Croatia · Split-Dalmatia County
Plan your Split trip
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01Your itinerary
02Where to stay
Inside Diocletian's Palace
Best for first-timers who want to wake up inside the ruinSleeping inside the actual Roman walls, in converted stone apartments and small boutique hotels tucked into the palace's alleys — maximum atmosphere and zero commute to the sights, at the cost of noise and higher rates.
A converted stone apartment inside the palace walls
Look for something off the main peristyle-to-Golden-Gate thoroughfare for a meaningfully quieter night's sleep.
€€€A small boutique hotel near the Silver Gate
The palace's quieter eastern side puts you close to the fish market and a short walk from the Riva.
€€Varoš
Best for a quieter base with real neighbourhood textureThe old fishermen's quarter climbing toward Marjan Hill, immediately west of the palace walls — steep cobbled lanes and a noticeably more residential, local feel just five minutes from the tourist core.
A guesthouse on a Varoš side lane
Trade a short uphill walk for genuinely lower rates and a neighbourhood that still functions as a neighbourhood after dark.
€€Bačvice & the port side
Best for island-hopping logistics and beach accessEast of the old town near the ferry terminals and Bačvice beach — practical for early island departures and beach mornings, with a livelier nightlife scene after dark than the historic core.
A modern hotel near the ferry port
Worth the trade-off on any trip built around early catamarans to Hvar or Brač — you lose old-town atmosphere but gain sleep.
€€Meje & the Marjan side
Best for travellers prioritising quiet and green space over doorstep nightlifeA leafy residential district between the old town and Marjan Hill, favoured by well-off locals — genuinely calm, close to the peninsula's trails and swimming coves, a short walk or bus ride from the centre.
An apartment on the Meje side of Marjan
Best for anyone building their trip around hiking or swimming on Marjan rather than late nights on the Riva.
€€Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.
03Tickets & tours
Diocletian's Palace
Not a ruin you visit but a neighbourhood you walk through — a fortified Roman palace from 305 AD whose colonnaded streets, vaulted substructures and…
Tip Come at dawn before the tour groups and cruise crowds arrive; the peristyle empty and lit by early light is a different place entirely from its midday version.
Cathedral of Saint Domnius & bell tower
Diocletian's own octagonal mausoleum, repurposed as a cathedral since the 7th century — making it, by most reckonings, the oldest cathedral building…
Tip Climb the bell tower's narrow, slightly vertiginous stairs for the money shot over the terracotta roofs to the harbour — go close to opening to beat both the heat and…
Riva waterfront promenade
The palm-lined seafront running along the palace's south wall, paved in pale stone and lined with café terraces — Split's genuine civic living room,…
Tip Skip the cafés directly on the Riva for markedly better prices one block back, then bring your coffee down to a bench on the water instead.
Marjan Hill
A pine-forested peninsula rising directly behind the old town, laced with walking and running trails, small hillside chapels, and rocky swimming…
Tip Take the trail toward Vidilica viewpoint for the classic postcard shot of the old town roofline against the sea, best an hour or two before sunset.
Bačvice beach
A rare sandy, shallow cove a short walk southeast of the old town, popular for swimming by day and famous locally as the home of picigin, a…
Tip Visit mid-morning on a weekday for space to actually swim; weekend afternoons in summer get seriously crowded given how compact the cove is.
Fish market (Ribarnica)
An open-air market just outside the palace's eastern wall, running on a genuine local morning trade rather than a tourist schedule — the best single…
Tip Go before 10am for the real selection and the least performative version of the market; by early afternoon most stalls have packed up.
Gregorius of Nin statue
Ivan Meštrović's towering bronze of a defiant 10th-century bishop, standing just outside the palace's Golden Gate — famous locally for its enormous…
Tip Rub the toe (everyone does), then step back to actually look at the scale and posture of the sculpture, which gets skipped in the toe-rubbing rush.
Meštrović Gallery
A purpose-built villa gallery west of the centre on the way to Marjan, showcasing the sweeping sculptural work of Ivan Meštrović, Croatia's…
Tip Combine it with a Marjan Hill walk since the gallery sits right on the route — the garden terrace overlooking the sea is worth lingering in as much as the collection…
Day trips from Split
Hvar
An hour or so by fast catamaran, Croatia's glossiest island — lavender fields, a hilltop fortress, and a harbour town that turns into a genuine party…
Day tripKrka National Park
A little over an hour by car or organised tour, a cascade of travertine waterfalls through wooded gorges, with a swimming area beneath the main falls…
Day tripBrač & the Zlatni Rat beach
A short ferry to Croatia's third-largest island, home to the famously shape-shifting shingle spit of Zlatni Rat and the quieter inland stone-mason…
Day tripTrogir
A UNESCO-listed medieval walled town on its own tiny islet, half an hour by bus or car — smaller and calmer than Split's old town, with a genuinely…
Day tripEverything to do in Split
Skip-the-line tickets, guided tours and day trips, all in one place on Booking.com.
04Getting there & around
Getting around
The old town is entirely pedestrian and genuinely tiny — you can walk from the Golden Gate on the north wall to the Riva on the south side in about ten minutes, though the palace's warren of narrow passages means first-time visitors get pleasantly lost doing it.
Flights
Compare fares into Split and pick dates that suit the days you planned.
Airport transfers
Book a private or shared ride from the airport so the first evening starts at your door, not at a ticket queue.
Car hire from Split
Only worth it for day trips beyond the city — in town, the plan above works on foot and public transport.
Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.