1–2 Days in Trogir: Things to Do, Where to Stay & My Honest Experience

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I visited Trogir purely because it was the departure point for my Croatia sailing trip. After visiting Dubrovnik years ago, I had been tempted to visit Split, but Trogir had never been on my radar before! I was very pleasantly surprised!

I arrived from Split Airport at midday and had around 24 hours exploring the city before my embarkation time (and another 6 hours after my trip, before my flight departure). Here’s exactly how I spent 1–2 days in Trogir, including what I’d do again and what I’d skip.

Is Trogir Worth Visiting?

• ✅if you want a small, walkable UNESCO historic town
• ✅if you’re connecting to sailing or Split Airport
• ✅if you enjoy relaxed coastal cafés + waterfront views
• ❌if you expect a big destination city
• ❌you want major beaches or nightlife

Getting to Trogir from Split Airport

The cheapest and quickest way to get from Split Airport to Trogir is using the public bus route 37. The bus goes from Split to Trogir via Split Airport. It leaves approximately every 20 minutes and takes just 10 minutes to get from the airport to Trogir bus station.

I highly recommend downloading the Promet Split bus app as it has discounted tickets compared to purchasing them from the driver. In peak season a single ticket using the app was €1.75 compared to €3.50 on board.

Where I Stayed in Trogir (1 Night Stay)

I stayed at Rooms Roso* and was so happy that I managed to find a hotel right in the centre of Old Town for only €40 a night! I stayed in a single room with a private bathroom. Nearly everywhere else in Trogir was upwards of €60. Or alternatively the only other budget option was a hostel with a bed in an 8 person dorm for €30!

I compare the different areas to stay in more detail here: Where to Stay in Trogir, Croatia: I Stayed in the Old Town – Here’s What I’d Recommend!

Day 1 Trogir Itinerary

Bell Tower & Old Town Views

The main area in Trogir Old Town is the Trg Ivana Pavla II Town Square. As well as a handful of bars and restaurants, this is the location of St. Lawrence’s Cathedral, which dates back to the 1200s. One of my favourite things to do in Trogir was climbing the bell tower!

You can buy various ticket packages that include entry to the Cathedral too, but I purchased just access to the bell tower for €5. (The ticket office is opposite the bell tower, next to the Chapel of St. Sebastian clock tower).

The bell tower is 47m tall and is split into 2 different sections as it was built across a large time period. The first part is a very narrow spiral stone staircase. There’s not really enough room for 2 people to pass inside!

This leads to a rooftop type terrance with good views over the main square (and in my opinion, a better photo spot, if you want pictures with yourself in them!).

The second part is the main bell tower itself. This has a wider, ‘open air’ staircase on the inside, with the very last section being a metal ladder, into the roof area with the bells! There are great 360 degree views across the whole of Trogir!

The windows are covered with nets, which is why the lower level is better for ‘people photos’, but if you put the camera lens right up to the net, you can then get photos without the net lines! You then come down the same way you went up.

Something to note is that if you want to visit the cathedral too, there is a sign with a ‘dress code’ requesting that shoulders and knees should be covered. This does not apply to the bell tower entry though.

Trogir Market & Waterfront Area

The Old Town part of Trogir is actually on its own little island, however on the mainland side there is a daily market! It sells items like fruit and veg, olive oil, lavender products and souvenirs. Most places in Trogir sell similar souvenirs, including Split airport, I did find the market to be slightly cheaper though.

Waterfront Bars (Mainland Side Highlight)

For me, my favourite part of the market were the waterfront bars! There are a couple with chairs and tables right next to the canal. In all honesty I found sitting here with a drink much more enjoyable compared to the main promenade in the Old Town. I stopped at Travarica for a large beer, which cost €3.80.

Pješački Most – Unique Bridge Into Old Town

At the end of the market, before you reach the harbour, is the ‘Pješački Most’ bridge that crosses the canal back towards the Old Town. This is a really unique shaped bridge that has stools where you can sit and enjoy the view, along with a netted part where you can walk above the water!

Evening in Old Town

From here, I actually had an early dinner at Siam Thai Food near the market…yes I was in Croatia, but I’d been craving Thai milk tea for months and I knew they sold it! It’s also a pretty affordable option for somewhere to eat.

For dessert, I stopped at Gelateria Riviera in the Old Town as they sold lavender flavour ice cream and I was intrigued to try it! It tasted a little bit more fruity and floral than what I was expecting, but it was still nice! The nearby island of Hvar grows lavender, which is why there are different lavender related products available!

Make sure to spend some time just wandering the streets of Old Town! There are so many cute little alleyways and random souvenir shops hidden in the different streets, after all the Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site!

The main promenade in Trogir is where a lot of the larger cruising ships dock (although not quite as big as the type of ships that dock in the likes of Dubrovnik, but they are still a fair size!), as well as smaller day tour boats. During my visit, they had a craft market along the front too.

There are lots of bars and restaurants along the promenade, but like I mentioned above, I found the bars near the market to be more peaceful and relaxing, but if you wanted something more ‘in the thick of things’, there’s plenty of choice here.

For something more budget friendly, there is a very small branch of the Studenac Market, which sell drinks for cheaper if you then just wanted to find a bench. A bottle of Coke cost €1.49, compared to the bars where a Coke is more like €4.

At the far end of the promenade is Kamerlengo Fortress, a 15th century castle. You can get tickets to go inside and walk the walls, but I chose to do the bell tower instead as it was higher and felt a little more adventurous!

Behind the castle is a small park type area with benches, which is probably the best place on the island to see the sunset. It does just drop behind the hillside opposite though, so during my visit it wasn’t anything spectacular as such, but it is an option.

Beach Walk (Okrug / Nearby Public Beach)

Can you swim in Trogir Old Town area?

The closest place to swim near Trogir Old Town is the public beach on Otok Čiovo. If you cross over the bridge near the promenade and head to the left, there is a stoney public beach just past the marina. The water was quite clear and it had some roped off swimming areas, but as a beach lover it wasn’t the nicest. I sat on it for a bit, but I didn’t swim here.

There’s also another beach just past the bus station on the mainland called Gradska Plaža Trogir. This one has a coffee shop right next to it, so is potentially a bit better facilities wise, but I only passed this one while on the bus.

If you’re happy to get an Uber, Borkko Beach Bar (see below) or the beaches in Okrug Gornji are a bit nicer!

Day 2 – Morning in Trogir

Breakfast at Trg Ivana Pavla II Town Square

As my hotel was room only, I went to the main town square next to the bell tower for breakfast. I stopped at Deboto which was quite reasonably priced for a central location. Avocado egg on toast and a cup of tea came to €11. It was raining the morning of my second day but they had big umbrellas so you could still sit outside and enjoy the atmosphere, but stay dry at the same time!

I also went back here on my final day for lunch and had egg and bacon loaded fries for €10.

Trogirski Rafioli

A must try while in Trogir are Trogirski Rafioli which is a traditional dessert type pastry filled with almond. I bought mine from Đovani Gelateria and Pasticceria. They have a couple of different flavours, I had the pink one which also had white chocolate and hazelnut. One pastry cost €1.90.

There a story surrounding them, that a woman named ‘Rafioli’ was imprisoned in Kamerlengo Fortress and would bake the pastries, and when she was released the recipe was shared around town!

Coffee Along The Promenade

I had a little bit of time to kill, so stopped for a coffee along the promenade on the way to the Marina Baotić. When it comes to drinks, I found the coffee to be the most budget friendly option. At ‘Big Daddy‘ I had a large coffee with cream for €2. Similar to Deboto, I could hide up under the large umbrellas, watch the world go by and I really enjoyed their playlist, it lent more toward rock music!

Walking to Marina / Sailing Departure

Where do sailing trips leave from in Trogir?

I was surprised by just how many sailing trips depart from Trogir, it was like a whole new world I’d never previously entered! There are 2 main ports in Trogir: Marina Baotić and SCT/ACI Marina Trogir. My trip departed from SCT Marina, which is the closest one to the Old Town area (across the bridge on Otok Čiovo). It was around a 10 minute walk.

My boarding time was 1pm, where we meant with the host, who showed us to our catamaran. You can read my full experience here: Joining a ‘More Sailing’ Croatia Sailing Trip as a Solo Traveller (What It’s Really Like).

After the Sailing Trip – Last Morning in Trogir

After a quick breakfast, we were required to be off the boat at 8.30am on the Saturday morning. This is so they were able to get the boats ready for the next set of departures that afternoon. There were toilet and shower facilities in the marina, which we could stay and use. They also let us put our larger bags in a storage unit, so we could continue exploring until our flights later that day.

Borkko Beach Bar

Me and a couple of girls that I had met on the sailing trip decided to spend the morning at Borkko Beach Bar on Otok Čiovo. It opened at 9am, so we got a 15 minute Uber for a few euros. They had tables and chairs under cover or sun loungers (although no umbrellas!) and nets over the sea.

We just bought drinks and were able to use the sun loungers for free. I bought an iced coffee for €4.50, but similar to Trogir promenade, you could get a coffee with cream for €2.50, Coke for €4, bottle of beer for €3.50 and cocktails from €11.

I would recommend getting there as early as possible though as it got VERY busy. Not only do they have a free car park, but it also seems to be a popular stop for boat trips to drop group loads of people off. Being in the front row of sun loungers we could kind of pretend the people behind us didn’t exist!

They also have a beach area with really clear water! It is very stoney so take water shoes, and be careful of the starfish and sea urchins!

Alternatively Okrug Gornji has a long stretch of beach with sun loungers and beach bars, if you wanted something a little closer to the Old Town area, but still with options.

Bus Back to Split Airport

After the beach bar, we got an Uber back to the marina to collect our bags. I had a quick lunch in the Old Town before getting the bus back to Split airport around 3pm.

What I’d Do Differently

If you only had 1 day, this is what I would do:

• Climb the bell tower for the views
• Have lunch in the town square
• Go to the market and have a drink by the water
• Cross over Pješački Most back into the Old Town
• In the Old Town make sure to try the gelato and Trogirski Rafioli, spend time wandering the streets
• Stroll along the promenade, see the fortress, have a drink etc in the evening.

If you have a 2nd day, then try out one of the beach bars or if I wasn’t going on a sailing trip, I probably would have done something like the Blue Lagoon and 3 islands tour* or the Krka National Park day trip*.

I would SKIP:

• The public beach near Trogir Old Town
• Going IN Kamerlengo Fortress (do the bell tower instead)