Plan
Split runs on a season. The sea is swimmable from late May to mid-October, the boats stop in November and start again in April, and the difference between August and September is half the crowd for the same water. Start with the season you are coming in.
The year in Split
Each season page covers the weather, the sea, the crowds and what is genuinely worth doing while it lasts.
March – May
Everything opens, the hill is green, and the sea turns swimmable in late May.
June – August
Warmest sea of the year, every boat running, and the old town at full volume.
September – November
The locals' favourite: warm water, soft light and half the crowd.
December – February
No swimming, no crowds — Advent, empty galleries and three-hour lunches.
Right now · autumn
The locals' favourite: warm water, soft light and half the crowd.
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.
Local favourite
History
Diocletian's Palace is free: its lanes, the Peristyle, the domed Vestibule and the central passage through the cellars are open at all hours with no gate. You pay only for interiors — the side halls of the cellars (€10 for adults as of October 2026) and the cathedral, bell tower, crypt, treasury and Temple of Jupiter, ticketed separately. Built around AD 305, it is still full of homes, bars and shops.
Local favourite
History
The oldest cathedral building in the world still in use, and it started life as the mausoleum of the emperor who persecuted the man it is now named after. The bell tower beside it gives you the best view in Split for the price of 183 steps.
Local favourite
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.
Local favourite
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.
Local favourite
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.
Getting around
The practical questions everybody asks, answered with current prices.
Guide
Take the airport shuttle. It leaves about 30 minutes after every arriving flight and takes around 30 minutes to Split's main bus station, beside the ferry port and a five-minute walk from the old town — €10 one way as of October 2026. City bus 37 is the cheap, slower alternative at €2 prepaid or €4 from the driver. The airport is about 20 km west, at Kaštela.
Guide
Split's ferry port is right beside the old town and the main bus station. Catamarans to Hvar and the other islands mostly leave from the berths nearest the Riva; Jadrolinija's car ferries to Brač, Hvar and Vis from the far end of the port, under ten minutes' walk. Supetar is 50 minutes by car ferry, Hvar town about an hour by catamaran (as of October 2026).
Guide
You will not need a car in Split. The old town is pedestrian and the beaches are a walk or a short ride on Promet Split's buses: €1.50 a ticket bought in advance or €3 from the driver, valid 60 minutes (fares from 1 June 2026). Bus 12 is the beach bus to Kašjuni. Parking in the centre costs €1.20 an hour on the street in summer, much more in the car parks.
Still deciding? The best time to visit Split compares all twelve months side by side, and how many days you need covers the length of the trip.