Best Islands in Croatia to Visit: My top 5

If I had only one piece of advice to give to someone who travels to the Croatian coast, it would be: visit an island. Croatian islands have a very special vibe. Something that it’s tough to describe, but easy to feel when you are there.

Croatia has 1244 islands and islets, out of which 49 are permanently inhabited. It’s still a lot to choose which one you should visit.

As a Croatian philologist and lover, I’ve travelled to Croatia for 20 years now. Until now, I’ve managed to visit 11 inhabited islands. I’m looking forward to visiting more of them, also these less known.

I did visit, though, most of these the most well-known islands. Let me tell you which are the best islands in Croatia to visit.

How to choose which Croatian island is best for you

In the next chapters, I will tell you exactly which Croatian islands are best to visit, but firstly let me summarise what you should look at when choosing an island:

Which part of the coast do you travel to?

Don’t choose islands which are very far from the city that you fly to.

If you go to Rijeka, look at Krk or Cres islands. If you fly to Zadar, look at islands around there, like Pag or Rab. From Split, it’s easiest to get to Hvar or Vis.

It will be the easiest and quickest for you to reach islands then.

Availability of ferries and accommodation

The second point is connected with the first one. So, have a look at ferry connections. The most popular islands have more options.

Also, check out accommodation options and prices before you decide.

Type of travel

At all Croatian islands you will find great views, beaches, and nature. But some are more ‘touristy’, some calmer. If you like visiting, think about Krk or Hvar, for example.

Or Pag, which also has a lot to offer. Pag is also a good idea if you like the party style of holidays.

Best Croatian Islands: My favourites

Here, I wrote about my favourite places in Croatia. In this post, let me present to you the list of my favourite islands in Croatia. I admit that the list is subjective, but I will also add reasons why I’m putting the island on the list.

Krk

Krk is the second biggest island of Croatia. Choose it, especially if you have flights to Rijeka airport (which actually is located in Krk), Zagreb or Pula.

Krk is a great idea for almost everyone, as there is really a lot to do.

There are great beaches and nature and typical touristy places. But it also has a lot of history, culture, and places to visit. It has interesting cuisine, special type of wine, and farms where you can buy, for example, goat cheese.

In Krk, the most I liked the island capital, Krk town, because of its rich history and monuments, but also its atmosphere of harbour. I also liked a small town called Vrbnik, known for its white wine and narrow atmospheric streets.

As a Croatian philologist, I also appreciate monuments related to the historic Slavic alphabet, the Glagolitic alphabet that you can find on Krk island. More about it, you can read in this blog post.

Korčula

Another island starting with K, but much further south. It’s easiest to get to Korčula Island from Dubrovnik, but you will get there also from Split.

Korčula town, called ‘small Dubrovnik’ (because of city walls), has the shape of a fish. If you would look from above, you would see streets like fishbones.

It’s the town and island where Marco Polo was (probably) born; you can visit his museum.

Korčula also has smaller villages with a calm fishermen atmosphere, like Lumbarda.

The island is also called ‘Lavender Island’ so you will sometimes feel the lavender smell during walks.

I loved Korčula because of its special architecture, pretty narrow streets and views. It’s definitely one of my favourite Croatian islands.

Hvar

Hvar is probably the most well-known Croatian island. During the season, you can expect there to be big crowds and high prices. It’s easy to reach Hvar from Split.

There are a few towns worth a visit in Hvar. Hvar town, the capital, but also Stari Grad or Jelsa. There are many tourists who visit Hvar just for a day, but I think it’s best to visit it for longer and also see other towns.

Additionally, Hvar has amazing beaches. You can take a speedboat to Pakleni Islands, which look like paradise.

I love everything about Hvar (well, maybe except seasonal crowds and prices, so usually I try to visit in September). It’s also lavender island, every year there is a Lavender Festival.

Brač

Another island which is very easy to visit from Split. You can also easily connect visiting both of these islands during the same trip.

Brač’s most famous spot is Zlatni Rat beach. I have to admit I didn’t like it that much. But Bol (the town where the famous beach is located) is a very pretty town with a harbour, boats, and calmness and amazing colours of water. There are also other towns on the island, to which you can also arrive by the ferry.

Pag

There are also a few islands worth a visit around Zadar. So if you have flights to Zadar airport, think about island Lošinj, Rab or Pag. There is also National Park Kornati, which is an archipelago of many small islands and islets, which together form a bit of moon-like views.

But the island which I would like to highlight here is Pag Island.

It’s a very interesting place from different perspectives. It’s where famous Pag cheese (paški sir) is produced, as well as Pag salt (paška sol). Lace (paška čipka) is also made on Pag.

From the other side, Pag is also a ‘party island’ known for a few music festivals and the famous Zrče beach. It’s not really my type of holidays, but I was there once and can confirm it’s a big party there.

Čiovo

One more island, which is quite specific. It’s an island where part of Trogir town is located. So to get to the island, you just have to arrive in Trogir (by car or bus) and get to Čiovo just by the bridge. There are also other villages on the island.

Island hopping in Croatia

Have you heard before about all of these islands? There are obviously more islands, but these ones are the most known and easiest to get to, but also just very interesting and so worth a visit.

Croatia is the best place for sailing, and many people charter a yacht or a place on yacht or boat.

But you can also do island hopping with ferries. During such a trip, what’s really important is to connect islands which are closest to each other.

Check out the island-hopping itinerary from Split.