6 Tourist Scams in Split

You land at Split Airport and head to the taxi rank, where a driver approaches immediately offering a ride to town. He quotes what sounds like a reasonable price, but the journey costs you €80 when the official rate is around €30-35. No meter is running and he insisted on a verbal agreement. Split Airport taxis have a documented reputation for overcharging tourists who don't know the going rate.

You enter the ancient Diocletian's Palace through the Golden Gate and are immediately approached by a friendly man who offers to show you 'secret' underground passages and Roman engineering that normal tourists miss. He walks with you for 45 minutes pointing out architectural details, and at the end presents a bill of €40-50 per person. There was no price agreement, and he insists this is the standard rate.

You sit down at one of the gorgeous terrace restaurants on the Riva with views of the harbor and order a simple seafood dish. When the bill arrives, there's a 'service charge,' a 'terrace fee,' and a 'cover charge' that weren't on the menu — the total is nearly double what you expected. Some restaurants also add each small piece of bread to the bill as a separate charge.

After a night out, you follow a friendly local who suggests a 'great bar' nearby. Inside you're seated and attractive staff immediately order drinks on your behalf. At the end of the night the bill is astronomically inflated — €50 per drink, €500 minimum covers — and large bouncers prevent you from leaving until you pay. Some tourists have been forced to ATM withdrawals under escort.

You want to take a ferry to Hvar or Brač and ask around for tickets near the port. A man approaches saying the official booth queue is very long and he can sell you tickets now. You pay him and get what looks like a valid ticket. At the gate, your ticket scans as invalid and the touts have already disappeared into the crowd.

You're squeezing through the impossibly narrow medieval alleys of Diocletian's Palace in July, shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of other tourists. The crush of bodies makes it natural for hands to brush against you, and in that anonymity a skilled pickpocket extracts your phone from a back pocket. You don't notice until you stop for a coffee twenty minutes later.