We spend so much time chasing altitude here on the Front Range, summit after summit, trail after trail, that it's easy to forget the world holds another kind of breathtaking entirely. Croatia's Dalmatian coast has been quietly collecting admirers for decades, but Split, its crown jewel, is the kind of place that turns a curious traveler into a devoted convert. Pack light, leave your fleece at home, and point yourself toward the sea.
Getting There from Denver
The journey from Denver International Airport to Split requires one connection, and the most common routing goes through London Heathrow, Frankfurt, or Amsterdam before landing at Split Airport (SPU), roughly 20 kilometers outside the city center. Denver travelers now have a particularly convenient option: United Airlines has begun offering a routing through Newark Liberty International, making it one of the more seamless connections you can book straight from DEN. Total travel time runs between 14 and 18 hours depending on your layover, which sounds daunting until you're sipping a glass of local Plavac Mali on a sun-drenched terrace and realize every minute was worth it.
Where to Stay: Le Méridien Lav
For Denver travelers accustomed to a certain standard of comfort, Le Méridien Lav Split delivers without compromise. Perched on the cliffs of Podstrana, just minutes south of the city center, this property offers panoramic Adriatic views that will genuinely stop you mid-sentence. The rooms are sleek and modern with floor-to-ceiling windows that frame the sea like a living painting, while the hotel's private beach, multiple pools, and spa make it alarmingly easy to never leave the grounds.
The Old City: A Living Ruin
Here's something that doesn't exist in Denver, or really anywhere in the American West: a 1,700-year-old Roman palace that people still actually live inside. Diocletian's Palace, built by the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 4th century, forms the beating heart of Split's Old City, and it is unlike anything you have ever walked through. The warren of narrow limestone streets, underground cellars, open-air peristyles, and centuries-stacked architecture is a UNESCO World Heritage Site — yet it hums with cafés, wine bars, boutiques, and families going about their daily lives. Get up early, before the tour groups arrive, and wander without a map. You will get lost. That is the point.
The Riva Boardwalk
Running along the waterfront just outside the palace walls, the Riva promenade is Split's social spine. On any given evening, the entire city seems to pour out onto this broad marble walkway — locals, tourists, fishermen, kids on bikes, old men playing chess — all of them moving at that slow, deliberate Mediterranean pace that feels almost radical to anyone who commutes on I-25. Grab a coffee at one of the open-air cafés, watch the sailboats drift in and out of the harbor, and let yourself downshift. The Riva has a way of recalibrating your internal clock within about forty-five minutes.
The Seafood: Make Room
Denver has become a legitimately great food city, but our proximity to the ocean is, charitably speaking, limited. Split corrects this immediately. The Dalmatian coast is a seafood culture built over centuries, and the results are spectacular in their simplicity. Fresh-caught branzino grilled over open flame with olive oil and herbs. Octopus salad, tender and bright with lemon. And then there is the squid ink risotto — crni rižot — the undisputed local favorite, darkened with cuttlefish ink and deeply savory in a way that's hard to explain until you taste it. For the definitive version, make a reservation at Bokeria, a beloved Split restaurant tucked into the heart of the Old City. The space is warm and intimate, the wine list leans heavily into Dalmatian varietals, and the crni rižot alone is worth the flight. Prstaci, the local date mussels, are a seasonal treat you shouldn't miss either. For a more elevated experience, Restaurant Adriatic delivers not only exceptional seafood but some of the most stunning views in the city — the kind of dining setting where the Adriatic stretches out before you in every shade of blue imaginable, and you find yourself pausing mid-bite just to take it in. Head to the Varoš neighborhood as well, just west of the palace walls, where family-run konobas (traditional taverns) serve the kind of honest, unfussy seafood that makes you question every landlocked meal you've ever eaten.
The Blue Lagoon
A short boat ride from Split's harbor — most operators run the trip daily in season — sits the Blue Lagoon near Šolta Island, and it earns its name completely. The water is a shade of turquoise that looks filtered, like someone adjusted the saturation in post-production, except it's entirely real. The clarity is staggering: you can see the rocky bottom from ten meters up. Swim, snorkel, float on your back and stare at the sky. Most day-trip boats include a stop for lunch on a nearby island, often with grilled fish pulled from the water that morning. It is, by most reasonable measures, a perfect day.
The Bottom Line
Denver is a city that knows how to seek out extraordinary places — we do it every weekend in our own backyard. Split is just a backyard that happens to be 5,600 miles away, soaked in history, washed by a sea the color of a dream, and stocked with some of the finest seafood you will ever eat. One trip, and you'll understand why Croatians never seem to be in a hurry. There is simply no reason to rush when you're already exactly where you want to be.