Around eleven kilometres of the Cetina through its canyon below Omiš, on grade II–III water in summer. Three to four hours on the river, most of it drifting between short rapids, with swimming stops and a cliff to jump off if you want one.
By Ana Kovač
The commercial run puts in upstream of Omiš, near Radman's Mills, and covers roughly eleven kilometres of canyon before finishing close to where the Cetina meets the sea. In summer the rapids are grade II–III: enough to soak you and make the raft buck, not enough to frighten anyone who can swim. Most of the trip is quiet drifting between the walls, which is the part people remember. Guides stop for swimming, and usually for a jump off a low cliff that is entirely optional.
The season runs roughly April to October. May and September are the sweet spot — the river still has water in it and the canyon is not full of buses. Midsummer is warmest but lowest and busiest. After heavy winter rain the same section turns serious, well beyond grade III, and is not run commercially; if you read about grade V on the Cetina, that is the winter river, not the one you will be on.
No experience is needed and no swimming skill beyond staying calm in a buoyancy aid. Operators generally take children from about six upward, with a lower limit that rises for the higher-water months. The water is cold even in August because the Cetina is spring-fed, so a wetsuit is normally provided along with the helmet and buoyancy aid.
Shoes you can swim in and do not mind wrecking — not flip-flops
Swimsuit under your clothes; there is nowhere private to change at the put-in
Sunscreen, and a strap for your glasses
A waterproof pouch if you want your phone; dry bags are not always provided
Omiš is about 25 kilometres down the coast, half an hour by car and a little longer on the Split–Dubrovnik bus. Most operators include a transfer from Split, which is worth taking: the put-in is up a canyon road, and the finish is not where you started.
Get out there
Guided trips that include this stop, with live availability.
Boat trips
A full day on a fast twelve-seat boat: the Blue Cave on Biševo, the Monk Seal cave, Stiniva's famous cove, lunch on Vis and a swim off Budikovac's turquoise lagoon, finishing with a stop at Hvar town. Ten and a half hours, small group, no coach transfer.
Within a short walk.
Adventure
Walking, swimming and abseiling down the Cetina where the canyon narrows above Omiš. The extreme version drops you 53 metres beside the Velika Gubavica waterfall and 25 metres again near the canyon exit; the ordinary one keeps its feet closer to the water.
Adventure
The pine-covered hill on Split's western edge, a fifteen-minute walk from the Riva and the reason the city feels liveable in August. Free, open always, with viewpoints, hermit chapels, swimming coves at the bottom and a proper trail network on top.
Adventure
Two hours on a board lit from underneath, pushing off Stobreč as the sun goes and paddling into the river mouth in the dark. The LEDs light the bottom through three metres of water, which is the whole point: you can see what is down there.
Adventure
Three hours paddling the cliffs and hidden coves along Marjan's south shore, with two swim stops and a cave you can only reach by water. The best way to see Split from the side it was built to face, and easy enough for a complete beginner.
Adventure
An hour and a half up the marked path from Strožanac to the chapel of St George, topping out around 441 metres with Split, Kozjak, Mosor and the islands all in view. It is free, it starts at a supermarket, and locals walk it before work.
Family
The south side of Marjan drops straight into clear water over rock rather than sand, which is exactly what you want and exactly what the city beaches are not. Bring a mask, walk in off the stones at Kašjuni or Bene, and it costs nothing.
Adventure
Eight steel wires strung across the Cetina canyon about three kilometres from Omiš, 2,100 metres of cable in total. The longest single run is 700 metres, 150 metres above the canyon floor, and takes well under a minute.