Substructures of Diocletian's Palace
Diocletian's Palace · 45 min
Enter from the Riva through the Brass Gate; the free central corridor is souvenir stalls, so buy a ticket for the vaulted halls either side. Go first, before the cruise groups.
€6
Split · Croatia · 3 days
3 days in Split
Three days built around a Roman palace that is still a living town: the cellars, the cathedral and its bell tower on foot, then a catamaran to Hvar, then Trogir and the beaches along the bay.
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Checked October 10, 2026. That’s the day we last confirmed the hours, prices and closed days.
- 3 days
- 23 stops
- 6 with a ticket
- from €70 a day
When to go
Late May, June and September are the weeks to aim for: warm sea, every ferry running, and the palace lanes still passable at noon. July and August are hot (90 to 95°F (32 to 35°C) most afternoons), loud and sold out on the catamarans. October is quiet and mild, but the Trogir boat stops at the end of the month and island hours shrink. November to March is the local city: cheap, gray some days, and most island restaurants closed.
Where to base yourself
Sleep inside Diocletian's Palace or in Varoš, the old fishermen's quarter below Marjan, and you walk to everything including the ferry port. Bačvice is the pick for a beach at the door and a ten-minute walk to the Riva. Avoid Žnjan and the Poljud side unless a car is part of the plan.
Getting around
The old town is a pedestrian zone and the port, bus station and train station sit together at its eastern end, five minutes from the Riva. Promet city buses cost €1.50 in the app or at a kiosk and €3 from the driver for a zone 1 ride; bus 37 to Trogir and the airport leaves from the Sukoišan station north of the center, not the main one by the port. Ferries and catamarans leave from the quays along the harbor; Jadrolinija sells online and at the booths, Krilo (Kapetan Luka) online and at its own kiosk.
Day 1
Diocletian's Palace on foot
- FromYour hotel in Diocletian's Palace
- 1
- Next door
- 2
The Peristyle
Diocletian's Palace · 20 min
The palace's central court has a black Egyptian sphinx, the columns and cafe cushions on the Roman steps. Buy the combined cathedral ticket at the window here before the line forms.
- Next door
- 3
Cathedral of Saint Domnius and bell tower
Diocletian's Palace · 75 min
Diocletian's mausoleum, now a cathedral. The €15 purple ticket also covers the crypt, treasury, baptistery and bell tower; climb the tower first while the open metal stairs are cool and empty, with shoulders and knees covered.
€15
- Next door
- 4
Temple of Jupiter
Diocletian's Palace · 20 min
Down the narrow alley west of the Peristyle, past the headless sphinx, a small Roman temple turned baptistery with a Meštrović bronze of John the Baptist. It is on the combined ticket, so just show it.
- 3 min · walk
- 5
Green Market (Pazar)
Pazar · 45 min
Outside the Silver Gate on the east side of the palace: figs, cheese, cured ham and olive oil from Brač. The stalls thin out after 1 p.m., so this is the hour.
- 5 min · walk
- 6
Villa Spiza
Diocletian's Palace · 75 min
A tiny konoba in a palace lane on Kružićeva street, with a menu on a board of what came in that morning: grilled fish, pašticada, black risotto. No reservations, so arrive on the hour and expect a short wait.
- 4 min · walk
- 7
The Riva
Riva · 60 min
The palm-lined waterfront below the palace walls. Take a coffee in the shade, because this is the siesta hour and the palace stone holds the heat until evening.
- 2.0 km · transit or taxi
- 8
Marjan hill
Marjan · 120 min
Walk west through Varoš and up the Marjanske skale steps to the Vidilica cafe terrace in fifteen minutes, then on to Telegrin peak (178 m) for the view over the islands. It is free and the pines give shade; stay for sunset.
- 1.7 km · transit or taxi
- 9
Konoba Fetivi
Varoš · 90 min
A family konoba in Varoš, five minutes below the Marjan steps: grilled fish by weight, black risotto, blitva with potatoes. Book a day ahead in summer, or try Konoba Matejuška next door.
Day 2
Hvar by catamaran
- FromYour hotel in Diocletian's Palace
- 1
Split ferry port, catamaran to Hvar town
Port · 75 min
Krilo (Kapetan Luka) and Jadrolinija catamarans reach Hvar town in about an hour for around €20 to €25 in summer; book online a few days ahead in July and August. If they are sold out, the car ferry to Stari Grad is under €10 on foot and takes two hours.
€25
- 37 km · transit or taxi
- 2
Fortica fortress
Hvar · 75 min
Twenty minutes uphill through the Groda lanes from the main square to the Spanish fortress, which looks down on the harbor and the Pakleni islands. Go up now, before the heat.
€12
- 6 min · walk
- 3
Hvar old town
Hvar · 60 min
St Stephen's Square, the largest in Dalmatia, the Arsenal with its theater upstairs, and the Franciscan monastery on the point. An hour on foot covers it, and the lanes are shaded until noon.
- 4 min · walk
- 4
Konoba Menego
Hvar · 75 min
On the Groda steps, a Dalmatian konoba with the menu on a slate: marinated anchovies, sheep's cheese in oil, grilled vegetables, local wine by the glass. Cash is simplest.
- 4.7 km · transit or taxi
- 5
Pakleni islands, Palmižana
Pakleni islands · 180 min
Shared taxi boats leave the Hvar riva every half hour or so for a few euros each way. Palmižana has the easiest swimming and beach bars and Ždrilca the quieter coves; take the last boat back with time to spare for the catamaran.
- 39 km · transit or taxi
- 6
Catamaran back to Split
Hvar · 75 min
Evening departures run in summer and a late-afternoon one in the shoulder months, so check the time on your ticket. The line at the Hvar quay forms early; sit on the left for the sunset side.
- 5 min · walk
- 7
Bokeria Kitchen & Wine
Old town · 90 min
Off Marmontova, a ten-minute walk from the port: Dalmatian cooking with a modern hand, such as octopus and tuna, and a long Croatian wine list. Reserve for summer weekends.
Day 3
Trogir and the coast
- FromYour hotel in Diocletian's Palace
- 1
Bus 37 to Trogir
Sukoišan · 60 min
Bus 37 leaves from the Sukoišan station, north of the center and not the main one by the port, and takes about an hour along the bay. Pay the driver €3 (less in the Promet app); the Bura Line boat from the Riva runs May to October for €10.
€3
- 16 km · transit or taxi
- 2
Trogir old town
Trogir · 150 min
A medieval town on an island the size of a few football fields. Start at the Cathedral of St Lawrence and Radovan's portal, climb its bell tower if it is open, then walk the seafront to the Kamerlengo fortress.
- 6 min · walk
- 3
Konoba Trs
Trogir · 75 min
A vine-covered courtyard in the old town lanes serving Dalmatian cooking done carefully: lamb, fish and a good vegetarian plate. Reserve a table for summer lunches.
- 4.3 km · transit or taxi
- 4
Bus 37 back through Kaštela
Kaštela · 75 min
The same bus back along the bay; the Kaštela are seven villages, each grown around a Renaissance castle on the shore. Get off at the Sukoišan station and take bus 12 or a taxi west to the gallery.
- 10 km · transit or taxi
- 5
Meštrović Gallery
Meje · 90 min
The sculptor's own villa and garden on the Marjan shore road, with the Kaštilac chapel and its wooden reliefs a short walk west on the same ticket. Open Tuesday to Sunday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; renovation closed the exhibition rooms for a spell in 2026, so check before you go.
€12
- 2.3 km · transit or taxi
- 6
Bačvice beach
Bačvice · 90 min
The city's sandy beach, a fifteen-minute walk east of the port. The water stays shallow for a hundred meters, which is why picigin, the local ball game of flying saves, is played here; watch a round, then swim.
- 15 min · walk
- 7
Uje Oil Bar
Diocletian's Palace · 90 min
In a palace lane off Dominisova: Dalmatian small plates to share and an olive oil tasting flight, a good last night. Reserve in summer.
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The practical bits
From the airport
From Split airport (SPU), 25 km west by Trogir, the airport shuttle bus runs to the main bus station by the ferry port in about 30 minutes for around €9; the operator changed in 2026, so check the name on the stop. Promet bus 37 does the same for €3 in about 50 minutes, stopping along the way, and ends at the Sukoišan station, a fifteen-minute walk from the palace. A taxi is €35 to €45. From Zagreb, buses take four and a half to five hours and the train about six.
What a day costs
About €70 to €100 a day per person for meals, the palace tickets and city buses. The island day adds €40 to €60 for the catamaran round trip, the fortress and a taxi boat. A fish dinner by weight in a konoba runs €30 to €50 a head with wine.
Where to stay
Got a day to spare?
Worth knowing
- Buy the €15 purple ticket at the Peristyle window: cathedral, crypt, treasury, baptistery and bell tower in one, and climb the tower first.
- Croatia uses the euro and has since January 2023. Cards work almost everywhere, but the bus driver, the Bura Line boat and some island taxi boats are cash.
- In July and August do the palace and the islands before 11 a.m. and after 5 p.m. The siesta is real: shops and some restaurants close from about 1 to 5 p.m., and the palace stone holds heat into the evening.
- Book catamarans online a few days ahead in summer; the car ferries to Stari Grad and Supetar always have room for foot passengers and cost a fraction.
- Shoulders and knees covered in the cathedral; it is still the parish church and they turn people away at the door.
Things you can ask once it’s in the app
Plans change. Ask Chat and it proposes a reshuffled day you can apply, or just answers the question.
The Hvar catamaran is sold out on day 2, what is the best fallback?Make day 1 work in 35 degree heat with a toddlerCan we fit Krka National Park in instead of Trogir?Which konoba in Varoš is easiest for a party of six?How do I get from the airport to a flat inside the palace by bus?
Questions
Is three days enough for Split?
The palace is a half day and the rest of the city a day; three days adds one island and Trogir. A fourth day is Krka or Brač; a fifth, Vis or a boat day on your own terms.
Hvar or Brač for the island day?
Hvar for the town, the fortress and the Pakleni coves, reached by a one-hour catamaran that sells out in summer. Brač for Zlatni Rat beach at Bol: the Supetar car ferry is 50 minutes and about €6 any day, then an hour by bus across the island. Brač is the cheaper, calmer day; Hvar the prettier one.
Which day works in the rain?
Day 1: the cellars, the cathedral and the treasury are all indoors, though Marjan hill is not, and a wet Riva still has its cafes. Skip the island in rain or wind, because the catamarans cancel in a strong bura. Waystop's rain plan can add a second version of the Hvar day for you to switch to.
Krka or Plitvice from Split?
Krka: 85 km and an hour each way, €40 in summer and €20 in the shoulder months, boat from Skradin to the falls included from April to October; swimming at the main falls is no longer allowed. Plitvice is 250 km and three hours each way, also €40 in summer; it needs a twelve-hour day or a night on the way to Zagreb.
Before you go
Nearby
Same country first, then the cities people tend to pair with Split. Want two or three in one go? String them together in the trip builder.
Your version
Now make it fit your trip.
Add your dates, your hotel and who’s coming, then ask Chat to change anything: it proposes the edit and you tap Apply. Want a long lunch instead of a museum? Just ask. Every place is checked against Google Maps before it lands on your day, and Chat can tell you when to leave for the next stop. Going on to another city? Build a multi-city trip.