Diocletian's Palace is a pedestrian zone, and the two car parks touching it, Riva and Stari plac, charge €4 for the first hour and €5 for every hour after in summer. That's the number that decides your day in Split.
So I'd skip the waterfront. Leave the car in a Zone III car park at €0.80 an hour, all year, and walk or take the bus in. If you need the kerb, pay with the Smart Splitparking app, not by SMS.
Parking in Split: Riva at €5 an hour, or Zone III at 80 cents
1. Don't drive at the palace
The old town inside Diocletian's walls is car-free. Split Parking and the city publish no access rules for visitors, so ask your host for the nearest legal drop-off before you arrive. Then take the car somewhere cheaper.
2. Avoid Riva and Stari plac for long stays
Riva car park and Stari plac are open 24 hours. Summer is €4 the first hour, €5 each hour after; winter €2, then €3. Two summer hours cost €9. No day cap is published, so a full summer day adds up to €119. Summer means 1 May–30 September on the operator's Croatian pages and 1 June on its English ones; I trust the Croatian.
3. Use a Zone III car park
The Zone III car parks, such as Boškovićeva, cost €0.80 an hour in every season, around the clock. That's €19.20 for 24 hours if nobody stops the meter. In between sit Svačićeva in Zone I (€1.50 summer, €1.00 winter) and Trg Hrvatske bratske zajednice in Zone II (€1.20 / €0.80). Card payment works at all of them.
4. Read the zone on the kerb
On the street, Zone I is €1.20 an hour in summer, €0.80 in winter, charged Monday–Friday 06:30–21:30 and Saturday 07:00–14:00. Zones II and III charge weekdays 07:00–19:00 and the same Saturday morning; Zone IV is 20 minutes for €0.50. Miss the ticket and you get a surcharge ticket (doplatna karta): €18 in Zone I in summer, €12 in winter.
5. Pay in the app, not by SMS
Each zone has an SMS number, 708211 for Zone I up to 708214 for Zone IV, and your mobile operator adds its own fee. Split Parking doesn't say whether foreign SIMs work. The Smart Splitparking app takes a bank card or PayDo prepaid credit, and that's what I'd use.
My pick: a Zone III car park and the bus. Eighty cents doesn't change with the season.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Riva (Split Parking)Obala Hrvatskog narodnog preporoda 2, on the waterfront below the palace; open 24 hours. Stari plac on Zrinsko-Frankopanska has the same tariff | Summer (1 May–30 Sep): €4 the first hour, €5 each hour after. Winter: €2, then €3. No day cap published. Card accepted. | Not published. |
| Svačićeva (Zone I)Ulica Petra Svačića 18; open 24 hours | €1.50 an hour in summer, €1.00 in winter. Card accepted. | Not published. |
| Trg Hrvatske bratske zajednice (Zone II)Trg Hrvatske bratske zajednice; open 24 hours | €1.20 an hour in summer, €0.80 in winter. Card accepted. | Not published. |
| Boškovićeva I and II (Zone III)Ulica Ruđera Boškovića, outside the centre; open 24 hours. Other Zone III car parks (Prima III, Mala dvorana Gripe, V. Terzića) charge the same | €0.80 an hour, summer and winter. No day cap published, so 24 hours is €19.20. Card accepted. | Not published. |
| Ruđera Boškovića garage (Split Parking)Ulica Ruđera Boškovića 25; 967 car spaces, open 24 hours | Only the monthly price (€38.49) is published; no hourly rate for visitors. | 22 kW charger for two cars, open to all drivers (2019); price not published. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Boškovićeva I and II (Zone III) | €1.60 | Same price all year |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Svačićeva (Zone I) | €3 | Summer rate; winter €1.00 |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, Zone I (summer rate) | €2.40 | Summer rate, 1 May–30 September by the Croatian price list (1 June by the English one). Winter is €0.80. No maximum stay; an unpaid stay earns an €18 surcharge ticket in summer. |
| A full day (10 h) | Boškovićeva I and II (Zone III) | €8 | Same price all year |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Svačićeva (Zone I) | €15 | Summer rate; winter €1.00 |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, Zone I (summer rate) | €12.00 | Summer rate, 1 May–30 September by the Croatian price list (1 June by the English one). Winter is €0.80. No maximum stay; an unpaid stay earns an €18 surcharge ticket in summer. |
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Towed in Split: Pujanke 67 A, open all night
1. Ring the pound first
Split Parking runs the tow trucks (the pauk) and the car pound at Pujanke 67 A. Phone 021 376 848. It's open every day, 00:00–24:00.
2. Bring about €70
A tow is €59.73 for a car up to 2 tonnes and €86.26 above that. Storage is €6.64 a day. One night for a normal car: €66.37, before any fine.
3. Run back if the truck is still there
Once the truck has arrived, the tow counts as started. If you get there before it leaves, you pay half, €29.86, on the spot. A wheel clamp is €66.34.
4. Pay any way you like
The pound takes cash, card or bank transfer. The same tow cost 450 kuna in 2017, when Split Parking promised new trucks wouldn't mean higher prices.
The classic mistake is parking on the Riva kerb for "five minutes". The pound never closes, and nor does the truck.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- Split Parking, the city's parking company, runs the tow trucks (the pauk) and the car pound. The same tow cost 450 kuna in 2017
- Phone
- Car pound, Pujanke 67 A — every day 00:00–24:00: 021 376 848
- Collect it at
- One car pound: Pujanke 67 A.
- Hours
- Every day, 00:00–24:00.
- What it costs
- Tow €59.73 up to 2 tonnes, €86.26 above; storage €6.64 a day; a started tow (you arrive before it leaves) €29.86 on the spot; clamp €66.34. All prices include VAT. One night: €66.37 plus the fine.
- Bring
- The pound takes cash, card or bank transfer. Split Parking lists no documents; I would bring the registration document or rental contract, licence and passport.
EV charging in Split: Two public garage chargers and a Supercharger inland
1. Use Split Parking's open chargers
In 2019 Split Parking put 22 kW chargers in five garages. Only two are open to everyone: Ruđera Boškovića garage and Sukoišan garage, each charging two cars at once. No price is published, so check the screen before you plug in.
2. Expect HEP's ELEN prices
The national utility's ELEN network has charged €0.35/kWh up to 22 kW and €0.45/kWh up to 50 kW off the motorway since 1 April 2025. After 180 minutes on a slow plug, idle time costs €0.06 a minute.
3. Supercharge in Dugopolje
Tesla lists six Superchargers, up to 125 kW, open 24/7 at Hrvatske matice 4, inland from Split. Tesla's page doesn't say whether other brands can use them.
I'd charge at Sukoišan: an open charger in a garage you'd park in anyway.
Where to charge
- Sukoišan garage — 22 kW, two cars — Sukoišan garage. Split Parking says it is open to all drivers, not just garage users (2019). No price published
- Ruđera Boškovića garage — 22 kW, two cars — Ruđera Boškovića garage. Open to all drivers (2019). The chargers in Šimićeva and Smiljanićeva garages were for garage users only. No price published
- ELEN, HEP's national network — Public chargers across Croatia; I did not check which ones stand in Split. From 1 April 2025, off the motorway: €0.35/kWh up to 22.1 kW, €0.45/kWh from 22.2 to 50 kW; after 180 minutes (slow) or 60 minutes (fast), €0.06 a minute
- Tesla Supercharger, Dugopolje — Hrvatske matice 4, inland from Split. Six Superchargers, up to 125 kW, open 24/7. Tesla's page does not say whether other brands can charge
Free parking in Split: Sunday on the kerb, and nothing else I'd count on
1. Park free on Sunday
Street zones don't charge on Sundays. Saturday is free after 14:00, and weekdays after 21:30 in Zone I or after 19:00 in Zones II–IV.
2. Don't count on car parks
The off-street car parks run 00:00–24:00, so none of them has a free window. Guides point to residential streets around Krizine, Visoka and Skalice, and say they fill up in season.
3. Book a room with a space
I didn't find a hotel whose own site promises free parking in Split. If your host offers a space, get it in writing.
Every price above was checked on Split Parking's own pages on 3 October 2026.
Free or nearly-free spots
Sunday and evenings on the Split kerb
Street zones charge Monday–Friday (Zone I to 21:30, Zones II–IV to 19:00) and Saturday 07:00–14:00. Sunday is free everywhere on the street. Car parks charge around the clock.
Residential streets, if you're lucky
Guides point to free streets around Krizine, Visoka and Skalice near Poljud, and warn they fill up in the season. Not an official list.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Diocletian's Palace is a pedestrian zone. Neither Split Parking nor the city publishes how a hotel guest with luggage may drive in; a garage operator's guide says to arrange the nearest legal drop-off with your host.
- Split Parking's own pages disagree on when summer starts: the Croatian price lists say 1 May, the English ones 1 June. Both end on 30 September. The Croatian pages are the ones I'd trust.
- Each zone has its own SMS number (708211–708214) and the mobile operator adds a fee. Whether a foreign SIM can send to these numbers is not published; the Smart Splitparking app takes a bank card or PayDo prepaid credit.
- Riva and Stari plac publish no day cap. At the summer tariff, 24 hours adds up to €119 (€4 plus 23 hours at €5).
- Ferry-port parking: guides send drivers to the car park by the railway station on Obala kneza Domagoja, but give different prices (one €3 the first hour and €35 a day in 2024, another older figures in kuna). No operator page found.
- I found no low-emission zone for Split. Croatia has used the euro since 1 January 2023; older guides quoting kuna are out of date.
Take these places with you
Every place on this page as a file you can keep — car parks with their prices, the free and park-and-ride spots, the chargers and the pound.