Best things to do in Croatia - Top Attractions

Welcome, my fellow traveler! Are you planning a trip to Croatia and don’t know what to do, or what to visit? You arrived at the right article with the best things to do in Croatia.

In this article, you will get a comprehensive list of all the best things and places you can see in Croatia. From impressive waterfalls, beautiful medieval cities, and glorious sunsets, to spectacular port cities and delicious food, you will find it all in this blog post.

Croatia is one of those countries that will surprise you at every step. If you plan a vacation to this amazing destination, I highly recommend you go on a road trip because there are so many places to see and it’s hard to choose between them. Besides, a road trip will make the whole Croatia experience even more memorable.

Just to let you know… This post (probably) contains affiliate links, including Amazon Associates links, and I may receive a small commission when you click on the links. This is at no extra cost to you and allows me to keep running this website. How cool is that?! I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own.

Before delving into the list of the best things to do in Croatia, it’s essential to note that this country is expansive, and the distances between its top destinations can be considerable. To make the most of your Croatian adventure and explore all it has to offer, consider renting a car for convenient travel.

Best things to do in Croatia

Visit Zagreb - the capital of Croatia

Zagreb was one of those surprises I mentioned at the beginning of the article. When I planned my trip I had zero expectations, but we thought that if we visit so much of Croatia, we can’t skip the capital.

Zagreb is such a clean and picturesque city, that for us it was an absolute delight to walk around it. I loved that at every corner we found a building, a cathedral or a street that was beautiful and interesting. I wrote an entire article about all the things you need to visit while visiting Zagreb, you can check it out here.

Just to have an idea, here are the main attractions or points of interest:

things to do in Zagreb — Baked goods in Zagreb

Visit the vibrant Rovinj city

If you prefer colorful and vibrant cities, then put Rovinj on your Croatia itinerary. This cute and chic city has a lot of wonderful scenic overlooks, bright colored buildings and narrow streets perfect for a romantic walk or cute photos. In Rovinj, you can enjoy your meals near the sea and quickly get into that holiday energy. Of course, there are several things you can do in Rovinj, but my favorite one was by far to get lost exploring the streets.

Here is a list of a few things you can visit or do in Rovinj:

By amazed by Zadar’s Sea Organ

Maybe Zadar isn’t the most popular city in Croatia, but it’s such a charming and may I say, seductive city, that I encourage you to add it to your travel itinerary. The Sea Organ is definitely the most amazing thing you will see in Zadar. It’s a unique place that will enchant you with the hauntingly beautiful sounds that the Sea Organ is making due to the sea waves. I invite you to take your time and sit near it and enjoy the melody and the serenity of that moment.

If you want to know all the things that you can do in Zadar, or where to stay, then check out my article with Best Coastal Cities in Croatia.

Explore the Roman Ruins in Pula

When we arrived in Pula, my first question was: are we in Rome? But nope, we were definitely in Croatia, the palm trees and the sea were testaments of that. Pula is symbolized by the Roman amphitheater where you can envision gladiator battles happening a long long time ago (like 2000 years ago). The majestic Colosseum that hosted brutal and bloody battles all those years ago now is a place where film and music festivals are organized. We didn’t have a specific itinerary for Pula, because we planned to stay just a couple of hours.

After we arrived and parked our car, we started to freely walk the streets and enjoy the beauty of Pula. If you plan to visit, but don’t want to stay an entire day, I recommend you try our strategy and explore the city a little.

If you want to know all the things that you can do in Pula, or where to stay, then check out my article with Best Coastal Cities in Croatia.

Go back in time while strolling the streets of Split

I think that Split was one of those places in Croatia that amazed me the most. Split deserves it’s place on the list with best things to do in Croatia and you will see why.

I didn’t expect this city to be so full of culture, history and life in general. Picture a city with palm trees, colorful buildings, historical landmarks, great food and a beautiful atmosphere. At every turn, we encountered a spot or corner that made us pause and admire every detail. I wrote an entire article about all the things that you can’t miss in Split. You can go and check it out here.

If you aren’t convinced that Split is a city of opportunities, here is a list of the main attractions:

things to do in Split — Cathedral of St Domnius

Visit the famous Dubrovnik

Of course, Dubrovnik was one of the highlights of the entire trip. And for sure it’s one the list of best things to do in Croatia.

I fell in love with Dubrovnik’s Old Town, with all those narrow streets, rich in history and architectural details.

You don’t even need a plan to explore Dubrovnik, just put on some comfortable shoes and a very cute outfit, because there are a lot of instagrammable places you should take advantage of.

I wrote two articles about Dubrovnik, one with all the places you can visit, and you can check it out here. The other is about traveling on a budget because I know that due to the popularity that Game of Thrones brought, the prices increased considerably. So, if you want to visit Dubrovnik and still be on a budget, check out this cool article, here. Prepare to laugh because I shared some crazy real stories in that one. Better yet, I suggest you bring your popcorn and a drink of your choice and enjoy some funny (and sad at the same time) stories.

Here is a summary list of all the things you can do and see in Dubrovnik:

Visit all the filming locations of the pop culture phenomena that was Game of Thrones

To be honest, Croatia got on my travel radar due to the famous Dubrovnik, where important scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed. And as a faithful viewer, I wanted to visit this amazing city as soon as possible. But, to my surprise, there are more places in Croatia where scenes from the TV series were filmed. If you are a big fan of Game of Thrones, or you are into seeing places where movies were filmed, here is a list of all the ones where GOT was filmed:

Dubrovnik:

This coastal city is the most GOT famous filming location, for King’s Landing. To have an idea, if you remember well the story and the whereabouts, here are the exact places that were filmed in Dubrovnik:

Fort Lovrijenac was set for the Red Keep;
the Jesuit Stairs off St. Dominka Street was Cersei Lannister’s notorious walk of atonement
the Minceta Tower was set for the House of the Undying in Qarth
on Lokrum island, in a museum is located the famous Iron Throne
Trsteno Arboretum is a gorgeous garden that represented the palace gardens in King’s Landing where Lady Olenna and her niece often were found
Pile Gate situated in the Western part of Dubrovnik was used as Blackwater Bay

If you’re keen on visiting most of these locations, I highly recommend booking this highly-rated guided tour. One of its standout features is the flexibility to book now and pay later, with the added benefit of being able to cancel up to 24 hours before your trip. Impressively, the tour boasts over 2000 five-star reviews, which speaks volumes about its quality.

Split:

In Split, there are two locations where important scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed: Diocletian’s Palace and Kliss Fortress.

Diocletian’s Palace was part of Meeren, the Slave City conquered by Daenerys Targaryen. Underneath the palace, in the catacombs, the beautiful queen locked her dragons after receiving complaints from the villagers.
Kliss Fortress is represented in the TV series, as the exterior of Meeren. Maybe you remember the scene when Varys and Tyrion Lannister walk through the city as peasants to learn about the problems that the locals were facing.

Visit the Nikola Tesla Memorial Center in Smiljan

My husband is a big fan of Nikola Tesla and taught me a lot of things I now know about this impressive man. So, it was very clear to me that he wanted to include the Nikola Tesla Memorial Center on our itinerary. This place is located in Smiljan, Croatia and because it’s secluded I don’t think a lot of people know about it.

If you are a fan of science and visit Croatia, I highly recommend you add this place to your itinerary. Another thing I love about traveling (besides the obvious, of course) is that you can learn a lot of things, whether it’s about geography, history, culture or science and art. Traveling can always be a way of learning if you include on your itinerary places like museums, castles, ruins and so on and take your time to read about these places or choose a guided tour. Traveling is such a complex activity, in fact, for me, it is a way of living.

Back to Nikola Tesla and our visit to its Memorial Center.

We spent approx 2 hours roaming this place, we read all the posters, saw a demonstration about one of Tesla’s famous experiments, bought a book about his work and visited the museum.

What can you do at Nikola Tesla Memorial Center?

Participate in a demonstration of wireless transfer of electric energy using the Tesla coil;
watch a documentary about Nikola Tesla in the Theater Room
visit the gift shop and buy something meaningful which will remind you of this place, like a book or a T-shirt
Take a break and enjoy a coffee or a drink in the picnic zone

Nikola Tesla is a genius inventor, physicist and electrical engineer. But the thing that fascinated me most about this man is that he was a futurist, he was one of those people that visualized the future world and its most demanding needs. He wasn’t interested in money or getting rich, instead, he focused on research and maybe this is why he isn’t famous.

Among his important projects is the invention of alternating current (AC) motors and the development of AC generation and transmission technology. His whole life was so interesting but sad at the same time. It was claimed that at some point his mental illness took its toll on him and he spent his last years feeding and communicating (as he claimed) with pigeons.

Fun fact: Tesla was born at midnight during an electrical storm. Destiny works in mysterious ways, don’t you agree?

I hope all this information picked your curiosity and made you want to visit Nikola Tesla Memorial Center. More information about this place, you can find out here.

Visit Plitvice Lakes - the waterfall wonderland

Plitvice Lakes National Park is this marvelous, luxurious park where lakes and waterfalls are at every step. You can spend an entire day walking every beautiful path and take in all that greenery and nature.

I wrote an entire travel guide about Plitvice Lakes. In that article, you will find answers to questions like: when is the best time to visit, how to get there, and how to choose the best route that is suited for your travel goals and needs. Go check it out and complete your itinerary.

Swim in Krka National Park

In my opinion, Krka National Park is a smaller version of Plitvice Lakes (a much smaller one). To have an idea, if you want to visit the whole park, it will take you approx. 8 hours in Plitvice, compared with Krka where two hours are enough. The great thing about Krka (besides the memorable waterfall views) is that you can bathe near one of the most beautiful ones.

If you want to find out more about Krka National Park, check out this article, where you can find a detailed travel guide that is going to help you plan your trip.

Enjoy phenomenal sunset views

One of the things that I’m looking forward to on my trips is searching for places where I can enjoy a lovely sunset. This is one of my favorite times of the day and if I can enjoy it while having dinner or a nice drink it becomes a cherished memory. If you are a sunset lover, like me, I can tell you that Croatia will not disappoint.

Did you know, the famous Alfred Hitchcock said that Zadar is the city with the most beautiful sunsets?

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to test this fun fact, because we stayed in Zadar only a couple of hours, but I think that regardless of the city you are visiting, you will find a great spot to witness a colorful sunset. For me, my favorite sunset moments were in Rovinj and Skradin.

In Rovinj we ate at a restaurant near the sea and to be honest I don’t remember exactly the food we ordered, but the feeling of being there and witnessing such a serene and peaceful sunset is such a vivid memory that I can perfectly picture it in my mind.

Skradin is a small city in Croatia, and to think about it, I don’t remember seeing it on any must-see lists. Skradin was included in our itinerary because we wanted to visit Krka National Park and this city is located only 2 minutes from the park. We arrived in the afternoon and afterwards we left our luggage at our accommodation (such a cute place). If you are looking for a place to stay when you visit Krka National Park, check out this one and find out more about it in this travel guide I wrote about Krka Park.

It took us just a few moments to fall in love with this picturesque small city. We got to see a beautiful sunset featuring the sea, small boats, a romantic bridge and the most beautiful and cute swans. We took a lot of photos and spent most of our night enjoying that peaceful and lovely moment.

Sunset in Skradin — And another one in Skradin

Go to the beach

This is one of the best things to do in Croatia. In this country, you will find a lot of gorgeous beaches, if you want to hunt for them when you visit the coast. We didn’t put beaches high on our itinerary, instead, we focused on visiting cities and national parks. You can find amazing beaches in every coastal city and also on famous islands like Hvar, Brac or Lokrum (be aware of the nude beach if you are into that).

The optimal way to explore this famous island is by booking a tour that promises an unforgettable adventure.

As for which tour to choose, I’ll provide some recommendations. Each of these tours has garnered numerous amazing reviews, and, of course, they all offer the flexibility to cancel up to 24 hours before your trip.

However, once you’ve experienced the ease and enjoyment of a guided tour, you’ll likely find that the stress and time-consuming process of planning and building an itinerary become a distant memory.;

We spent just one day at the beach, in Split, where we found this small, but picturesque beach that had free parking, a restaurant and deck chairs at a good price. The landscape was beautiful and the water was refreshing.

Eat good food

Hello fellow food lover, let the foodie in me, speak to the foodie in you. I always include on my travels the best-recommended places to eat.

In Croatia, you will have the opportunity to taste a lot of delicious foods, great desserts (you need to try the waffles in Dubrovnik) or amazing pies (like in Zagreb).

I hope you find this travel guide with best things to do in Croatia useful and that it helps you design an amazing trip in Croatia.

If you are interested in more detail or find more information about Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb and national parks, I wrote an entire series of articles featuring Croatia, and you can find them by searching for “Croatia” or by clicking on the titles below:

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