A year ago this Summer my husband and I visited Croatia for our honeymoon. Tho we did not travel the entire country, we did see A LOT! As avid runners, cyclists, swimmers, kayakers, and overall adventurers we were able to cover a lot of territory in a short period of time and I wanted to share with you our top 10 favorite things to do in the beautiful country.
We were in Croatia for 10 days and started our trip inland making our way to the coast for a sailing and island hopping adventure. We traveled with Yacht Getaways for the sailing portion of the trip and I highly recommend the guide company. The boat was fabulous and skipper and crew couldn’t have been better.
Alright, let’s dive into our top 10 favorite activities on our trip. These are not in order from favorite to least favorite. These are just 10 things we REALLY enjoyed during our travels.
1) Plitvice National Park : Plitvice is the land of the waterfalls. I have never seen so many waterfalls in my life! My best tip here is to go EARLY as soon as the park opens. Plitivce is one of the most popular attractions in Croatia, beating the crowds is a must. But, don’t let that stop you. The trails are actually two person wide wooden walkways around the waterfalls, so the lines of people get long when the park fills up. My husband and I did all 14-miles and if you are in shape and can do that I highly recommend the full loop. There are ferries you can take to cut off some mileage, but you will be waiting in lines. We did a nice, enjoyable walk/run around the park and carried plenty of snacks and water. The last few miles of our adventure were wrought with tourists, but we were so grateful to have experienced the majority of the park without droves of people around.
2) Palace Elisabeth : One word - GORGEOUS! I got the most amazing facial of my life and my husband a massage at Palace Elisabeth. This spa is the most beautiful I have ever been to. Upon entering you go up a spiral staircase laced with sparkling chandeliers. It will make you go, “WOW!! I Belong Here!!” What is super cool is that if you visit the spa you can hang out on their premises for the afternoon. You do not have to be a guest at the hotel. There is an open air pool with lounge chairs overlooking the sea. The pool is one of those spill over pools and super fancy. You can order drinks and just relax after your unforgettable treatments. This place will leave you feeling like the queen or king that you are.
3) Biking on Mljet : This adventure is not for the faint of heart. The ride was about 50 miles. After some negations with the rental company, we took electric bikes from one side of the island to the other which offered sweeping, unbeatable views of the sea. We rode through a couple small towns and even sited a good lunch spot to anchor for the following day. Biking Mljet is a great way to see the large island FAST. Halfway through our bike was a pizza restaurant that we wanted to try, but did not have time. We would highly recommend making this part of your stop. There’s just one road that goes across the island, so you kind of can’t miss the pizza joint if you decide to partake in this adventure.
4) Dubrovnik Wall Walk : THIS! Ah, the Dubrovnik Wall Walk. This was way cooler than I expected. Dubrovnik is a great way to end your trip. It is classic Croatia and exactly what you expect to see when you visit. When we arrived we enjoyed breakfast right on the water and then walked along the coast beach hopping. Highly recommend. After showers and some relaxation we did the 1-mile wall walk and were pleasantly surprised that we weren’t being shuffled along in a crowd, the views gave us a really cool view of the city and there were drink stops along the way. Beer, anyone, as you take a birds eye view of the city? Yes, please!
5) Running To Beach Sunj On Lopud : Take a semi-easy hike up to Fort Sutvrac on Lopud and then wind your way down to one of Croatia rare sandy beaches, Beach Sunj. On the trip you will experience amazing vistas (perfect for sunrise), church ruins and wind your way down to the beach where you can take a dip before heading back an easy 1-mile walk to your boat. The beach offers a juice bar and many yummy, healthy snacks. This would make for a great extended beach morning if you have the time. Round trip this adventure was about 3 miles.
6) Canyoning In Omis : This was a last minute off the beaten path adventure we stumbled upon and was SO COOL! Canyoning involves hiking, rappelling, floating down rivers and creeks and cliff jumping. It is an adventurers dream! There are two levels offered. We did the advanced level and were just fun tho my husband and I both have a fear of heights (we both fell off ski lifts as kids - weird, right?!). Hubby struggled with it a bit more than I did, but conquered his fears and we both rappelled like pro’s and even did some cliff jumping too. The water was COLD, but they do require you wear wetsuits, so your body temp stays just fine. A bonus at the end of our adventure was enjoying fresh figs from the tree owned by the mother of one of our guides.
7) Cocktail Bar Massimo : Drinks with a view in a castle like tower, anyone? This spot was pretty full and touristy, but a really cool experience. We climbed up a ladder to the bar where cocktails arrive via a hand-cranked pulley. The drinks were pricey, but again the experience was unique and really cool. Highly recommend if you find yourself on Korcula Island.
8) Early Morning Walks Around Old Towns : The more touristy old towns of Croatia can get really crowded. Split, Trogir, Dubrovnik to name a few. Hubby and I found the best time to walk around and take photos and enjoy the sights with our coffee was first thing in the morning when all of the party peeps were still sleeping. You can capture all of the little beautiful nuances of each place without the pics being spoiled but crowds.
9) Fig & Prosciutto Pizza @ Pizzeria Mirakul : Hands down the best pizza I have ever had. This was our dinner on our last night and we stayed up WAY too late. Our waiter kept bringing our group shots (I am not a shot person, btw) and we all kept accepting the bad idea when you have an early flight the next morning. But, we had a blast on our last evening of our amazing Croatian adventure and that memory of the pizza will forever stick in my mind.
10) Kayak To Monastery on Mljet : One last adventure we really enjoyed was kayaking to St Mary’s Island to see The Church and Benedictine Monastery. The kayak took about 20-30 minutes each way. And once again, we ventured out super early to beat the crowds. Since we were kayaking we were on our own timeline and beat the first ferry. We were blessed enough to hear practicing monks chanting in the monastery as we explored the island. It’s not a big island, but the walk from our sailboat to the kayaking place was about 3-miles round trip so we weren’t looking for a big walking adventure once on the island. Instead, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the only restaurant on the island which helps keep the monastery alive.
So, there you go! Our top 10 favorite experiences in Croatia. We had many wonderful memories and since we loved it so much I’m leading an excursion there September 2023. Click HERE for more information. I would love to have you on The Radiant Goddess Elevate Excursion!!
