Croatia’s second largest city, Split, is the ideal pick for nature lovers and history buffs. Plus, it’s the perfect base from which to explore some of the most picturesque Croatian islands. But don’t think of it as just a stopover to island-hop, I spent three days there and absolutely fell in love.
There’s something so charming about this city, it’s like an open-air museum. The whole place is built around and inside the Roman ruins of Diocletian’s Palace. You’ll find restaurants where servants’ chambers once were, and ancient dungeons that are now busy tourist markets. It’s not just sightseeing you can do either. There are Blue Flag beaches on your doorstep and lush green parks to wander through. Plus, everything’s within easy reach. You can stroll the winding streets, walk the stunning prom and bar-hop your way around on foot. So, save your Uber money for the more important things… seafood and wine, ofc.
A two-hour flight is all that separates you from these stunning scenes in Split…
Day 1
We caught the first flight out of Luton Airport, which meant we got to spend a full first day in the city. That’s the way I like to travel – early flight out and late flight home, squeezing every little bit out of my AL. A quick 30-minute taxi ride took us to our hotel, where we left our bags and headed straight out to explore. I was walking the palm-lined prom by 10am… not bad for a Monday morning. The Riva promenade is super easy to get to from pretty much every part of the Old Town. The narrow lanes will take you to the seafront harbour in minutes or you can take the long way round (which really isn’t much longer) and have a mooch around the markets on the way. There’s a lot going on – cruise ships and boats dock here most days, there are loads of bars and cafés and it’s always buzzing with people.
With the weather forecast promising this to be the hottest day of our holiday, we obvs spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach. One of our main reasons for picking Split was that it had that sweet city and beach combo. Bačvice Beach is just a 15-minute stroll from the city centre and there are plenty of signs guiding you in the right direction. From the harbour, we headed through the Old Town towards the Golden Gate – one of the four Roman gates – and in front of you, you’ll see a huge bronze statue up a set of stairs. This is the iconic Statue of Gregory of Nin and it’s a pretty big deal in Split. Local legend says giving the statue’s toe a rub brings you good luck and you’ll see that the toe is extremely shiny from everyone rubbing it and making a wish. Obviously, we had to take part in this tradition, and we also asked someone to take our picture with the statue. If you want to get a snap without loads of people in the background, then I suggest getting here either super early or later in the evening, as this area is very busy all day, and it’s also where a lot of the walking tours start and finish.
We carried on towards the beach through Strossmayer Park and along the way there are a few little shops, so we picked up some snacks to have on the sand – a big bag of Lays and a couple of bottles of Fanta Lemon. Bačvice Beach has Blue Flag status and it’s not hard to see why. It’s a huge sandy cove with plenty of space to relax and shady spots on the grassy verges. Being the closest beach to the centre, it’s very popular with both locals and tourists, so it can get quite busy. But, if you carry on another 10 minutes and then down a set of steps, you’ll reach Firule Beach. If you love cats, you’re in luck because there are loads as you go down the steps. We’re huge cat fans, so we had to stop for a few strokes. You’ll find Firule Beach is much smaller than Bačvice, but a lot quieter – which we preferred – so we found a place for our towels and that was us done for the next few hours. I won’t lie, the super early flight was starting to catch up with me and the gentle sound of the waves meant I did have a little nap. The water here is very shallow and calm, perfect to cool off in or join in with a popular local game of ‘picigin’. We didn’t actually know what this was at first, but it’s basically volleyball without the net – you hit a small ball with your palms, passing it back and forth and trying to stop it from touching the water. Everyone seemed to be playing it!
After topping up our tan, we headed back to our hotel for a quick change. We’d read about the iconic Split sunset, and were keen to catch it around 8pm, so we found a cute restaurant for an early dinner in the Varoš neighbourhood, called Konoba Deep Shade. You’ll find lots of restaurants with the word ‘konoba’ in the name and it translates to taverna. These places are your more authentic restaurants with home-cooked local food. The food in Split is a real mix of Mediterranean inspired dishes, mainly focusing on Italian flavours due to its location. I had a delicious truffle pasta with pancetta and my partner, Chris, had the beef gnocchi, both topped with loads of parmesan, ofc. It tasted so fresh and ngl, I could’ve easily eaten three bowls – it was that good.
We then began our trek up Marjan hill to reach a hilltop platform to watch the sunset. There are plenty of smaller viewpoints as you wander through the park that we stopped at to get a few pics, but if you want the best view, in my opinion, you’ve got to go to the top. You’ll see a huge Croatian flag flying up here, so you know you’re in the right place. Now, this isn’t your usual holiday evening stroll. It’s hard work and all uphill, as well as over 300 steep steps at the end – so comfy shoes and a bottle of water are a must. But, the results are deffo worth it. You get panoramic views across the whole of Split and it’s the perfect spot for that golden-hour picture. Once the sun went down, it was back to our room for an early night. After all, we’d been up since about 2am…
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Day 2
On our second day, we headed out on a daytrip to some nearby waterfalls. We had to catch the bus at 8am, so we grabbed a quick pastry and ate it on the way to pick up our tickets. We found so many cute bakeries around the Old Town, but some of the best spots were along Marmont Street. We got a classic ham and cheese and then for a sweet treat, we tried a Krafne – very similar to a donut, filled with chocolate, vanilla or marmalade. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll LOVE these.
The trip we picked was Krka Waterfalls tour from Split with wine tasting and it started off with a comfy coach ride to Krka National Park. The journey was around an hour and on the way, the guide told us all about Split’s history. The park was absolutely stunning and you’ll have plenty of time to soak up all the natural beauty. There’s the main waterfall area that everyone wants a pic in front of, and as you wander around, you’ll see a series of smaller waterfalls that gradually crash down into the lower lake. Heads up – while the water looks tempting, unfortunately you can’t actually swim here, but the sights on their own are well worth the visit. Getting around was easy with wooden trails guiding you around the park. We stopped at different lookout platforms along the way, which offered beautiful views, and the range of wildlife here is next level.
Top tip – have a look in the reeds as you walk around to spot the camouflaged singing frogs. You’ll hear a throaty croaking noise, which sounds more like a bird than a frog, and they have these funny balloon-like cheeks that expand as they make their calling noise.
Next, we made our way to Skradin. This super cute town has a little beach and plenty of coffee shops, bars and independent boutiques. We stopped for an ice-cream, and I had a little look at the clothes shops before we wandered along the cobbled streets and up to the fortress. Some people on the tour went for a quick swim but we decided we’d rather grab a beer by the waterfront and soak up the views. Then, it was onto Sladić Winery in the small village of Plastovo, just outside Skradin. This family-run business has been producing wine for generations. The vineyards are in a sweet spot nestled between the mountains and the sea, with the Krka River running nearby, so they get the ideal combo of warm days and cool nights, which apparently means the grapes ripen more evenly. They weren’t wrong – we got to taste four different wines, which were all incredible. My personal fave was the white wine and on top of that, we also got to taste some local cheese, bread and olive oil. We were really impressed with the whole experience. The staff were very attentive, they told you all about each wine and as soon as your glass was empty, they’d be back to fill it up with the next one. If you fancy a bite to eat, they offer meat and olive platters for €16, which I deffo recommend as it pairs perfectly with the wines.
After an hour’s coach ride, we were back in Split, and we’d booked a table at Ikra Fish & Wine restaurant. This place had been highly recommended, and you could tell how popular it was – there was a queue of people waiting for a table. The decor inside matched the cuisine with a colourful fish tank and ocean-themed murals. We went for the bruschetta sharing plate to start, with shrimp, octopus and smoked salmon, and it was honestly unreal. For mains, I ordered a traditional Dalmatian dish, called cuttlefish black risotto. I’d seen pictures of this and thought I had to try it while I was here. Don’t be put off by its unusual colour – it was creamy, fresh and like nothing I’d tasted before. Chris had the shrimp ravioli, and he can confirm this was equally as good. The restaurant is more on the pricier side but well worth it for a top-tier seafood meal. We finished off the night at a chic cocktail bar that we’d seen earlier called Picasso. Picture bright lights, velvet chairs and lit-up cabinets of spirits. Oh, and a HUGE list of classic and unique cocktails.
Day 3
Today was all about the historical side of Split and we wanted to tick off all the top attractions. We wanted something quick and easy for brekkie, so we grabbed a bagel from a little kiosk in the Old Town and set off. We wandered through Diocletian’s Palace – once the home of Roman Emperor Diocletian – and made our way to Peristil Square to get our tickets for some of the main sites. You can pick from a range of tickets that give you access to different places, but went for the purple one, which includes all five sites. We started off in the Cathedral of Saint Domnius, one of the oldest cathedrals in the world. It was originally Emperor Diocletian’s mausoleum, built in the 4th century and later, it changed into a church. Next, we went up to the bell tower. This was one of my fave places we visited, and my advice would be to get here early to avoid the crowds, as it’s a very long and narrow stairway and it’s one way up and down the tower. It also goes up pretty high, so you might not want to look down if you don’t like heights. When you reach the top, the views are unreal. We’re talking 360-degree views across the entire city and port.
After climbing all those steps, we decided to take a quick break and stumbled across this cute café, just down one of the alleys out of the square. I got a caramel iced coffee, and Chris went for a homemade lemonade. They were deffo needed and we took them to one of the walls outside the cathedral to drink. After this, we went to the Treasury – a museum with loads of artefacts, paintings and sculptures. We didn’t realise it was shutting for lunch at 2pm, so we only had around half an hour in here, but we managed to see all the main bits. Finally, we visited the last two places included in our ticket. A little room by the square called The Temple of Jupiter – a very small but impressive and well-preserved, ancient Roman temple – and the Crypt of St Lucy. If you fancy a bit more background about these, there are loads of free guided tours you can book onto, run by local historians and teachers.
We had a taxi booked for 6pm to take us to the airport for our flight home, so we headed back to the hotel to grab our bags and went for one last walk down the Riva promenade. We didn’t know much about Split or Croatia before taking this trip, but it stole our hearts with its charm and beauty. For a small city, there’s so much to see and do and three days is an ideal amount of time to pack everything in but still have enough time to relax and just take in the wonderful sights around you. We 100% plan to come back and maybe do a boat trip to one of the neighbouring islands next time.
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Author: Rachel Coppenhall (she/her)
Last updated: 07/08/2025
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