Best island for daytrip from Split

We visited Hvar Town as a daytrip from Split, and we loved it!!! It's very easy to get to from Split. We took the Jadrolinija catamaran, and the trip was one-hour each way. Very convenient. Hvar Town has a reputation as party central, but when we were there in September 2019, there weren't any party-goers during the day.

We visited Hvar Town as a daytrip from Split, and we loved it!!! It's very easy to get to from Split. We took the Jadrolinija catamaran, and the trip was one-hour each way. Very convenient. Hvar Town has a reputation as party central, but when we were there in September 2019, there weren't any party-goers during the day

Thank you! We'll be there early September - probably the 5th or the 6th, so hopefully the partying has died down by then! My husband and I weren't partiers even when we were young and childless! Lol! What did you do in Hvar?

Brac would also be a fine choice. The famous zlatni rat beach in Bol is very child friendly, having smooth pebbles and shallow water. You can see a couple old towns or a monastery, then relax on a beach the rest of the day.

Brac would also be a fine choice. The famous zlatni rat beach in Bol is very child friendly, having smooth pebbles and shallow water. You can see a couple old towns or a monastery, then relax on a beach the rest of the day.

Thanks! That beach definitely looks beautiful! I was wondering if it's harder to get around Brac since it's so big?

Brac and Hvar are both pretty big; both have some bus service. You'll want to plan out what you'll be doing in advance to determine if you need a taxi or car or neither.
Check all of the catamaran options, as they go to different towns. You can go to Hvar town or Stari Grad, linked by bus/easy. Brac is slightly more complicated, but it just depends on what you want to see/do. There are catamarans direct to Bol also, but the schedule could be a factor.

@valadelphia - thank you! I just looked up the ferry schedules and it looks like Vis is around 2.5 hours each way so I'll eliminate that as an option if we are just going to daytrip! I'll have to do a bit more research on Brac and Hvar so I can decide which one sounds like a better option for us!

Yes, to me Vis is worth it if you have 3-4 days. Hvar and Brac have more to offer than you can take advantage of, but short boat trips to get there. Enjoy!
I have always regretted missing the Blaca monastery, tour was not on offer the days we were on the island.
If you do something simple, definitely do it independently, but if you decide you want to see multiple things, you might check with the tourist office for a tour or driver.
On Hvar, my favorite beach experience was taking a day boat to the Pakleni islands, but that might be more planning with schedules than you wish. You can also just walk along the shore until you find a patch of rock you like (warning there are many nudist beaches).
From Stari Grad, you can rent bikes and ride a path along the shore--I've got to get back and do that one day.

Thank you! We'll be there early September - probably the 5th or the 6th, so hopefully the partying has died down by then! My husband and I weren't partiers even when we were young and childless! Lol! What did you do in Hvar?

Star77781, this is what we did in Hvar Town according to my notes:

We arrived at Hvar Town at 10:50AM. We went to the Travel Information Office to get a map of the town. Then we slowly climbed the hill to the fortress before it got too hot. We followed a zigzag path, lined with pine trees and cactus, to the fortress. Along the way, there are spectacular views of Hvar Town and the harbor. And more dramatic scenery from the fort's ramparts.

When we returned to Hvar Town, we had lunch in the main square with views of the harbor.

There is a cathedral and monastery but they were both closed the day we were there. So we bought ice cream!

Then we followed a coastal path that is west of the Old Town. This was one of the highlights of our trip. We saw more gorgeous scenery, walked past a cactus garden and children's playground. Lots of green pine trees, blue skies and blue water. Walked past small bays where people were swimming. Walked past the Amfora Hotel to a small cafe/bar and had drinks before heading back to the harbor. We took the 6PM catamaran back to Split.

The walk along the waterfront to the Amfora Hotel is also where you’ll find one of Hvar Town’s best beaches, “Amfora Beach.” It’s about 15 minutes from where the ferries and the Krilo Catamaran dock in the harbor. Another great walk is through Hvar’s Old Town to the castle above. It takes about 30 minutes to reach the castle. Views are spectacular.

Thank you so much for the feedback! Do people find the beaches on Hvar or Brac to be much better than what we would find near Split?

About a 15-minute walk from Diocletian’s Palace in Split you’ll find Bacvice Beach- a great city beach with shallow waters. To me, though, the water at Amfora Beach on Hvar was an incredible color of turquoise that made it special.

Split is a fairly large city with lots of boat traffic, I don't know if the coves near the island ports are actually much cleaner, but I prefer a more natural beach.

Split is a fairly large city with lots of boat traffic, I don't know if the coves near the island ports are actually much cleaner, but I prefer a more natural beach.

Ok, good point, thank you!

OP here, I'm re-thinking my plan a bit and wondering if it would make more sense time-wise to do a stopover at an island on our way from Split to Dubrovnik (we're planning on taking the ferry). If anyone knows of any islands that would have luggage storage near the port, I'm open to suggestions! Thank you!

That is a good way to do it. Would this just be for an afternoon--and have you looked at the schedules to make sure that works?
I believe Krilo and Jadrolinija are your two options for catamarans, and Krilo offers several different options. Most towns/villages are pretty small and catamarans generally drop off right in town. You will not have to go too far to find a garderoba (luggage storage). A tourist office is sometimes an option.

@valadelphia

I looked at the schedules and it looked like that would work well to stop at either Hvar or Korcula. We could get 6-8 hours on the island, depending on which ferry options we choose, which I think would be worth it! That might make more sense than eating up a whole day for a day trip and then traveling down to Dubrovnik the following day, eating up half a day. We are pretty limited on time so I'm trying to be as efficient as possible!

Sounds good--either of those would be nice. Because Hvar is still an easy day trip option if you have long enough in Split, I'd suggest Korcula. You got some good tips about beaches on Hvar. In Korcula, you can hop on a bus to Lumbarda (or a taxi would probably not break the bank), where there are some beaches with pretty views. You can also rent bikes to get there and to ride around in the vineyards.