The truth is, I don’t like to talk about beauty of Croatia much. Why, you ask? Because I looove to have it for myself, to have it a bit more quiet from million of tourists, and to explore it’s breathtaking natural beauties on my own, on a sailing boat, motorbike or through hikes.
(Kornati)
But I kind of like this community, and I am kind of also thinking, this article probably won’t create a mass movement towards visiting Croatia so I decided to share with you some of the tips on discovering this amazing place – perhaps giving you a bit of travel inspiration.
One of my favorite things related to Croatia is that it’s shape looks like a dragon – can you see it from this picture? Northeast part being the head of the dragon, and east part being the wings, with south being the tail.
It is a country with more than thousand islands, most of them pretty small and near to each other, and sea and islands are probably what is best and most beautiful about Croatia.
There are hundreds of places worth visiting and exploring – so it is pretty difficult to keep this list narrow, but I decided to share with you seven of my favourites. Google will help you get any details, this post is just to give you ideas what to look for
1/ Kornati archipelago – Kornati is bunch of very beautiful very small islands, joined into National park in the mid part of Croatian coast. The islands are a bit hard to reach as most of them are uninhabited so without bridge or ferry connection. To be most precise, it is easy to reach with daily trip on a big tourist boats, but that’s no fun - they all go to the same places at the same time. Instead, amazing beauty of Kornati is best to discover by renting a sailing boat (or even take a kayak tour), which will enable you to be alone with the turquoise sea in many of the secluded bays and turquoise corners.
2/ Plitvička jezera – Plitvice
Hidden in the middle of the mountains between Zagreb and the seaside (and pretty close to each of these two sides, as Croatia is fairly small country) is this bunch of very beautiful lakes, with many waterfalls between. Although Plitvice became too damn popular lately, so tourist season (July-August) can be pretty busy, they are still worth visiting. And if you wish a chance to experience their beauty in more peaceful way, that’s easy – follow the longest hiking route (6h long but very easy) and the crowds will disappear, or visit in winter.
3/ Premužićeva staza hiking path on Velebit mountain – Looking for a quieter place, amazingly beautiful hike and as hidden as it get’s from tourists? Look no further. In Croatia, it is islands that are famous – but mountain that is hiding just behind the coast, overlooking the islands, beautiful Velebit,is very much quiet.
This quite flat hike goes for 57 km on the back of the mountain, never climbing or descending for more than 50min (all of it at around 1600m above sea level) and it offers some very beautiful views, as most of the path stretches in parallel with the sea and offers the views of islands on most of the parts. It can be tackled in 2 or 3 days, but also visited for just a couple of hours hike on parts of it.
Another reason why I love this hike is the diversity of landscapes – from rough rocks and cliffs, to dense forests, to hobit-style flowery meadows, landscapes change every couple of hours and provide constant pleasure for all senses.
Just be smart about planning when to visit – in winter, this area is rich in snow, and in summer can be quite hot. Spring or early autumn are the best time to visit.
(the view of Velebit from island Pag)
4/ Island Vis
Vis is one of the greenest islands in Croatia, with very beautiful nature and beaches (check out Stiniva and Srebrna), interesting deserted army tunnels, submarine tunnels and army objects to explore, two very cute fisherman towns, with absolutely spectacular food, and with some of the most crystal sea you will ever find.
5/ City of Dubrovnik
Beautiful small city within the walls, place where Game of Thrones were filmed and a beautiful place to explore, Dubrovnik is worth visiting but just for a day. It is too small (and often crowded) to stay much longer – but it is surrounded with very beautiful and quiet islands and hills worth of exploring for more days. Crucial tip: definitely aim to visit Dubrovnik out of season - as it is in the most southern part of Croatian seaside, even winters here are very mild (let say, around 15 Celsius) – so it is a great city hop from colder majority of Europe in any time apart from the summer. Spring and autumn are the best for a bit of balance (sea warm enough to swim and city still being lively), but even winter is nice to soak in some sun and enjoy very quite city just for yourself.
6/ Lighthouses
Croatian seaside has 48 beautiful stone lighthouses, built still at Habsburg times, and most of these are up for a rent in these days. What an amazing way to get a secluded place with amazing views, best sunsets ever and a way to rest your mind.
You can choose between small islands where the whole islands is a lighthouse, such as Porer, or one of the lighthouses on bigger islands such as Veli rat on Dugi Otok, for a bit more balance between isolation and still some humans around.
7/ Island of Hvar
Hvar is a beach party island, combined with very beautiful transparent turquoise sea, and lavender fields. Depends on the season you pick, you can adjust the ratio of these elements – for more party, go in July/August, for more turquoise sea with less people choose early June or mid September.
The best time to visit Croatia depends on your preferences. For me, I would definitely recommend early and mid June or mid September – it is a great balance of warm and beautiful weather (20-25 Celsius usually) yet with the number of tourists declining a lot comparing to hot summer season of July and August.
Wish to learn more about Croatia or curious for some specific information and tips?
Let me know what you would like to know and I will be happy to share it.
p.s. all of images in this post are my own (as you can see from so-so quality :D), with wish to show you the realistic look of things and not things tweeked into more-amazing-than-real, the only ones that are not mine but are with open usage rights is the Cro map, Plitvice and Dubrovnik