Half a day on the gravel tracks behind Podstrana and up towards Mravince and Kozjak, on roads that carry almost no traffic. The reason to go is the view: Split, Kaštela Bay and the islands laid out below you from a ridge most visitors never reach.
By Ana Kovač
Two areas do most of the work. South of the city, the tracks climb from Podstrana onto the Perun ridge, which is where the sea views are — Split on one side, the islands out in front, and on a clear day a long way down the coast. North and east, the routes run through Mravince and up onto Kozjak, the wall of hill between Split and the interior, and are more about forest, empty mountain road and the odd surreal moment of passing under the motorway. Longer tours combine the two and drop down to the Cetina for a swim.
No, but you do need a car driving licence, and the guides will check it. Quads are not motorbikes: they are heavier than they look, they do not lean, and they punish an over-confident first hour on loose gravel. Operators brief and run a short practice loop before anything steep. Passengers can ride tandem without a licence, which is how most couples do it.
This runs year-round, and the shoulder months are better than high summer — the tracks are dusty and shadeless in August, and the light for the ridge views is better in the morning or late afternoon anyway. Take sunglasses you do not mind scratching; the dust off the vehicle in front is the main discomfort of the day.
Helmet, and fuel for the machine
Pickup in Split, or a start point in Podstrana
A guide who rides at the front and sets the pace
Often a stop for food or a swim on the longer tours
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
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.
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
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.
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.
Boat trips
A skippered yacht for the day, out to Šolta or Brač and back on the afternoon wind. Slower than the fast boats, quieter than all of them, and the only way to see this coast the way it has always actually been travelled.