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The Best of Croatia: The Dalmatian Coast

Here are my highlights from spending a month in Croatia. This list both contains realistic advice and my personal favorites. If you’re considering a vacation, a digital nomad adventure, or up and moving your life to this beautiful country, you should find this blog helpful.

WHERE TO STAY

Trogir, Croatia where we chose as our home base.
  • Croatia is very affordable and we felt very safe the whole time we were there. I walked alone many times, sometimes at night too, and I felt extremely safe.
  • Split is a great place for digital nomads; plenty of coffee shops and WFH culture. Many options for nightlife, great places for young people and you’re right on the coast.
    • We flew into Split from O’Hare to Munich and it was very affordable.
    • We lived in Trogir, which is a small medieval town 30 minutes outside of Split. It was quieter and cheaper than Split with a small town feel.
    • Split is also a good way to go if you’re looking for a city vibe. It’s centrally located and easier to get to the islands from here like Hvar, our favorite place in Croatia.

THINGS TO DO

View of the island of Hvar’s Bay.
  • Island Hop!
    • There are so many beautiful islands on the Dalmatian coast (Hvar, Brac, Vis, to name a few).
    • Hvar was our favorite but we only visited a couple islands. It’s also the home of Carpe Diem, a famous day club and nightclub that is a water taxi ride away from Hvar, on the Pakleni Islands. So much fun. Also on the Pakleni islands is a fully nudist island if you’re into exploring that.
  • Scubadiving
    • If you’re certified, Croatia is a popular spot for scuba diving because of all the shipwrecks that have happened over the years in the Adriatic Sea. 
    • There’s not much to see in terms of wildlife if you’re snorkeling since the coastline is so rocky.
  • Beach it up
    • The main draw of Croatia is its beautiful beaches. Keep in mind, these aren’t like American beaches as they’re very rocky. Some are nicer than others but they don’t really have “sandy” beaches. Make sure you either bring or buy some water shoes when you get there because of both the rocks and the sea urchins! We bought some from a souvenir shop when we got there for €10.
    • You will be in awe of how clear and blue the water is.
    • Our favorite beach we went to was on the island of Ciovo (also known as Okrug Gornji)
      • We took rented paddle boards to Laganini Beach Club and had one of our most fun days of our trip.
      • The beaches on Ciovo are much more natural and beautiful than the beaches you will find in Split and a little less crowded. There are a lot of families on holiday here.
  • Historical Landmarks
    • Diocletian’s Palace: you can’t miss this one as it’s the main attraction in Split. An ancient Roman palace built by the Roman Emperor Diocletian as his retirement residence.
    • Trogir’s Town Square: Unesco Protected World Heritage Site

FOOD

  • Italian Food
    • To our surprise and delight, Croatia has fantastic Italian food (probably because they are so close). So many restaurants offer authentic Neapolitan style pizza and I don’t think we ever had a bad pizza here. Same thing goes for pasta. They use only fresh ingredients and they have some of the best  olive oil.
  • Traditional Croatian food
    • You will find that the Croats eat a lot of sausage of different variations; chicken and beef mainly. One of their most common dishes is Cevapi: chicken sausage links served with Avjar and a side of french fries. Avjar is so good, we put it on everything. It’s like a red pepper sauce that they typically eat with most kinds of meat. Kulen is a popular “spicy” (tbh they don’t have spicy food in the part of Europe) sausage that you’ll find in place of pepperoni
  • Seafood
    • The Dalmatian coast is the place to get the freshest sea bass, sea bream, squid, pawns, mussels, cuttlefish, etc. 
    • Their most popular seafood dish is cuttlefish risotto, or “Crni rižot”. It’s black, cuttlefish ink risotto with pieces of cuttlefish. It’s very good and fresh, not too heavy.
  • Bakeries
    • Bakeries are a staple in this culture. Many locals get their bread fresh everyday. They also offer some amazing croissants (I love pistachio) and traditional Burek. 
    • Burek is a common breakfast pastry that is usually filled with some sort of minced meat or cheese. I prefer the cheese one (usually Feta).
  • Gelato
    • So many good gelato shops everywhere you look!
  • Green Markets
    • There are many fresh produce markets that happen daily. I’ve had some of the best fruit in my life from these markets.
    • You must try the strawberries, oranges and the fresh honey!

DAY TRIPS

  • Krka National Park
    • We took this tour as it wasn’t too far from Split and it was cheap. We accidentally skipped the wine tasting and went to the beach instead. Oops! Our guide was lovely and we had the pleasure of riding in a nice, air conditioned bus with other friendly travelers. It was a cool experience, but if I could do it over again, I would go to Plitvice instead. 
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park
    • I’ve just heard better things about this one over Krka, but it is a longer haul from Split (about 2.5 hours).
  • Dubrovnik
    • Obviously! This is the main filming location of Game of Thrones.
    • The architecture is very impressive, but prepare for lots of tourists and higher prices.
    • Go to Buža Bar: it’s a bar on the side of the castle walls that overlooks the sea.
    • Bring your swimsuit if you’d like to do some cliff jumping here!

Broad Abroad
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