Split is the gateway to the Dalmatian islands, and for a traveller who wants a quiet day away from the busy waterfront it is an easy place to start. Our Split ferry hub lists the routes to Hvar, Brač, Vis and Dubrovnik with their sources. This guide adds the practical layer: where the boats leave from, how the booking rules differ between a catamaran and a car ferry, and what to ask before you commit to a day that must end back at the ship.
1. Why Split rewards a little planning
The Split port authority (in Croatian) describes the cruise side of the port as having 10 berths and says a short five-minute walk takes you from the port to the old town. Its home page shows the ferry side separately: berths numbered 1 to 8 for the island lines to Brač, Hvar, Vis, Korčula and Šolta, and further berths such as Gat sv. Petar. It does not state how far the cruise berths are from the ferry berths, so do not assume it is a short walk until the port or your ship confirms it.
2. Getting to the terminal
From Split airport, the tourist board lists the airport shuttle bus stop in the city as the main bus station (City Harbor), at Obala kneza Domagoja 8, with the schedule on the operator's site, ak-split.hr. It also lists local city buses 37 and 2 and a combined bus-and-train line. That page does not mention the ferry port, and we found no official page that gives the walk from the bus station to the ferry berths, so ask the operator which berth your boat uses and plan a margin for the walk.
3. Catamaran or car ferry: the routes
| Route | Boat and operators | Time as the source states it |
|---|---|---|
| Split to Hvar Town | Catamarans: Kapetan Luka-Krilo, TP Line and Jadrolinija, as Ferryhopper lists. Jadrolinija calls its line 641 a direct fast ship line from the ferry port of Split. | Ferryhopper: 50 minutes to 1 hour. The tourist board: one hour by catamaran, two hours by ferry boat. |
| Split to Supetar (Brač) | Jadrolinija, line 631 | 50 minutes. Jadrolinija lists a year-round schedule. |
| Split to Vis | Kapetan Luka-Krilo and Jadrolinija, as Ferryhopper lists | Ferryhopper: 1 hour 10 minutes to 2 hours 50 minutes, depending on the vessel and company. |
| Split to Dubrovnik | Krilo catamaran with stops at Milna (Brač), Hvar, Korčula and Mljet (Pomena) | 4 hours 30 minutes in the page heading, 4 hours 40 minutes elsewhere on the same page. The page does not say which months it runs. |
Ferryhopper is a booking site, so we use it only for what its listings state. It lists the Vis crossing as year-round, with 1 crossing a day off-season and up to 3 in summer, and the Hvar crossing as up to 19 a day in summer and 2 to 3 in the low season. Its own Hvar page is not consistent on first and last boats, giving 09:00 and 18:40 in one place and a last crossing around 16:00 in another, so we do not quote times; read the operator's timetable for your date. For the trade-offs between boat types, see our guide to fast and conventional ferries.
4. Tickets and timing
Jadrolinija's rules differ by line, and that matters more than the headline time. Its FAQ says that on lines with reservations your ticket guarantees a place on board, while on lines without reservations boarding is in order of arrival and departure times are not guaranteed. It advises being at the port at least 45 minutes before departure, and up to 1 to 2 hours before the time you want on lines without reservations. Its Split to Hvar catamaran page says a ticket also means a reservation of a place and of departure at the desired time, whereas its Split to Supetar page says a ticket is valid for any departure on the date printed on it. Read the page for your own line, and ask what your ticket gives you.
The FAQ says foot-passenger reservations are available on all ship and high-speed lines. If the sales agency is closed you may buy a ticket on board, though Jadrolinija recommends its app or website.
5. Accessibility, luggage and comfort
Jadrolinija's disability page (in Croatian) says anyone who needs help can announce their arrival, by email to the agency at the departure port, at the latest before boarding begins. It also says free carriage of a personal vehicle and a companion applies only when the person with a disability travels too. A separate page for the ferry Sveti Duje says it sails on routes in the Split district and is fully adapted to people with disabilities; it does not say which sailings use it, so do not assume your boat is that one. We found nothing on accessibility or luggage on the Krilo pages we read, so ask Krilo directly if you plan to use it.
On luggage, Jadrolinija's FAQ says each passenger on state-operated high-speed ferries may carry up to 20 kg of personal luggage free of charge. See also our list of access questions to ask (written for Greece, but the questions apply) and the ferry comfort checklist.
6. Plan and cautions: weather and the return to the ship
Operators post weather cancellations on their own pages, so open them on the morning you sail. We found no official source that gives a safe margin before a ship's all-aboard time, so we give no number. Use the all-aboard worksheet, read why separate tickets need a buffer, and keep a plan B. Choose a return sailing well before the last one of the day. For the routes themselves, return to the Split ferry hub.
Checked on 29 October 2026: the Split port authority home page and cruise page (portsplit.hr), the Split tourist board's airport and islands pages, Jadrolinija's Split to Supetar, Split to Hvar, FAQ, disability and Sveti Duje pages, Krilo's home and Dubrovnik pages, and Ferryhopper's Split to Hvar and Split to Vis pages. We did not find official information on the walk between the cruise berths, the bus station and the ferry berths. Timetables and rules change, so confirm on the operator's page before you book.