Where Roman emperors retired to palaces still inhabited today. Where medieval city walls stand so intact they serve as evening promenades. Where the water is so clear you can see the seabed from the ferry deck. Croatia is Europe's most spectacular coastline — and its most underrated.
Croatia is one of those rare countries that exceeds every expectation. You arrive knowing it has beautiful water — you don't expect the water to be that colour, the old cities to be that intact, the islands to be that numerous, or the food to be that good. Croatia joined the European Union in 2013 and adopted the euro in January 2023, making it more accessible than ever for Australian travellers — but the country still retains the character and culinary tradition of somewhere that was, until recently, considerably off the main tourist circuit.
The Dalmatian Coast — stretching 600km from Zadar south to Dubrovnik — is the country's defining geography. Limestone mountains drop almost directly into the Adriatic, creating a coastline of extraordinary drama: narrow inlets, hidden coves, archipelagos of pine-covered islands, and ancient cities built from the same white stone as the cliffs they stand on. Dubrovnik's walled old city is among the best-preserved medieval urban centres anywhere in Europe. Split functions as a living Roman palace — Emperor Diocletian's retirement complex from the 4th century AD now houses 3,000 people, complete with restaurants, bars, and a cathedral built inside his mausoleum.
Croatia's islands are among the world's great sailing destinations. Hvar, Korčula, Vis, Brač, Mljet — each has its own distinct character and its own shade of Adriatic blue. The country's national parks — Plitvice's waterfall lakes, Krka's travertine cascades, Kornati's uninhabited archipelago — are among Europe's most spectacular. And Croatia has an unlikely second identity: the filming location for much of Game of Thrones, giving it a cultural afterlife that brings a new generation of travellers to ancient places.
From ancient walled cities to island-dotted archipelagos and inland waterfall lakes — these are the places that define what it means to travel Croatia properly.
Europe's finest intact medieval walled city — and the setting for King's Landing in Game of Thrones. Walk the 2km of ancient walls above the terracotta rooftops and luminous sea below. Most beautiful in the blue hour of early morning, before the cruise ships arrive.
Croatia's 1,246 islands each have a distinct personality. Here's your at-a-glance guide to choosing the right one for your style of travel.
Croatia rewards those who go slowly — the country's greatest experiences are usually a swim, a walk along ancient walls, a glass of local wine at sunset, or a boat that takes you somewhere the road can't.
The 2km circuit of Dubrovnik's medieval walls — rising 25 metres above the Adriatic and encompassing the entire terracotta-roofed old city — is the finest urban walk in Europe. Go at 8am to arrive before the crowds and cruise ship passengers. The views of the sea from the sea-facing ramparts, at any hour, are simply extraordinary.
Year-round · Aug most crowded
Arrive at Plitvice at opening time (8am, or stay overnight in the park) to walk the lower lakes boardwalk before the crowds arrive. The 16 terraced lakes — interconnected by waterfalls and a constant mineral chemistry that produces an impossible turquoise colour — are among the most beautiful inland landscapes in Europe. 2–4 hour circuit, flat and mostly boardwalked.
Apr – Oct · Book tickets online
Hire a small motorboat from Hvar town (€60–100 for a half-day) and spend it exploring the Pakleni island chain — a string of uninhabited rocky islets with hidden coves of impossibly clear water and tiny restaurants accessible only by boat. The snorkelling is exceptional. Anchor in a sheltered bay, swim, eat fresh grilled fish, swim again.
June – September
Walk into the core of Diocletian's Palace and find 3,000 people living inside a 4th-century Roman emperor's retirement complex — apartments, restaurants, bars, and a cathedral built inside his octagonal mausoleum. The peristyle courtyard hosts opera performances in summer. Split is one of the world's most extraordinary inhabited historical monuments.
Year-round · Live opera July–Aug
The Krka National Park's Skradinski Buk waterfall complex — a series of 17 travertine cascades above an emerald pool — was formerly open for swimming (currently restricted — check current rules before visiting). Even without swimming, the walk along the river through the park, with its watermills, medieval fortresses, and Franciscan monastery on an island, is exceptional.
Apr – Oct · Near Šibenik
Vis — the most remote of Croatia's inhabited islands, closed to tourists until 1989 as a Yugoslav military base — remains the most authentic. From Vis, boat excursions reach the Blue Cave on Biševo island, where morning sunlight diffracts through a submerged opening to turn the cave's water an electric, iridescent blue that borders on supernatural.
Best: May – Sep · Morning light
Rovinj's old town — a huddle of pastel-painted houses on a peninsula crowned by a baroque campanile — is the most photographed town in Istria and one of Croatia's most beautiful. Istrian cuisine is a revelation: white truffle from Motovun, locally-cured prosciutto (pršut), porcini mushrooms, grilled fish in olive oil, and Malvazija white wine. Croatia's finest food region.
Year-round · Truffles Oct–Jan
Korčula's walled old town — built on a small peninsula jutting into the Adriatic on a herringbone street plan designed to maximise shade — is perhaps the finest small walled town in Dalmatia. The claimed birthplace of Marco Polo. The Moreška sword dance (Thursdays in season) is a tradition continuous since the 15th century. The grk wine from Lumbarda is found almost nowhere else on earth.
Year-round · Ferry from Split or DubrovnikCroatia served as the backdrop for some of Game of Thrones' most iconic scenes — and the locations are extraordinary places entirely in their own right. Here is where the show was filmed and what you will find when you visit.
Dubrovnik's old city served as King's Landing across six seasons — its Baroque streets, city walls, and sea gates appearing in hundreds of scenes. Key spots: the Rector's Palace (the Small Council chamber), Fort Lovrijenac (the Red Keep exterior), Pile Gate, the Jesuit stairs (the Walk of Shame), and St Dominic Street. The Dubrovnik Game of Thrones Walking Tour (2hrs) covers all major filming locations with production stills.
The subterranean cellars of Diocletian's Palace — the vast vaulted basement structures beneath the living city above — served as the dragon pits of Meereen where Daenerys's dragons were confined. The cellars (open daily, €10 entry) are extraordinary even without the GoT context — a 4th-century Roman underground that now serves as Croatia's largest underground venue for events and exhibitions.
The medieval fortress of Klis — perched dramatically atop a 385m ridge above Split, commanding views over the Dalmatian plain to the sea — served as Meereen's Great Pyramid in Season 5. Klis has its own extraordinary history: a 1,700-year-old fortress that resisted Ottoman conquest for decades while the rest of the Balkans fell. The 20-minute drive from Split makes it an easy half-day combination with Diocletian's Palace.
Šibenik's medieval harbour and UNESCO-listed Cathedral of St James appeared as the city of Braavos in the earlier seasons. The Šibenik Cathedral — built entirely from stone without mortar or wooden supports between 1431 and 1535 — is arguably Croatia's finest building. The town itself, sitting between Split and Zadar, is one of the Dalmatian coast's most genuine and least-touristy stops. Combine with nearby Krka National Park (30 min away).
Croatia has eight national parks — an extraordinary density for a country of 4 million people. They range from the world-famous waterfall lakes of Plitvice to the almost completely uninhabited island archipelago of Kornati.
Croatia's most visited natural wonder — 16 terraced lakes connected by 92 waterfalls across a UNESCO-listed karst landscape. The colour of the water (produced by a constant mineral chemistry of calcium carbonate and living organisms) ranges from jade green to electric turquoise depending on the season and angle of light. Walk the Lower Lakes circuit (2hrs) or add the Upper Lakes for a full day. The park is best in late spring when snowmelt swells the waterfalls, and in autumn when the surrounding forest turns gold.
The Krka River carves through a canyon of travertine rock to create the Skradinski Buk waterfall complex — 17 cascades over 800m — before reaching the Adriatic. Unlike Plitvice's mountain setting, Krka is Mediterranean in character: warm, aromatic with pine and wild sage, and accessible from the sea by boat from Šibenik. The Franciscan monastery on the island of Visovac (in the middle of the lake above the falls) is accessible by boat excursion. The Roman ruins at Burnum and the medieval fortress of Trosenj add archaeology to the natural experience.
Kornati National Park comprises 89 islands, islets, and reefs — most of them uninhabited, most of them accessible only by boat. The landscape is strikingly spare and beautiful: white limestone karst islands plunging directly into aquamarine water, with almost no vegetation above the waterline except low scrub. The diving visibility is exceptional — up to 50 metres in calm weather. Several islands have a single konoba (tavern) with a generator and a wood-fired grill; the fisherman-owners of these restaurants are the park's only population.
Croatia's ferry and catamaran network makes island hopping natural and affordable. These three routes cover the coast's most rewarding combinations — each building from a Split or Dubrovnik base.
Jadrolinija — Croatia's state ferry company — operates an extensive network of car ferries and passenger catamarans connecting the mainland to every inhabited island. Understanding the network before you travel makes island hopping effortless.
The Split–Hvar catamaran is Croatia's most-used passenger ferry connection. Multiple daily departures in peak season (June–September), fewer in winter. The car ferry to Stari Grad (not Hvar Town) takes 2hrs from Split and allows vehicles. Note: Hvar Town has very limited parking — leave your car in Split or Stari Grad and use the catamaran.
Vis is Croatia's most remote main island — the additional hour of journey time from Split compared to Hvar is what keeps the crowds down and the character intact. Two to three departures daily in summer. The ferry to Vis Town (east side) is the most regular; some services also stop at Komiža (west, closer to the Blue Cave).
The Korčula–Dubrovnik catamaran is the backbone of the southern Dalmatia island-hopping route — connecting the two great medieval walled towns of the Adriatic in a single scenic sea journey. Operates May to October; one departure daily in each direction. A highlight of any Croatian itinerary: sitting on the bow deck as the island chain unfolds.
The Split–Supetar (Brač) car ferry is Croatia's busiest short crossing — departures approximately every hour in peak season. Brač is the island of white marble (the material of Diocletian's Palace and the White House in Washington DC both came from Brač's Pučišća quarries), home to the Zlatni Rat — Croatia's most photographed beach, a white pebble spit that shifts direction with the currents.
Croatia has one of Europe's most defined seasonal travel patterns — the coast transforms utterly between winter and summer. The question is whether you want warmth and crowds, or space and authenticity.
May is Croatia's finest month for the informed traveller — sea temperature around 18–20°C (swimmable for most Australians), Plitvice Lakes waterfalls at maximum volume from snowmelt, no crowds at Dubrovnik, restaurants fully open, accommodation available without advance booking, and prices 30–40% below peak. Istrian truffles are finishing and the wildflower season is peak. The Dalmatian coast is strikingly beautiful in the clear spring light without August's heat haze.
Croatia's high season is intense — Dubrovnik's old city in August feels overwhelmed (cruise ships bring 8,000+ visitors on busy days), accommodation in Hvar must be booked months ahead, and prices for everything spike significantly. That said, the swimming is exceptional (sea 26–28°C), the island parties are at full force, and the summer evening atmosphere in Dalmatian coastal towns — locals and tourists mingling in stone squares under string lights — is one of Europe's great pleasures. Go early June or late August if you can.
September is arguably Croatia's best month overall — sea temperature still 24–26°C, summer crowds gone, restaurants and ferry services still at full schedule, and Istria entering truffle and harvest season. Locals come back to their islands and towns after the August tourist peak. The light on the limestone coast turns golden. Plitvice's forests start to colour in October. October sees more rain beginning on the coast, but remains pleasant and crowd-free. Prices drop 20–30% from August levels.
Croatia's coast in winter is a very different experience — many island restaurants and accommodation close entirely from November to Easter, ferry schedules reduce dramatically, and Dubrovnik's old city, emptied of summer visitors, becomes genuinely magical (and up to 60% cheaper). Zagreb's Advent Christmas market (late November through January) is one of Europe's best-rated Christmas markets. Inland Croatia and the Plitvice area can receive heavy snow. For adventurous off-season travellers who want Dubrovnik essentially to themselves, November and March are extraordinary months.
From our team who have island-hopped Croatia across every season — what separates a great Adriatic trip from a truly exceptional one.
Dubrovnik receives around 1.5 million visitors per year in a city whose old town measures approximately 1.3 square kilometres. In July and August, cruise ships deliver thousands of passengers between 9am and 5pm — the streets of the old city become genuinely difficult to navigate. The solution: be at the walls at 8am when they open, walk the circuit before the day-trippers disembark, and plan your afternoons at the cable car or on Lokrum island. The old city at dawn, at dusk, or at night, belongs entirely to those who stay.
The single best travel decision in Croatia is hiring a small motorboat (brod) for a half or full day — available in virtually every coastal town for €50–120 depending on size and season. A small boat gives you access to coves, sea caves, and swimming spots that are unreachable by road and too small for tour boats. No licence is required for vessels under 5 metres in most Croatian marinas. The freedom to anchor in a deserted cove and swim in water so clear the anchor rope seems to float in air is Croatia's defining experience.
Croatian food is among Europe's most underrated — and most regional. Dalmatian coastal food is Mediterranean at its simplest and best: grilled fish (brancin/sea bass, orada/sea bream) drizzled with olive oil and served with blitva (Swiss chard with potato), fresh black risotto (crni rižot, made with cuttlefish ink), grilled octopus salad, and pag cheese with prosciutto. Istrian cuisine is a different proposition entirely — white truffles (available October–January), porcini mushrooms, fuži pasta, and grilled shellfish. The Dalmatian wine regions (Plavac Mali from Pelješac, grk from Korčula) produce world-class reds virtually unknown outside Croatia.
Croatia's neighbours offer natural extensions that add extraordinary variety. Slovenia's Bled and Ljubljana are 3–4 hours from Zagreb by road or rail and offer an entirely different alpine aesthetic at European prices. Montenegro's Bay of Kotor — a fjord-like inlet ringed by medieval walls and backed by the Dinaric Alps — is 2.5 hours from Dubrovnik and one of the Adriatic's most dramatic landscapes. Both combinations work as natural add-ons to a Dubrovnik base. Kotor in particular is frequently described by travellers as equal to Dubrovnik in beauty at considerably less tourist pressure.
Croatia joined the Schengen Area on 1 January 2023 — alongside adopting the euro — making it fully integrated into mainland European travel infrastructure for the first time. For Australians, entry is straightforward and the country is easier to visit than ever.
| Permit / Entry Type | Status | Duration | Key Notes for Australians |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schengen Tourist Entry 🇭🇷 | ✓ Visa Free | Up to 90 days in any 180-day period | Croatia joined Schengen on 1 January 2023. Your 90-day allowance is now shared across all 27 Schengen member states — days in Italy, Slovenia, or Austria before arriving in Croatia count toward your Croatia allowance. A valid Australian passport is all that is required at the border. |
| Combined Schengen Trip | ✓ Visa Free | 90 days total across all Schengen states | Croatia combines beautifully with Slovenia (Ljubljana and Bled are 3–4hrs from Zagreb), Italy (Split–Ancona overnight ferry, or fly Venice–Split), Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina (both non-Schengen — days there do NOT count against your 90-day Schengen allowance). This matters if you're doing a long Balkans loop. |
| ETIAS (from 2025–26) | Check Before Travel | Multiple trips / 3 years | The EU's Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System — similar to Australia's ETA — applies to all Schengen states including Croatia. Expected to cost approximately €7. The rollout date has been postponed several times. Check the current status at travel.europa.eu before your departure, as it may now be required. |
| Working Holiday Arrangement | Apply in Advance | 12 months | Australia and Croatia have a bilateral Working Holiday Arrangement. Apply through the Croatian Embassy in Canberra before departure. Allows paid work alongside travel for citizens aged 18–30. Note: Croatia's island hospitality industry (accommodation, restaurants, boat charters) employs significant numbers of working holiday travellers in summer — application early in the year is recommended. |
Our Adriatic specialists know Croatia from the inside — which coves on Vis require a hired boat, which August morning the Dubrovnik walls are quiet, which Korčula konoba serves the grk wine you can't find anywhere else. We handle the ferry bookings, the island accommodation, and the Game of Thrones walking tours so you arrive already knowing what the locals know.
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