Jewish Heritage & Diocletian's Palace Private Split Tour

Jelena was a fantastic guide very accommodating and flexible to our needs. I would highly recommend her

We had a wonderful experience exploring Diocletian’s Palace in Split with Jelena! She was so knowledgeable and engaging, and passionate about the history of this incredible place! She was a fantastic guide, sharing insights and details we would never have discovered on our own. It was a great way to appreciate the beauty, history, and hidden treasures of Split. Highly recommend Jelena’s walking tour to anyone visiting Split! A memorable experience and a highlight of our time in Croatia!🇭🇷

Emil was an excellent guide and this was a great experience!

Jelena planned us a fantastic six days in Croatia. The itinerary was perfect, the hotels were all lovely and well-situated, and the suggested restaurants were yummy. But most noteworthy were the guides she arranged for us: Jelena herself took us on a terrific hike in Marjan Park to see Split from above, and then each guide she arranged for us in Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik was incredibly knowledgeable about the history of the region -- going back to the 13th Century and right up to the present. If you plan a trip with Jelena, you will be in great hands!!

Mia was fantastic! So knowledgeable, enthusiastic, she loves Split and made us love it, too! We had no idea how much history this city has. Highly recommend!

Fantastic tour with Vicencija. She was very knowledgeable, informative and interesting. Learned a lot about Croatia, Split and Jewish history in the area. My wife and I loved the tour and thought that Vicki was a wonderful guide. Highly recommended

Our tour guide Jelena was excellent! She was prompt, knowledgeable and kept our group engaged from start to finish. Would highly recommend!!

I booked this w Jelena the day before our tour and she could not have been more helpful. We were coming from a charter and was already at our hotel waiting. Our son had a broken ankle so she was able to tour around where a scooter could be.. Her knowledge of the palace and Jewish history was so impressive. She truly enjoys what she does. She was so lovely to be with and we would book her again in the future.

Tour guide was very informative of all aspects of the history of the area. We visited the market and she was able to find a few areas underground showing that Jews were located within the walls and also included an invite to the small synagogue within the walls which the care taker spoke to us as well. Just gave a donation for our visit.

We had the pleasure of going on a tour of the old city of Split with Vinka. In addition to speaking flawless english, she is very knowledgable and friendly. In short, exactly what you hope for in a guide.

Our tour guide Sanda, was the most knowledgeable, friendly guide we have ever encountered. The walking tour enabled us to learn the history of this beautiful city. She was patient answered all of our questions and we never felt rushed. Highly recommend this tour.

Our tour guide Jelena was absolutely fantastic! She knows the Old Town of Split inside out, pointed out many fascinating details, and shared great historical insights throughout the tour. She also reserved excellent tables for us at outstanding local restaurants and locations. If you are looking for an experienced tour guide with perfect English skills, Jelena is the right choice. Highly recommended — we would gladly book another tour with her again!

We had the best time with Jelena. She was prompt, warm, extremely knowledgeable and great with our group ranging from children to elderly. The tour was fantastic and interesting. Highly recommend her and this tour!!

Very good tour. We had ambulation problems and she made adjustments. We are generally pleased with all the Viator tours.

Jelena he’s very friendly and personable and seems to adapt the tours to the clients. It was fun talking to her and learning about the city. Interesting facts delivered in a very low-key and interesting manner.

We cannot say enough about Jelena and her business, Croatia awaits! We had a trip of a lifetime! We are seasoned travelers and Jelena exceeded our expectations. She listens and provides an itinerary that fits what you are looking for in your idea of a trip. All details were top notch and the communication was easy and detailed. Highly recommend Jelena!

Amazing, informative and fun tour. Emil was so knowledgeable and charming. We learned so much more than we ever could have if we walked around on our own. The history and the stories were incredible but the highlight was visiting the Synagogue and meeting Albert. Highly recommend this tour.

We are two retired Australian couples who enjoyed wonderful week in Croatia organised by Croatia Awaits before beginning a cruise in Dubrovnik From the moment of first contact with Jelena until we boarded the ship everything was fantastic Jelena began by organising a zoom call to fully understand what we were interested in and the type of accommodation and activities we were looking for The accommodation chosen was perfectly located just outside the old town in Split and Dubrovnik and was just what we wanted The trips organised were great with friendly drivers and excellent guides and went very smoothly A highlight was a tour of the Diocletian Palace in Split with Jelena who then shared time with us over tapas and a wine tasting We also enjoyed a cooking class outside Dubrovnik as well as day trips to a number of towns and local sights We are reasonably well travelled and can say we were highly impressed with the attention to detail and the flawless way everything worked with Jelena’s personal touch with a message each day making sure all was ok and letting us know the specifics of the next day giving us assurance and a sense of being valued If you are considering a visit to Croatia we can’t recommend Jelena highly enough

Our guide Vinka was knowledgeable, engaging, personable and flexible. Both our 16 and 90 year old group members enjoyed the tour. This tour was our 1st of 8 days in Croatia and set us up well for the rest of the trip.

We found our time with Jelena in Split Croatia informative and enjoyable as she shared her vast knowledge of the regions' history, past and recent. Glad we spent time with Jelena during our trip to Croatia.

This private tour was one of the highlights of our trip! Jelena Vrancic our guide was incredibly informative and showed us the intricacies of history that can be found within Diocletians Palace. Visiting the synagogue and meeting Albert who works to share the space with others and to educate people on the Jewish people who lived throughout history in Split was a unique and special aspect of our time on the tour. Additionally, Jelena was witty and fun - this is definitely not a dry boring tour! I highly recommend this tour and Jelena or one of the other guides who work with her.

10/10 experience. Jelena talks to you, not at you. It’s like touring with a friend rather than a tour guide. We loved our day and loved her. Highly recommend! She is the BEST!!

Very interesting - learned a lot about the city's history. Tour guide was so friendly and was very knowledgeable.

We had the most wonderful tour with Jelena. She is an expert tour guide in every sense, very knowledgeable, patient, and a pleasure to be around. Jelena exceeded our expectations, especially when she met us later in the week for a part of the tour we had missed as the synagogue was temporarily closed. We started the day as tourists and ended as friends. We highly recommend this tour led by the lovely Jelena.

Our family was lucky enough to take a walking tour with Jelena through old town Split. Her English is wonderful and so easy to understand. She is warm and was able to make our tour thoughtful for all persons in our tour. She was able to take us to the one and only synagogue in the town. While the congregation is small, it is always so wonderful to see the history dating so back in town. Also, she'll be able to assist in recommendations for restaurants and of course gelato! My father (a history buff) asked many questions and Jelena was ready with answers to them all!

Phenomenal overview of Split’s history. We spent time in the basement of the palace where we learned about the lives of the emperor and his staff who lived there. Fascinating stories of the history from 4th century onward. We learned the history of the Jewish people in Croatia and visited the synagogue, still in use today. Jelena was voted best tour guide by our adult children (28, 26, and 22) out of every tour they have ever taken (and we are very picky about reading reviews and choosing guides).

This was an excellent tour of both the palace and the Jewish quarter. We also received a tour of the old synagogue and learned the history of the Jews which dates back over five hundred years. Highly recommend!

Jelena is exceptionally knowledgeable, remarkably responsive, and offers highly competitive services. She consistently goes above and beyond to prioritize his clients’ best interests, earning their trust and loyalty.

My mother and I had the most fabulous afternoon with Jelena on a private tour of Split. Besides being so intelligent, interesting, and informative, she was warm and welcoming. She is simply a lovely person and a pleasure to spend time with. We learned so much about Split’s history and culture. It was the perfect way to spend our first day in Croatia. Jelena also organized our driver from the airport to our hotel, as well as a private driver and guide for a tour of Krka National Park and Šibenik. The drivers and tour guide she connected us with were all thoughtful, professional, on time, and great to work with. Communicating with Jelena before and during our trip was effortless. She always responded promptly and I knew from our first texts that I was in good hands. Jelena also gave fantastic restaurant recommendations that really added to the enjoyment of our trip. I highly recommend Jelena and her services, whether for a single tour or planning a whole trip. I hope I get the chance to see her again! Thank you for making our time in Split so special, Jelena!

Jelena is amazing! I would recommend her and her tours to anyone visiting Split! My family had the best time with her! I would rate this 12/10 if I could!

Jelena's private tour of Split was among the best we have ever taken. She has a deep reservoir of knowledge, speaks perfect English, and is fun to be with. We loved that she knew how to avoid the crowds, which is no small feat in the Old City of Split. Jelena also helped us plan activities in Dubrovnik/Montenegro and, again, she was right on the mark with her selection of excellent guides and drivers. She is highly responsive and adaptable, and made our stay in Croatia exceptional.

Jelena was a perfect guide! She has a very pleasant personality and is a very enjoyable person with whom to spend several hours. Spending time with Jelena is more like hanging out with a super smart, fun friend, as opposed to a dry tour guide. She gave us a private tour of Split, including deep into the palace, Riva, Square, Statue, and Synagogue. We learned a lot of history from Jelena, facts we never would have learned had we wandered the palace and city on our own. Her English is impeccable and her knowledge immense. A private guide made the experience so much better than a group tour. Jelena answered all of our historical questions and gave a unique insider's perspective of Split and of the country of Croatia. I cannot recommend her highly enough.

Very punctual ,friendly and knew her facts.She could answer any questions we put to her.It was just the right length and at a steady pace

Amazing tour! Jelena is a great tour guide. She is knowledgeable, sensitive to the needs and interests of her clients, and provides a wonderful experience while bringing the sites to life. Unlike so many tour guides I’ve interacted with (who try much too hard to be funny and entertaining), Jelena is completely professional, sincerely interested in the history of Croatia, and a lovely person to spend time with. I learned so much and the time flew! A truly enjoyable experience. Highly recommended.

Jelena was an excellent tour guide. Very knowledgeable and friendly. Fun to talk to and gave great suggestions for other things to do in Split. I would highly recommend her to anyone wanting great historical insights into the Diocletian Palace.

What an amazing day we had with Jelena. The tour of the palace was educational and so interesting. We loved the tour through Split and the interesting tidbits Jelena shared with us along the way. We even discovered a new fun bar together. She is knowledgeable and friendly and also gave us some great suggestions for places to eat. She helped us with other aspects of our trip while in Croatia and was quick to respond to our texts and emails. She is a true gem.

Jelena was WONDERFUL. FIRST - she is so lovely - it is a treat to spend time with her. She is incredibly knowledgeable and has a wonderful way of sharing interesting information without going overboard/being long winded. We were interested in everything she shared - totally engaged the entire time. The weather did not cooperate at the beginning of the tour - it was pouring - but Jelena managed to make use of every minute we had together. We sat in a beautiful cafe talking and learning so much - so enjoyable. Then she got umbrellas from the hotel for us so we could walk to the palace. She structured the timing so that we were inside learning all about the palace during the rain - and outside once the sun came out. We loved how Jelena tied in Jewish history to this tour. We loved visiting the old synagogue - and having the opportunity to speak with Albert at the synagogue was really special. All in all - a very worthwhile experience. I highly recommend booking a tour with Jelena or her staff.

We hired Jelena to help us plan our three week vacation in Slovenia and Croatia. I interviewed a few high end agents but decided to go with Jelena as she was the most responsive and felt that I would receive more genuine experiences. Boy was I right!!!! Started the planning in October 2023. Jelena gave me hotels she suggested but am sure she will book these for you. I am hands on so preferred booking myself. You do need to start early as many of the properties are small and book up quickly, especially the suites. Jelena made many recommendations based on our interest. I wanted to stay in Hvar but she convinced me to stay in Brac. All I can say is The Lemon Garden in Brac was incredible. You can read my review for the hotel separately. The guides, and drivers were always on time and ready to assist with whatever we needed. They were all professional and a joy to be with. It was like traveling with friends that live in the country. Jelena’s responsiveness continued while we were traveling. She was only a text away. She responded at all hours of the day. I wanted to change several dinner reservations and nothing was an issue. The day we were going to the islands by boat, the weather was going to be very windy and wanted to change the day, again no issues. This might have been impossible to do in High season but in May things were a bit less busy. My husband found a wine he loved in Slovenia. We had a free day and asked if we could go to the winery. The next day we were at the winery meeting with the winemaker on a private tour and tasting. Wow…that is service. Some of our favorite experiences were ringing the bell in Lake Bled, the caves, eating oysters just picked from the water in Ston, cooking class outside of Dubrovnik, private boat charter touring the islands and just being in the country. Everyday was a new adventure. We were also fortunate to meet Jelena as she did our tour in Split. Everyone knows her and her vendors all speak very highly of her. She is a lovely person whom is very passionate about her country. She loves what she does and it shows. I wouldn’t hesitate using Jelena’s services again. If you are smart, you would hire her to plan for your vacation. There are just many logistics to deal with. It was so nice to have one person to deal with making restaurant reservations, getting ferry tickets, coordinating all the experiences and dealing with the transportation within the country. It is a true vacation when someone else is dealing with the logistics. Plus her prices were reasonable for the level of service received. Please reach out to me privately if you want additional information on Jelena.

We are a group of ten travel friends in our 70’s. Jelena is an exceptionally good, knowledgeable and personable guide with a sense of humor. She made sure not to lose any of us, literally and figuratively. Jelena set the context for an in-depth appreciation of where we were going and what we were seeing in the Diocletian Palace and the Old Town it contains. Her pride as a resident is evident but not uncritical. We also had a particular interest in the Jewish History of Split, which she was able to integrate into her explanations. Jelena was a welcome guide in the synagogue and at the perfect place she helped arrange for lunch. We could not have hoped for a better experience.

Vinka was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. I would highly recommend this tour. Seeing the third oldest Jewish Synagogue in Europe and learning about its history from the caretaker was definitely a highlight.

Split has been on my bucket list for a long time. Two of my favorite armchair hobbies are Jewish history and Roman history and this city and this tour manage to merge both in an unforgettable 3 hour tour, including a short a cappello concert in a wonderful Roman environment. The start of the tour with Jelena, one of the best guides of our trip, was in the basement of Diocletian’s Palace (separate entry fee) and it’s been preserved (because of trash) in such a way that it is very authentic. I was grinning from ear to ear (we’ve seen some incredible Roman sites all over - my family puts up with it). Kid in candy shop stuff. On the upper level, the Roman streets are preserved inside homes and shops. The synagogue is along the western wall and we met with a community member. I find it fascinating and we always pay our respects when we travel. This is an active community. The tour was so interesting. Highly recommend.

I booked private tour with Jelena after reading her 5 star reviews. My 11yr old daughter and I had incredible time. Jelena is approachable, highly skilled and knowledgeable tour guide and she tailored this tour to keep my daughter interested…I still can’t believe but my kid was 100% engaged the whole time thanks to Jelena. Her English is impeccable. We loved her personality so much, I plan to use her expertise when booking my Croatian vacation next year. Hvala Jelena!!!

Jelena was outstanding and set a new bar for our expectations of guided tours! Her knowledge and story-telling skills were excellent. Everyone in our family - teenagers and up- thoroughly enjoyed our time with Jelena. I would highly recommend this tour.

Jelena led us on a fantastic private tour in Split! She was extremely knowledgeable about local history and culture, and her enthusiasm made this tour a major highlight of our trip to Croatia. In addition, Jelena arranged for us a magical boat ride to several islands near Dubrovnik. And her advice and insights were invaluable for the rest of our trip. We highly recommend working with Jelena, thank you so much for an amazing morning!!!

Pero was excellent and modified the tour based upon our request and interests. Was able to have the synagogue opened for our visit.

Kicking off a 9 day trip in Croatia with Jelena was perfect! We were fortunate to have Jelena take us on a tour of Split and orient us to the surrounding areas. She was engaging, funny, smart and just terrific to be with. I mentioned it was my husband's birthday so she arranged a very special lunch in Split before sending us along to the Brac ferry. In addition to a walking tour, Jelena arranged airport transfers for 6 of us, arriving at separate times, and also arranged for a phenomenal private boat tour of Pakleni islands. What a spectacular day! Prior to my arrival in country, Jelena offered me insights into planning, even though I wasn't booking all of the days with her. She gave me a lay of the land and made so many good suggestions as to how we should spend our time. I am helping friends plan their trip for next summer and will send them right along to Jelena to help make their trip as special as ours was.

Thanks Jelena for a wonderful few hours of touring Split. All the planning with you was flawless - from timing to meeting place, to the pace, to your knowledge and of course to your delivery style which was simple, informative and relevant! Not to mention, the chocolate surprise! Thank you for your Split expertise - it was a great experience!

My tour with Jelena was perhaps my most enjoyable having enjoyed private tours throughout Europe. Immediately upon meeting Jelena, you understand the tour will be relaxed and conversational yet sophisticated. The tour itself was quite interesting blending the history of Jews in Split with the sites. Perhaps more interesting was our conversation about the culture, heritage, politics and people of Dalmatia. Simply lovely.

After answering all our questions via email, and speaking to us via WhatsApp, Jelena presented my husband and me a detailed itinerary for our June vacation to Split Croatia. She was careful to plan around our physical limitations regarding walking tons of hills and steps in hot weather without compromising our desire to be outdoors. After approx 2.5 hrs of walking the Diocletian Palace and surrounding areas, Jelena arranged for a private car to drive us to Marjan Park and the Jewish Synagogue /Cemetery. As a pick me up power boost, Jelena generously treated us to some scrumptious locally produced dark chocolates. Additionally, at the end of our tour, Jelena walked us over to a restaurant we could otherwise not get seated at w/ such short notice. We were seated outside immediately! Time flew by during our private 4 hr tour. Jelena’s warm charming personality coupled with her ability to infuse great humor while sharing her vast knowledge about Croatia’s history made for an A+ tour rating. Additionally, her fees were reasonably priced and within our budget compared to others!