The best beaches in Croatia: Read about the most famous coastlines, hidden gems and scenic town beaches - the following locations are our absolute favourites.

1. The best beaches in Croatia. The most celebrated beaches:

Zlatni Rat, Bol

This cape of golden pebbles, pine trees and turquoise waters often figures as the best beach in Croatia in multiple travel guides, receives the best beach awards and is probably the most Instagrammed beach of Croatia. You will never get tired of it: depending on the winds and currents, it keeps changing!

Brela

The Lonely Planet didn't rate Brela as Croatia's best coastline without reason: nestled in the foothills of the Dalmatian Mountains and surrounded by pine forests the Brela Coast is a real treat.

2. The best beaches in Croatia. Hidden beaches:

Why do you need to look for the hidden beaches in Croatia? Unfortunately, it is often like this: the place is beautiful, it has great tourism potential. It becomes pretty popular, eventually, it gets overrun. So full, that it is not fun to be there anymore. Like it actually happened to Brela.

To avoid the crowds, many travellers give up on visiting Croatia between April and October and pick a time when the water is too cold for swimming. But, as a matter of fact, you don´t have to choose between your personal space and the sea.

It's a good idea to go further away from the mainland to the outer islands! Choose the beaches you have to make an effort to get to.

A number of desolate beaches still wait to be discovered in Lastovo. Lastovo is actually an archipelago of 42 remote and barely populated islands where you may have some stunning beaches only for yourself. On the main island, visit the beaches Zaklopatica, Uska and Barje.

Vis is the most remote of the inhabited islands. Apart from that, the island was a marine base during the times of Tito and had little opportunity to develop tourism infrastructure. Even though the island is rapidly developing as a popular travel destination, some of the smaller beaches of the island, such as Granvalac, are still pretty quiet.

But there are also some hidden beaches on the mainland only a few people are aware of and we are going to share the location of one of them with you:

A hidden beach on the Croatian mainland between Smkvica Krmpotska and Sibinj Krmpotski. From the highway, look for a small footpath. It is a walk of about 100m to get to the sea. Soon you will see a wide stony beach.

3. The best beaches in Croatia. Town Beaches:

To me, the town beaches are something very special. You don´t go there in search of quietness and contemplation, instead, they are another pleasant addition to walking in a town. In the following places, you may have the best combination of amazing old towns and spectacular little beaches.

Dubrovnik

Not only does Dubrovnik boast unique medieval architecture but it also has some great beaches with a splendid view of the town walls and churches.

Opatija

Opatija, a former Austrian-Hungarian spa town, reminds me of the best things about Brighton in England and the French Rivera: It has an Empire Architecture, but also the sun and savour vivre of the Cotte D´Azure. You may spot some of the expensive yachts here and the town port has some upper-class locations for their owners.

Porec

The town of Porec is a must while visiting Istria. The small town beach of Porec is located within a short walking distance of the 6th-century Euphrasian Basilica, a World Heritage Site and one of Europe’s finest intact examples of Byzantine art.

We prefer staying at private homes rather than at hotels while travelling. Have you already heard of HOME AWAY? They have lower commission rates than Airbnb!

Zadar

Zadar has a unique sea organ - operated by the waves! How about floating on the sea while listening to some music? The sea organ makes Zadar worth a visit!