Day trips
Split is the best base on the Dalmatian coast. Hvar and Brač are a catamaran away, Krka and Trogir are under an hour by bus, and the Blue Cave is a long but unforgettable boat day.
Local favourite
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.
Day trip
Split to Hvar town is 50 minutes to just over an hour by passenger catamaran — TP Line, Krilo and, in summer, Jadrolinija — for €10–25 one way in summer 2026. The Jadrolinija car ferry goes to Stari Grad instead, in two hours. Hvar is the best-known island in Dalmatia: a Venetian harbour town, a fortress and the Pakleni islands offshore. Doable in a day, better in two.
Day trip
The nearest big island, and home to Zlatni Rat — the shifting pebble spit at Bol that appears on every Croatian poster. Fifty minutes by ferry to Supetar, then an hour across the island, or straight to Bol by catamaran.
Day trip
Waterfalls, boardwalks and a river gorge about 75 minutes north of Split by car. Without a car or a tour, take a direct bus from Split's main station to Skradin — a few a day, roughly 1¼ hours — and the park boat, included in the ticket from April to October, up to Skradinski Buk. Adult entry is €40 from June to September in 2026, €20 in spring and October.
Day trip
A complete medieval town on its own small island, 27 kilometres west and a UNESCO site in its own right. Half a day is enough, it costs almost nothing to reach, and it is on the way to the airport.
Day trip
A pirate town where the Cetina river cuts out of the mountains into the sea, half an hour down the coast. Rafting, zip-lining, canyoning and a fortress climb that ends with the whole gorge underneath you.
Day trip
Plitvice works as a day trip from Split, but only just: it is about three and a half hours each way, which leaves four to five hours in the park. A tour is the least effort, a car the most flexible, the bus the cheapest and the tightest. If you have one day and no strong reason, Krka is the better day out.
Day trip
Two and a half hours inland into Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the rebuilt Ottoman bridge at Mostar and the wide falls at Kravice. A long day and a real border crossing, but the most different thing you can do from Split.