Discover beautiful places in Croatia from the lovely coastal city of Split on the Adriatic Sea
Split is a vibrant and beautiful city in Croatia, which provides the perfect base for visiting some of Croatia's highlights! Split is the second largest city in the country with a rich history dating back to Roman times. However, due to the relatively small beautiful old town, Split does not feel like a big city. There is plenty to do in and around Split to easily entertain you for a week. In this article you can read more about all the sights!
Split, an ancient city
Split is a vibrant city that combines historic charm and modern amenities. I still remember the narrow streets of Split with extremely smooth, shiny tiles from the wear and tear of all the tourists. In the old town you will find all kinds of squares, shops, restaurants and cafes. It's wonderful to spend the evenings here! Split also has a rich history with special historic buildings. Definitely pay it a visit Diocletian's Palace and the Cathedral of St. Domnius (the cathedral is inside the palace). Diocletian's Palace was built in the 4th century after Christ by the Roman Emperor Diocletian. After the fall of the Roman Empire, part of the palace was gradually converted into a city. This makes it difficult today to distinguish which streets and places officially belonged to the palace. One of the most beautiful places in the palace is the Peristil, a courtyard surrounded by beautiful colonnades. This courtyard, and other courtyards, are freely accessible to the public. In these places you will also find many locals who offer to take a walking tour so you can learn more about the history of the city. A number of other parts of the Palace can be visited for a fee. We had bought a ticket to climb the bell tower of the Cathedral of St. Domnius. Once at the top you can enjoy a panoramic view of Split. Highly recommended! There are several types of tickets available where you can visit a combination of different parts. You can reach the cathedral from the Peristil courtyard. You can also buy the tickets here. Count on about €10 per person. This place is extra special for real Game of Thrones fans, because the palace served as the setting for the fictional city of Meereen.
Furthermore, it is highly recommended to take a lovely walk along the river Riva Promenda, a beautiful boulevard on the Adriatic Sea. There are many restaurants and delicious ice cream shops on the boulevard. Every evening we sat here on one of the many benches while enjoying a delicious ice cream. Split also has a number of beaches, of which Bacvic Beach is the most popular sandy beach (you don't find this much in Croatia!). You can have a great time here! The beach is very popular among both locals and tourists, so be prepared for a lot of crowds. From sunbathing to racing on a jet ski, everything is possible here! Other beautiful beaches are Kasjuni Beach, Znjan beach or Trstenik beach. Finally, it is recommended to use the Marjan Hillto visit, a natural park on the west side of Split. Here you can enjoy nature, beautiful views of Split and the Adriatic Sea and the beautiful quieter beach Kasjuni Beach visits.
Visit the islands off the coast of Split
In Split you will find numerous companies where you can book various bolt tours. Compare the prices carefully and choose a nice boat trip. We did two boat tours in total, namely a boat tour where we could mainly eat, drink and swim and a boat tour where we, among other things, Hvar and the Blue Caves have visited. The Blue Caves were a very special experience, but it was a huge bumby ride in the speedboat from Split (small warning...). I wouldn't do this to myself again. The way back was especially terrible, where we bounced up and down on the water alone for over an hour.
Hvar is perhaps the most famous and popular island in Croatia. It is also called the Ibiza of Croatia. For example, off the coast of Hvar there is an island where only parties are held, a very popular party spot for partygoers from all over the world! Hvar is also a really beautiful island. Definitely recommended to stay on Hvar for a few days. Expect much higher prices for restaurants and accommodation than on mainland Croatia. Of course, it is not called the Ibiza of Croatia for nothing! From Split you can easily take the ferry to Hvar. Expect a travel time of approximately 60 to 90 minutes.
In addition to these two boat trips, we also had a ferry from Split to Naar the island Brac taken to the town of Supetar. This takes about an hour. On Brac we rented a quad to go to it Zlatni Rat beach to drive. This was a lot of fun to do, but it was quite a ride. I would therefore recommend booking a boat from Split that sails directly to Zlatni Rat, near the town of Bol. However, all of our boats were already full. So try to arrange this immediately upon arrival in Split. Another option is to travel from Supetar to Bol by public bus. Zlatni-Rat beach is a very famous beach, perhaps the most beautiful beach in Croatia, due to the unique shape of the beach (on both sides the beach is surrounded by crystal clear water). The beach is also known as the Golden Horn. Just search on Google for the great Drone photos of this unique beach.
Krka National Park
Krka National Park is definitely a must-see when in Split! We booked a day tour through Gray Line Tours, from one of their offices in Split. Highly recommended! The Krka Park is a beautiful nature reserve along the Krka River. One of the most striking features of the park are the impressive waterfalls! The most famous waterfall is the Skradinski Buk, which consists of several cascades with a height difference of 45 meters of water. Until 2020 it was possible to swim near the waterfall, but this has been prohibited since the summer of 2021. There is a beautiful wooden bridge along this waterfall from which you can take beautiful photos! (without all the tourists, so I see this mainly as an advantage). Walking in the park is excellent because of the well-marked paths. Your visit to the park actually starts at the top of the river and you slowly walk down to the absolute highlight: the Skradinki Buk waterfall. After visiting the park we went by boat to a village further along the river. Here we could enjoy more than three hours of free time for lunch and swimming.
Other sights
Another nice sight is the historic town Trogir, located about 30 minutes from Split. The town is on the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its beautiful medieval architecture. Enjoy a charming atmosphere and stroll through the narrow streets of Trogir. In addition, it is still possible to Kli fortresss to visit, a short distance from Split. Take a taxi or take a bus to the fort. It is a medieval fortress located on a hilltop so you can enjoy a beautiful view. The fort also served as a filming location for the city of Meereen and the famous battle of Meereen in the Game of Thrones. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to visit any of these places, but they are certainly destinations that are worth it!
Stay overnight
We stayed in a nice Airbnb near the old town (a five-minute walk) with a very helpful host. We received nice tips and they arranged a taxi to and from the airport twice. You can book the apartment through thislink,
