Croatia second half of April?

We did two side trips to Croatia from Slovenia in April 2025. One was a visit to Rovinj, which we had booked for two nights. Some shops and restaurants had not opened for the season, but we one of the best seafood dinners of our trip there and didnt need to reserve ahead. After one night we felt we had seen enough of the town and wanted more time in Slovenia, so we cut our visit short.. The other was a day trip to Opitija, a resort town on the other side of the country, where everything seemed open. An afternoon there was sufficient. We did not allot any time to go further south in Croatia because we were flying in and out of Venice. Hope this helps!

The reason you heard Croatia is “dead” during April is because Croatia is a big beach destination and during April the beaches will not have warmed up yet. Adriatic sea temps in Split, for example, average 57’-59’ in April which is freezing! It’s too cold to swim and air temperature highs are about 65 degrees. So, beach resorts won’t be in full swing, but city attractions in Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik and elsewhere will be open and they won’t be as jammed with tourists.

We were in Croatia early-mid May, before high season, and we loved it. We even swam a little. (Yes, the water was cold, but we wanted the experiences of swimming in the "Dead Sea" (on Lokrum Island) and in the Green Cave (swimming not permitted during peak season).) The weather was hot, by our standards, although I don't know how typical that is, and the air was literally scented with orange blossoms.

Ferry times were more limited than in high season, but we made it work.

Have I done Croatia at that time of year? No, but twice in late September and its about the same situation. But I went for cities and as a way into Montenegro for fishing. If you are into wine and olives and maybe hiking, that would use up some time and be interesting. Even stay at a winery or two. Split and Dubrovnik are good for a about 5 nights total then there are some scondary cities but to be honest secondary cities in Italy would be my first choice. You could go up to Mostar and the Dervish monastery at Blagaj Tekija as they are interesting and good for a night. Sarajevo is great for a few nights as well. In other words that early in the year I would look for cities. Nice thing in the cities is you miss the crowds. But if Croatia is a great dream of yours, do it when you can do it right.

I have gone with my family to Croatia every Easter for years. More times than I can count and typically to Istria. We love going that time of year because we avoid the crowds, don't need to make reservations at the best restaurants and have no problems parking anywhere. The key, I think, is to avoid the resort areas and stay in the larger towns/cities as people live there all year. I would definitely not say that the entire country is "deader than a doornail."

Thanks everyone for your responses! We went ahead and changed our flight and leaving Croatia for another time. We decided Italy was more than enough for us to do this trip. We aren't beach people nor do we love fighting the crowds, but maybe next spring we'll try again. Happy travels!

I think that makes a lot of sense. Safe travels.