Šolta Island and Maslinica: Croatia’s Quiet Island Near Split

Šolta island is the closest Croatian island to Split, and easily reached by public ferry in about an hour. Yet Šolta sees just a tiny fraction of visitors compared to Hvar, despite being closer and more accessible. If you have heard of Hvar and never of Šolta, this post is for you.

We based ourselves in Maslinica, a postcard-perfect harbour town on Šolta, and stayed long enough to fall into the slow tempo of the island. What follows is everything I wish I had known before booking: where to stay, where to eat, the one hike worth your morning, and a scooter loop that takes in most of the island in a single day.

Why Visit Šolta Island?

Croatia is famous for its beaches, and rightly so. The classic Dalmatian bay, a pebbly outcrop shaded with pines, overlooking glass-clear water, is one of the great Mediterranean experiences. Šolta is full of them, and almost none of them are busy.

Compared to Hvar, Šolta is smaller, quieter and far less developed. There are no big beach clubs. There are no DJ sets. There are, in May at least, more seats available at restaurants than there are tourists to fill them.

If your ideal holiday is slow mornings, long walks through olive groves and a glass of local wine on a stone harbour wall, you are going to love it here.

Know Before You Go

• Many of the best beaches can be reached by foot, scooter or boat. Croatian beaches, including those on Šolta, are pebbly and rocky rather than sandy.

• Restaurants serve a fairly narrow Dalmatian menu of grilled meats, fish and seafood. Vegetarians can survive, but you may need to order from the sides menu (I’d recommend accommodation with a kitchen if you have specific dietary needs).

• In shoulder season (May, early June, late September), several restaurants and shops will be closed or on reduced hours. This is not a deal-breaker. It is, in fact, the trade-off for having the place to yourself.

Best Places to Stay in Šolta

Maslinica

Maslinica is the best place to stay on Šolta, in our opinion.

Maslinica means, roughly, “olive town” in Croatian. The hills behind the village are full of olive groves divided by old dry-stone walls, and the olives are still picked by hand come harvest time.

The village itself is small, even by Croatian island standards. The harbour is built from a soft cream-white stone that reflects the May sunshine and gives the place a clean, almost minimalist feel. On one side is the open sea, with a string of tiny offshore islets in the distance. On the other is an 18th-century castle, now converted into a luxury hotel and restaurant. 

Around the harbour you will find four or five restaurants, two small shops, a French patisserie that became our daily ritual, and not much else. That, of course, is the point.

A few cruise boats and small ferries do drop in from Split as part of island-hopping tours. They tend to stay for an hour and then leave, so the village empties again quickly. For most of the day Maslinica feels like a small fishing harbour where locals chat outside the konobas and fishing boats rock gently against the marble quay.

Where to Stay in Maslinica

We stayed at and loved Sol Melba. It is a small white painted building set back from the seafront. The complex has four or five self-contained apartments, each with its own kitchen, plenty of natural light and a minimalist design that feels more like a private home than a hotel. Our apartment had lovely views across the harbour and the castle, and was only a minute’s walk from the beach. We shared Instagram stories about our stay here.

The most striking accommodation in Maslinica is Martinis Marchi. The converted 18th-century castle that now operates as a five-star hotel If you are after a romantic, sea-facing castle stay, it is the obvious choice.

Bonus Tips for Staying in Maslinica:

• One row back from the seafront is, in our opinion, the sweet spot. You are right by the water but not on the noisier evening promenade.

• Apartments with a kitchen are useful because, in shoulder season especially, not every restaurant will be open every night.

• Out of season you can get a beautiful one-bedroom apartment for around €100/night. In July and August the same place will often cost more than €200.

Stomorska

Stomorska, located on the other side of the island, is a good alternative to Maslinica. The harbour is well-kept with a mini market, pub and small number of restaurants dotted around. Beach Pišćena is within walking distance. Stomorska can get breezy in the afternoons, and is considered a good spot for sailing.

Grohote, Srednje Selo & Donje Selo

If you prefer to go rural, the villages of Grohote, Srednje Selo and Donje Selo are all beautiful, rustic in-land options. However, you will need a car or transportation if you’re based here as there are no restaurants in these villages, and they are quite a distance from the beaches. The nearest mini market and cafe is in Grohote for food and basic supplies.

Best Restaurants in Maslinica

In Maslinica, all of the restaurants do something similar: a fairly classic Dalmatian menu built around grilled meats, fish and seafood. The good news is that the standard is high almost everywhere, mostly thanks to the open grills. The slightly less good news is that the vegetarian options can be limited.

Our favourites:

• Konoba Moni: Of the cluster of harbour restaurants, our favourite was Konoba Moni. We ate there our first evening and ordered, essentially, the whole sides menu: grilled vegetables, boiled potatoes, Swiss chard, olives, and bread. It was a genuinely lovely meal, mainly because everything on the grill is given the same care as the meats and fish.

• Caffe Tamaris: This cafe is best place in Maslinica for a sit-down coffee with a view of the harbour. The cappuccino is reliably good. 

• Beskid Desserts: This wonderful small French patisserie is perched on the harbour side. There is no proper seating, so you order, pay and then wander out to the harbour wall or one of the low stone outcrops over the water. We went every single day. By day three the staff were quietly slipping us free biscuits.

• Beach Bar Punta: Just outside the harbour, Punta is the place for a cold drink in the sun. The food menu is short and simple. Bring a book, get the chips, and stay until the sun goes down.

Šolta is a slow-paced island, and the best way to enjoy it is to be in nature, by the sea and taking your time. holiday in Šolta is best used to unwind and disconnect. Here are a few of the activities we loved on the island.

Best Beaches in Šolta

• Maslinica Beach – Maslinica’s beach is a row of small pebbly bays which are perfect for a swim and a read. They are sheltered from the wind, making it a great spot for a lazy beach day.
  
• Šipova Beach – We particularly liked Šipova, that combined sand (rare on Šolta and in Croatia) with the usual Adriatic clarity. It’s walkable from Maslinica in around 25 minutes directly, or via the circular route below.
  
• Beach Mala Krušica – This beautiful, secluded beach down the hill from Donje Selo is a beautiful drive and you’re likely to have the beach to yourself. Unfortunately, there was quite a lot of litter when we visited in May.
  
• Beach Gornja Krushica – On the east side of the island, Beach Gornja Krushica appears at the end of a steep hill. It’s a bay worth exploring if you’re out on a scooter drive around the island.

Hiking from Maslinica

Hiking in Maslinica was, surprisingly, one of the highlights of our entire trip to Croatia. I found a circular route on Komoot that loops out of Maslinica, up through olive groves and old dry-stone walls, past a small church on the hill, and back down to a sandy cove on the coast. Komoot estimated it at three hours. We did it at a relaxed pace in just over two.

What made it special was the complete solitude. We did not see another hiker on the route. Almost none of it was on road. Most of it followed ancient walking paths lined with dry-stone walls, lush in May with wildflowers, butterflies and the occasional swallow overhead.

Before you go:

• Start early, ideally before 9AM, to make the most of the cool morning.

• Bring a bottle of water per person.

• Wear proper trainers, not sandals. The dry-stone paths are uneven.

• Save the GPS file to your phone before you go. Mobile signal is patchy in the inland sections.

Day Trip Around Šolta by Scooter

Šolta is small enough that you can see most of it in a single day on a scooter or ebike. We tried to rent bicycles in Maslinica and quickly discovered that, in shoulder season at least, there is no rental in the village. There may be e-bikes available in summer at the Maslinica marina, but do not count on it.

What worked beautifully for us was a small local agency called Discover Šolta, based on the opposite side of the island. They picked us up from Maslinica, drove us across the island (about 25 minutes) to their rental shop, and set us up with a scooter. We paid €70 for 24 hours with the scooter plus €20 for the round-trip transfer. The shop also doubles as an olive oil tasting room, which gives you a sense of Šolta’s priorities.

Our scooter stops:

• The Gornja Krushica and Beach Mala Krusica beaches are very pretty and worth visiting if you hire a scooter. 

• Stomorska is Šolta’s second-biggest village and the eastern equivalent of Maslinica. The harbour is smaller and the place was windier on the day we visited, but it has four or five restaurants and an excellent lunch spot called Konoba – Pizzeria Volat, where we stopped to refuel.

• Nečujam is more of a residential bay, popular with Croatian families for holiday homes. There is one cafe and a slightly wider beach. Probably worth a quick stop rather than a long one, or skip it if time is tight.

• Grohote, Donje Selo and Srednje Selo are tiny old stone villages on the spine of the island. Beautiful to drive or cycle through, with a sleepy charm and the occasional honey or wine shop (which were closed when we passed). They are villages to admire from the saddle rather than stop in for an hour.

• Rogač is the main ferry port. There is one fairly basic cafe near the dock. Most travellers see this village on arrival or departure rather than as a stop.

• The Vela Straža monument sits at one of the highest points of the island, a five-minute walk from a church. The 360-degree view across to Split, Brač and the open sea is the reward.

When To Visit Šolta

May is wonderful, with a few caveats. The weather is changeable. We had genuine sunburn one afternoon and a thunderstorm the next morning. The sea is refreshing / barely swimmable. A few restaurants and shops have not yet opened for the season. The upside is lower prices, the absence of crowds, and the wildflowers on the hills. 

June and early September are the safest bets if you want reliable sunshine and water warm enough to swim every day, but fewer crowds. July and August will give you guaranteed heat and the busiest version of Šolta, which is still calm by Hvar and Split standards.

Getting Around Šolta

• There’s a bus, which is reliable but infrequent. Fine if you plan on minimal travelling around the island.
  
• Rent a scooter or e-bike from Discover Šolta for a day trip around the island.
  
• Hire a car from Split if you want maximum flexibility, especially with luggage.

• Renting a bike/e-bike on the island is not that easy. Many people rent them on Split or elsewhere and do island-hopping tours.

How To Get To Šolta

Šolta sits directly south-west of Split, between the mainland and the more famous islands of Brač and Hvar. It is the closest sizeable island to the city. 

The Jadrolinija car ferry runs from Split harbour to Rogač on Šolta and has a 60 minute voyage time. Out of season the ferry runs roughly four times a day. For a walking passenger, a single ticket is €4.40.

From Rogač, it is roughly a 15-minute drive across the island to Maslinica. There is a local bus service that runs from the ferry and is supposedly timed to align with the ferry timetable, but if you are travelling with luggage, a pre-booked transfer may be easier.

If you are flying in, Split airport is only 15 minutes from Split harbour, so you can in theory land at lunchtime and be having an espresso on Šolta by mid-afternoon.

Šolta island is one of those rare places that you arrive at sceptical (this close to Split, this quiet, really?) and leave reluctantly, already planning the next visit. Maslinica in particular has the kind of slow, generous rhythm that you only notice when you give it more than 24 hours. Three days in, we were on friendly terms with the patisserie staff, had a favourite stone to read on by the water, and had completely forgotten which day of the week it was.

If you are looking for the version of Croatia that the photographs promise but the headline destinations rarely deliver in summer, this is it. 

Bring trainers for the hike, an appetite for olives, and the patience to do very little for a few days. Šolta will reward you for it.

• Watch our Šolta Island Instagram highlight for more details on this trip.
• Planning a Croatia trip? Read our Croatia islands overview.
• Read our Sailing in Croatia Guide for yacht trips and island hopping.