagreb in five hours via the A1 motorway. The companies sell tickets online, and night buses inland remain much cheaper than the train.
In town, everything is done on foot: the old town is pedestrianised, and Bačvice and Marjan are a quarter of an hour away. A car becomes a handicap, with parking in the centre costing €3 to 4 an hour. Hire one only for Krka, the hinterland or the coast road to Makarska.
Where to stay in Split?
Apartments and private rooms in the palace and in Varoš: €60 to 120 a night in season, often on the third floor without a lift, in old buildings. Check how far you are from the Peristyle bars, as the noise carries until 2:00 in the morning in summer.
Hostels in the centre: €30 to 45 for a dorm bed, most of them in historic buildings a stone's throw from the Golden Gate. It is the category most used by travellers passing through between two ferries, with organised trips to the islands.
Boutique hotels within the Roman walls: €130 to 280 a night, in houses built into the structure of the palace, sometimes with an ancient wall in the room. Rates halve between November and March, when the city returns to its winter rhythm.
Seaside resorts in Podstrana and Žnjan, ten or fifteen minutes by bus: €200 to 350 a night with beach and pool. It is the compromise families choose, gaining in comfort what they lose in proximity to the old town.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Split?
Peka is the defining dish of Dalmatia: veal, lamb or octopus cooked for several hours under a cast-iron bell covered in embers, with potatoes and vegetables. It must be ordered the day before in the konobas of the hinterland, €25 to 35 per person, minimum two people.
The fish market, under its arcades near the Golden Gate, opens Monday to Saturday mornings and acts as a shop window for the restaurants nearby. A whole grilled fish costs €40 to 60 per kilo depending on the species, and crni rižot, black risotto made with cuttlefish ink, €12 to 16 a plate.
As for wine, central Dalmatia produces plavac mali, a powerful red from the slopes of Brač and Hvar, and pošip, a dry white from Korčula. A carafe of house wine costs around €8 a litre in the konobas, an estate bottle €20 to 35.
The Pazar market, against the east wall of the palace, sells fruit, sheep's cheese from Pag and olive oil from the hinterland from 7:00. Restaurants on the Riva charge double what the Varoš konobas do for an identical menu, and a cover charge with bread is added to the bill almost everywhere.
Entry requirements
Schengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Split
How many days should I spend in Split?
Three days cover the palace, Marjan, a beach and a trip to Klis or Salona. Five to seven days let you add two islands and a day at Krka. Beyond that, Split becomes a base for exploring central Dalmatia, towards Trogir, Šibenik, Makarska or the Biokovo hinterland.
When is the best time to go?
May, June, September and early October: the sea between 20 and 24°C, terraces open, much lower prices and an old town you can breathe in. July and August bring 31°C, queues for the ferries and doubled accommodation rates. Winter stays mild, around 12°C, but many islands slow right down.
Which island should I choose from Split?
Brač for an easy day trip, with Zlatni Rat and fifty minutes by ferry. Hvar to combine a Venetian old town, lavender fields and nightlife, an hour by catamaran. Vis for peace and quiet and unspoilt villages, two and a quarter hours away, the island having remained a closed military base until 1989.
Should I hire a car?
Not for the city, which is easily explored on foot, and not for the islands, where buses and catamarans are enough. A car becomes useful for Krka, the Klis hinterland or the coast road to Makarska. Allow €40 to 70 a day in summer, plus €3 to 4 an hour for parking in the city centre.
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