Beaches
35 beaches worth planning a day around, from Adriatic coves to tufa-lined river pools. Every entry carries honest notes on crowds, access and naturist zones — and none of them paid to be here.
96.5%
of samples in Croatia’s official bathing-water monitoring rated excellent in season 2025. Sea beaches sit inside that national programme; each river spot below carries its own reading from Hrvatske vode or the county public-health institute, with the year named.
Sea beaches
Islands first, then the coast — 30 picks from Istria to Konavle.
Zlatni ratBol, Split-Dalmatia
Punta RataBrela, Split-Dalmatia
StinivaVis, Split-Dalmatia
DubovicaHvar, Split-Dalmatia
SakarunVeli Rat, Zadar
ŠunjLopud, Dubrovnik-Neretva
Kraljičina plažaNin, Zadar
NugalMakarska, Split-Dalmatia
PasjačaKonavle, Dubrovnik-Neretva
Rajska plažaLopar, Primorje-Gorski Kotar
DivnaTrpanj, Dubrovnik-Neretva
LovrečinaPostira, Split-Dalmatia
ProizdVela Luka, Dubrovnik-Neretva
Sveti IvanLubenice, Primorje-Gorski Kotar
Sveti JakovDubrovnik, Dubrovnik-Neretva
VučineŽuljana, Dubrovnik-Neretva
Jezero MirSali, Zadar
KamenjakPremantura, Istria
MakirinaPirovac, Šibensko-kninska
MelineČižići, Primorje-Gorski Kotar
MostinaPrivlaka, Zadar
PodračeBrela, Split-Dalmatia
PokrivenikGdinj, Split-Dalmatia
RučicaMetajna, Lika-Senj
SaplunaraSaplunara, Dubrovnik-Neretva
Vela plažaBaška, Primorje-Gorski Kotar
AmbrelaPula, Istria
BačviceSplit, Split-Dalmatia
PrapratnoSton, Dubrovnik-Neretva
Vela PržinaLumbarda, Dubrovnik-NeretvaRiver beaches
Continental Croatia swims too — 5 monitored river spots on the Korana, Mrežnica, Kupa and Drava.
Nin’s lagoon holds the mud
Kraljičina plaža sits beside Croatia’s best-known peloid site — the same lagoon carries the medicinal-mud register, with a hospital-run site since 1965. The mud has its own collection and editorial.