Planning a trip to Croatia in June 2020, this portion of our vacation will be the relaxation end. We are a couple who enjoy walking, hiking and spending time on the beach. Would prefer using public transit instead of car rental. We are not really interested in museums or "touristy" attractions, we prefer natural landscapes and admiring the architecture. What would be a good location to stay as a home base to be able to do a few day trips, but primarily relax in one area and explore different beaches. We would be looking at renting an apartment.
Posted by
New York, NY
1586 posts
Use 2 bases. Split and Dubrovnik to explore the region for the week.
Posted by
Washington DC
28073 posts
To me the #1 natural attraction in Croatia is Plitvice Lakes National Park. But you really need to spend the night before your visit at a hotel in or near the park, because it is totally overrun during day-tripping hours, which severely degrades the experience.
Croatia's shape (long and skinny) and the lack of the sort of express trains found in countries farther west make a single-base approach quite limiting.
I am not a beach person, so I have spent no time on Croatian beaches. Keep in mind that many are rocky rather than sandy and most likely the most accessible ones will be very crowded by US standards. You'll be competing with large numbers of sun-deprived northern Europeans for space on the beach.
Posted by
Massachusetts
847 posts
The main places of tourist interest are Dubrovnik and Split, as I'm sure you already know. You could pick one of them and spend time on beaches and time exploring the 'sites'. If you really want beach focus you could pick one of the islands - Hvar, Korcula, etc. and stay there but day trips would be limited. From Hvar you could easily do a day trip to Split, and there are several 'villages' on the island besides Hvar town. You don't really want touristy places but you want architecture but for that you'll need to be near a somewhat built up area. Again, Split and Dubrovnik would be the places with the most interesting and varied buildings. Both Trogir and Hvar town have pretty interesting architecture, but they are both 'touristy'. In terms of 'natural landscapes' (other than coast) the most interesting would be Plitvice National Park. You can do a day trip from Split but then you will be there with the hoards of other day trippers, the best times are early morning and later afternoon but for that you need to overnight.
So I guess I didn't answer your question other than to say I'm not if you can get exactly what you want - a base primarily need good beaches that you can do day trips with just public transportation. You might have to choose a priority.
Here's my trip report from my two weeks in Croatia last summer - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-5-weeks-in-italy-croatia-france-summer-2019
Posted by
4961 posts
First look up which airport you are likely to fly into--assuming you will be in Europe and it could be any of the coastal airports.
I would exclude Rijeka, because you'd really need a car to make the most of a week.
From Pula, you can travel along the Istrian coast without a car (interior is more problematic), but I don't have experience on the beaches there.
Zadar, Split, or Dubrovnik would be best. From any of those, you can travel to an island and enjoy beaches, I'd consider renting a scooter at least to get to the best beaches, though a bike will work for those fit enough to tackle the hills.
My favorite beaches were on Vis--scooter on easy roads and then scramble through the brush to get to a secluded cove. June should not be too bad crowd-wise.
You can stay in a town and day trip to beaches or vice versa, but my ideal plan would be to spend a couple days in town (near airport) and the rest on an island near nature.
Posted by
FL USA
1560 posts
Challenging criteria you provide.
First, consider ferries as being "public transport" and focus research on learning their itineraries.
Second, study the geography between Spilt and Duborvnik to comprehend proximity of islands and opportunities meeting your preferences.
Third, June is high tourist season and growing temps making for "sticky" human contact.
Split offers easy ferry access to multiple day trip opportunities, suggest you explore bnb opportunities west of old town area.
How many days are you seeking to spend in this mode?
Posted by
WPB, FL & Firenze
3112 posts
You might enjoy staying in Istria. It has some nice beaches and you could take some day trips using public transportation, but consider renting a car for a day or two to visit the smaller towns on the peninsula. Driving around Istria is very easy. Pula, Rovinj or Porec would be good seaside locations to consider.
Staying near Dubrovnik probably offers the most day trip options, but it would be somewhat touristy.