5 of the best beach holidays in Croatia for 2018
Discover the best recommendations for five of the best beach holidays in Croatia from a secluded island 15 minutes from bustling Hvar and perfect for children, to a barefoot-chic retreat set amongst the pines. For more general advice on booking a holiday in Croatia, see our Croatia summer holidays guide. Our guide features expert recommendations for beach, villa, culture, cruise, food and drink and activity holidays.
Palmizana Hotel, near Hvar
Croatia’s most fashionable island resort, Hvar Town, has counted Prince Harry, Keira Knightley and Daniel Craig among its guests. It’s a magnet for yachting types, hence the expensive rustic-chic seafood restaurants. Escape the achingly chic by 15-minute taxi ride to the Palmizana Hotel, a pleasingly quirky choice on a secluded island that is perfect for children. Young people here can run wild in nature – there’s no traffic – and the small beach gives on to a sheltered bay with shallow water. The setting is ideal for outdoorsy kids – and adults – who love to explore. From the hotel’s terrace, where you’ll find an art gallery, steps lead down to a pebble beach, with sunbeds and parasols. Extra beds and cots are available on request, and basic self-catering facilities mean you can prepare snacks.
Read the full review: Palmizana Hotel, Hvar
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Hotel Lone, Rovinj
Croatia’s first Design Hotel, the minimalist-chic five-star Hotel Lone. Situated on the coast, a 10-minute walk from Rovinj’s old town, with 248 stylish rooms and suites, three restaurants and a vast wellness centre, it seemed to have everything – except a beach. That was fixed in June 2014, when the Mulini Beach in Lone Bay opened. The work of Zagreb-based architects 3LHD, who also designed the hotel, it is approached along an elegant waterside promenade, running from the ACI yachting marina to the bay. The bathing area, backed by lush Mediterranean planting, combines a pebble beach with a pavilion housing a beach bar, a space for open-air concerts, and decks for sun beds and parasols.
Read the full review: Hotel Lone, Rovinj
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Sun Gardens Dubrovnik
Combine Dubrovnik’s history and culture with a beach holiday by staying at Sun Gardens Dubrovnik, a fully integrated five-star resort set amid landscaped grounds, just a few miles up the coast from the medieval city. Besides its 408 rooms, suites and residences, luxurious spa and choice of restaurants and bars, the resort has a natural pebble beach bordering the turquoise waters of the Adriatic. Here you’ll find a range of water sports facilities, including sea kayaking, scuba diving, waterskiing, jet skis and banana boat rides, as well as sunbeds and umbrellas, making it ideal for families with active kids.
Read the full review: Sun Gardens Dubrovnik
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Little Green Bay, Hvar
Little Green Bay, located in the secluded pine-scented Lozna Bay on Hvar, has been garnering plaudits for its hip design since opening in summer 2016. The look at this barefoot-chic retreat is all about understated luxury with a 'less is more' appoach influencing the cool concrete interiors. The hotel is the creation of Mathieu Grinberg and his designer sister Julie. The fabulously Instagrammable interiors feature slick walnut-wood tables, handmade chairs from Artisan and elegant pendant lamps. Its pebble beach is backed by pines and tamarisk trees and has rattan sun-beds and jumbo beanbags, plus several small piers jutting out into the sea.
Read the full review: Little Green Bay, Hvar
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Camping in Peljesac
For a total back-to-nature experience, try camping. Croatia has more tham 300 registered campsites (camping.hr), most of which lie along the Adriatic coast. One of the nicest has to be Prapratno, located in a deep, sheltered bay with calm, clear sea, overlooked by a fine pebble beach and backed by olive groves and rocky slopes. Facilities include bathrooms with hot showers, a communal kitchen, a restaurant, shop, and tennis, volleyball and basketball courts. Nearby Ston is known for its medieval fortification system, linking it with the village of Mali Ston, and its restaurants specialising in fresh oysters. A daily bus service covers the 30-mile route from Dubrovnik to Ston.
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