Best souvenirs from Croatia: Perfect Croatian Gifts Guide
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I’ve just come back from my Croatian holidays and unpacked my luggage. It wasn’t big, as I always prefer to travel with my carry-on only. Nevertheless, there had to be some small space left for Croatian souvenirs!
What are the best souvenirs from Croatia? What are the best Croatian gifts to bring home from your holidays? For your loved ones, but also for yourself. A few ideas, I promise, will help you prolong holiday feeling a bit.
You will find all the information regarding souvenirs from Croatia in this post.
Quick links to organise your trip to Croatia:
Ferryhopper for ferry schedules and tickets.
Here for private transfers and guided tours.
And here to check bus schedules.
Best souvenirs from Croatia: Local products from islands
Let’s start with very local products that are connected to particular islands. Obviously, these products are so important and popular that you can buy them in whole region and even country, not just on one island. But it’s good to know where they come from.
Best gifts from Croatia: Lavender products
I just can’t start differently, as I’ve just come back from Hvar Island. Hvar, together with Korčula, are called ‘lavender islands’. Around 50 years ago, the island of Hvar was among the top 10 producers of lavender in the world. During the years, the production has decreased due to different reasons; one of them was the great fires that just devastated lavender fields. In recent years, production has come back, as has the cultivation of the lavender tradition. There is Lavender Festival that takes place annually in the small village of Velo Grablje (close to Hvar town). The festival takes place in June or July, when lavender blooms.
Because of this, you can find a lot of lavender products to buy as souvenirs in the whole Dalmatian region. Especially lavender cosmetics, small ‘pillows’ with lavender inside, and lavender oil. Or even food, for example, chocolate with lavender.
For myself, I brought small lavender oil and lip balm; they are both small and I could take them in the carry-on cosmetics bag. It’s one of the best Croatian souvenirs, very regional and rich in history, but also very useful.
Best souvenirs from Croatia: Gifts from Brač Stone
White lime stone from Brač is a famous stone that has been used for centuries. To name just a few famous buildings that were built using this stone: Diocletian Palace in Split (built in the 4th century), Parliament House in Budapest, or possibly White House in Washington. Although here it’s not sure if it’s only legend or reality, if it was built or reconstructed with this stone, as all the documents were destroyed. Anyway, there are high chances it was partially used.
So, can it have a better recommendation of how important this stone is? Nowadays, you can find many stands with souvenirs from Croatia created from the Brač stone. Especially on the Brač island, but not only. You can buy, for example, magnets, clocks, or candle holders.
Best souvenirs from Croatia: Paški Sir
About cheese, we will talk more in the next chapter, but as Paški Sir is one of the most known, winning awards, products in Croatia and Croatian islands, I put it here as well.
Cheese comes from the Pag island, in northern Dalmatia, close to Zadar. It’s hard cheese from the sheep’s milk. Here you can read a little bit more about the production process.
You can buy this cheese in Croatia everywhere, including in supermarkets.
Local products from Croatia: Truffles
It can be surprising, but Croatia is also home to this valuable mushroom. Truffles come from the Istria region. Not an island, but they have to be mentioned. Truffles, white and black, grow in interior Istria, in forests around Motovun and Buzet, and in autumn it’s truffle hunting time.
But you are able to buy them in small jars in souvenir shops throughout whole Croatia, not only on the Istrian Peninsula.
Also, try some pasta dishes with truffles in restaurants, if you are visiting the northern coast of Croatia.
Of course, these are not the only local products that are worth buying. Wherever you are, look for local producers. You will find many, especially when it comes to wine, olive oil, or honey.
Best souvenirs from Croatia: Food
In my opinion, one of the best souvenirs is something from the food and drink section. Because it’s useful and because it brings a bit of holiday feeling into your kitchen. Croatian cuisine is interesting and quite mixed, depending on the region. On the coast, it’s very Mediterranean-style. You know: seafood, olive oil, and wine. So, Croatian food souvenirs that you can bring home will be quite similar to Greek souvenirs. Let’s look at them in detail.
1. Spices
Spices are the perfect souvenir. Light and easy to pack and travel with; quite cheap and easy to buy. Just go to the green market or supermarket. Basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and laurel leaf are the most typical ones. You can also often find a mix of ‘Dalmatian spices’.
You can also find some cosmetics produced on the basis of these plants, similarly to lavender, for example, rosemary oil.
Another spice worth thinking about is sea salt, or a mix of salt and the mentioned herbs.
2. Olive oil
Olive oil in Croatia is of the highest quality and is a must on every table, in every restaurant, or hotel’s canteen. They are produced on the whole coast of the Adriatic Sea, from Istria to the most southern parts of Dalmatia. Although the Istria region is particular here, as it was named the best region in the world for extra virgin olive oil. It’s because of differences in weather conditions and production processes. Istrian olive oil tends to be bitter and more spicy than Dalmatian oil.
Anyway, smaller or bigger producers produce Croatian olive oil. Usually, it’s small family companies. You can find many Croatian olive oil bottles (big or small) to buy as a souvenir, even in souvenir shops. Worth mentioning is that, this year, 4 Croatian olive oils were ranked among the 100 best olive oils in the world.
3. Vinegar
The next thing that you will find on every table in every restaurant is vinegar. It’s widely used in Croatian cuisine and produced. You can buy vinegar in smaller bottles, perfect for a gift.
4. Cheese
We’ve talked about Pag Cheese (Paški Sir), the most known of Croatian cheeses, from island of Pag. But there are also other ones to buy as a great souvenir. The best would be hard cheese, like Dalmatinac or Trapist. You can buy them at local markets or supermarket.
5. Chocolate
More precisely, chocolate with rice. This type of chocolate comes from Croatia too. There are different brands to look at, again, in any supermarket.
6. Jams
There are many good local jams produced in Croatia, but fig jam or rosehip (šipak in Croatian) jam are the most symbolic and tasting Croatia for me. You can buy them in supermarkets or on the food market. If you don’t have space to take it as a souvenir, just buy it to try during your stay.
7. Honey
Honey is another great idea for a gift from Croatia. It’s tasty, healthy, and usually packed in small, and nice-looking jars (just be careful when it comes to security control, as it’s treated as a liquid). There are various types of honey in Croatia, and the most known are acacia honey, chestnut honey, and meadow honey.
8. Ajvar
Ajvar can be used as a spread or dip. It’s made from roasted red bell peppers and roasted eggplant. It’s known and used in the whole Balkan region and is prepared mostly in the autumn. For sure, you will come across it when visiting any restaurant, as it’s always added to, for example, ćevapčići. You can buy ajvar everywhere, and for sure, bringing a jar of ajvar is a perfect gift from Croatia, especially for people who love food.
9. Almonds
Sugar almonds are a popular treat in Dalmatia. You can also buy almonds in packages or jars as a souvenir.
Best souvenirs from Croatia: Drinks
1. Wine
Croatian wine is recently gaining popularity, and you can slowly buy it outside Croatia. However, a bottle of wine is still one of the best souvenirs from Croatia, if you only have bigger luggage. White, red, and a bit of rose – you can find all types here. From the red one, the most known is probably Plavac Mali.
The majority of wine produced in Croatia is white. From the white wine the most known are Graševina, Malvazija, and Pošip (produced mostly on Korčula island). Additionally, you can try and bring back žlahtina. This is white wine from the island of Krk, so search for it, especially if you are in the Kvarner region.
2. Rakija and liquors
Rakija is a strong alcohol (around 40% or even more, especially if it’s home-made) made by the distillation of fermented fruits or plants. It’s produced all over the Balkans and around the region. In Greece, similar drink is called raki; in Hungary and Romania, it is called palinka. You can buy rakija as a souvenir; very often, it’s sold in nice, small bottles.
Rakija has different types, depending on what it is made from. There is, for example, travarica, rakija with herbs, or šljivovica, which is based on plums.
If you don’t like strong alcohol, you can also buy many liquors with less alcohol, for example, fig liquor.
There are 2 very well-known and traditional liquors that you can buy even in supermarkets. Both are also available in small bottles, which you can even take in your hand luggage. The first one is Pelinkovac, a herbal liquor. The second is Maraschino, produced from bitter cherries from Dalmatia (maraschino cherries).
3. Coffee
Coffee culture in Croatia is big. You can drink coffee ‘at every corner’. Sometimes there are also specialty coffee shops. However, the most traditional coffee is Turkish coffee, which is prepared in a special coffee pot called džezva. This coffee taste is quite specific, and it will not taste good for everyone. But if you like it or know someone who does, it’s a perfect souvenir from Croatia. You can buy even one portion of coffee, so it’s really small and you can fit it in your pocket.
This is souvenir I always bring for my Croatia loving friends.
Best souvenirs from Croatia: Croatian tie
If you like elegant clothes shopping, you will for sure notice shops with Croatian ties, especially in bigger towns like Split. It’s because tie comes from Croatia! It was part of the Croatian costume, then it was recognised and adopted by the French during Napoleon times. So a Croatian tie is another idea for a unique souvenir with history.
Best souvenirs from Croatia: Croatian jewellery
Another gift worth mentioning is Croatian jewellery. You can find a lot of shops with jewellery in many tourist towns. Particularly interesting is Croatian jewellery with traditional Dalmatian patterns.
Best souvenirs from Croatia: Typical tourist souvenirs
Obviously, there are also many shops and stands where you can buy ‘typical tourist souvenirs’. Like magnets, postcards, bags, and clothes. Sometimes, they can be really nice. I suggest looking especially at two types of such souvenirs. Firstly, things (especially clothes) in marine style. Secondly, clothes: t-shirts and hats with Croatian red and white checkerboard, the national symbol. It may be an especially good souvenir for sports lovers, as quite often they relate to sports, especially football or water polo.
Best gifts from Croatia: Conclusion
It’s, of course, not all ideas yet. There might be more, especially local ones. However, these are the most popular souvenirs: most common, easy to buy, but nice and useful at the same time. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will not spend a lot of time wondering about your souvenirs’ shopping.
Remember to check your country’s entry requirements (if you can bring any food or drink from the EU).
And about the requirement of not having liquids over 100 ml (3,4 fl) in your hand luggage.
In most of the places, you can buy by card, although in some smaller ones, it might be only cash.
In the old days, there were many options to buy home-made olive oil and wine. Now it’s less visible, but still possible, on food markets or just at homes. You will notice small boards next to houses that continue selling it (in smaller towns and villages).
Try to buy souvenirs in towns in advance, and don’t count on airport shopping.
If you are looking at bringing gifts from Croatia, you are probably planning to be on your Croatian trip soon. Here you will find more information on Croatia travels:
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