What are the best things to do in Croatia? Croatia’s most gorgeous highlights are on the Adriatic coast, or at least not far from it. The greatest sights of Croatia are of course the sea, the islands and the great beaches. But also some cities and national parks can rightly be seen as real highlights. We want to tell you in this travel report the 5 best things to do in Croatia, so you know what you should not miss. If you are looking for a travel route along Croatia’s coast, then take a look at the following travel report:
Croatia road trip in 9 days | Coast & Nature itinerary
#5 of the Best Things To Do In Croatia: Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is certainly the most famous city in all of Croatia and one of the most visited Croatia sights in the country. It is located in the extreme south of the country and you even drive a bit through Bosnia and Herzegovina when coming from the north to the city. Everyone who travels to Croatia also visits Dubrovnik.
The city is absolutely overcrowded in the high season. From time to time huge cruise ships dock in the city and then flush masses of tourists through the city walls. But Dubrovnik is also beautiful and a very special highlight of Croatia. And speaking of the city wall, it is one of the highlights of Dubrovnik and also one of the best preserved fortifications in Europe. Built in the 8th century, the wall is 1940 meters long and has 5 fortifications and a total of 16 towers.
As you walk around the wall, you pass by various fortresses that you can even visit from the inside. We can only confirm the reviews in any forums and on TripAdvisor. It’s really worth it… even at a price of just under 15 Euro per person. The walk over the city walls is beautiful and gives again a completely different impression of Dubrovnik.
if you want to get more information about the city and the history you can also do a guided tour*.
Guided Walking Tour in Dubrovnik | Check Prices*
The Old Town of Dubrovnik
When you leave the walls, you inevitably come directly to the old town. This UNESCO World Heritage Site combines monuments, baroque buildings and the above-mentioned city wall to create a very special experience. In the heart of Dubrovnik’s Old Town is the large pedestrian zone and popular shopping mile Stradun (Croatian for “big street”), also called Placa.
Here, stores line up with cafes and baroque buildings with restaurants. Some of the city’s sights are located on the Stradun. At the end of this street stands, for example, the famous Roland’s Column.
The Stradun originated already in the 11th century. During an earthquake in 1667 it was largely destroyed, but then completely rebuilt. That is why the buildings along the street all look the same. We found the old town of Dubrovnik itself really beautiful and it should be part of any Croatia road trip. If you stay away from the big squares in Dubrovnik, you will hardly meet another tourist and see the real and not so highly polished Dubrovnik.
#4 Biokovo National Park
Makarska is a beautiful little town with a cute harbor and a stunning mountain back drop that is home to a breathtaking national park. On a Croatia road trip, Makarska is a perfect stopover on the way to Dubrovnik. In just about 10 minutes, you can get from Makarska to the entrance of one of Croatia’s most beautiful sights … the Biokovo National Park.
There you have to pay a fee of about 7 Euro per person and you can drive up into the mountains. The Biokova National Park is well suited for hikers and offers in many places a great view of Makarska and the sea. With a little luck, you can also meet wild horses.
If you don’t feel like hiking you can drive a narrow 23 km road to the top of the mountain and enjoy the view from here. The drive over the narrow serpentine road is a real adventure and you should plan one hour of driving time each way.
You should also be prepared for oncoming buses and cars. In some places there are bays to overtake, but it can still be very tight. Who – like me – likes to drive on challenging routes is exactly right here.
#3 Omis
A special feature of Omis as a Croatia sight is the sandy beach. Most of the time in Croatia you can only find pebble beaches, which of course can spoil the fun of swimming. The sand in Omis is washed up by the river and ensures that you can enjoy a little sand between your toes. Directly behind the beach begins the old town of Omis.
The old town is very small but has a lot of charm. You can buy fresh fruit at several stalls, stroll in small stores or go out for a delicious meal. Our highlight in Omis was but of the adventurous kind …. the Ziplining. This involves sliding down a rope, some of which is several hundred meters long and suspended between two gorges. With a fast speed you slide down the rope which is a lot of fun, but also a bit scary.
From the tour operator’s office you drive out into nature for about 20 minutes and then hike uphill for about 30 minutes. Once at the top, you’ll be greeted by a fantastic view of the river and also directly the first ziplining route… and with it the first trembling in your knees.
The first stretch is the longest (600 meters) and highest of the whole day. In the first moment you get quite queasy… but after 2-3 seconds you get used to it and can enjoy the view and the speed… and hope that you manage to brake in time.
Ziplining in Omis | Check Prices*
In total there are 8 ziplines over which you will fly. Each zipline is different…sometimes it goes through a forest, over the river and on one track you can even ride in pairs. This action trip (which we would have rather suspected in Costa Rica ) was a real highlight and was a lot of fun
Read more in our travel report about ziplining in Omis.
#2 Plitvice Lakes National Park
The Plitvice Lakes National Park is the largest national park in Croatia in terms of area and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Again, as with many tourist spots, start your hike through the park as early as possible. You can easily drive to the national park and park on one of the paid parking lots.
The parking costs about 1 Euro per hour or 10 Euro for a day ticket. The entrance fee to the national park for an adult in the high season is about 20 Euro. The entrance fee includes the use of the panorama train and the electric boat. All information can be found on the homepage of the Plitvice National Park.
Book a Day Trip To Plitvice Lakes National Park | Check Prices*
The national park has several Hiking routes of different length. Most tourists visiting this top Croatian sight choose route C, which takes about 4-6 hours and consists of a hike and a boat ride. Route C passes by the biggest and most attractive waterfalls (“Veliki slap”, “Veliki” and “Mali prštavac”) as well as countless smaller waterfalls. Although we were there early in the morning, it was sometimes so crowded that there was a large crowd of people moving along the boardwalks.
Sometimes whole school classes passed us by. Nevertheless, this national park is an absolute must see in Croatia. How the boardwalks were built directly through and over the water is really incredible. It gives you the feeling of being in the middle of nature rather than just walking through a well-developed national park.
#1 Krka National Park
Krka National Park is very beautiful, absolutely recommendable and one of the best things to do in Croatia. A special highlight is that you are allowed to swim in front of the big waterfall. This is not allowed in the rest of the park, which is why there are so many tourists in this lake. Due to the size, however, the people distribute themselves quite well when swimming and you should not miss this cooling of course.
Through the rest of the park you walk on boardwalks, which again and again lead over waterfalls and small waterholes. Besides the hikes, you can also take different boat tours in the Krka National Park. You can go to the island Visovac by boat, admire the waterfalls of Roški Slap or visit the monastery and the fortress.
More information about the tours you can find here. After seeing the first part of Krka National Park we went by boat back to Skradin and from there by car towards Roski Slap. This is another part of the Krka National Park, which you can probably also reach by boat, but in much shorter time (about 30 minutes) by car.
Book a Day Trip To Krka National Park | Check Prices*
Roski Slap
In Roski Slap you have the opportunity to walk on extensive trails with a beautiful view of the river. There is a completely different atmosphere than in the actual Krka National Park (less watercourses and waterfalls) but it is still very worth seeing. Especially because there are far fewer tourists here. You have the nature here a bit to yourself.
There is also a cave, but you have to climb hundreds of steps to see it. The Ozidana cave is unfortunately not really very long. Although we have discovered a bat there, one must not necessarily look at this cave. Especially since you have to go completely down from the mountain to climb the mountain again on the other side (where you have a great view of the river).
However, this path to the viewpoint over the river is fully recommended. It is rather arduous, as you walk over the bare, slippery ridge almost all the time and there are no paved paths, but the view from the windy summit is really fantastic! Here you can endure a time before you have to walk the same way back again
Do you have any questions or ideas about our list of Croatia sights? We would be happy to receive your comments.