South of Split, the town of Makarska is a lively seaside town built around a broad bay, roughly in the middle of the region, is a good base from which to tackle the accent of the Biokovo range,  or Brela, a coastal village surrounded by aromatic pine groves.

SPLIT

Southern Dalmatia’s main town and Croatia’s second city, Split is one of the Adriatic’s most vibrant cities with an ancient centre moulded around the palace of the Roman emperor, Diocletian. It’s also the obvious jumping-off point for the most enchantering of Croatian’s islands.

Split’s airport is around 20km northwest of town between Kastela and Trogir.

Both the train and inter-city bus stations are five minutes’ walk southeast of the centre on the main harbourfrontroad, Obala kneza Domagoja, along which are ranged all the ferry and hydrofoil berths. 

The coast south of Split is perhaps the most dramatic in the country, with some of the Adriatic’s best beaches sheltering beneath the papier-mâché heights of the mountains.

TROGIR

30km south of Primošten, Trogir, is one of the most seductive towns on the Dalmatian coast, a compact brown-beige welter of palaces, jutting belfries and shambling streets fanning out from a central square.

Trogir is a good base for further exploration: the swarming city of Split is a short ride away on the #37 bus, and in between lies a string of attractively time-worn fishing villages known collectively as Kastela after the little “castles” built here by Trogir nobles to serve a country retreats

CIOVO

Ciovo, an island in the central Dalmatian archipelago. In the east, Ciovo is about 2 km away from the mainland (Cape Marjan); in the north-west it is connected with the mainland by a bridge (in Trogir). The island of Ciovo actually encloses the Kastela Gulf.

Along the southwestern coast are several smaller islands (Sveta Fumija, Kraljevac, Galerija, etc.)  their cliffs provide good opportunities for underwater fishing. On the eastern side of the island are smaller beaches, around Slatine and the Supetar Cove. The island is actually an extension of Trogir but also a kind of breakwater for the Kastela Gulf.