Where Does The Ferry From Split To Hvar Arrive?

Split, the coastal city in Dalmatia, Croatia, sends two very different kinds of boat to the island of Hvar, and they do not arrive in the same place. The car ferry on Jadrolinija's line 635 crosses to Stari Grad, on the north side of the island, in about 120 minutes. The passenger catamarans call directly at Hvar Town, the island's main resort, and also serve other stops. Confusing the two ports is the classic Hvar planning mistake, and this page lays out exactly where each arrival point sits, what it connects to, and how the terminals in Split are organised.

Where Does The Ferry From Split To Hvar Arrive?

The car ferry from Split arrives at Stari Grad, the ferry port on Hvar's north shore, after a crossing of about 120 minutes on Jadrolinija's line 635. The catamaran is different: fast passenger boats run directly into Hvar Town's waterfront, and line 9602 also calls at Milna and Vis on its way. So the answer depends on which ticket you hold, and the two destinations are roughly at opposite ends of the island's road network.

Stari Grad sits in a deep, sheltered bay on the northern side of Hvar, and its waterfront has been the island's car-ferry gateway for decades. Everything that travels with wheels, hire cars, scooters, delivery vans and foot passengers on the slow boat, comes off here. Jadrolinija's route page gives the crossing at about 120 minutes from Split.

Hvar Town, by contrast, lies on the south-western corner of the island, faces the Pakleni islands, and has no car-ferry link to Split at all. It is a catamaran stop. The catamaran network reported by the timetables runs two relevant lines: 9602, which serves Split, Milna, Hvar and Vis, and 9603, which serves Split, Bol, Stari Grad and Jelsa. Operators on these fast routes include Kapetan Luka, trading as Krilo, plus TP Line and Bura Line, all of which appear in the Port of Split's live departures feed alongside Jadrolinija.

The Port of Split handled 6.05 million passengers in 2025, its own statistics page states, which makes it Croatia's busiest passenger port. Hvar traffic is a large slice of that, and in July the catamaran berths and the Stari Grad ferry both run at full tilt.

Which Split Terminal Does Your Boat Leave From?

Split's ferry port, the main bus station and the railway station all sit together on Obala kneza Domagoja, about 500 to 600 m from Diocletian's Palace, so the departure point is a short walk from the Old Town. Jadrolinija's car ferries use the main ferry berths along that quay, while the catamarans to Hvar Town, Jelsa, Bol and Vis use smaller fast-boat piers in the same port area.

This is the practical convenience of Split as a departure city: nothing is scattered. A traveller staying inside the palace walls can walk to every berth in under ten minutes, luggage included, and the walk from the Riva along the harbour passes the berths in order. The Platanus airport shuttle also terminates at the main bus station beside the ferry port, at 10 EUR one way and 15 EUR return, so an arrival by air connects to the islands on foot.

The ferry fares above come from Jadrolinija's own price list for line 635; the catamaran fares are the Split to Hvar or Jelsa figures reported from the operators' documents. Always check the live timetable before travel, because the operator's own schedule decides what runs on any given day, and no line should be assumed to run year-round.

If your crossing leaves later in the day, the palace itself fills the gap. The small-group Walking Tour of Split and Diocletian's Palace starts close to the port, and the same tour has Check availability options across the day on the operator's live listing.

Car Ferry To Stari Grad Or Catamaran To Hvar Town?

Take the catamaran if Hvar Town itself is the destination: it docks on the town's seafront, steps from the restaurants and the Fortica fortress path. Take the car ferry if you have a vehicle, if your accommodation is near Stari Grad, Jelsa or Vrboska, or if the catamaran is sold out, because the ferry carries cars and the catamarans do not.

The choice is really a question of what Hvar means to you. Hvar Town is the postcard: the square, the Pakleni islands view, the nightlife question that visitors keep asking, and the Fortica fortress above, at 12 EUR to enter on the Hvar tourist board's price list. The catamaran puts a traveller in the middle of it within a short walk of the berth.

To see the Pakleni islands from the water, book a Hvar and Pakleni islands cruise here.

Stari Grad is quieter and older, one of the island's settled corners, and it is the better arrival point for the road to Jelsa and the north. Arriving there with a hire car opens the whole island. A related question, whether one island town beats a city stay, is covered on is Hvar nicer than Split, and the broader comparison lives on Split vs Hvar.

One timing note worth planning around: catamarans are passenger-only, and their luggage space is finite on peak July days. The ferry, being a ro-ro vessel, simply swallows luggage. Neither point is an operational guarantee, just a structural difference between the two kinds of boat.

How Do You Get From Stari Grad To Hvar Town?

Stari Grad to Hvar Town is an island road journey of roughly 20 minutes by road, covered by local buses timed to meet ferry arrivals in the season, by pre-booked transfer, or by the taxi rank at the ferry port. There is no boat shuttle between the two towns on a scheduled basis, the connection is overland, and the bus meeting the ferry is the standard foot-passenger option.

The bus link is the one to check before committing to a ferry ticket. In season, arrivals at Stari Grad are met by buses bound for Hvar Town, and the same service runs back towards ferry departures. Outside the summer months the frequency thins, and a transfer booked in advance, or the taxi rank at the port, is the fallback. Anyone driving off the ferry follows the island road south and west; the drive is short and the road is the island's main artery.

For travellers building a full island plan around these arrivals, the detailed route guide on ferries from Split covers every line, including Šolta, Brač and Vis, and the dedicated page on the Split to Hvar ferry goes deeper on timetables and seasons.

Do You Need To Book The Split To Hvar Ferry In Advance?

For the car ferry with a vehicle, yes, booking ahead is the safe move in July and August, because car decks on line 635 fill first and foot passengers rarely have a problem. For the catamaran to Hvar Town, book ahead whenever travel falls in the high season, because seats are limited and the operator's ticketing closes when the boat is full. Off-season, tickets are usually bought at the port on the day.

The structural reason is capacity. A car ferry holds hundreds of foot passengers and dozens of vehicles; the constraint is the car deck, not the cabin. A catamaran is closer to a coach with a hull: every body on board has a seat, and when the seats are gone, they are gone. July and August are the pressure points, aligning with the busiest weeks of the Dalmatian season.

Weather is the second factor. The crossing itself is short, but catamarans are more sensitive to strong winds, above all the bura that funnels down the Adriatic in the colder months, and a cancelled fast boat is far more common than a cancelled car ferry. The operator's own timetable and status notices decide on the day; a traveller with a tight onward connection should build in slack or prefer the ferry.

One more Split-side tip: the port area is compact, but berths are numbered and the catamaran piers sit apart from the big ferry ramps. Arriving twenty minutes early removes any search, and the walk from the palace gates passes cafés the whole way, so the margin costs nothing.

Common Questions About The Split To Hvar Ferry

Where does the ferry from Split to Hvar arrive?

The car ferry arrives at Stari Grad on Hvar's north shore, after about 120 minutes. The catamaran arrives directly at Hvar Town's seafront, and line 9602 also calls at Milna and Vis along the way.

Is Hvar Town the same port as Stari Grad?

No. Stari Grad is the car-ferry port on the north side of the island; Hvar Town is a catamaran stop on the south-western coast. The two towns are connected by an island road journey of roughly 20 minutes, covered in season by buses timed to meet ferry arrivals.

How much is the foot passenger fare from Split?

Jadrolinija's price list gives 5.90 EUR off-season and 8.40 EUR in season for line 635 to Stari Grad. The catamaran to Hvar Town or Jelsa is reported at 6.40 EUR in low season and 10.00 EUR in high season.

Can you take a car to Hvar from Split?

Yes, on the line 635 car ferry to Stari Grad. The catamarans are passenger-only and carry no vehicles, so anyone driving to Hvar Town crosses to Stari Grad and drives the island road.

Which companies run boats from Split to Hvar?

Jadrolinija runs the line 635 car ferry. Catamaran services are operated by Kapetan Luka, trading as Krilo, along with TP Line and Bura Line, all of which appear in the Port of Split's live departures feed.

The short version: match the ticket to the town. Stari Grad for wheels and the quiet north, Hvar Town for the seafront arrival by catamaran, and the rest of the planning, from the port-side terminals on Obala kneza Domagoja to the buses meeting each docking, follows from that one choice, as the editors behind Split Croatia Travel Guide lay out across the island and ferry pages linked above.