10 Croatia Destinations: Hvar, Dubrovnik, Split, Plitvice and More

Croatia packs more than a thousand kilometres of Adriatic coast, hundreds of islands, Roman and Venetian towns and some of Europe's finest waterfalls into one compact country. These ten destinations cover the best of it, from the sunny island of Hvar and the walls of Dubrovnik to the lakes of Plitvice and the capital, Zagreb.

Four of the ten are islands, four are historic towns and cities, and two are national parks built around travertine waterfalls. Our Croatia experiences guide adds ideas for things to do once you arrive.

Croatian islands: Rab, Brač, Pag and Hvar

1. Rab

Rab, in the Kvarner Gulf, has two faces: bare karst in the northeast and, in the southwest, one of the last oak forests of the Mediterranean. Rab town sits on a small peninsula and is famous for its four church bell towers, the oldest from the 11th century. Augustus made the town a Roman municipium in 10 BC. The island was an early pioneer of naturism after a visit by King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. Ferries link Rab with Stinica on the mainland and with the islands of Krk and Pag.

2. Zlatni Rat, Brač

Zlatni Rat, the "Golden Horn", is a spit of white pebbles about 2 km west of Bol on the south coast of Brač, reaching out into the channel towards Hvar. Measured in 2015, its east side was 377 m long and its west side 479 m. The tip moves with wind and waves: the south-easterly jugo can swing it west in winter storms, while the steady afternoon maestral of summer keeps it straight and makes Bol one of the Adriatic's favourite windsurfing spots. The pine grove behind the beach hides the remains of a Roman villa rustica with its own pool.

3. Pag

Pag, nicknamed "Moon Island" for its stony, almost lunar landscape, is about 58 km long and has the longest coastline of any Croatian island. A bridge links its southern end to the mainland, and the Prizna–Žigljen ferry serves the north. Salt has been harvested here for more than a thousand years, and the bora wind scatters salt dust over the pastures. Sheep grazing on those salty, aromatic herbs give their milk to Paški sir, the hard Pag cheese that gained EU Protected Designation of Origin status in 2019. The two towns are Pag and Novalja, the island's nightlife centre.

4. Hvar

Greek colonists from the island of Paros founded Pharos on Hvar in 384 BC, on the site of today's Stari Grad. The fields they divided are still farmed: the Stari Grad Plain, the ancient Greek field system around the town, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hvar is about 68 km long and markets itself as the sunniest spot in Europe. Lavender fields and vineyards cover the interior, and Hvar Town, the main resort, opens onto the sea through a large public square. Car ferries run from Split to Stari Grad.

For another island story, see the Galešnjak guide to Croatia's heart-shaped island.

Historic towns: Trogir, Split, Dubrovnik and Zagreb

5. Trogir

Trogir began as Tragurion, a Greek colony founded in the 3rd century BC by settlers from the island of Vis. Its old town fills a small island between the mainland and Čiovo, joined to both by bridges, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. Highlights include the 13th-century Cathedral of St Lawrence, whose west portal by Master Radovan is the most important Romanesque-Gothic work in Croatia, and the 15th-century Kamerlengo Fortress. Trogir is 27 km west of Split and only 6 km from Split Airport.

6. Split

Split grew inside a Roman emperor's retirement home. Diocletian began his palace around AD 295, and today it makes up about half of the old town, with some 3,000 people living among its walls. The Peristyle courtyard leads to the Cathedral of St Domnius, built in the emperor's own mausoleum, while the vaulted cellars below are among the best-preserved ancient structures of their kind. The palace has been a UNESCO site since 1979 and was a filming location for Game of Thrones.

7. Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik was the capital of the Republic of Ragusa, a maritime trading state that peaked in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its walls run for almost 2 km around the old town, up to 6 m thick on the landward side. The city survived a devastating earthquake in 1667 and a seven-month siege in 1991–92, which damaged more than half of its buildings; restoration was largely complete by 1999. The old town has been a UNESCO site since 1979. Walk the walls early in the day, then take the cable car up Mount Srđ for the view over the terracotta roofs.

8. Zagreb

Croatia's capital, home to about 767,000 people, is a city of cafés, museums and parks. The medieval Upper Town (Gornji Grad), reached by a funicular on Tomićeva Street, is one of the best-preserved historic centres in Croatia. Every day at noon the Grič cannon fires from Lotrščak Tower, a tradition dating from 1877. Don't miss the Museum of Broken Relationships, and in December the Christmas market, voted Europe's best three years running from 2015 to 2017. For fresh air, Medvednica mountain rises to 1,035 m at Sljeme just north of the city.

National parks: Krka and Plitvice Lakes

9. Krka National Park

Krka National Park protects 109 km² of the Krka River near Šibenik and holds what is described as the largest system of travertine cascades in Europe. Its showpiece, Skradinski buk, packs 17 waterfalls into an area 400 m long, dropping 47.7 m in total. Boats run upriver to the island monastery of Visovac, founded by Franciscans in 1445, and to the falls at Roški slap. The main entrance is at Lozovac, and the day ticket includes the boat from Skradin to Skradinski buk.

Swimming is allowed only in marked areas at Roški slap, Stinice and Pisak from 1 June to 30 September; it is no longer permitted at Skradinski buk. Check Krka’s official guidance before you go.

10. Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice, founded in 1949 and on the UNESCO list since 1979, is Croatia's most famous national park. Sixteen lakes step down a valley in Lika, linked by travertine barriers and waterfalls, including the 78 m Veliki slap. Wooden boardwalks carry visitors over the water, and swimming has been banned since 2006 to protect the fragile travertine. With about 1.5 million visitors a year, the park caps summer numbers at 12,000 a day, so book ahead and arrive early. Our Plitvice guide explains the routes in more detail.

Planning a Croatia trip

Split and Dubrovnik are the main gateways for the Dalmatian coast, with Zagreb serving the north and Plitvice. Car ferries connect the islands to the mainland, but summer timetables are busier than winter ones, so check sailings before you build an island-hopping route. Two or three bases, each for several nights, usually work better than a new town every day.

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