The airport is 25km from the city and flights are met by coaches which go to the edge of the walled city at the Pile Gate. It is difficult to find out where buses going back go from as the main bus station is not near the old town. A transfer will cost approximately £25.
The main ferry port is at the suburb called Gruz which is about 10/15 minutes from the old town, buses 1A & 1B go from the port to the Pile Gate.
You will probably make use of the buses to visit the Lapad peninsula and to go to Gruz, tickets can be bought on the bus or discounted ones from tobacco kiosks and day tickets from the Libertas Bus kiosk at the Pile Gate.
There are only two hotels in the old town, most hotels are either in Lapad or past the city beach at Ploce, the answer if you want to stay in the old town is an apartment and there are loads of them.
The best company we came across with a huge selection and excellent service is Rose of Dubrovnik, www.dubrovnikapartmentsvillas.com , their Introduction to Dubrovnik page and their staff will advise on how accessible your apartment choice is, in some cases they can be a very serious climb up from the main street the Stradun worth it however for the views. The downside if you are downhill is given the narrow streets some apartments could be a bit dark. This is without doubt the best value in the city for accommodation.
The city is full of day trippers from cruise ships and this means that the majority of the restaurants have a reputation for trying to get customers inside and not being very good this applies in particular to the street called Prijeko, parallel to the Stradun.
This does not mean that there are not good places you just have to be a bit more selective.
Dubrovacki kantun, Boscoviceva 5, in the heart of the old town a delightful find, very good local produce and dishes and really reasonable prices €€
Lokanda Peskarija, on the old harbour and what a great setting and great value stick to the mussels, shrimps, salad and wine and you will be amazed at how cheap it is they don’t do many other things and get there early it fills up €
Ekvinocijo, Ilije Sarka 10, down by the walls near the harbour and tricky to find but excellent cooking and lovely setting not the place for a quick meal as it is very busy and possibly understaffed in the kitchen but worth the wait €€
Belverdere, Iva Vojnovica 58, after a visit to Lapad beach stop off here excellent cooking, amazing value just watch out for the cholesterol busting sauces lovely staff and a view over Gruz harbour in fact it is so good go back for dinner 10 minutes on the bus from Pile Gate. €€
Blindinje, Lapaska Obala 21 this is also in Lapad but downhill and overlooking Gruz harbour excellent roof terrace and good mixed grilled fish again very reasonable easy to get to again 10 minutes by bus from Pile Gate €€
Wanda, Prijeko 8 this has to be mentioned as a big disappointment given great reviews in all books it appears to have gone downhill the menu looks fabulous and appears to be booked by people as a holiday splurge but the cooking does not live up to the hype or the prices and we are not alone in having had that experience.
Konoba Zrinski, Obala Stijepana Radice 33, Gruz opposite the port and next to the Jadrolinja office. There is an indoor restaurant but sit outside and have one of their excellent pizzas and a beer very reasonable €
Porat, Obala Stijepana Radice, 30 old fashioned, both service and food but still reasonable € - €€
Bars in the Old Town can be a bit of a disappointment, small loud and jammed with kids, the cafes along the Stradun are a better bet there are exceptions but some are top end UK prices.
Netcafe, Prijeko 21 very smart modern bar and internet café good cocktails
Café Cele, Stradun 1 one of the many cafes in the Stradun nice to sit outside
Café Dubravka, Stradun another well known café in the Stradun
Buza II, Crijeviceva 9, if you do the walls you will see it otherwise seek out the signs for cold drinks, whatever you do find it and have a drink on the terraces on the rocks if you are brave have a swim what a bar !
Libertina, Zlatarska 3, the old town locals bar doesn’t seem to open every day but persevere it is very friendly and very cheap
Talir, Antuninska just off the Stradun a gallery and bar catering for an older crowd than some in these narrow streets
Laura, Frana Supila 1, just outside the walls on the Ploce side, local bar with a terrace
Gils, Sv Dominika in the old walls just up from the harbour the most OTT and expensive place in town the restaurant just looks overpriced but try the bar for one hugely expensive drink just for the experience beware they seem keen to get people out possibly to shut depending on their mood !
If you go out to Lapad visit one of the many bars on Iva Vojnovica just before the Belvedere restaurant all have terraces and Mirakul is particularly smart very reasonable after some prices in the old town
When the hoard of visitors arrive for the day head out of the centre and come back when it is at its best and quietest.
Walk the walls, but do it early to avoid the crowds and the heat realistically it takes and hour and half and you can start from near the Pile Gate or the Ploce Gate ( a bit more difficult to find).
Go to Lapad take the bus to the Dubrovnik Palace Hotel and walk back stopping at Lapad Beach
Visit the gallery of Modern Art in Ploce on Frana Supila, wonderful building with interesting exhibitions and permanent collection
War Photography Gallery, Antuninska 6 very worth visiting
Take a Ferry from Gruz to the Elaphite Islands, the ship calls at the three main islands and it is possible to do two in one day the second Lipud is lovely and the last Sipan worth a visit the return fare to the furthest island is £3
The Airport is 20km from the city and all flights including Easyjet seem to be met by a coach service which although it says Croatian Airlines is for general use. It costs about £3 and goes into the centre of Split stopping at the end of the Riva (the promenade).
There are local buses but most places can be walked to, and the ferry port is just at the end of the Riva. Tickets for Jadrolinja ferries should be bought from the big red brick building at the ferry terminal as the kiosks on the Riva do not seem keen to sell tickets in advance for some routes and booking before saves time when you are leaving.
Split to Dubrovnik takes 7 hrs and cost around £7, Split to Hvar Island (Stari Grad) costs about £3 and takes 2 hrs.
There is not a huge choice of hotels, wherever you arrive you will be met by ladies offering rooms and apartments. If you want to be near the heart of Split which is the old part and the Diocletian Palace then the place to stay is the Slavija Hotel www.hotelslavija.com. The building is just within the palace walls, rooms are fine, the rates include breakfast and the staff are very friendly, the only drawback is if you want an early night then its not for you, everything in the old town shuts at 1 am but before then the hotel steps tend to become an extension of the various great bars in the surrounding streets no bad behaviour however just people out having a good time.
Sperun 3, lovely restaurant behind Sv Frane church on the way up to the Marjan headland, it has become known to UK visitors as Michael Palim visited it when he was in Split. Excellent freshly cooked local specialities, excellent house wine. €€
Konoba Kod Joze, Sredmanuska 4, head out of the palace by the Golden Gate and cross the park a five minute walk. Excellently cooked local fish and meat, very popular with locals, as everywhere house wine excellent €€
Enoteka Terra, Prilaz Brace Kalaterna 6, this is near Bacvice beach and is reckoned to be one of Split’s best places to eat, the food was good but the restaurant was so quiet that it spoilt the whole experience, excellent wine list €€€
Konoba Marjan just up the hill from Sperun, is a real local place to have lunch, the menu is the same local dishes as most places but the cooking was just a touch better than some cheap €
Konoba Lucac, Petrova 2, the street which runs toward Bacvice beach , another basic local place with a terrace outside incredibly cheap €
Bars well there are too many to mention within the Diocletian Palace, however they are all signposted on the brown signs at the end of each street listing bars, shops etc., there are 40 plus some to try are
Dioklecijan, Dosud 9 a locals bar serving food with a terrace overlooking the port
Puls, Buvinina 1, gets a bit noisy at night but sit outside during the day and people watch, when it gets full people move up to Fluid further up the steps
Luxor, Kraj sv Ivana opposite the cathedral in the Peristil, not particularly exciting inside but sit outside on the cushions with small tables on the steps
Academia Ghetto Club, Dosud 10, very busy, good music garden bar and inside bar give it a go
Pro Bota, just off Trg brace Radic, very local, very small and watch out they may give you free local spirit drink lethal
Gaga, Iva Loza 5 trendy with great outside seating, La Linea next door if Gaga is too crowded
Get Bar, Carrarina polijana, wonderful square with great outdoor seating. Square also contains Red Bar also with good outdoor seating but smart indoors as well
Teak, Porta and U Kantinu are all excellent bars in a very busy area just on and off Majstora Jurja the most northern part of the place
Black Cat, corner of Petrova & Segvica towards Bacvice beach outdoor terrace with a menu that looks good and very reasonable cocktails
Do sit out and have a refreshment on the Riva, there is one café/bar which has an upstairs narrow terrace with some of the most prized seats in Split.
The Diocletian Palace is just fantastic, this lived in building with its warn of street, squares, shops, bars and restaurants, make sure you wander all its streets as you will keep finding gems everywhere also visit the lower levels with have a local market on a Saturday also visit the fish market.
Marjan Peninsula, climb up the steps and visit Vidlica café at the top, take in the views, there is then a longer walk you can do round the whole peninsula
Bacvice beach is only 15 minutes walk and is lovely Zbirac is a great bar and café to chill out and look at the view, there is a complex of other places a bit further along the beach
Trogir, just north of Split airport is supposed to be one of the most beautiful towns in Croatia sounds like it is worth a visit.
Hvar Island Stari Grad
Stari Grad is where the main ferry from Split arrives although some catamarans arrive at the trendier town of Hvar on the other side of the island.
Stari Grad port is about ten minutes from the town but buses meet the ferry, and the town is as yet unspoilt with only a group of hotels outside the town catering for package tours. Most accommodation until the new boutique hotel opens is rooms and apartments and can be booked through Hvar-Travel tourist agency Tel +385 (0)21 531 463 we stayed in the Viviana Studio lovely setting, fabulous family who met us and drove us back to port and let us try their home grown wine !
Lots of places to eat and drink as it gets a lot of yachts mooring along the estuary that the town sits on.
Antika, Duoljna kola, lovely restaurant with variety of dishes all well cooked and incredibly reasonable, also has a bar area opposite which does great (and cheap) cocktails really lovely staff €€
Buffet Marko, Trg Stjepana Radice, wonderful seafood pasta and risotto in this small family run place €
Take the local bus over to Hvar town, bus timetable available in the tourist office or the square, spectacular journey across the island only takes twenty minutes. Hvar is lovely and has become very trendy as very rich yacht owners move here from the South of France.
