Holiday car hire Croatia - car rental from Split Airport

The Adriatic coast of Croatia is an increasingly popular tourist destination in Europe.

The level of prices, often substantially lower than in other southern European holiday resorts allies here with the beautiful natural surroundings and unspoilt coast line, offering a wealth of prime beach locations. Fascinating and somewhat exotic culture and traditions of the Balkans invite for exploring Croatia beyond the limits of a holiday resort. Car  hire services are widely available in Croatia, especially at the country’s international airports.

Opel is a popular hire car in Croatia - here Opel Corsa 5-door

Below you will find a few tips for cheap car hire from Split Airport.

Split Airport on the Adriatic coast of Croatia
Split Airport –SPU is the second major airport of Croatia (after Zagreb), having surpassed in terms of traffic handled in 2013 the airport of Dubrovnik. Split Airport receives over 1.3 million passengers per year and the number is constantly growing, as is the number of tourists on the Croatian Adriatic Coast.

The airport is located approx. 15 miles north-west of Split, across the Kastela Bay.

See location map of Split Airport. 

Locally, Split Airport is often referred to as Zračna luka Split, or Zračna luka Resnik. 

Low-cost flights to Split
Split Airport is well connected to major European cities, amongst them Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and London. Flights from the UK to Split are available from Croatian Airlines and from a number of low-cost carriers: Easyjet, Jet 2, Monarch Airlines, Norwegian and Wizzair.

Split Airport car hire companies
Amongst major car hire providers at Split Airport are: Alamo, Dollar, Hertz Car Hire Croatia, Sixt Rent A Car, Budget, Enterprise Rent A Car, Oryx Rent A Car, Mack Rent A Car, Fleet, Avantcar Car Rental and Last Minute Rent  A Car Split.

Car hire Croatia - cheap car rentals from Split Airport 
Croatia has no automobile production. Amongst the most popular brands in Croatia car hire fleet are: Opel, Renault, Peugeot and VW. You will also find many Skoda, Hyundai and Kia rental cars in Croatia.

In the low season, Split Airport car hire prices for small family cars (often an Opel Corsa, a VW Polo or similar) start from approx. £70 for a week. At the peak of the high season, you may be required to pay even four times as much for the same type of a rental car at Split Airport.  In order to guarantee the lowest prices book you Croatia hire car well in advance and, preferably, outside of the high season (July-August).

It is not unusual to find special offers on Split Airport car hire, as for instance a free GPS, a free additional driver, or other.

Compare prices od Split Airport car hire with Cartrawler Croatia

Split in Croatia 
The city of Split is, together with Dubrovnik, one of the most remarkable locations of the coast of the Adriatic Sea in Croatia.

Split, the second largest Croatian city, is at the same time the main city of the Dalmatia region in the southern part of Croatia. The famous breed of dogs, Dalmatian, takes its name after this region of Croatia.

The total population of Split is approx. 350,000 – substantially more than in the other popular location on the Adriatic Coast, Dubrovnik, which has only 40,000 inhabitants (permanent residents).

The distance from Split to Dubrovnik is approx. 137 miles (nearly 3 hours drive). The distance from Split to Zadar, another popular location on the Adriatic Coast, is around 100 miles (1.5 h drive).

See general map of Croatia.

Watch video guide to touist attractions of Split (Dalmatia):

Split tourist attractions
Split and its surrounding area offer an amazing array of tourist attractions, amongst them:

Hvar – a sunny island near Split
Hvar is one of several islands located off the Dalmatian coast, often visited by tourists in Split. Measuring nearly 43 miles, Hvar is known for its many sandy beaches and interesting history, still visible in many valuable monuments and museums.  Very appreciated by tourists in Hvar is the Venetian-influenced architecture of the island’s main city, also named Hvar. Another interesting location of Hvar island is Stari Grad, one of Europe’s oldest towns and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hvar is also known for its wine and olive oil production.

With over 300 sunny days per year, Hvar is one of the sunniest areas in Europe, ranking often amongst the best holiday islands in the world by many travel magazines.

See Hvar temperatures (air and water) chart. 

Hvar can be reached by ferry from Split. The trip takes approx. 1.5h.  Another way of crossing to Hvar is by a ferry departing from Drvenik, 56 miles south-east of Split, to Sucuraj, on the eastern tip of Hvar. Here the crossing is much shorter, taking approx. 25 minutes. You will be able to use your Split Airport hire car in Hvar, as many of the ferries to Hvar allow cars on board.

Diocletian’s Palace in Split
Dating back to the times of the Roman Empire, the Diocletian’s Palace of Split, is, according to many, the most remarkable historic monument of Split. A few facts about the palace:

• built in the fourth century AD by the Roman Emperor Diocletian, the palace is situated in the centre of Split
• the palace outer walls measure 160x190 metes
• Diocletian's Palace in Split is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• the palace is pictured on 500 kuna banknotes (Croatian currency)
• the palace was used as a filming set  in the TV series Game of Thrones
• restaurants and shops are found within the walls of Diocletian’s Palace

Visit Bosnia in a Croatia hire car
It is often possible to drive to Bosnia in a Croatian hire car. When booking on www.find-cheap-car-hire.co.uk, check in ‘Rental conditions’ of each offer displayed by the search engine, which countries are allowed for cross-border travels.

It is generally safe to drive a Croatia hire in Bosnia, although burglary and theft are not uncommon in the less affluent Bosnia, especially in the case of more expensive brands, such as Audi, BMW or Mercedes.

Below a video of Michael Palin’s trip to Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia and Albania:

See map of major roads in Croatia.