Split airport to Split city centre, door to door
A private Split airport to Split city centre transfer covers the 24 km from Kaštela to the harbour in about 30 minutes. Your driver meets you in arrivals at Split Airport, takes the coast road through Kaštela and Solin, and drops you as close as a car can get to Diocletian’s Palace, or right at the ferry port for your boat to the islands.
The airport shuttle bus runs to the main bus station after every flight and suits a solo traveller staying near the harbour. A private car is the better fit when your apartment is elsewhere in the city, when you are a family or group with bags, or when you have a ferry to catch and would rather not gamble on summer traffic. The price is fixed for the whole vehicle, not per person.
Split is also the gateway to Brač, Hvar, Vis and Šolta. For the rest of the coast, see our Croatia transfers, including the run from Dubrovnik Airport to the Old Town.
| Pickup | Split Airport (SPU) |
|---|---|
| Drop-off | Any hotel, villa or address in Split |
| Distance | About 24 km by road |
| Journey time | 30 min – 1h, depending on traffic |
| Best for | City & yachting |
| Busiest season | June–September |
| Availability | 24/7, including late-night and early-morning flights |
The drive from SPU to Split
Split Airport sits on the western edge of Kaštela, 6 km from Trogir. From the terminal your driver follows the D409 for a couple of kilometres to the D8, the Adriatic coast road, then heads east along Kaštela Bay. There is no motorway and no toll on this route.
Kaštela is a string of seven old villages along the shore, each grown up around a fortified castle that local nobles built against Ottoman raids from the late 1300s onwards. The D8 runs just inland of them, past Kaštel Stari and Kaštel Sućurac, with the bay and the Marjan peninsula ahead.
At the end of the bay the road reaches Solin, the town beside the ruins of Salona, the Roman city that was once the capital of Dalmatia. From there your driver takes whichever route into Split is flowing most freely and comes down to the harbour, where the ferry port, the bus station and the railway station sit side by side.
In normal traffic the drive takes about 30 minutes. The D8 is the main road for the whole of Kaštela Bay, and in July and August it is often slow, particularly in the direction of Split. Split Airport advises departing passengers to allow an hour and a half for the journey in summer, so on a peak-season afternoon expect up to an hour into the city.
In the city: Diocletian’s Palace and the Riva, the seafront promenade in front of it, are pedestrian, so no car drives inside. The palace walls are a few minutes’ walk from the harbour, which is where most visitors to the old town are dropped. Every other part of the city is door to door.
Schematic, not to scale. Route line © OpenStreetMap contributors
Pickup · 0 min
Split Airport (SPU)
Your driver meets you in arrivals and loads the luggage.
About 10 min · 10 km
Kaštela
Seven seaside villages around old castles between the airport and Split. Several hotels and apartments here suit anyone who wants to stay close to their flight.
About 20 min · 16 km
Solin
Home to the ruins of Salona, the Roman city just outside Split. Tell us if you would like a stop on the way, and we will add the waiting time.
Arrival · 30 min – 1h · 24 km
Split
Drop-off by the ferry and catamaran piers, next to the main bus station and a few minutes’ walk from the palace and the Riva.
SPU to Split: one fixed price for the whole car
Free quote, nothing to pay now. Cancel free up to 48 hours before pickup.
Meeting your driver at Split Airport
After passport control, baggage reclaim and customs, walk out into the arrivals area and look for the marked meeting point, where your driver waits holding a sign with your name. The airport shuttle bus leaves from car park P1, in front of the arrivals exit, and taxis wait near the main terminal building, so look for your name rather than the offers.
After passport control, baggage reclaim and customs, walk out into the arrivals area, which has a marked meeting point. Your driver waits there with a sign showing your name. The shuttle bus stands in car park P1 just outside, and taxis wait near the main terminal building, so look for your name rather than the offers.
Add your flight number when you book and we track it: the pickup moves with delays at no extra cost, and your 60 minutes of free waiting start when you actually land. Your driver’s name and phone number reach you before the trip.
For the return, your driver collects you from your hotel, apartment street or ferry pier and waits up to 15 minutes from the agreed time. In summer, choose a pickup that allows for slow traffic through Kaštela.
Arriving here for somewhere else? See every Split Airport transfer we run.
Where we drop off in Split
Split’s historic heart is pedestrian: no car drives inside Diocletian’s Palace or along the Riva. For hotels and apartments in the old town, your driver stops at the nearest street open to traffic, usually by the harbour, a short walk away. Every other address in the city is door to door, and so is every ferry and catamaran pier.
Diocletian’s Palace and the Riva
Hotels and apartments inside the palace walls and the old lanes around them. The car stops at the edge of the pedestrian zone; ask your host which gate is closest.
Ferry port and bus station
Car ferries to Brač, Hvar, Vis and Šolta and the faster lines to Hvar town, Bol and Vela Luka leave from these piers. We drop you at the right one.
Bačvice and Firule
Beach districts just east of the port, with hotels and apartments within walking distance of the palace. Door-to-door drop-offs.
Varoš and Meje
The old stone quarter and the villa streets on the west side, below the Marjan park. Some Varoš lanes are too narrow for cars, so the car stops at the nearest open street.
Žnjan, Stobreč and Podstrana
Newer beach hotels along the coast south-east of the centre, on the road towards Omiš. Allow a little longer than for the old town.
When to book your Split transfer
Split is busiest from June to September, when the islands draw the crowds and the ferry port runs at full stretch. In season the car ferries to Brač and Hvar carry up to 2,000 and 1,000 vehicles a day.
Ultra Europe, the electronic music festival, is usually held in July at Park Mladeži stadium, and that weekend fills hotels and slows the roads; check the published dates before you book. Through the summer the Split Summer Festival stages opera and theatre in historic settings such as the Peristyle, the square at the centre of the palace.
May, June and September are warm enough for the sea with lighter traffic on the D8, and a 30-minute transfer is far more likely. In winter Split is a quiet working city and the drive is quickest of all.
Whatever the month, landing before noon usually means an easier run into the city than a late-afternoon arrival.
Private transfer vs other ways to reach Split
| Option | Door to door | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Private transfer | 30 min – 1h | Straight to your door, fixed price per vehicle, driver waiting in arrivals. |
| Platanus airport shuttle | About 30 minutes + walk | Leaves from car park P1, in front of the arrivals exit, about 30 minutes after each flight and runs direct to the main bus station by the ferry port. One suitcase per ticket is included. |
| City buses 2, 37 and 38 | Longer, with many stops | Promet Split’s local lines call at the airport on their way between Split, Kaštela and Trogir. Low fares, but slow in summer traffic; buy tickets in the Promet Split app or on board. |
| Taxi from the rank | 30–60 minutes | Taxis wait near the main terminal building during airport hours. Fine for a couple; check the fare to your address before you set off, and expect a queue when several flights land together. |
| Rental car | 30–60 minutes plus parking | Useful for touring the coast, but the old town is pedestrian and parking near the palace is scarce in summer. Taking a car to the islands also means booking it a place on the ferry. |
Skip the changes: door to door to Split
Free quote, nothing to pay now. Cancel free up to 48 hours before pickup.
Vehicles, prices and what's included
You pay one fixed price for the vehicle, not per seat, quoted for your date and group before you book. Tolls, fuel and parking are in the price, and so is waiting time: 60 minutes from your actual landing, or 15 minutes at a hotel or address pickup.
| Vehicle | Passengers | Luggage | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard sedan | Up to 3 passengers | 2–3 suitcases | Couples and solo travellers |
| Executive sedan | Up to 3 passengers | 2–3 suitcases | Mercedes E-Class or similar |
| Minivan | Up to 7 passengers | 6–7 suitcases | Families and golf or ski bags |
| Minibus | 8–16 passengers | One suitcase each | Groups, weddings, events |
Exact models vary by local partner. Tell us about oversized luggage, golf bags, skis or strollers and we will size the vehicle to fit.
Not included: waiting beyond the free time, and stops or detours added on the day. Planned stops are fine: ask for them with your quote and they are priced in. Tipping is up to you.
Who the Split transfer suits
Island hoppers
Landing and sailing on the same day? We drive straight to the right pier at the ferry port and track your flight, so the driver is there whenever you actually land.
Yacht charter crews
A week’s luggage for six or eight people fits a minivan or minibus. We drive to the marina where your charter starts, in Split or anywhere around Kaštela Bay.
Families
Child seats fitted before you land and one price for the whole car. A minivan takes up to seven with luggage, buggies and beach bags.
Late arrivals
Landing after dark into a pedestrian old town is easier with someone who knows the closest street to your apartment. Your driver waits 60 minutes from touchdown.
Plan the rest of your Split stay
- Book July and August ferry and catamaran tickets online before you travel, and get to the port well ahead of departure, especially if you are taking a car.
- Trogir’s island old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, is only 5 km from the airport. On a late flight home it fits a morning visit with your bags in the car.
- See the palace cellars and climb the cathedral bell tower early in the morning, before the day-trip crowds reach the Peristyle.
- Krka National Park, Šibenik and Primošten are all within about an hour of the airport, so a stop on the way to a coastal stay is easy to add to your quote.
- Moving on to Dubrovnik? The coast road via the Pelješac Bridge avoids the border crossings at Neum. Allow about 3½ to 4½ hours, then see our Dubrovnik Airport transfers for the trip home.
- For your flight home in July or August, leave central Split at least two and a half hours before a European departure. The airport itself advises allowing an hour and a half for the drive in summer.
