By Mary Novakovich, Award-winning travel writer
Croatia’s surge in popularity shows no sign of slowing down. When you look at that long Adriatic coast that goes on for more than 1,000 miles – plus hundreds of islands scattered about –it’s not surprising that millions of people each year are drawn to Croatia’s beaches and coastal resorts.
Add a rich cultural legacy mixing ancient Greek and Roman with Venetian, Austrian, Hungarian and Ottoman – reflected in everything from architecture to food – and it’s obvious why Croatia is so irresistible. I fell in love with the country as a child nearly 50 years ago, and while I’ve seen tourism transform sleepy villages into popular hotspots, Croatia’s natural beauty is as captivating as ever. These are only a few of its many highlights.
Best city breaks in Croatia
Dubrovnik has everything you want from a city break – plenty of culture within the medieval and Renaissance walls of the Old Town combined with beaches and day trips to the nearby Elaphiti Islands. When things get hectic in the Old Town – and that’s very often – a 10-minute boat ride takes you to the peaceful island of Lokrum near the Old Port. Sunvil has a good selection of hotels around the Old Town as well as in the beach resorts of Lapad and Babin Kuk, both a short bus ride from the Old Town. At the height of the season, it’s often more pleasant to stay outside of the Old Town during the day and visit in the evening when the daytime cruise and tour groups have left.
Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, and second-largest city, Split, make appealing city breaks all year round –the latter also offering some quieter beaches away from the main port. In fact, even Zagreb has a beach at Lake Jarun just south of the city. Kirker Holidays has a wide selection of hotels in both cities, and also offers accommodation in Zadar, Croatia’s oldest continuously inhabited city and another excellent choice for a cultural city break that also offers some chilled-out beach time.
Best beach holidays in Croatia
With such a long and heavily indented coastline, the choice of beach holidays in Croatia is staggering. As a more laid-back alternative to Dubrovnik, Cavtat squeezes in numerous beaches within its two-pronged peninsula and along its pretty waterfront. Completely Croatia has the reasonably-priced Hotel Cavtat facing a sheltered beach, as well as the large and very family-friendly Hotel Croatia resort.
Istria and its island neighbours in the Kvarner Gulf have their fair share of the Venetian-style architecture found all over the Adriatic. Rovinj on Istria’s west coast is truly exquisite, and one of the most pleasurable ways of enjoying it is by staying at Island Hotel Katarina offered by Sunvil. It’s a short shuttle boat ride from the port and gives you some of the best views of the city, while feeling as if you’re on your own little island hideaway.
The Kvarner island of Rab is curiously off the radar of many British holidaymakers, but beach lovers who prefer sand to Croatia’s more common pebbles and rocks have nearly two dozen sandy coves to choose from. And Venetian-style Rab Town is another of Croatia’s beauties. Combine a stay here at the Arbiana Heritage Hotel with a few days in the Opatija Riviera in Lovran in Sunvil’s two-centre holiday.
Island-hopping and cruise holidays
Croatia’s 1,244 islands, islets and reefs – about 50 of which are inhabited – lend themselves beautifully to leisurely island-hopping and cruises on small ships that carry only a few dozen passengers. Sunvil’s seven-night Adriatic Paradise cruise covers many of the country’s most attractive islands and ports, starting and finishing in Split and stopping in Hvar, Korčula, Mljet, Dubrovnik and the Elaphiti islands before returning to Split via Makarska and Brač.
See the less-travelled side of Croatia on Completely Croatia’s Kvarner Bay Islands Cruise. Starting and ending in Opatija, the cruise takes you to the Kvarner islands of Krk, sleepy Cres, fragrant Lošinj and Rab as well as Zadar.
If you’re island-hopping under your own steam, ferries and catamarans will get you to the inhabited islands, although car ferries travel to fewer islands and you’ll need careful planning. You can get around to more islands as a foot passenger on catamarans, and then hire a car, scooter or bike when you arrive. Split and Zadar have the widest choice of island destinations. Sunvil’s two-centre holiday combining Dubrovnik and Korčula gives you the chance to do some island-hopping in both destinations.
Best family holidays in Croatia
Families looking for villas that come with pools and are within a short walk of a beach will find some dreamy places at Oliver’s Travels. The island of Brač is excellent for families, with regular car ferries from Split and also from the coastal resort of Makarska (itself another superb base for families). Villa See sleeps six and has its own pool – plus the sweep of pebbly beach right in front. It’s only a few kilometres from the ferry port of Supetar.
Korcula is one of Croatia’s most enchanting islands, with Korčula Town like a mini version of Dubrovnik, only less crowded. Oliver’s Travels has four-bedroom Villa Ilija right on the seafront just outside Korčula Town, with a pool, hot tub, pool table and gym – just the place for two families and older children or teenagers.
Singles holidays in Croatia
Croatia is among the safest countries in Europe, and very easy to explore for solo female travellers. Just You has various enticing solo tours and singles holidays, including the Croatia and the Makarska Riviera eight-day tour that takes in Zadar, Split, Makarska and the islands of Hvar and Brač. Or take the eight-day Croatia Island Explorer cruise with a maximum of 20 passengers, visiting Krka National Park, Šibenik and the car-free island of Zlarin along with Trogir, Zadar and Split.
About the author
Mary Novakovich has been writing about Croatia for 20 years for British and international publications including the Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Independent, Wanderlust, CNN Travel and many others. Her Croatia travelogue, My Family and Other Enemies: Life and Travels in Croatia’s Hinterland, won the 2023 British Guild of Travel Writers Adele Evans Award for Best Travel Narrative Book and was shortlisted for the 2023 Stanford Travel Book of the Year.
Climate information – best time to visit
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Last updated: 15 April 2024
