Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Split

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Ferries, which decide the trip

Jadrolinija publishes a full pet policy. Small pets travel free, pets under 8 kg may go into the passenger salons in a carrier of no more than 45 by 35 by 25 cm with a waterproof bottom, one per passenger, under the seat or on your lap. Larger pets travel free on the open decks of the ferries and ships, muzzled and on a lead at all times, with assistance dogs exempt from the muzzle. On catamarans a larger pet needs a designated box on the open deck, there's a fee per the price list and the space has to be reserved through a sales office in advance. Kapetan Luka Krilo, the fast catamaran most people book for Hvar and Brač, only says small pets in carriers in designated areas. For a big dog that means the Jadrolinija car ferry to Supetar or Stari Grad, not the Krilo.

Marjan and the Palace

Marjan Forest Park is the best dog walk in Split and dogs are welcome on it. The park's own rules of conduct prohibit letting dogs off the lead, with police, military and rescue dogs the only exception, so the lead stays on the whole way. The Varoš and Sperun steps take you up from the Riva in ten to fifteen minutes. Diocletian's Palace is public street, not a ticketed site, so she walks through it on a lead. The interiors are a different question, and no pet rule is published for the Cathedral of St Domnius, the bell tower, the substructures or the ticketed Peristyle areas, so ask at the cathedral office rather than assume.

Beaches

This is the honest gap. No municipal dog-on-beach rule is published for Split, Trogir, Bol, Hvar town or Šibenik in Croatian or English, and the city gazettes can't be searched from outside Croatia, so we won't state one. Treat Bačvice, Ovčice, Firule, Trstenik, Žnjan, Zlatni Rat, the Hvar town coves and the Trogir and Čiovo beaches as unconfirmed for dogs in high season. The one named dog beach from a source worth quoting is Bol's, which Bluesun states on its own pet page, along with dog beaches at Brela, Tučepi and Starigrad-Paklenica.

Krka National Park

The strongest confirmed dog day out in the region, and it's in the park's own rules and FAQ. Dogs may enter the park with their owner, must be on a lead the whole time, and are not allowed on Visovac island. That's it, no seasonal catch and no size rule. It's about twenty minutes by car from Solaris, forty from Šibenik and roughly an hour from Split.

Fees and weight limits

Most charges here cover the whole stay rather than the night, which is why Split works out cheaper than Dubrovnik. EUR 10 at Heritage Hotel Pasike in Trogir and Beach Bay in Hvar town, EUR 15 at Heritage Hotel Park Hvar, EUR 20 at the Atrium, Marvie, the AC Hotel, the Amphora, Hotel Ola, Lifestyle Hotel Vitar and Amadria Park Jakov, EUR 25 at Hotel President, Dioklecijan and Royal Suites, EUR 30 at Hotel Park Split and Valamar Amicor, EUR 35 at Jupiter Heritage, EUR 40 across the Hvar town group and EUR 80 at the Cornaro. Bluesun and Armerun charge per day and per night instead, both EUR 25. Only Bluesun publishes a weight cap, at 15 kg, and Hotel Villa Adriatica in Supetar takes small breeds only.

Where dogs aren't

The Hvar town hotels are the clearest about it. At the Amfora, the Adriana, the Riva Marina, the Pharos, Beach Bay and Palace Elisabeth the rule is dogs in the room and not in the food and drink areas, and the pools and spas are out too. Bluesun allows the restaurant terraces but not the enclosed restaurant, and its dogs can't be left alone in the room, with a EUR 100 charge if they are. Valamar Amicor keeps dogs out of the pool, the wellness and an empty room. Most of the Split city hotels publish nothing about access at all, so ask by name.

Buses, taxis and transfers

Split Airport is at Resnik in Kaštela, about 25 km west of the city and only 6 km from Trogir, which makes Trogir the sensible arrival and departure night. Promet Split runs the city and suburban buses including the airport route and publishes no rule about dogs on board, so whether she can travel, and on what terms, isn't something we'd state. Assume a muzzle and a lead will be expected and check with the driver. No pet rule is published for the local taxi firms either, and Uber and Bolt leave it to the driver, so the reliable answer for a big dog is a pre-booked transfer, which several hotels on this list will arrange.

Seasonal closures and vets

This coast shuts. Assume November to March closure for the Hvar, Brač, Stari Grad, Seget and Solaris properties unless the hotel says otherwise, and none of them publishes its dates on its own page. Hotel Park Split and Hotel President Split both state they're open through the year, so they're the winter answers. On vets, Veterinarska stanica Split at Šibenska ulica 9 in Kman is the mapped practice in the city, about ten minutes from the centre. No practice could be confirmed by name on Hvar, on Brač or in Trogir, which is a real gap if you're island-hopping, so get a local number from your hotel's reception before you sail.

Best walks

Marjan Forest Park first, up the Varoš or Sperun steps from the Riva, with paths round the whole headland, sea on three sides and pine shade most of the way, all on the lead. Then the flat coastal walking, which is what Split does best: the Žnjan promenade runs more than two kilometres along the water, the path from Bačvice east past Ovčice and Firule to Trstenik never crosses a road, and the Sustipan park headland gives a sea-facing loop twenty minutes west of the Palace. In Trogir, the Seget waterfront runs into the old town in about twenty-five minutes on the flat, and the bridge to Čiovo leads on towards Okrug Gornji. In Bol, the pine promenade to Zlatni Rat takes ten minutes from the Bluesun hotels and the path west towards Murvica carries on past it. In Hvar town, the Šetalište put Križa runs round the headland at sea level towards Podstine and the pine woods. Out of town, Krka National Park takes dogs on a lead everywhere except Visovac island.

When to go

May, June, September and October. The water is warm at both ends of that and the coastal paths, the Marjan pines and the Krka boardwalks are all comfortable, which they are not in a Dalmatian July. High summer is the season to think hardest about, partly for the heat on bare stone and partly because the beach rules nobody publishes are almost always summer rules with dates, so the shoulder months sidestep the whole question. The promenades at Žnjan, Seget, Bol and Hvar are public walkways rather than beaches and work year round. Winter is thin, because most of the island and resort stock closes from roughly November to March without publishing dates, and Hotel Park Split and Hotel President Split are the two that say outright that they don't.