Day Trips From Split, Croatia: Our Top 3

If you travel through Croatia and plan on staying in the Dalmatia-region, keep in mind that there are a few amazing day-trips to do from Split.

While planning our road trip through Europe, we obviously thought of Croatia (get the full itinerary of our road trip in Croatia here).

And we also knew that we wanted to stay in Split after hearing so much of it (full blogpost on that incredible city coming soon!).

But we had no clue what kind of cities or parks were in the surroundings. We knew about the Plitvice Lakes National Park, sure. Everyone heard of that.

You’ll have to read on to find out why this could be a great day-trip starting from Split and why it might NOT be... Getting curious? Then READ ON! 🙂

Quick overview

Public transportation or car?

# 1 of Split day-trips: Plitvice Lakes National Park

Best time to visit?

Choosing the right hiking trail

# 2 of Split day-trips: Picturesque Trogir

Where to stay?

Things to see in Trogir

# 2 of Split day-trips: Hvar island

Things to do in Hvar, the town

Things to do on Hvar island

Things to do around Hvar island

Public transportation or car?

There are a few very cool things to see in the surroundings. They are either accessible by public transportation like bus or ferry, but the best thing would be to rent a car.

We had our own car as we came down from Slovenia (all about our Slovenia road trip here) after having travelled through Western Austria. So this was easy.

But I would always recommend renting a car in general. The freedom you get to explore different parts of each country is just totally worth spending a bit more on transportation!

If it's islands you're visiting, you either take the bigger and slower car-ferries (and thus avoid getting seasick - if you are prone to that) or the bumpier but faster speed-ferries.

Anyways, let's cut to the chase!

Here are our favourite day-trip experiences starting from Split. Have fun reading and let us know what you thought of it!

# 1 of Split day-trips: Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice Lakes in a nutshell

A natural park of almost 300 km2
16 natural lakes (all interconnected) and countless waterfalls and forests
4 hiking trails with 7 different routes
2 entrances: upper and lower lakes
Entrance fee: 26 € or 30,60 US$ (July 2020; it used to be 34 € or 40 US$ in non-Covid times)
Parking fee: approx. 10,60 € (12,50 US$) for the whole day

The Plitvice Lakes National Park is actually the biggest NP in Croatia.

If you wondered if there were any lakes or waterfalls in Split – well there are not. But there are crazy beautiful lakes waterfalls in the surroundings of Split. And that’s right here!

And although I've seen the Iguazú falls and many other nature experiences while travelling in Patagonia, this park is truly amazing. And it was my second visit (the first was in 2005).

Good to know

If you love anything nature, you’ll have to check this park out!

Okay, it can get VERY crowded, depending of the season and the time of the day (1 million visitors a year, in non-Covid-times).

But there are a few tricks to get there at the perfect time and thus avoid being stuck like a sardine (continue reading).

Best time to visit?

The first trick would obviously be: get there NOW.

In current Covid19-times, even during high season, the park is pretty much empty. That is, compared to regular times.

The second one is obvious too: get there during the week, not the weekends!

Third trick: get there as early as possible! The park opens at 7 am. Yes. That’s early.

But trust us, it’s worth getting your butts out of bed, especially if you don’t have any other choice than travelling during high season.

Most people are coming by bus. And those usually don’t arrive earlier than 8 or 9am. Beat them and you’ll be admiring beautiful waterfalls all by yourself!

The fourth trick is to choose the less popular track.

Choosing the right hiking trail

Plenty to choose from

There are four hiking trails with seven different routes to choose from.

I won’t go into the details of each one of them (plenty of blogposts out there for this), but just remember this: the longer the hike, the less you’ll be surrounded by crowds.

And that’s exactly what we did: the K-hike.

This is the longest one and the ONLY one that will take you through the entire park. Not just the upper or lower lakes. All of it.

The best part is: far less people do this one as it’s about 18,3 km and takes 6 to 8 hours to complete.

But it’s not difficult in terms of climbing. There are only two a little more steeper parts, the rest is pretty much flat.

And the views you get from up the only hill you’ll climb (seriously, it’s not even that much of a hill), are gorgeous! And you’ll probably end up having that view all by yourself!

The K-Hike

Length: 18,3 km
Duration: 6-8 hours (depending on the amount of photo-stops)
Difficulty: two little climbs, flat for the rest
Highlights:
- ‘Veliki Slap’ or the Great Waterfall (the highest one in the park, 78 m drop): right by Entrance 1 – come early !
- The view from up the hill down on ‘Veliki Prstavac’, the second highest waterfall (28 m drop): only possible on the K-trail
- Lake views without anyone people bothering you
- Hikes through the thick and beautiful forest, instead of only on the lake-shores

Map with the K-trail from the official site of Plitvice National Park

Good to know:

From Split to the Entrance 1 of Plitvice Lakes, it takes about 2h30 by car (243 km)

From Split to the Entrance 2 of Plitvice Lakes, it takes about 2h40 by car (258 km)

Okay, we actually didn’t drive directly from Split to the Plitvice Lakes as we were coming from the other side.

But I still wanted to list it among the day-trips to do from Split as it’s just magical.

And if you planned on only doing the main coastal cities in Croatia, you would miss out this magnificent park.

Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an

ABOUT REFRESHNG WATERFALLS - AGAIN⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ I know, lots of waterfall-content on this feed and/or the stories..⁠ .⁠⠀ But this picture was kind of fitting as we spent today in Dubrovnik, walking on the walls all around the old town, wishing to have a refreshing waterfall like this one right over our heads. ⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ It was SO HOT!! ⁠ .⁠⠀ It takes time to accommodate to extreme temperatures. And although this was nothing compared to the 50°C in Marrakesh a few years ago (so I guess you can't call this 'extreme'), we were both kind of just melting away today ⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ Anyways, if you love waterfalls and nature in general, go check out the Plitvice Lakes National Park when in Croatia!⁠! .⁠⠀ The colours of the lakes are mesmerising and it's amazing to think that constantly change! Depending on the quantity of organisms and minerals in the water, the angle of the sunlight and whether it's cloudy or not, the shades range from azure to grey or green ⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ Anyways: temperatures here in Dubrovnik are WAY higher than what we had in that park!!⁠ .⁠⠀ Don't forget to check out our latest blogpost about travelling with a chronic illness and its treatments - heat ain't good for the latter ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ https://www.themarveloustravelers.com/travel-and-ulcerative-colitis-treatments⁠ .⁠⠀ How do you cope with extreme temperatures? Besides drinking a lot and turning on the airco? ⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ ___________________________-⁠⠀ #plitvicelakes #plitvicelakesnationalpark #waterfalllover #hikinglover #amazingwaterfalls #waterfalllove #goosebumptravel #travelblognewbie #natureexperience #igtravellers #travelphotography #welivetoexplore #speechlessplaces #turquoiselakes #lakelove #europeroadtrip #themarveloustravelers #bloggernewbie #wanderlustsatisfaction #breathtakingplaces #folkgreen #outdoortones #natureexperiences #ibdwarrior #chronicillnesstravel #chronictraveler #roadtripadventure #discoverunder1k

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Cyn & Sebi | TRAVEL & HEALTH (@themarveloustravelers) am Jul 24, 2020 um 11:52 PDT

So here’s another tip: if you want to do the day-long hike, get yourself an accommodation for 1 night somewhere in the surroundings (see box below) of Korenica.

You’ll be much more relaxed to get to the park and start your day. And you won’t be arriving back in Split in the middle of the night – haha.

Booking.com

Or, if your budget is not that tight, it's obviously even better to stay in the immediate surroundings of the park.

Look at the options here below:

Booking.com

But if you prefer to have everything from bus to guided walk included, there are plenty of tour-operators that can organize this for you:

Turquoise lake with rose flower at Plitvice Lakes, one of the day-trips from Split

Pristine water on those lakes! It frequently changes the colour due to organisms and minerals

Greenish water and little waterfalls in Plitvice Lakes National Park

Here the water is more greenish

Dreamy waterfall surrounded by greens on one of the day-trips from Split to Plitvice Lakes

Veliki Prstavac: Isn't this dreamy??

Marvelous Cyn in red coat standing on a hill looking down on lakes and waterfalls

The same seen from above: only from K-trail!!

Wooden path with handrail in forest in Plitvice

The walk on itself is beautiful too

There was hardly anyone here when we went

# 2 of Split day-trips: Picturesque Trogir

Trogir in a nutshell

The historic city center of ‘Grad Trogir’ lies on a tiny island between mainland Croatia and the island Ciovo
Trogir is on UNESCO’S World Heritage Sites list since 1997
Also known as ‘The Little Venice’ due to its (obviously) Venetian architecture
The name of the city is subject to many legends (read below)
The 15^th century Kamerlengo-fortress hosts a famous festival every summer: the Moondance Festival (which will take place on August 1^st this year, despite Corona)
Trogir had the first pharmacy in Europe, which opened in 1271
Various films and series have used the historic center as a set (yes, Game of Thrones as well)

Good to know:

It will take you approximately 40 min (30 km) to get from Split to Trogir by car.

Or 30 min with the bus which cost about 3 € (3,50 US$).

The parking in Trogir cost about 1,30 € (1,50 US$) per hour.

Where to stay?

To visit Trogir, you could obviously stay in the city itself.

But Trogir ain't big, which is why we recommend it as a day-trip to do from Split.

Sleeping in the middle of Split's old town can be quite expensive but we found this cute little apartment that was reasonably priced!

We paid about 45 € (or 52,75 US$) for two per night which is pretty good for being at a 10 min walk from Diocletian’s palace and the sea!

But we were actually lucky that our original accommodation, a bit outside of the old town, was double booked. So we got this one for the same price – haha.

You should definitely look in that area, called ‘Gripe’ for the best prices!

Here are possible options for staying in Split in general (both old-town and Gripe): click on the map below!

Booking.com

Fun fact:

As I said, there many theories or legends surround the origin of Trogir’s name.

One of them might actually be the most plausible one: the Greek words ‘Tragos’ (= goats) and ‘Oros’ (= hill) indicate that the town was probably in a mostly goat-herding area.

Things to see in Trogir

This cute little town has a beautiful Romanesque-gothic core which ranks among the best-preserved in Europe.

Check out the centre of the old-town but don’t forget to walk all around the city as well to see the different gates and walls.

The Fortress Kamerlengo dating back to the 15^th century is worth visiting to. It’s right next to the parking lot I mentioned earlier.

Visit the St Lawrence Cathedral and the Duke’s palace (both from the 13^th century) as well as the city loggia from the 15^thcentury.

Marvelous travelers Sebi and Cyn in front of the city scape of Trogir

Us trying to pose on a moving jetty..

Trogir's main square with San Sebastian church and tower

Trogir street with Marvelous traveler Cyn walking through

Cute little streets

Walls and street with church tower in the background from one of the day-trips from Split

Going to Kamerlengo Fortress

Cathedral tower with flowers in the foreground in Trogir

The cathedral tower

# 2 of Split day-trips: Hvar island

Hvar in a nutshell

Hvar is an island of less than 300 km² off the coast of Split
It lies at the centre of Adriatic sailing routes, which made it important for trade
Hvar has been inhabited since the Neolithic times, after which came the Illyrians and then the Greek (they had a colony on Stari Grad)
Then, of course, came the Venetian Empire, using it as a naval base
The Hvar Rebellion in the 16^th century + pirates + the Ottomans caused a lot of trouble
And then came the Austrians again haha, remodelling the big fort overlooking the town of Hvar (read below)
Tourism is economically super important
Lots of ‘famous’ and lesser famous people visit the island every year

Good to know:

To get from Split to Hvar you’ll need the ferry: plenty of Jadrolinija-ferries a few times a day, 28 € p.p. (32,80 US$), 1 hour ride
Beware of the timetable, though! We had no ferry between 1 pm and 5.30 pm. So it was either leave right after lunch or hang around for a bit (which we did)

Things to do in Hvar, the town

Hvar Port: the first thing you'll see if you come to the island by this side. There are also ferries getting directly to Stari Grad on the other side of the island
The Franciscan Monastery: museum exhibits and painting from various eras
St Stephen’s Cathedral: built on the site of a 6^th century Christian church, there are various elements from the Gothic church of the 14^th century still in place. Other than that, it’s a simple triple-aisled church with a 17^th century bell-tower.
The Arsenal: built in the 16^th century, now housing a theatre

Get a bit out of town by venturing up the stairs into the cute little streets!

Lots of tasty little restaurants up there too.

We had some really yummy flatbreads at Fig. The owner is an Argentinian who combines his love for travel and cooking, mixing it with local produce.

Although I must admit that I felt those fresh figs afterwards as my Ulcerative Colitis tends to cause trouble when eating food with grains.

Boats floating on turquoise water with mediterranean town and hills in the background

Picturesque Hvar Port with the Fort Spanjola in the background

Cathedral and tower in Hvar, one of the day-trips from Split

St Stephen's Cathedral

People strolling on the main square of Hvar town with cathedral in the background

Hvar towns' main square - quite busy

Street with sandstone buildings in Hvar town

Cute streets

Street with sandstone buildings in Hvar town looking down to center

One of the higher streets

Street with sandstone buildings in Hvar town with tower in the background

Part of the Venetian wall

Things to do on Hvar island

Tvrdava Fortica or ‘Fort Spanjola’

THE viewpoint for the city! Couldn’t get enough of these views while up there!

On top of this hill, there had been kind of a fort in the Bronze/Iron Age already.

Later came a Byzantine citadel in the 6^th century, before the Venetians remodelled the whole thing with walls in the 13^thcentury.

The fortica (from the Italian ‘fortezza’) got renamed ‘Spanjola’ because Spanish engineers worked on it in the 14^thcentury.

Napoleon had a brief stay here as well and the Austrians rebuilt parts of it in their typical way.

The fort is now mainly an attraction point for tourists with the gorgeous views and a tiny museum of underwater-archaeology (pretty interesting!).

It’s pretty easy to get up, just follow the signs. Lots of stairs and a winding walk but lots of shadow too thanks to the pine trees.

And a cute little chapel along the way, the Church of Our Lady of Kruvenica.

Entrance fee: 5,30 € p.p. (6,22 US$)

Steep stairway through a street in medieval Hvar going up

Stairway to heaven..wait no, the Fort!

Ruins of a church with red roofs and sea in the background

Passing some ruins on the way up

Stairs carved in the rock leading to a sandstone chapel

The lovely church of Our Lady Kruvenica

Marvelous Sebi leaning on a canon looking out onto the sea

Sebi loves canons

Fort Spanjola seen from the inside with blue skies

Inside the Fort Spanjola

Town with red brick roofs, blue sea and islands seen from up the fort, Hvar

That view!!

Tvrdava Napoljun or 'Napoleon Fortress'

If you like to get even higher up, go see the Napoleon Fortress (Tvrdava Napoljun), built under the guy with the same name in 1811 which is now home to an observatory.

It’s a hike of around 4 km with rewarding views.

Things to do around Hvar island

Stari Grad: an ancient Greek colony ('Pharos') with little churches and lots of archaeology
Get a sail-boat to the Pakleni islands: we didn’t do it as I get seasick but it’s supposed to be magnificent
Sail to the Blue Cave – again, not our thing as I would not enjoy it, or do a sunset-sail (we got lots of offers for that but had to decline)
Spend some time at the beaches: we found this cute little spot right outside of the town (see on map below) with no people and the clearest water

Rocky beach and turquoise sea with sailing boats

Look on the map where to find this calm spot

Rocky beach in the shadow with green boat upside down and turquoise sea

We were alone the whole afternoon

And if you’re interested in weird fun facts, check out our Insta-post below:

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FUN FACTS ABOUT HVAR ISLAND, A SHORT FERRY-RIDE FROM SPLIT⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ Follow @themarveloustravelers for our current Euro-road trip (check out our stories from today )⁠⠀ Check out our blog www.themarveloustravelers.com for more pictures and useful travel-guides⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ 'Hvar' is actually an Icelandic word meaning "where". Okay..⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ Back in 1932, the island was for sale. Nothing THAT impressive as even Johnny Depp has his own island. Haha.⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ The people on the island have eight different words for 'chisel', each being a regional dialect. ⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ If you are leaving Hvar with the Jadrolinija-ferry (which we did) and give birth ON the ferry (which we didn't), your child gets to ride the ferry for free his whole life!⁠⠀ (thanks @total_croatia_news for the fun facts )⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ PS: There's a whole blogpost about day-trips to do from Split coming up on the blog tomorrow! Stay tuned!⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ PPS: Swipe for a little BTS of me taking pictures of my feet and the result you saw in the Hvar-stories. It does feel silly sometimes, all these pictures and videos ⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ __________________⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Anyone else feeling silly sometimes when doing things "for the 'gram"? ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ __________________⁠⠀ #hvar #hvarcroatia #hvarisland #hvartown #croatiatravel #croatiafulloflife #croatia_lovers #croatia_instagram #islandhopping #citytripeurope #cityscapes #funfactsoftheday #travelbloggeroftheweek #bloggernewbie #cityphotography #islandphotography #discoverunder1k #coastaltowns #architecturelove #architecturephotography #coupletrip #passionpassport #chronicillnessblogger #cityscape #gohere #thediscoverer #darlingescapes #ladiesgoneglobal #traveltagged

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Cyn & Sebi | TRAVEL & HEALTH (@themarveloustravelers) am Aug 2, 2020 um 12:29 PDT

These were our top 3 day-trips to do from Split.

Obviously, there are a lot of other options:

A trip from Split to Zadar : there will probably be a whole list of things to do in Zadar in our full-Croatian-blogpost
From Split to Krka National Park: For that one, be prepared to have lots of crowds if you plan on swimming here. They plan to forbid swimming near the waterfalls as off 2021!

But these are all stories for another time 🙂

Feel free to comment, pin and share this post!

As ever,

Cyn

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