Diocletian's Palace Small Group Tour in Split
Description
Learn more about the rich history of Split, one of the oldest Croatian cities, get acquainted with the city's tradition and experience Split's "Šušur". Take a walk through the most famous Riva in Croatia where all major city events take place. Visit all the most important city squares such as Fruit Market, National Square known as "Piazza" and the central square of Diocletian's Palace - Peristil. Every street, building or square in the old town core has its own story. This is a unique opportunity to learn more about Split, the second largest city in Croatia and the largest in Dalmatia.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Diocletian's Palace is an ancient palace built by the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD, that today forms about half the old town and city center of Split, in Croatia. While it is referred to as a "palace" because of its intended use as the retirement residence of Diocletian, the term can be misleading as the structure is massive and more resembles a large fortress: about half of it was for Diocletian's personal use, and the rest housed the military garrison. Get lost in the maze alike streets of the 17 century old Diocletian's Palace (the city center and UNESCO World Heritage Site). From 40 century old Egyptian sphinx to the 20 century building, the Split city center will overwhelm you. Experience and enjoy Mediterranean life style of the locals.
Peristyle, as the central square of the Palace, intended for the Emperor Diocletian celebrated as the living son of Jupiter, finds its place among many temples. Owing to its unique beauty and unusual acoustics, Peistyle became the ideal theatre scenery, perfect for opera classics and works of ancient literature, but also the stage where abundant urban life continues.
From the outside rectangular, and from the inside circular ground plan of this old imperial court, Vestibule leaves a monumental impression even to this day.
The Diocletian Palace Substructures represent one of the best preserved ancient complexes of their kind in the world, and hence are in many ways responsible for the reason the historical core of Split was in 1979 included on the UNESCO'S World Heritage list.
Porta septemtrionalis is their Roman name. Emperor Diocletian walked through them as he entered the Palace on the 1st of June 305. They were built in the shape of a rectangle, with double doors, as part of the defensive military tactics (propugnaculum).
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(14)
Our guide, Slavko, was incredible for several reasons. First, it was super hot, so the Get Your Guide team moved the tour to later in the evening because of heat. Our phones were on airplane mode, so we missed the email completely. We got a little panicked when there were no others waiting for the tour and no "green umbrella"! But, Slavko showed up as we had not re-booked to make sure we had a tour. He did the tour despite the heat and having to redo the tour later! (We couldn't have done the later one anyway as we were on a cruise ship.) Next, Slavko was incredibly well informed, knowledgeable and passionate. As a native, he had some incredible insights and was super engaging. He pointed out all of the notable historic elements-Roman street construction, building materials and different structures, but he also some fun "Game of Thrones" trivia. He even had a shot on his phone of the scene from the movie (see photos). It was neat having our own really private tour and I commend Salvko for being so accommodating and conscientious. Totally recommend him as your guide! *Note, make sure someone in the group has an e-sim card or international plan so that you get important information!
Beautiful palace. Guide very informative . Learned a lot about the history. The palace was beautiful
Dear Lisa, Thank you so much for your lovely review! We’re really glad you enjoyed the beauty of the palace and found the tour both interesting and informative. It means a lot to hear that you learned something new about the history — that’s exactly what we aim for. We hope to welcome you back again on another experience in Croatia! Kind regards, South Tours Team
This was a really interesting tour of the palace - we had a great guide who shared a lot of information about the place and local color as well. However, the tour we purchased was advertised to be 2 hours and it was about 80 minutes. It is also advertised to be a "small group" tour, but we had about 20 people. Not small at all. This didn't detract from the tour but you should know what you are getting for your money. If you want a small group that is more personal this is not it.
Dear Jill, Thank you for your feedback and for joining our tour. We're really happy to hear you enjoyed the experience and found our guide knowledgeable and engaging. We’re sorry to hear that the group size and duration didn’t fully meet your expectations. This tour is usually very well-rated, and we do our best to keep it as a small-group experience. However, during the peak summer season, group sizes may occasionally be slightly larger due to high demand. Your comments are very helpful, and we’ll review the tour details to make sure everything is clearly presented. We appreciate your understanding and hope to welcome you again in the future for another great experience. Warm regards, South Tours Croatia
Very good small group guide (20 people) who explained and taught well. Would recommend. There was a small issue with meeting the group but overall a good experience!
Our guide was a delightful young woman who knew her history and was very friendly and intelligent. She was generous with her time and we quite enjoyed her.
We had luka as our tour guide and he was AMAZING! Knew so much, recommended a lot and seemed to really love his job, made our tour amazing thank you!
Amazing tour. Sandra is an incredibly knowledgeable guide and she’s also very nice and friendly. We totally recommend!
A short tour allowed me having a sound understanding of the whole old town of Split. On top of a that, the tour guide also touched on details about locals. Highly recommend this tour.
Interesting and large palace area from the 2nd century. Well-preserved Roman building. Small alleys and small shops within the area.
We enjoyed touring with a local and early mourning in August was the best way to go. Very knowledgeable guide with a quirky sense of humor. We learned more than expected. Much recommended !
