Your ultimate guide to Croatia
Discover Croatia's best things to do, attractions, restaurants, bars and nightlife
Croatia is one of the best destinations for a late summer holiday
As the end of peak-season August draws ever near, those working in Croatia's tourist industry are focussing their attentions on extending the tourist season. To that end, the Croatian National Tourist Board yesterday launched a marketing campaign promoting the country's late summer period to potential visitors from Germany, Austria, Poland, Italy, Hungary, The UK, The Netherlands, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia and Spain. The campaign's main selling points are the seaside and Croatia's natural assets, gastronomy and culture. And, with an event calendar still full but the streets relatively free of the throngs seen in the last couple of months, Croatia is right to recommend this as one of the best periods in which to visit. People enthusiastic about sailing in Croatia can find much cheaper prices in this late summer period and last minute deals, in particular, can shave a hefty sum off the cost of a holiday-of-a-lifetime riding the Adriatic waves. Nature enthusiasts and sun-worshippers will also benefit, as most people have returned to work following their vacations, freeing up space on Croatia's idyllic beaches and in National Parks like Mljet, Plitvice and Krka. And, yes, the sea is definitely still warm enough to swim in throughout September. The best time to experience Croatia's gastronomy undoubtedly lies in late summer and early autumn. Restaurant staff are no longer running round trying to satisfy every taken table and can therefore l
Great things to do in Croatia this September and October
The sunny days aren't nearly finished in Croatia and with a full event calendar, late summer is the best time to visit the country. With photography and art exhibitions showcasing icons like Salvador Dali, raves and music festivals still bringing internationally famous names like The Chemical Brothers to cities like Zagreb and the start of the harvest period prompting multiple gastronomic festivals, there are a bunch of great things to see and do in Croatia during late summer. Here are some of the best.
The 51 best things to do in Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a one-town tourist industry on its own, with endless things to do all year round. As stunning as the clear blue sea around it, the former centre of the independent Republic of Ragusa invites superlatives and attracts the lion's share of Croatia's visitors. Read on for our insider's guide to the best things to do in Dubrovnik. RECOMMENDED: More great things to do in Dubrovnik. Done something on this list and loved it? Share it with the hashtag #TimeOutDoList and tag @TimeOutEverywhere. You can also find out more about how Time Out selects the very best things to do all over the world, or take a look at our list of the 50 best things to do in the world right now.
Rab Film Festival
Rab Film Festival is a new event for the Adriatic island in 2019. For its debut, the festival has lined up and interesting and thought-provoking line-up of new films and documentaries, including the premiere of the new Ken Loach movie 'Sorry We Missed You', his first since the award-winning 'I, Daniel Blake' (this one is set to the UK backdrop of the food bank system and an employment market without rights for workers). There's a gastronomic element to the event and a more than impressive music programme which includes performances by Croatian acts Zdenka Kovacicek & Greenhouse Blues Band, Damir Urban&4, Nipplepeople, Elemental and Detour. The film programme contains winning entries from the past year's Cannes, Sundance and Berlin film festivals, with all foreign-language films containing both Croatian and English subtitles in a wise effort to engage as many locals and visitors as possible. The festival opens on 23 August with the film 'Les Misérables', its subject matter being the French race riots of 2005. The film's director Ladj Ly and lead actor Djibril Zonga will be in attendance. Aside from the aforementioned, other films to be featured include; 'Sons of Denmark', a contemporary crime story by first-time Danish director Ulaa Salim, set within a polarised and highly politicised multi-ethnic Europe, 'By the Grace of God', which is based on a true story about paedophilia in the Catholic Church and its cover-up plus two regional highlights in 'Stitches (Šavovi)' and 'Diary
The best Lošinj hotels
Local tourism concern Lošinj Hotels & Villas has got big plans for the island, accentuating the sport, spa and wellness aspects of local tourism and updating all of its hotels to serious luxury status. In addition, Mali Lošinj also has two good boutique hotels, the Apoksiomen and Mare Mare.
The best of Croatia
The 51 best things to do in Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a one-town tourist industry on its own, with endless things to do all year round. As stunning as the clear blue sea around it, the former centre of the independent Republic of Ragusa invites superlatives and attracts the lion's share of Croatia's visitors. Read on for our insider's guide to the best things to do in Dubrovnik. RECOMMENDED: More great things to do in Dubrovnik. Done something on this list and loved it? Share it with the hashtag #TimeOutDoList and tag @TimeOutEverywhere. You can also find out more about how Time Out selects the very best things to do all over the world, or take a look at our list of the 50 best things to do in the world right now.
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Get ultimate island seclusion at this luxury off-grid retreat
The concept behind the Dol Hills estate is to combine a luxurious island retreat, secluded yet connected, with a self-sustaining estate striving towards carbon neutrality. Backed by solar panels and batteries, with its own waste-water treatment, this year-round pioneering development shows how to live in harmony with nature without having to sacrifice comfort or luxury. © Ante Mandić /Digitalvizija To this end, finding a site 46,000 square metres in size near Dol, inland from Postira and Lovrečina Bay on the north coast, Mirko and his crew followed old paths used by shepherds to lay down and renew some 16km of road, 3km of cables and 4km of stone walls. Reviving the island’s traditional crafts is another vital aspect to this wide-reaching development. But first, the property itself. Twenty minutes from Brač airport yet completely secluded, the Dol Hills estate suits the health-conscious couple looking for a getaway, the active family and any fun-seeking group of friends looking for that special Adriatic island vibe. © Ante Mandić /Digitalvizija Set on the ‘green lung’ of Brač, the estate is spread over two levels, with a pool, jacuzzi, sauna, private bar, laundry room and cinema below ground. The main bedroom connects by a secret staircase to the screening room. At ground level, a covered terrace is complemented by three guest rooms. +385 91 537 0282, dolhillestate@gmail.com, dolhillsestate.com
Hostel 2.0
Hostels have come a long way in Croatia in the last decade. Just eight years ago, there was one hostel option in the Croatian city of Rijeka; today there are 21. But, quantity doesn't always mean quality. And no hostel in Croatia has perhaps done more to imaginatively improve its quality and offer than Zagreb's Swanky Mint. 'We are a hostel in name only. What you see here is more like a playground, ' says Swanky Mint Hostel's managing director Ana Kovacic. 'Even from this start, this was always supposed to be so much more than accommodation.' © Petar SantiniPositioned in a quiet, former industrial courtyard, just off Ilica in the heart of Zagreb, it's easy to see just what she means. Set across multiple levels, Swanky Mint Hostel has enough going on within its walls that you needn't even leave in order to enjoy Zagreb. Beyond its 24 hour reception and sleek, modern rooms, which include ten private bedrooms, two studio apartments and eight dorms, the hostel is set across multiple levels and is a bustle of activity at any time of day. Guests tuck into Asian street food, available from the impressive new on-site restaurant. The much-anticipated SOI fusion bar arrived this summer to lots of local hype, serving up a solid range of Asiatic dishes - from vibrant bowls of tuna poke to sizzling satay skewers. Locals also drink cleverly constructed cocktails at the bar, rubbing shoulders with travellers from across the world. Groups of backpackers make plans with newly found frie
Advertorial: a taste of timeless Zagreb
Experience bygone grandeur and contemporary comfort at Palace Hotel. A city of one million inhabitants, as with any metropolis, the face of modern Zagreb changes year after year. But deep in the heart of the capital, time moves more slowly. The grand facades of Austro-Hungarian architecture found here were built to last. They offer a flavour of Zagreb as it was when the city was a key cultural and administrative hub of the Habsburg empire. Having welcomed the upper echelons of Habsburg-era society since 1907, the Palace Hotel offers a luxurious taste of Zagreb as it once was. Located in the prettiest part of the city, overlooking the splendour of the three glorious parks which have impressed visitors for over 200 years, you couldn't be better placed to discover the delights of Zagreb, both old and new. Hotel Palace © Ivan Zovko Fully renovated and containing everything you'd expect from a modern premium hotel, each of the Palace's bright 123 rooms carefully balances the old and the new, where modern facilities complement the antique-style furniture. Elaborate stairways and walkways bridged by stained glass concave roofs provide a visual theatre as impressive to today's city break visitors as it was to the high society of yesteryear. Lit by chandeliers, the ornate wooden flooring of the hotel's cafe and bistro are perhaps the best place in the city to sample Zagreb as it once was. There you can relax on antique furniture after a meeting in one of the hotel's
Ten brilliant things to do in Bjelovar
A fortress town under the Habsburgs, Bjelovar lies between Zagreb and Slavonia, a busy city of some 40,000 people. Restaurants, cafés and bars dot the grid-patterned centre, the horizon characterised by the bell towers of two impressive churches, with a theatre and cultural centre on either side of the tree-lined park in the heart of town. This article is sponsored by the Bjelovar Bilogora county TB and The Croatian National Tourism Board: 'Croatia Full of Life'.
Ten brilliant wines from the supermarket
Croatia produces some of the finest wines you will ever try. You may know it, you may not. But it's a fact. The country may not have as famous or developed a reputation as a world leader in winemaking like, say, France or Italy, but those in the know have been aware of Croatia’s brilliant wines for many years. This year alone, Croatian wines have swept the boards at each of the leading, internationally-recognised wine competitions and trade fairs. Croatia’s wine products are of too high a quality and some too small in production to ever become ubiquitous on UK supermarket shelves; you’d have to go to a specialist wine trader to pick them up. Croatia itself has terrific specialist wine stores where, if you really know what you’re looking for and you’re willing to travel, you can pick up the very best Croatian wines. But not everyone who likes wine is an expert and not every place you go while on holiday has a specialist wine store. However, wherever you go you will find supermarkets like Spar, which has well over 110 outlets in the country. Here, you can pick up some truly excellent wines to treat yourself or to take home.
Three inspiring hotels in Istria
Picture-postcard Istria has something to offer everyone, from families and romantic couples looking to relax to those seeking a more active holiday. Whatever holiday you’re looking for, you can expect the finest service and gastronomy of the highest standard at Valamar’s luxury 5-star resorts. Whether you’re coming as a couple, as a family or as a group of active travellers, you can make the 5-star options near Poreč and Rabac your base before exploring the beautiful surroundings of Istria. The Istrian peninsula gleams with lush greenery, crystal-clear sea and offers unforgettable cuisine. Now the choice depends on if you are looking to relax or get active in the sun.
Croatia's best cities
20 great things to do in Pula
Istria’s historic main city of Pula is symbolised by its Roman amphitheatre, scene of a surprisingly wide range of outdoor events every summer. Festivals of film and electronic music, and concerts by everyone from Elton John to José Carreras, fill the 2,000-year-old arena, with its near intact walled ring. Roman remains also form Pula’s city centre, dominated by a hilltop Venetian fortress. With docks rather than beaches nearby, many head south for out-of-town seaside fun in Verudela and Medulin. RECOMMENDED: more great things to do in Pula. Done something on this list and loved it? Share it with the hashtag #TimeOutDoList and tag @TimeOutEverywhere. You can also find out more about how Time Out selects the very best things to do all over the world, or take a look at our list of the 50 best things to do in the world right now.
What's happening in Zagreb
Popular destinations in Croatia
Croatia's best bars and restaurants
The best Dubrovnik restaurants
Dubrovnik restaurants are beginning to offer the culinary quality and variety that should be expected of such a luxury destination. And dining in Dubrovnik needn't cost an arm and a leg: many places offers simple, wholesome dishes at wallet-friendly prices.
The best Zagreb bars
People in Croatia's capital city always give themselves time to linger and socialise over drinks. Whatever the time of year, new Zagreb bars are always raising and lowering their banners across the city centre and beyond, while traditional landmarks stay firm. Time Out's experts discover the best places to sip across town.
