The ferries. Jadrolinija is the state line: car ferries to Supetar on Brač (50 minutes, about €6 on foot) and Stari Grad on Hvar (two hours, under €10), always with room for foot passengers, plus its own catamarans. Krilo is the Kapetan Luka brand, with catamarans to Hvar town in about an hour for around €20 to €25 in summer. Tickets are tied to a sailing; catamarans sell out days ahead in July and August and cancel in a bura, so book online and keep Stari Grad as the fallback.
The palace ticket. The cathedral sells a €15 purple ticket at the Peristyle window covering the cathedral, crypt, treasury, the baptistery in the Temple of Jupiter and the bell tower. Climb the tower first, while it is cool and empty. Shoulders and knees covered; they turn people away. The substructures through the Brass Gate are a separate €6.
Buses. Promet city buses are €1.50 in the app or from a kiosk and €3 from the driver. Bus 37 to Trogir and the airport leaves from Sukoišan station north of the center, not the main station by the port: about €3, 50 minutes to the airport and an hour to Trogir. The airport shuttle coach runs to the main bus station in about 30 minutes for around €9.
The Trogir boat. From May to October the Bura Line runs from the Riva to Trogir for €10, cash, with a first departure mid-morning. Bus out early, boat back.
Marjan, Bačvice and picigin. Marjan is the pine hill west of Varoš: fifteen minutes up the steps to the Vidilica terrace, then Telegrin at 178 m, free and shaded, best at sunset. Bačvice is the city’s sandy beach fifteen minutes east of the port, shallow for a hundred meters, where picigin, the local game of flying saves with a small ball, is played.
Krka or Plitvice. Krka is an hour each way, €40 in summer and €20 in the shoulder months with the Skradin boat included April to October; swimming at the main falls is no longer allowed. Plitvice is three hours each way and needs a twelve-hour day.
The siesta and the euro. Shops and some restaurants close from about 1 to 5 p.m. in summer and dinner starts around 8 p.m.; konobas like Villa Spiza take no bookings, so arrive on the hour. Croatia uses the euro and cards work almost everywhere, but the bus driver, the Bura Line and the island taxi boats are cash.
Timing. Palace before 9 a.m., islands before 11 a.m., sea after 5 p.m. Check the time of the catamaran back, because the Hvar quay line forms early; Waystop’s hours check will flag the Meštrović Gallery if it lands on a Monday.