Split handled 62,250 passengers in November 2025 and about 578,000 in June 2025 — roughly 9 times as many. It is the most seasonal airport in Croatia, and the ferry network that makes it worth flying into thins on exactly the same curve.
The two figures that describe the airport
Most airport pages describe a terminal. The only two published numbers that matter here describe a season. In June 2025 Split moved about half a million passengers; five months later it moved a fifteenth of a million. The airport in the photographs and the airport you land at in November are running different operations.
578,000
passengers through Split in June 2025, against 62,250 in November 2025 (DZS)
For scale: Split’s June figure is about 1.7 times what Zagreb, the country’s year-round hub, handled in November 2025 (337,851). In November the relationship inverts and Zagreb runs 5.4 times Split’s traffic. Split is not a smaller version of Zagreb. It is a different kind of airport that happens to be in the same country.
What landing here actually opens
Split is the busiest ferry city in the register and that, not the terminal, is the reason to fly into it. Twenty-three of the 68 routes in the 2026 state coastal register touch Split. Ten of those are state lines carrying a public service obligation, and between them they reach Brač, Šolta, Hvar, Vis, Korčula and Lastovo.
| Line | Route | Vessel | Takes cars |
|---|---|---|---|
| 602 | Vis – Split | Car ferry | Yes |
| 604 | Lastovo/Ubli – Vela Luka – Hvar – Split | Car ferry | Yes |
| 631 | Supetar – Split | Car ferry | Yes |
| 635 | Stari Grad – Split | Car ferry | Yes |
| 636 | Rogač – Split | Car ferry | Yes |
| 9601 | Milna – Rogač – Sutivan – Split | Catamaran | No |
| 9602 | Vis – Hvar – Milna – Split | Catamaran | No |
| 9603 | Jelsa – Stari Grad – Bol – Split | Catamaran | No |
| 9604 | Lastovo/Ubli – Vela Luka – Hvar – Split | Catamaran | No |
| 9608 | Korčula – Prigradica – Hvar – Split | Catamaran | No |
The other thirteen routes touching Split are commercial lines with no public service obligation. They are faster, they are the ones that carry on to Dubrovnik, and they are the ones that are under no requirement to exist in October. A holiday planned around a state line survives a change of month; a holiday planned around a commercial catamaran may not.
When to come, and what is sailing when you do
Air traffic, ferry frequency and the weather all move together on this coast, so it is worth reading them on one dial. Sea temperature is published for Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik only; the sailing note underneath is taken from the 2026 per-line timetables.
September · Split (Marjan)
Line 602 returns to two sailings a day on 21 September; the season tariff ends on 27 September.
September is the month the dial argues for. The sea reaches 21.7 °C, above June’s 21.1 °C, while days above 25 °C fall from 22.0 in June to 15.4. The season tariff still runs to 27 September, so most of the network is intact while the air traffic has already started to fall away.
Booking the boat before checking which tariff season it is in
Croatian ferry seasons are not the tourist season. The fare season runs 29 May to 27 September on every line checked; the timetable season is different again, and on line 602 to Vis the third daily sailing exists only from 3 July to 20 September.
That leaves two awkward windows. Late May: season prices, off-season frequency. Late September and October: off-season prices, but the commercial catamarans that make the coast feel connected have already gone. Both are fine holidays. Neither is the holiday the summer timetable describes.
The practical version: if you are arriving after late September, plan around the ten state lines in the table above and treat anything commercial as a bonus.
What to decide before you book
- Pick the month first. About 578,000 passengers in June against 62,250 in November is the whole argument.
- Check whether your island is on a state line. Ten state lines reach Brač, Šolta, Hvar, Vis, Korčula and Lastovo.
- Decide about a car before you book a boat. Of the ten state lines, five are car ferries and five are catamarans that take no vehicles.
- If you want warm sea and fewer people, look at September. Sea 21.7 °C, against 21.1 °C in June, with fifteen warm days instead of twenty-two.
Find flights and hotels
Live flight and hotel search is being connected. In the meantime, send us your dates and we will price it.
What do you need to work out next?
You are landing at Split. These decide the rest of it.
Where to stay
Base in Split or move straight to an island?
Ten state lines leave the city; six islands are on them.
Getting around
Which routes actually land here?
The airport's June 2025 traffic of about 578,000 fell to 62,250 by November.
When to go
Is September better than June?
The sea is 21.7 °C in September against 21.1 °C in June.
Planning
Flying in to join a ship?
Nine airports appear in the DZS series, from Zagreb down to Brač and Mali Lošinj.
Passenger figures: Državni zavod za statistiku (DZS), monthly airport traffic releases. Ferry data: Agencija za obalni linijski pomorski promet (ZOLPP), 2026 state coastal line register and per-line timetables. Climate data: DHMZ (meteo.hr), climate normals 1971–2000.