Split With Kids
A Roman emperor built a retirement palace on the Adriatic in the year 305, and 1,700 years later people still live inside it. That is the old town of Split. Add a sandy beach a 10 minute walk away, a forest hill with swimming coves and ferries to the islands from the promenade, and you have the easiest base on the Croatian coast.
Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel
Is Split good for kids?
Yes. A Roman palace to explore, a sandy beach with shallow water a 10 minute walk from the old town, a forest hill with coves, island ferries from the front door and ice cream on the promenade. The stone streets are rough for strollers but short.
How many days do you need in Split?
Four nights for the palace, Marjan, the beach and one island day. Five if you add Krka or Trogir.
Is Split or Dubrovnik better with kids?
Split. The beach is walkable, the island boats leave from the old town, hotels cost less and there is more room to move. Dubrovnik is the two night add on at the end for the walls.
Which island is the easiest day trip from Split?
Hvar by catamaran, an hour each way with a town to walk and water taxis to swimming beaches. Brač is the choice for the Zlatni Rat beach, by ferry to Supetar and a bus to Bol.
When is the best time to visit Split?
May, June, September and early October for warm sea without the crowds. July and August are hot, busy and the most expensive, though the ferry schedules are fullest then.
A City Inside A Palace
Diocletian retired here from running the Roman Empire and built a palace the size of a small town, with walls, gates, a temple and his own mausoleum. When the empire fell, locals moved in and never left. The mausoleum became the cathedral, the cellars became markets and the streets inside the walls are the ones you walk today, with laundry hanging over Roman columns.
Four nights gives you the palace, the hill, the beach and one island day, all from one hotel. The ferry port is a five minute walk from the old town, which is why Split works as the base and Dubrovnik does not.
Getting Around
On foot. The old town, the Riva promenade, the ferry port, the bus station and Bačvice beach are all within 15 minutes of each other. City buses reach Marjan hill and the Kašjuni beach. Catamarans to the islands leave from the port. A car is for Krka and Plitvice, and parking near the old town is hard.
Neighborhoods worth basing in
Inside the palace walls
Apartments and small hotels in the Roman and medieval buildings of the old town, with stone streets, the Peristyle, the bell tower and the Riva at the door. Atmospheric and noisy at night in summer, with stairs and no cars. Pick a quiet lane and bring earplugs in August.
Bačvice and Firule
East of the port, the neighborhood around the sandy city beach, with apartments, playgrounds and cafes on the sand, and the old town a 10 to 15 minute walk away. The base for families who want the beach every afternoon.
Meje and Marjan
West of the old town below the forest hill, quiet residential streets, the Kašjuni and Bene beaches and the Marjan trails. Ten minutes by bus or 25 on foot to the palace. Calm and green.
Hotel Park Split
A 1921 hotel above Bačvice beach with an outdoor pool, gardens, big rooms and the old town a 10 minute walk along the water. The splurge in Split.
Radisson Blu Resort Split
On the water east of the center at Trstenik, with outdoor pools, a beach deck and a 10 minute taxi or bus into the old town. The resort option for families who want the pool after the sightseeing.
Cornaro Hotel
Just outside the Golden Gate at the top of the old town, with a rooftop terrace, modern rooms and the palace, the market and the bus station all within five minutes on foot. Good value for the location.
The Three I Build Every Split Trip Around
Diocletian’s Palace and the Peristyle
Enter through the Bronze Gate from the Riva into the cellars, the vaulted basement where the Game of Thrones dragons were kept, then climb into the Peristyle, the colonnaded square with the cathedral on one side and a black Egyptian sphinx that is 3,500 years old. Climb the bell tower for the view, 180 steps and open stairs for brave kids. Out the Golden Gate, rub the big toe of the Gregory of Nin statue for luck. The whole thing is free except the tower and the cathedral.
Marjan hill and the coves
The forest hill west of the old town is the city’s park, with stairs up from the Varoš neighborhood to a cafe terrace 15 minutes above the roofs, then trails through pines to the top. On the south side are the swimming coves of Kašjuni and Bene, with pebbles, clear water and pine shade, and a bus back to town. Pack water shoes for the rocks and go in the morning before the heat.
Bačvice beach and the Riva
Bačvice is the sandy city beach, 10 minutes east of the old town, with shallow water that stays knee deep for 50 yards, which is why locals invented picigin, a game of keeping a small ball in the air that you will watch for an hour. Cafes on the sand, lifeguards, kids everywhere. Then the Riva, the palm lined promenade below the palace walls, for ice cream and the evening walk when the whole city comes out.
Family Time, Built In: Split With Kids
Split with kids is a Roman palace to get lost in, a sandy beach you can walk to, a forest hill with coves, a ferry to an island and ice cream on the Riva. These are the pieces that work.
Shallow water and picigin at Bačvice
The Marjan stairs and the Kašjuni cove
A catamaran day to Hvar or Brač
Fritule and ice cream on the Riva
PARK & DOWNTIME PICK
Marjan hill is the park, with trails, playgrounds near the Varoš stairs and coves to swim in. Bačvice has a playground on the sand and the shallowest water in the city. The Riva is wide and flat for scooters in the evening, and the Sustipan park on the headland past the marina has lawns and a view back to the old town.
Five Things To Eat In Split
Grilled fish and octopus
Ice cream on the Riva
Pršut and Pag cheese
Fritule and pastries
Coffee the Dalmatian wayNicole’s Perspective
The base that does city and beach
Croatia is the trip I get asked about more every year, and the question is always Dubrovnik or Split. I say Split with kids, because the ferries to the islands leave from the old town, the beach is a walk away and a hotel costs a lot less than inside the Dubrovnik walls.
I plan four nights, with Hvar or Brač by catamaran one day and Krka or Trogir another, then drive down to Dubrovnik for two nights at the end if they want the walls. Eat dinner at 8 like the locals, order the grilled fish for the table and let the kids run the Riva between courses.
The Day Trip: Hvar by catamaran
An hour on the fast catamaran from the port, Hvar town is a stone harbor town under a Spanish fortress, with a big square, lanes to wander and water taxis to the Pakleni islands five minutes offshore for a swimming beach. Walk up to the fortress for the view in the photo, swim, eat lunch on the harbor and catch the late afternoon boat back. In summer the catamarans sell out, so book both legs a few days ahead. Brač, with the famous Zlatni Rat beach at Bol, is the other option, by ferry to Supetar and a bus across the island.
Things I Would Tell A Friend Before They Booked
How Many Days
Four nights covers the palace, the hill, the beach and one island day. Five adds Krka or Trogir.
The palace and the Riva on day one, Marjan and the coves on day two, Hvar by catamaran on day three, Bačvice and the market on day four.
Add Krka National Park, an hour and a quarter away, for the boardwalks over the falls, or Trogir, the tiny island town 45 minutes up the coast.
Split for four nights, a car down the coast with a stop at the Makarska beaches, then Dubrovnik for two nights for the walls. Eight days with the car for the second half.
Split With Kids, Answered
Is Split good for kids?
Yes. A Roman palace to explore, a sandy beach with shallow water a 10 minute walk from the old town, a forest hill with coves, island ferries from the front door and ice cream on the promenade. The stone streets are rough for strollers but short.
How many days do you need in Split?
Four nights for the palace, Marjan, the beach and one island day. Five if you add Krka or Trogir.
Is Split or Dubrovnik better with kids?
Split. The beach is walkable, the island boats leave from the old town, hotels cost less and there is more room to move. Dubrovnik is the two night add on at the end for the walls.
Which island is the easiest day trip from Split?
Hvar by catamaran, an hour each way with a town to walk and water taxis to swimming beaches. Brač is the choice for the Zlatni Rat beach, by ferry to Supetar and a bus to Bol.
When is the best time to visit Split?
May, June, September and early October for warm sea without the crowds. July and August are hot, busy and the most expensive, though the ferry schedules are fullest then.
Ready To Put Split On The Calendar
Send me your dates and your kids’ ages and I will set Split up as your Croatia base, book the catamarans and the hotel with the pool and plan the drive to Dubrovnik.
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