Served with fresh vegetables and cooked in olive oil, coastal Croatia’s cuisine is based on a hugely varied range of seafood dishes. It’s said that 400 species of fish thrive in local waters. Some which appear on mouthwatering menus could include bream, cuttlefish and fresh sardines, swordfish-style dentex and orhan, prstaci shellfish, langoustines like mini lobsters, and squid – often deliciously prepared with rice in its own blue-black ink.

Try the brodet - a mixed fish stew with rice. The Italian influence on Croatia extends to its inexpensive specialities with pizza and pasta dishes in many eateries. Local meat is usually produced from free-roaming outdoor reared animals. Specialities include prsut – a Parma ham equivalent, served as a starter with local cheese in oil, cevapcici – little rissoles of beef, onion and herbs, and raznjici – pork kebabs. Manistra od bobica – a dish from the inland area, is a vegetarian soup of beans and maize. Local wines include some from organic vineyards. Some of the best bottled wines are (Reds) Dingac, Postup and Kastellet, (Whites) Posip and Grk from Korcula island and Bogdanusa and Zlatan Otuk from Hvar. If you opt for carafe wines you’ll find the reds are more reliably good than the whites.

Lace, leather goods, embroidered table linens, wood-carvings and colourful ceramics all contribute to the variety of locally hand-crafted giftware. For a personal souvenir, look in little shops and galleries at the work of local artists. You may find a watercolour of a view that will rekindle memories. All the towns and even small villages have somewhere selling local crafts, from market stalls to curiosity shops. Brilliant browsing grounds include Dubrovnik’s medieval streets and marble-paved squares, Cavtat’s old town, the atmospheric centre of ancient Rovinj, and among the cobbled streets of Porec.

Sandy beaches are rare here, the majority of them are fine shingle including the well known Zlatni Rat (Golden Horn) on the island of Brac – which points a 300metre finger into the Adriatic. The island has a smaller sandy cove near Postira, along with several pebble bays. A gently shelving sandy beach attracts families to little Lopud island, offshore from Dubrovnik, while this region’s ‘riviera’ is a series of picturesque pebble bays and water’s edge promenades. White pebble beaches form a gleaming ribbon along the Makarska Riviera, and the ragged and indented coastline of the Istrian Riviera creates a medley of sheltered coves and rocky outcrops. Korcula Island is hemmed by 195 beaches and coves that make excellent snorkelling grounds.

With such famous sons as Goran Ivanisevic and Mario Ancic, it’s no surprise that Croatia is keen on its tennis. Wherever you are, there’s sure to be a court nearby – along with a basketball court and / or football pitch, two other favourite sports. Sailing is a super way to enjoy the coastal seas, and boats and berths can be hired in many little ports. Waterskiing, windsurfing, and fun rides on ‘donuts’ and banana boats are widely available in high season months, and Croatia has several recognised dive schools for scuba enthusiasts. 

A superbly scenic coastal road runs from Dubrovnik north to Zadar, turning inland before returning to the sea to encircle the Istrian peninsula. A hire car would be a real bonus for discovery here, giving you the freedom to stop for photo’s from fantastic perspectives or sit and watch the world go by from a harbourside café. Good regular ferry services link the mainland ports to their outlying islands.

Our Croatia Holiday Options offer the widest range of travel options to Croatia for beach holidays and flights from a choice of UK airports.

Croatia Holidays – Our holidays to Croatia along the beautiful coastline and beaches include hotels, apartments, luxury villas with pools, cruise and coach tours in the resorts of Dubrovnik, Cavtat, Orebic, Korcula, Lumbarda, Mljet, Kolocep, Lopud, Split, Tucepi, Makarska, Brela, Baska Voda, Hvar, Bol, Brac, Postira, Supetar, Porec, Rovinj, Rabac, Vrsar, Opatija and Lovran.