Croatia beaches

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
Hi,

We are soon planning a trip to Croatia and would like to know from your experiences what will be the best beaches on the north western part (near Trieste).as it will be a driving trip, we cannot do the full coast line but would like to visit Pula and sorrounding beaches. we will drive from Zurich to one of the coastal beaches on day one, visit other beaches including Pula for 2 days and then drive back. on the map, there are several names of beaches but if anybody can suggest some beautiful family friendly beaches in this part, it would be helpful.

Thanks in advance

cheers

happycreature

2
Aren't all the beaches rocky on the Istrian peninsula?

3
Moon Bay (Mesečev Zaliv) in Slovenia (you know, that tiny bit of land between Trieste and Croatia )

Attachment 98999

It's lovely rocky beach and there are almost no bathers in the summer-time.

4
We went to Umag on the North west coast two summers ago and drove from zurich...what a long way! The coastline is rocky and what sand there is, is a deep Orange/red in colour which stains like you wouldn't believe 😳

However, we loved the area and it's amazing sunsets. Boat trips were great too!

I prefer sandy beaches but I would still go again.

EnglishRose

5
How long did it take, if you don't mind me asking?

I haven't driven it for years and we were thinking of going.

6
I think it was a total of 12 hours including stops. We have two small children though so I think it could have been quicker if it was just hubby and I!

7
Hello,

Thanks for your replies. After a little bit of further research, we heard about another island called krk in croatia. anybody has any thoughts on this one?

if it is good enough (and big enough), we would probably spend all our holidays here.

can somebody advise if this island is better than other beaches at pula, Umag etc? we are basically looking for beautiful views (including driving views as we will go in a car), sunsets and relaxing time. we are no good swimmers, so not looking at activities like snorkling etc.. but would definitely want to get into the water to play with the kids.(and so expect clean water beaches)

cheers

happycreature

8
Hello there,

I have been to Croatia on many many occasions (I am originally from Slovenia and Slovenes have the habit of going to the Croatian seaside whenever an opportunity presents itself ).

Krk is I believe the second largest island in Croatia. I have been there at least a couple of times. It's absolutely worth a visit, but as with all of the Croatian seaside, timing is key. I personally hate crowded beaches so I avoid going there during high season and weekends around public holidays. The worst part is definitely getting there. Whichever root you take - unless you are going off season - there will be traffic jams.

When passing through Pula make sure you stop at the amphitheatre. It's magnificent and in a much better state than the famous one in Rome as well.

Oh and one more thing regarding Croatia, do not expect the trip to be cheap. Especially during high season the Croatian seaside becomes considerably more expensive than Greece, Turkey, Montenegro, etc.

Since you are going by car, you might want to make a stop or two in Slovenia Let me know if you're interested and I can give you a few tips. (Just google "lake Bled", "Predjama castle" or "Postojna cave", it might tempt you )

In any case, enjoy your trip!

Cheers

Nenad

9
Tips for Slovenia interest us, as we spend a lot of time in Trieste.

Especially as we want to avoid Croatia during the summer due to the traffic! (my wife had the brilliant idea to drive to Porec for the day one Sunday, though perhaps the middle of the week is ok)

Thanks,

Tom

10
Krk is nice, and can be reaced from Rijeka by car (or public bus) using a bridge. So no need to take a ferry.

Baška , at the south end of Krk, has a nice, very long beach. Baska has some hotels, apartments, rooms (B&B), see Baska tourist board . There are also two camping sites, where you can rent bungalows or mobile homes. Camp Zablacé is next to the big beach (and you have to wear clothes). Camp Bunculuka is a very nice naturist camping with it's own beautiful nudist beach.

You mentioned views and sunsets: Just be aware that in many parts of (northern) mainland Croatia, and also in Krk, you never have a view of the wide open sea, and the sun hardly ever sets "into the sea", because there are many big islands "in front" of the coastline. So you see some water, but then you see land again. If you want to see the open sea, you need to go either on some western-most island, or to the south of the coast, near Dubrovnik. (Or maybe you find a good spot by chance or by systematically checking maps.)

In general, there are only a few sandy beaches in Croatia. Most beaches are with pebbles or rocks. But as a side effect of this, the water is extremely clear and the beaches are very clean (if humans don't leave garbage behind, that is.) I really was amazed when I visited last autumn.

There are overnight bus connections from (Bern, Basel, St. Gallen) via Zurich, Luzern to Rijeka, Zadar, Sibenik, Split, see www.expressbus.ch Online ticket booking probably doesn't work; it's best to just call them by phone.

Hope that helps - good luck and enjoy your holidays!

11
Nenad- do you have info on how to stay in Bled and the area. My mum stayed there in 1930- and I have so many photos, etc- I'd just love to go there one day, then on to Croatia. It was of course a very different world then.

12
Well this might be slightly off topic, as we are talking about Croatia here, but I suppose combining the two makes perfect sense. Especially if you travel by car as you have to pass through Slovenia to get to Croatia.

So Tom, what kind of stuff are you into? Cultural heritage & museums, natural sights (Slovenia has many breathtaking landscapes) or are you more into active vacations like canyoning, rafting, mountaineering, adrenalin parks, etc.? Despite it's tiny size, Slovenia is probably the most versatile country in Europe. You stay a lot in Trieste you say. Would you mind going further inland or you prefer staying close to the Italian border?

13

It's really expensive now. Even the camping is. The campsite at Lake Bohinj down the road from Lake Bled but much more beautiful is the most expensive I've ever stayed at - in the world.

14
Because of all the stories my mum told me, and all the photos- I'd like to stay on the Island for just a few days, even if it is expensive. She was at boarding school in Lausanne with 2 girls from Zagreb whose family had a holiday home there, and she went there for 2 holidays when she was 18 and 19.

15
When going there I can sugest 3 nice places for eating in the triangel Ita - Slo - Cro. Good places when staying in Trst (Trieste). But you need reservations for them.

Konoba Batelina, the hotest place in Croatia in last years. Google it and google how it works because they have their own way of working (some people find them rude and they are closed during the main season). Sory no link:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Batelina/202005836507281

La Subida, italian restaurant with slovenian owner La Subida. Extensive wine list andmore than worthy "Gran Menù Degustazione"

http://www.lasubidasirk.com/lasubida/en/index.php

Hisa Franko lies more to the north and is not xactly on the way to the icroatian coast but her chef Ana Roš is by far the best and most innovative Slovenian chef. She slowly transformed an old family restaurant into culinary heaven.

http://www.hisafranko.com/en/

There are many more, but those 3 are kind of highlights.

16
We're interested in day trips, as my wife has a house in Trieste (Barcola, 100m from the beach), so staying there is free.

Car for longer trips, motorcycle for short ones (the one we keep there is only a 250cc).

We plan to go to Postojna (my wife has been there a few times, but as a child), and of course we've been to Lipica.

Obviously, near the border one can get by fine with Italian, but what works further inland?

Tom

17
If you will be near Pula, I definetely recommend a side trip to Rovinj. Not the best beaches (in fact I dont even think they have one) but the atmospere and the city is really charming and everyone I know who has been loves the place. I personally can also recommend Baska on the Krk island. It was never too full, even in July and August. The hotels though get ridiculously expensive at that time.

18
I found Skocjanske jame http://www.park-skocjanske-jame.si/ nicer than Postonjska jama (jama = caves), they are more wild, both not that far away.

Another very nice trip is Trenta Valey or actualy the whole upper part of Soča river http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So%C4%8Da and there are realy nice passes for motorbike.

Coser to Trst is Stanjel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0tanjel

In Istra you have more beautiful old towns:

Buje http://www.coloursofistria.com/en/destinations/buje

Grožnjan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro%C5%BEnjan

and many more, some have just few people living there.

19
From experience on many visits, German for old people, English for younger people (and the Slovenes speak it really well !)

20
hey everyone,

out of curiousity, since driving in croatia is so temperamental (i.e. depending a lot timing, traffic, etc), would it be worth it to go there by train instead? I would not mind the extra time if costs and time were saved.