Split airport is not the ferry port, and nothing leaves for Hvar from it. That single fact is behind most of the missed connections on this route.
The airport sits at Kaštela, roughly 25 km west of Split’s harbour. Every scheduled route to Hvar leaves from the harbour. So the journey is always two legs: airport to port, then port to island.
The short version
| Route | Time to the port | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airport bus → port | ~30 min | ~€8 | Almost everyone |
| Taxi / pre-booked transfer | 25–40 min | €35–45 | Groups, late arrivals, luggage |
| Public bus 37 | 45–60 min | ~€3 | Tight budgets, light bags |
| Private water taxi | Direct to Hvar, ~55 min | from ~€370 per boat | Groups of 6+, peak season only |
Then add the crossing: 55–65 minutes on the fast catamaran to Hvar Town, or about two hours on the car ferry to Stari Grad.
Ferry Crossings
Live Schedules≈60 min · passenger catamaran
Check Times & Book →Live schedules and fares via Direct Ferries · we may earn a commission
Leg one: getting to the port
The airport bus is the default and it is genuinely easy. It leaves from outside the arrivals hall, runs to Split’s main bus station in about half an hour, and costs around €8. The bus station is directly opposite the ferry terminal — you cross the road and you are at the ticket windows. Departures are timed loosely around arriving flights.
A taxi or pre-booked transfer costs €35–45 and is worth it if you are three or more people, if you have a lot of luggage, or if your connection is tight. Pre-booking matters more than it sounds: the taxi rank at Split airport in August is not a fast-moving queue.
👉 Compare private transfers from Split airport
Public bus 37 runs Trogir–Split via the airport and is the cheapest option at around €3, but it stops constantly and takes 45–60 minutes. Take it if you are travelling light and not against the clock.
The private water taxi is the one route that skips Split entirely. Operators run from a dock near the airport straight to Hvar Town in about 55 minutes. It costs from roughly €370 for the boat regardless of how many people are in it, and runs only in peak summer — which makes it a reasonable per-head cost for six or eight people and an absurd one for two.
Leg two: the crossing
Which boat you take is not a preference, it is a consequence of where you are sleeping and whether you have a car.
- Fast catamaran to Hvar Town — 55–65 minutes, passenger only, lands in the middle of town.
- Car ferry to Stari Grad — about two hours, takes vehicles, docks a few kilometres outside Stari Grad on the other side of the island.
If you have hired a car at the airport, the catamaran is not an option: it carries no vehicles, and Hvar Town has no car ferry dock. The full breakdown is in our Split to Hvar ferry guide.
How much time to leave
Three hours door to door is the honest number, and more in July and August.
That is 30–50 minutes to the port, 30 minutes of buffer at the terminal in summer, and an hour on the water. It assumes your bag arrives promptly and the airport bus is not full — neither of which is guaranteed on an August afternoon when four flights land together.
Book the crossing before you fly if you are travelling in July or August. Peak-season catamarans sell out days ahead, and the ticket window will not conjure a seat because your flight was delayed.
👉 Check Split–Hvar sailings and book ahead
If the timing does not work
Sleep in Split. The last fast catamaran to Hvar Town leaves in the early evening, and outside July and August the sailings thin out considerably. A late arrival plus a scramble for a private boat costs several times what a night near the port costs, and the morning crossing is calmer — the afternoon maestral puts chop on the water from about midday through the summer.
Split is also worth an evening in its own right rather than being a waiting room. Our take on how to divide the time is in Hvar or Split.
Hiring a car at the airport
If you are collecting a car at Split airport and taking it to the island, you need the Stari Grad car ferry, and you should book the vehicle space in advance for July and August. Drive time from the airport to the ferry terminal is about 30 minutes.
Whether you actually need the car once you are there is a separate question, and for a lot of trips the answer is no — see do you need a car on Hvar.
👉 Compare car hire at Split airport
The short answer
Land, take the airport bus to the port, walk across to the terminal, and get on the boat that matches where you are sleeping. Leave three hours. Book the crossing before you fly if it is summer.
If you have not yet decided where you are sleeping, decide that first — it determines the boat. Hvar Town or Stari Grad covers it.
