A first visit to the coast of Croatia can be a blur. Everything demands attention. The Dinaric Alps tower above the Adriatic. Ancient stone houses are gathered around even more ancient churches. Olive groves and vineyards cover hillsides sloping to the sea. In the cities, each with a long, distinct history, green markets sell local cheeses, fresh produce and just-caught seafood. Not to mention the more than 1,200 islands tempting you to stretch your vacation.
The guide below, which is broken into regions centered around city hubs, has information on where to hike, bike, sail, eat and drink your way down the Adriatic. But, as Croatians say: “Pomalo.” Slowly. No need to stuff all the cliffs-meet-the-sea photo ops and magnetic Mediterranean culture into one go. You’ll be back.
(Note: Hotel rates for double rooms vary based on the season and availability.)
Pula and the Istrian Peninsula
Dangling from the Istrian Peninsula in the northern Adriatic, Pula has held a strategic position for 3,000 years. But it’s what the Romans left behind that makes Istria’s largest city unique. The first-century amphitheater, the Arena, still hosts concerts and the Pula Film Festival. From the Temple of Augustus on the seaside Forum, the main square since the first century B.C., the Old Town bustles with restaurants, bars, cafes and shops on stone streets lined with Venetian-, Austro-Hungarian- and Yugoslav-era architecture beneath Kastel, a 17th-century fortress.
Pula is also a good base for exploring Istria, which is often compared with Tuscany. Italian and Croatian heritage intermingle in the coastal towns of Rovinj and Porec, but it’s the inland, gastronomic treasures — truffles, olive oil and wine — that have sealed Istria’s epicurean reputation.
Eat and Drink
For coffee, head to Caffe Uliks, where a statue of James Joyce, who lived here in 1904 and 1905, sits on the terrace beneath the ancient Triumphal Arch of the Sergi. At Caffe bar La Resistance, order white malvasia wine as the sun sets over the Pula Arena. Standout dining options include Ribarska Koliba, a 100-year-old, harborside seafood restaurant. Alla Beccaccia, four miles north, serves traditional fare like slow-roasted veal.
Where to Sleep
Just south of Pula, Park Plaza Arena (from €150, or about $175) is in the Verudela neighborhood. On the St. Katarina Peninsula in Pula Bay, the five-star Monumenti (around €125) offers views of Old Town and the Brijuni Islands and national park.
Surroundings
About 10 miles south, the protected Cape Kamenjak has secluded coves and cliffs. Motovun, a medieval village perched 40 miles north, overlooks the Mirna River and the truffle-filled Motovun Forest.
Rijeka and the Kvarner Region
Tucked into the Adriatic’s big bend, where Istria meets the mainland on the Kvarner Gulf, Rijeka isn’t a flashy, beachy destination. But therein lies its attraction. The shipbuilding port at the mouth of the Rjecina River has turned its melting pot of immigrants and influences — Roman, Austro-Hungarian, Italian, Yugoslav — into a city with a lived-in feel, and an alt-cultural sensibility.
Climb 561 stairs to the 13th-century Trsat Castle, atop a former Roman defense post with gulf views. Then walk along Rijeka’s main avenue, Korzo, between Secessionist buildings, restaurants and cafes to Old Town’s tangle of streets, where shops, a Roman arch and an ancient forum await. Galleries and museums, like the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in a former tobacco factory and sugar refinery, attest to the town’s alternative sensibility.
Eat and Drink
Head to Book Caffe Dnevni Boravak for coffee, live music and readings, and Celtic Caffe Bard for craft beer in the shadow of the 17th-century St. Vitus Cathedral. Next to the city market, have lunch at Konoba Fiume, where residents swear by the brudet, a fish stew. Take a canal-side table at Konoba Na Kantunu for excellent seafood.
Find solitude on the frequently passed-over islands of Krk, Cres, Losinj and Rab. About 25 miles north, the forested Risnjak National Park, home to wolves, bears and critically endangered lynx, has great hiking.
Zadar and Northern Dalmatia
Near the northern edge of Dalmatia, as the lower half of Croatia’s coast is known, Zadar was shaped by ancient travelers: Liburnians, Greeks, Romans, Venetians and Hapsburgs. Today, Zadar intertwines that history with modernity, as you walk to taverns, wine bars and markets along the city’s Roman street plan; join music and food festivals on the UNESCO fortification walls; or stroll the waterside promenade on the Old Town’s northwestern tip, where the Sea Organ plays Adriatic melodies.
Nearby islands include Pag, Dugi Otok, Pasman and Ugljan. Zadar is also within striking distance of five of Croatia’s eight national parks, including the waterfalls and lakes of Plitvice, the canyons of Paklenica, the peaks of Northern Velebit and the protected islands of Kornati.
Eat and Drink
Have coffee at Pjaceta, amid Zadar’s outdoor market. For cocktails, head to Muro Bar on the city walls. Pinco is a lively new wine and tapas bar in the Varos neighborhood. Find an outdoor table at Bistro Pjat in Old Town, and order dishes like tortellini with shrimp. Overlooking the former Roman Forum, Antiquus serves sushi with local tuna.
Where to Sleep
Atop the fortification walls, the 27-room Bastion (€220) has its own Michelin-recommended restaurant, Kaštel. The new five-star, seaside Hyatt Regency Zadar (€150), is in a former Maraska maraschino factory.
An hour’s drive south, medieval Sibenik rests in a sheltered bay next to Krka National Park, with its spectacular waterfalls.
Split and Central Dalmatia
Split, Croatia’s largest seaside city, began as a fourth-century retirement palace for the Roman emperor Diocletian. Today, Diocletian’s Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a labyrinth of cobbled alleys, filled with shops, restaurants, wine bars and courtyards.
In Old Town, don’t miss the panoramas from the Cathedral of St. Domnius’s 187-foot-tall bell tower, the former Temple of Jupiter and the open-air Vestibule, a rotunda that led to imperial living quarters. Outside the walled center, Split is surrounded by beaches, such as the sandy Bacvice Beach, as well as Pazar, a sprawling green market, and Marjan, a forested peninsula.
For coffee, start at a cafe on the Riva, Split’s seaside promenade. Order libations at Teraca Vidilica with views from the Marjan Peninsula. Villa Spiza, near the palace’s Iron Gate, is a casual, cash-only restaurant serving Dalmatian comfort food like lamb stew. At Restoran Dvor, overlooking the city’s south-side beaches, try the tuna carpaccio, rolled and filled with foie gras.
Where to Sleep
The boutique Heritage Hotel Antique Split (€150) has eight rooms inside Diocletian’s Palace. The chic, 101-room Hotel Ambasador (€110), redesigned and reopened in 2022, sits on the Riva’s western end with harbor views. The five-star Radisson Blu Resort & Spa (€120) overlooks Znjan Beach, Split’s largest.
Surroundings
Split has the main ferry terminal for the Central Dalmatian islands, including Brac, Hvar, Vis and Korcula. Coming for a few days? Choose an island and commit. They are similar enough that you won’t miss out by skipping one.
Dubrovnik and Southern Dalmatia
Perched on a rock in the cobalt sea 30 miles from the Montenegrin border, Dubrovnik is a hall-of-fame vacation spot. A 1.2-mile, 80-foot-high, turreted medieval wall wraps around a mosaic of terra-cotta roofs clustered between polished-smooth, white limestone streets. Stradun, the main avenue, is thick with shops and restaurants bookended by city gates connecting the mainland to a harbor filled with colorful skiffs.
Established in the seventh century and UNESCO-inscribed, Dubrovnik is among Europe’s most over-loved destinations. Visitors clamor to walk the city walls and snap that perfect shot. There are smart ways to visit. Come during the spring or fall. Visit in the morning before cruise passengers descend. Finally, take in the equally gorgeous surroundings: the Elaphiti archipelago, a short ferry ride away; and the Konavle Region’s vineyards and beaches.
Eat and Drink
Cogito, inside the city walls, serves coffee in a secluded cobbled passage. The rooftop Love Bar, in the Gruz neighborhood, has great cocktails and sunset views. Poklisar, on the Old Town harbor, offers seafood, vegetarian dishes and pizza. Just inside Pile Gate, Lucin Kantun is higher end, but homey. Try the baked octopus with homemade gnocchi.
Where to Sleep
The 158-room Hotel Excelsior (€260), built in 1913, is a five-minute walk from Ploce Gate. Once a 17th-century villa, Pucic Palace (around €220) is now a 19-room boutique on Gundulic Square inside Old Town.
Surroundings
An hour’s drive north, the Peljesac Peninsula is a relaxing culinary retreat. In Mali Ston, grab a waterside restaurant table for oysters straight from the sea. And across Peljesac, wine is the most famous commodity, especially reds like Dingac, the name of a protected region.
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