Half Day Trips From Split – What to see in Split Croatia in one day?
Whether the reason is that your cruise ship arrives later than usual, early morning departures for daily excursions or you’re just one of those, who on vacation primarily want a good night’s sleep, we bring you a brief description of the destinations that you can visit in half day trips from Split.
This is only a short list of ideas and proposals that would be worth visiting in the vicinity of Split and that can be visited in a few hours. Visits to some of these destinations are organized half day trips from Split, while in other cases we will give you more guidance to the fastest and cheapest way to visit beautiful locations Split is “hiding” in its neighborhood.
So what to do in Split Croatia in one day?
In case you have just arrived to our beautiful city, there is no hurry to visit the periphery until you see what the center has to offer.
Diocletian’s Palace is one of the ancient buildings, the largest and best preserved late antique palace in the world. It’s a definitive choice for any Split half day tour.
The huge and magnificent imperial villa was intended for the emperor’s life and rest, but also was a well-fortified camp. The palace always faced the threat of a possible onslaught of barbarians and for these reasons the palace from the outside leaves the impression of a strong fortification, while the insides are luxurious and comfortable.
The palace is of vast proportions – it occupies 30,000 square meters, defined by rectangular towers at its corners. Land Gate of the palace is further fortified by two octagonal towers and the palace is intersected by two wide streets (cardo and decumanus) that end in four doors: the north Golden gate (Porta Aurea), in the east by Silver Gate (Porta Argenta), in the west by the Iron door (Porta Ferrea), and in the south by the brass (Porta Aenea) that led to the sea.
Within those still existing entrances you will find all of the content that you need to spend a phenomenal day: a variety of shops, museums, restaurants, cafes, as well as the most important sites of Split‘s cultural heritage.
The main square, the Peristyle, surrounded by the open space, can give you an insight into the variety of architectural styles woven through the centuries in a relatively small area.
On the left side of the Peristyle stands the monumental octagonal emperor’s mausoleum, and on the right is the Temple of Jupiter.
To level the land beneath his chambers, the emperor built the cellars, which are now accessible to the public. In those you can also find interesting content, especially if you wish to bring home a Croatian souvenir.
One certainly cannot forget the Church of St. Duje, which is the oldest cathedral in the world.
This relatively small area you can visit by yourself in less than an hour. However, our advice is still to hire a tour guide who will tell a myriad of interesting historical stories and secrets that hide within the walls of the city. You will have no difficulties finding a guide in the mentioned market Peristyle.
Marjan Hill is the peninsula and forest park located in the western part of Split peninsula. Split is located at the foot of Marjan. Only the hill is 178 meters high and the highest peak is called Telegrin. Length of Marjan is about 3.5 km and the maximum width is around 1.5 km. The area of Marjan is about 340 hectares, half of which is covered by pine trees.
This oasis is an ideal destination if you want to spend a couple of hours in the beautiful nature. It can also be the location for recreational activities as well as an ideal vantage point, which with its “Vidilica” enables one of the most beautiful views of the city.
Museums in the city are numerous, so you can visit the Museum of the City of Split, the Ethnographic Museum, the Archaeological Museum or the Museum of Sport. There are many galleries and if you do not have time to visit several locations, we strongly encourage you stop by Ivan Meštrović gallery.
In addition to museum inventory (sculptures, drawings, paintings, architectural drawings and furniture), the gallery preserves documents referring to the life and work of Ivan Meštrović, one of the most famous contemporary artists from the region who gained worldwide recognition.
But what if you do have enough time for some of the half day trips from Split?
If you have already explored the city or you plan to do it in the evening and during the day you want to see something else in the vicinity, as we promised, in the text below tells you about the amazing destinations and activities near Split.
Trogir – UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site
Many times, we were surprised to see how many visitors of Split are not really aware that only a half-hour drive away there is another extremely beautiful and valuable town, a city which is even older than Split. This city has not only the palace under UNESCO protection, but in this case the whole town is on the list of world cultural heritage.
The good news is that in addition to many organized excursions that visit Trogir, you can easily visit this place by your car or city bus number 37.
The town is relatively small and within its walls there are many hotels, restaurants, cafes, as well as valuable attractions such as St. Paul’s Cathedral or the Kamerlengo fortress. Besides the beautiful ancient town that was originally an island (later connected to the mainland) in front of it there is another island – Čiovo. This is an ideal opportunity to maybe take a swim in the beautiful beaches opposite Trogir.
Omiš – adventure tours destination and more
If your ideal vacation includes a dose of adrenaline, then the visit to Omiš definitely cannot go wrong. There is almost no activity at sea, the water, the mountains or in the air, which is not on offer here.
A beautiful town is in the shelter of two small mountains between which runs a beautiful river Cetina. But this is not all, in front of it there is a sandy beach.
The good news is also that all mentioned activities are available within half day trips from Split since the city of Omiš is located only 24 kilometers east of Split and can be reached in 40 minutes. Many agencies have in offer trips such as rafting or zip line in Omiš. You can visit this destination by your car, and if you are on vacation without a vehicle then you can reach it by city bus number 60. Whatever you decide, we are sure this place will not leave you indifferent.
The city of Solin – an ancient Roman Salona
Six kilometers north of Split in today’s Solin there are remains of the ancient Salona, capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia.
Croatian name Solin originated from the Latinized name Salona, which has roots in the Illyrian language. In the history, this name was first mentioned in 119 BC, during the war between the Romans. The history of this town goes even more back. Ancient Greek geographer Strabon says that Salona was the port of the Illyrian tribes of Dalmatia, who probably traded there with Greek sailors. The remains of walls, Greek objects found in Salona and its surroundings indicate that the Greeks were the founders of the city.
This rich and turbulent history has left behind many archaeological sites such as the Roman amphitheater, aqueduct, churches and monasteries.
Solin history we must be explored at least a little to experience Dalmatia in the right way. The city can easily be reached by the city bus number 1 and 16 and if you want you can also hire a travel agency that will, with the aid of a licensed guide, help you discover all the secrets that are hidden in the ancient Roman Salona.
Klis Fortress – experience the most beautiful view of Split
Klis hill represents a connection between the mountains Mosor in the east and Kozjak to the west. Throughout history, it was the target of many nations, from the Illyrians and the Venetians, to the Turks who considered it the door to Dalmatia, an open way to the old Salona and Split.
A settlement emerged on the top of the hill that was later fortified by the Turks. A well-known Klis fortress is a symbol of the place, but also of the resistance of the United Dalmatians in the fight against the Turks. Even today Klis acts as a link between the sea and the hinterlands, because it is passed by the old and the new road to the Croatian inland.
In addition to the rich history, this is one of the locations where the famous series Game of Thrones was filmed. To enjoy the magnificent view that stretches to the fortress city of Split, the hill is reachable by a short drive of about ten minutes by car or a little longer travel on public transport.
We hope this list is comprehensive enough to give you some ideas of how to spend a couple of hours, or you can use it as a basis of planning the entire week during your holiday in Split.