In July and August the sea is 25–26 °C and every beach in Split is open. Which one you want depends on shade: Bene has pines all day, Kašjuni has both shade and clear deep water, Bačvice has the sand and the noise, and Žnjan has the space.
By Marin Perić
Every beach here is swimmable in summer, so the choice comes down to whether you can get out of the sun between noon and four. Bene and Kašjuni have pines. Bačvice, Firule and Žnjan do not, and an umbrella is the difference between a good day and a headache.
Bačvice and Firule are a ten- to twenty-minute walk east of the palace. Kašjuni, Bene and Ježinac are bus 12 or a walk under Marjan; the small car parks fill by ten in July and August. Žnjan is bus 8 or 17.
Things to Do in Split, Croatia
The Best Things to Do in Split
6 picks, in order
Ordered by an editor who lives here, not by who paid the most.
The best of them in summer — walk two minutes west of the beach club and it empties out.
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.
Local favourite
Shade all day under the Marjan pines, which in a 31 °C August is worth more than sand.
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.
Local favourite
The sand, the picigin and the noise. Before nine or after six, not at two.
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.
Local favourite
Space and accessible water entry — bring an umbrella, the new planting has not grown up yet.
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.
Bačvice's quieter neighbour, and the better one with small children.
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.
Local favourite
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.
Local favourite
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.
History
Ninety minutes through the palace with a guide who lives inside it: the Golden Gate, the cellars, the Peristyle, the cathedral and the streets in between. Small group, no flag, and a proper explanation of why a Roman emperor retired to a cabbage patch in Dalmatia.
Boat trips
Five hours to Šolta and back on a ten-person boat: three swim stops in coves you cannot reach by road, an hour in Maslinica for dinner or a drink, and the run home across the channel as the sun goes down behind the island.