The long, recently rebuilt beach strip east of the centre: wide promenade, sports courts, beach clubs, plenty of space and proper accessible entries into the water. Little shade, but the easiest beach in Split to spend a whole day at with children.
By Marin Perić
Žnjan spent years as a construction site and reopened with a proper promenade, showers, ramps and shaded pavilions. It is the most accessible beach in Split and the only one with real space in August. The beach is long and wide, which means it absorbs the crowd that would fill Bačvice ten times over, and there is room for everyone — families, sports courts, beach clubs and the new planting that will eventually give shade but does not yet.
Staying nearby? See the Žnjan neighbourhood.
A wide concrete and pebble promenade running the length of the beach, with beach clubs, cafes, sports courts, a playground and ramps into the water. The beach clubs at the eastern end are the busy ones; the western end is quieter. The water is clear and gets deep reasonably fast, and the beach is a mix of pebble and concrete platforms.
The water-sports concessions are here too: parasailing, jet skis and banana boats on Žnjan.
Free to access. Sunbeds at the beach clubs are €15–25. The promenade is flat and fully accessible, with ramped entries into the water at several points. Bring an umbrella — the new planting has not grown up yet and there is no natural shade. Bus 8 or 17 from the centre stops at the top of the beach, or it is a forty-minute walk along the seafront from the Riva.
The walk in passes Firule and Bačvice.
Within a short walk.
Adventure
The noisy end of the Split waterfront, and the only place near the city with the full concession: parasail, jet ski, banana, tube, pedalo. Nobody will pretend it is authentic. It is, however, exactly what a bored eleven-year-old wants at four in the afternoon.
Adventure
Wrecks, walls and caves within an hour of the city, on water that is warm from June to October and clear most of the year. A try dive needs no experience and no certificate; a certified single dive is the cheapest way to get wet if you already have a card.
Beaches
A small sandy bay just past Bačvice, in front of the tennis club where Goran Ivanišević learned to play. Shallow, calm and mostly families — the quieter alternative when Bačvice is a wall of people.
Nightlife
Where a Split night ends rather than starts. The row of clubs behind the sand fills from about midnight, runs to three or four in summer, and sits a ten-minute walk east of the Riva, so nobody needs a taxi home. Loud, young and pop-driven — arrive before one and it will feel empty.
Adventure
Split's own barefoot ball game, invented at Bačvice in 1908 and played in ankle-deep water with no points and no winner. Free, faintly ridiculous, and the single most Split thing you can do. Locals will let you join if you ask.
Beaches
Split's city beach, and the only proper sand within walking distance of the palace. Shallow for fifty metres, which makes it excellent for small children and the reason picigin — Split's own barefoot ball game — was invented here.
Beaches
The best beach within reach of the city: white pebbles, clear deep water and pine shade on the south side of Marjan. A beach club at one end, empty rock at the other, and a sunset that faces exactly the right way.
Beaches
On the north shore of Marjan, under dense pine, with concrete platforms and pebble coves, tennis courts, a running trail and a café. This is where Split actually swims — quieter than Bačvice, shadier than Kašjuni, and free.
Beaches
A small pebble beach below the Meštrović Gallery, dominated by a diving platform and a café under the pines. Deep water, no crowds and a strong neighbourhood feel — this one is genuinely local.