Where to go in Croatia: My favourite places

You have looked at all these beautiful pictures from Croatia and are getting overwhelmed by options and places to visit? Don’t worry. I’ve been travelling to Croatia for over 20 years now and still haven’t seen everything that I would like.

The first time in Croatia I was over 20 years ago with my parents. We stayed in a small coastal town called Vodice. Every day for a dinner buffet in a hotel there was aubergine in some mushroom sauce. It was so southern and special back then, I almost remember its taste.

Fast-forward, 3 years later, I was already a student of Croatian and Serbian studies and philology. After my master’s graduation, my love for Croatia became more professional but never smaller. I’m not even able to calculate how many times I’ve visited this country and how many places in Croatia I have been.

In this post, I want to show you briefly my favourite ones. And the ones that I think would be best to visit for others. We will try to resolve this dilemma and answer the question of where to go in Croatia. Next posts will present Croatian destinations more exactly.

What you should know before choosing your destination in Croatia

Croatia is quite a small country, but regions differ a lot. They have different history, geography, views, and weather. It’s pretty easy to commute in Croatia, so if you like active holidays, you can easily plan more regions during one trip. Don’t exaggerate though. You will not see everything, and you will need to choose.

Check out your transport and plane connections. Croatia has relatively a lot of airports and, especially during the summer season, is easily reachable from most of the European and non-European airports.

Another factor for deciding on a Croatian region is the type of holidays you want. Biking, rafting, yachting or maybe just beach time? You will find all the options in Croatia.

And since all the regions are interesting and deserve attention, I’m somehow sure that during the summer, you are mostly interested in the coast as a destination. Anyway, you will have a few regions to choose from: Istria, Kvarner or any of Dalmatia parts; stay on the mainland or go to the island? Let’s see what these regions offer.

Places worth visiting in Croatia

Istria, the seaside part

Istria is an interesting region with a bit of ‘an Italian touch’ feeling. It’s enough just to mention the most well-known Istrian coastal towns: Pula, Poreč, Rovinj.

It’s worth looking at Istria because of the seaside, the views, the amphitheatre in Pula (the third largest in Europe), the basilica from the sixth century, and the historic towers, charming streets, and harbours.

What’s interesting is you can easily come to Istria from Italy, for example, by ferry.

Istria, but a continental part

But Istria also has interesting continental part with beautiful green views, Gothic towns, and truffles. Take your time to drive through them, even during a one-day trip when resting from the beach. This part of Croatia and Istria is very special to me, as this is where I participated in my first volunteer work camp. During the camp, we helped to renovate the park and museum. It was in Buzet, a town which is gaining popularity due to being a centre for truffles hunting. If you are there in the museum, maybe that you will see the walls painted by me (in the old bakery part of the museum).

Other beautiful towns are Motovun, Bale or ‘the smallest town in the world’, Hum. In Hum, except for visiting the city (you can imagine that you don’t need a lot of time to do it), you can also see slabs with the Glagolitic alphabet, the first Slavic script.

Krk

Not far from Istria, in the Kvarner region, there is the biggest (or second biggest) Croatian island called Krk. You can reach it with a bridge!

Its capital town, Krk, has a great history and charming streets. Here you can read more exactly about what to see in Krk.

Island, one of those north of Zadar

Generally, every and whichever. In my opinion, to really feel Croatia, or at least Dalmatia, you should go to smaller towns and absolutely to one of the islands (1244 islands to choose from, out of which 68 are inhabited, 50 permanently).

From those close to Zadar, it may be Rab (because Rab town on Rab is a very charming town), or it may be Pag, which offers so many different attractions: pretty beaches, towns, and clubs- Pag is often called ‘Croatian Ibiza’, mainly due to Zrče beach.

For me, actually, what’s more convincing than clubs is delicious sheep’s milk cheese, which originated in Pag (paški sir).

National Park Kornati

Kornati is often called a sailing paradise. 89 islands and islets, rocks, and creeks. You can expect there impressive and very special views, a bit row, a bit moonscape-like.

Šibenik and Trogir

These two cities are on the way between Zadar and Split, and it’s absolutely worth it to stop in them, even if you have time only for coffee and a short walk.

Hvar

There are many islands to choose from around Split (or maybe go for island-hopping?), but one of my favourites is Hvar. The island becomes more and more popular, and the island capital, town Hvar, is quite a party place during the season. It’s easy to get to Hvar from Split.

However, it’s also a town-monument, with an armoury, three fortresses, a cathedral, monasteries, and charming crooked alleys.

Other towns and villages on the island are calmer and similarly charming.

The island is often called ‘scented by rosemary and lavender’. Indeed, you can feel that in the air. The biggest lavender productions have been destroyed by fires, and currently different actions are being taken to bring back tradition and production itself (for example, by the annual lavender festival in Velo Grablje).

Korčula

The second island, which right away, is associated with the smell of herbs and lavender. The place of birth of Marco Polo, with a museum placed in his house.

From a bird’s eye view, old town resembles the backbone of a fish, with a large number of narrow atmospheric streets, to which small stairs usually lead. Old Town has a really amazing vibe with fortifications, two gates into the city, historic buildings such as the cathedral or Arneri Palace and a harbour.

If you’d rather search for peace, you can go to one of the smaller villages on the island. The most famous is probably Lumbarda, known for its beautiful beach and a fishermen’s atmosphere.

Split and Dubrovnik

Well, those two appear on every ‘must-visit in Croatia’ list. During the season they are crowded, touristy and pretty expensive, but they deserve it. They are just very charming, full of history, vibe and architecture. Split from the 4th century, and Dubrovnik from around the 16th.

However, there are so many charming towns on the coast that it’s impossible to mention them all here.

Zagreb

Last but not least, the capital of Croatia, Zagreb. Sometimes I read opinions that it’s a big boring capital. I totally don’t agree with this! You just need to know where to go and what to see. Apart from a few days’ visits, I also spent a month in Zagreb at the scholarship during my studies. Recently, I spent another month during the Handball World Championships, where I volunteered. I think I can say I managed to get to know pretty well.

Zagreb is full of surprises. It’s probably the only European capital with professional ski slopes.

I highly recommend adding Zagreb to your travel list. Maybe during the Advent-Christmas Market? It’s one of the best in Europe.

Best time to visit Croatia

Croatia is rather considered a typical summer destination. I think the best time to visit the coast of Croatia is May-June and September. By this, you avoid the highest season with the biggest crowds and prices but still manage to get a summer feeling.

However, Croatia is also becoming more all year-around destination. Especially during Christmas market time. Zagreb is a city for a city-break any time of the year (getting the most busy in summer and in December).

Other places in Croatia

I’ve obviously mentioned only part of places. The ones that I’ve liked the most that made the biggest impression on me. But Croatia is more than that.

If you have more time, think about visiting Osijek and Slavonia region, or Varaždin in the north, close to the border with Hungary.

There are also many things you can do in Croatia during your holidays. A great idea is sailing, which is very popular in Croatia. Infrastructure for sailing, like marinas, is really good, and the coast is great for lazy sailing. Thanks to this, you will be able to visit more places and islands during one visit.

On my blog, you will find a lot of different posts regarding Croatia. I’m really excited to share with you my knowledge about this beautiful country.