Brac island is located off the coast of Split, Croatia. The area of Split is known for its nearby islands with beautiful beaches and so much to offer visitors! We spent a day exploring the island of Brac and had a fantastic time. Here is our guide to a day trip to Brac island in Croatia including getting there, what we did and why we liked it so much!
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Why We Picked Brac Island
There are so many islands off the coast of Split, Croatia so you definitely have your choice! Brac, Hvar and Korcula are some of the most famous but there are so many depending on what you are looking for and how long you want to stay. We based ourselves in Split and wanted one close enough to visit for a day trip which narrowed it down.
This is not to say one is better than the other just why we picked Brac and what to expect if you’re planning on going too! One big determining factor is the ferry time. Going from Split to Supetar, Brac is under an hour ferry ride which is super quick. Other farther away islands can be more like 2 hours of ferry time. Just keep that in mind when picking the island you want to visit and factor in the travel time to and from.
We loved the short ferry ride to Supetar as well as the small, charming town. It wasn’t huge or crowded with lots of people. There are quite a few beaches within walking distance. You can find plenty of restaurants to choose from for lunch or dinner. We were looking for a quaint island where we could walk around a little and enjoy some time at a nice beach. Brac Island just had everything that we were looking for and we had such a great day!
- From our quick research we gravitated away from Hvar because it’s known for its nightlife and trendier restaurants. But it’s really all personal preference because the entire area is beautiful!
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Getting to Brac
We took the ferry from Split to Supetar, Brac. The ferry service is offered by Jadrolinija and takes about 50 minutes total. You can go to Supetar on the northern side of Brac or Bol which is on the southern edge and is offered via Adrian Fast Ferry. Bol has a very famous beach called Golden Horn beach that draws a lot of people to see this unique area. Either way there are multiple ferries going each day and even more during the peak season.
We bought tickets at the Jadrolinija ticket office at the port about 30 minutes before the ferry was scheduled to leave. We waited in line for a few minutes to get tickets but had no issue getting them the day of! If you’re visiting on a particularly busy day you can easily stop by the ferry ticket office a day or two before to buy them.
Round trip ferry tickets from Split to Supetar on Brac island cost 65 Kuna per person which is just under $10 USD.
Exploring Supetar
We got off the ferry in Supetar and spent some time walking around the harbor and through the old town. There are restaurants along the harbor where you can stop to get a drink or lunch. There are so many picturesque boats in the harbor that the whole area makes for such a good photo spot! Up a few stairs is the Crkva sv. Petra church.
- The town area of Supetar is not huge though so if you’re looking for a large town area with a lot going on that will be more like Split.
We walked up a few of the smaller streets and loved how quiet it was! We loved how we practically had the streets to ourselves. On one street we found a restaurant to have an amazing lunch! Konoba Vinotoka was delicious and such a nice place to slow down a little. We had a caprese salad, olives, tuna and the most perfectly grilled bread with fresh olive oil. We all enjoyed the grilled bread so much we got a second order of it! Supetar is actually known for its olive oil so make sure to try some before leaving!
Read More: How to Spend 4 Days in Split, Croatia
Beaches in Brac
Croatia has some of the clearest water we have ever seen so we knew we wanted to find a nice beach to enjoy for a few hours. We walked along the coast past the Aqua Park and some resort type places. Make sure to continue walking past Villa Rustica (Roman Villa) at which point the well paved pathway soon becomes more like rocks. It’s definitely easy enough to walk on but in order to get to the other side of this small section we walked on the rocks near the water. It took us maybe 10 minutes to walk through this rocky portion.
It’s beautiful because you can see back to Split in the distance! Once you round the corner you will see a restaurant and a few stands renting jet skis and gear for other water sports and activities. We found a spot near Foodica. The beach had only a handful of other people on it. Because it was later in the season many of the nearby amenities were closed so we were glad to have our own towels and water bottle. The only thing we didn’t see nearby was a bathroom.
- All the beaches we went to in Croatia had these changing curtains to change either in or out of your bathing suit. It’s basically a curtain structure you go into to change but it’s completely protected and so easy to use for free! They are such a genius idea and we all said we wish we had them in the US!
Read More: How to Spend 4 Days in Dubrovnik, Croatia
Taking the Ferry to and From Supetar, Brac
If you purchase a round trip ferry ticket in Split like we did then you don’t have to worry about buying a return ticket in Supetar. It’s an open ticket meaning you can get on whatever time ferry works for your schedule. We just made sure to take a picture of the ferry schedule from Supetar back to Split so we knew the times. You can also check the ferry timetables online.
If you’re looking for a low key but beautiful and quiet island to enjoy for a few hours we would highly recommend checking out Supetar on Brac Island! We had such an enjoyable day and we could have spent so much more time on this amazing island exploring even more!
