Ten state lines leave Split, and the limit on a day ashore is not distance but rotations. Line 9604 to Hvar and Vela Luka runs one rotation a day. Line 602 to Vis runs two, three between 3 July and 20 September. Plan around that.
What leaves Split
Split is the busiest gateway in the register: its region carries more state routes than any other, and on top of them sit 13 commercial catamarans calling at Split that run to summer demand. For someone ashore for a day the useful list is the state one, because those lines have to run and their timetables are published for the whole year.
| 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 |
Every catamaran on that list is a foot-passenger vessel, which for a day ashore is an advantage rather than a limitation: no vehicle deck, no loading queue. The car ferries matter only if you are extending the trip beyond the port call.
Rotations, not kilometres
This is the part a port-day guide never gets right. The question is not how far Hvar is; it is how many times the boat goes and comes back. Line 9604, the Split–Hvar–Vela Luka–Ubli catamaran, runs one rotation a day in each direction, all year. One. There is no second boat on that line if the first is full or late.
The fare is published and modest — €10.00 to Hvar in season, €6.40 outside it, €11.00 through to Vela Luka on Korčula — so cost is not what makes this hard. Frequency is. Line 602 to Vis is better: two sailings a day off-season and three in high season, 3 July to 20 September, which is what a return in one day actually requires.
One rotation a day has no margin in it
A port call is a fixed window, and line 9604 offers exactly one departure and one return. If the boat is full, if the return is late, if the timing does not suit your window, there is no alternative sailing on that line — the next one is tomorrow, and tomorrow you are not in Split.
This is why the sensible port-day island is the one with several rotations, not the one with the best photographs. It is also why the commercial catamarans, which add frequency on the same water in summer, are worth checking even though they carry no public service obligation and do not run all year.
The other half of the calculation is what Split itself is worth. In August the town runs 29 days at or above 25 °C with a sea temperature of 23.6 °C, and the old town is compact enough to see properly in an afternoon. A day spent entirely in Split is not a wasted day.
Time ashore
What you want out of it
What to do with the four hours →
If the port call turns into a longer stay, the corridor is set out service by service on the Split to Hvar page, which counts all sixteen services and the one car-carrying line that reaches Hvar town.
What to decide before you book
- Count rotations before distance. Line 9604 runs one a day. Line 602 runs two, three from 3 July to 20 September.
- Decide whether the island is the point. If it is not, Split in August gives 29 days above 25 °C and a walkable old town.
- Check whether your leg is a commercial line. 17 of 68 routes carry no public service obligation.
- Leave margin at the return end. A missed return on a one-rotation line is not a delay, it is a night ashore.
Send us the date and the hours ashore
A port day is an arithmetic problem with published inputs: which lines run that day, how many rotations they make, and which ones leave you a return with margin. We read the 2026 per-line timetables against your call date and tell you what genuinely fits.
What do you need to work out next?
The day has a shape. These decide the detail.
Where to stay
Worth adding nights either side?
Ten state lines leave Split, and thirteen commercial catamarans call.
Getting around
Which island works in one day?
The ones with several rotations, not the famous one with one.
When to go
How hot is Split on the day?
Thirty days at or above 25 °C in July, twenty-nine in August.
Planning
What does the Dubrovnik call look like?
Line 807 halves to two sailings on Sundays and holidays.
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.