The Unexpected Country with Some of the World’s Most Beautiful Beaches

If you feel like people are all of a sudden hyped about Croatia, there’s a reason: the gorgeous southern European country has only been a viable vacation option in the past couple of decades. For most of the early ‘90s Croatia was embroiled in the horrific Homeland War, also called the Croatian War of Independence, when the country declared freedom from Yugoslavia. Now, barely a generation later, this West Virginia-sized destination on the Adriatic Sea boasts one of the most booming tourism industries in Europe.

The main reasons? Cheap prices help. They’ve gotten a bump from Game of Thrones filming several iconic settings there. And the country rocks some flat-out beautiful beaches, with more than 3,000 miles of coastline, if you include the many islands. Adjectives are cheap, so I hope it does something to quantify the wonder of Croatia’s coastline when I say that I’ve been to around 20 countries in Europe and (with the exception of my beloved Greece, but that’s a childhood nostalgia thing, can’t be helped) and this is the region that was the most beautiful, the most jaw-dropping, and the one to which I most want to return. Here are some of the most show-stopping features of this no-longer-secret European playground.

We’re hitting Dubrovnik first because you already know it’s going to be on this list, and while it very much deserves to be on this list it is not the best thing on this list. Dubrovnik’s Old Town fortress is of Game of Thrones fame—you’ll recognize it as the fortress of Westeros capital city King’s Landing—and you’ve surely seen its medieval facade plastered up and down the internet. What you might not have seen is that if you walk deep enough into the stone ramparts you’ll eventually come to a literal hole in the wall—duck through it, for on the far side awaits the other kind of hole in the wall. This is Buza, a bar built into the outside of the fortress walls, and from which, should you get hot, you can simply jump off of into the sea.

Zadar is known for a pair of art installations on its waterfront: Monument to the Sun (or Greeting to the Sun), and the Sea Organ. The former is a disc of hundreds of intricately layered glass plates—you can walk on them—that collect solar energy by day and turn it into a light show at night. The latter, which is among my fondest memories of Croatia, is a set of marble steps descending straight into the sea, which you can jump off; underneath which are a network of pipes that the water “plays” when the tide comes in. The bigger the wave, the more intense the sound. I’ve generally found that it doesn’t do to travel somewhere based on the One Specific Touristy Thing It’s Known For, but Zadar was an exception. Watch. Listen.

Known also as Golden Horn or sometimes Golden Cape, this beach on the island of Brac is one of the most distinctive anywhere in Europe. The two sides of the spit reach more than 2,000 combined feet into the sea, but the lines of the beach are being constantly redrawn by the tides; Zlatni Rat is known to change shape every few years. Thought of as Croatia’s best beach, with white pebbled sand and turquoise waters, it’s free to visit. Money comes into play if you want to rent a cabana or participate in outdoor adventures like parasailing, jet skiing, and windsurfing.

Ston is the site of the oldest salt pans anywhere in Europe, and the natural beauty of this less-trafficked bit of coastline coupled with the reflective salt pans is stunning. A fortified wall runs through the town—that’s because when it became part of the Republic of Dubrovnik in 1333 it was the narrowest point of entry, and thus needed to be protected. Today the wall is the second-longest preserved, earning it the nickname “The European Great Wall of China.”

Mali Ston, a few minutes away, is famous for its oysters, which were bar none the best I’ve had in my life. They’ll give you a bag of salt for the road, too, and I still have some in jars I’m trying to use as slowly as possible.

Pag is a party island, but it’s not the main reason I visit. You go to Pag for the cheese. The vegetation on this island is uniquely flavorful, and the sheep that graze upon it go on to produce flavor-infused milk, arriving at Pag’s salty, herby, extraordinarily luxurious cheese. It’s widely considered the best sheep cheese in the world.

Should you be lactose intolerant (or just want more than cheese), Pag’s moonscape terrain also makes for a stunning backdrop for, yes, partying. Croatia gives Ibiza a run for its money when it comes to music festivals and nightlife, and Pag is especially fruitful, with open air clubs and summer dance festivals like the techno-heavy Hideout Festival, taking over boats, waterfronts, and hearts June 23 to 27.

The whole Dalmatia region of the country is just bonkers-beautiful, but Split is really the only place you can get the breathtaking aesthetic of Dubrovnik without actually going to Dubrovnik, which while lovely can be crowded and expensive relative to others on this list.

The Old Town is built in the nooks of Roman Emperor Diocletian’s Palace, which dates back to the fourth century and was built as a retirement home of sorts, where he hoped to spend the last days of life. This is another Game of Thrones-y site; Diocletian’s Palace and Klis fortress double as the slave city of Meereen, including Daenerys’ throne room.

This port town is known for its riviera, which will make you forget all about the one you’ve heard of in France. It stretches for more than 30 miles, opening up into a succession of beaches sprinkled with sunbathers and boats bobbing in the sea, which is known for being extraordinarily clear. The water here achieves a shade of green I thought existed only in the Seychelles, but it’s of a unique texture—sparkly—because the water is shallow and the light is so often bouncing up off smooth stones, not sand. The Biokovo mountain range offers both a great backdrop and all levels of hiking trails. Climb the highest peak, Sveti Jure, and be rewarded with sweeping, panoramic views.

The small seaside village of Trsteno is in Dubrovnik, and known for its arboretum, founded in 1494 (which you’ve probably seen on Game of Thrones, too). It’s also known for being an absurdly idyllic stretch of coast that is almost impossible to stay out of. It is believed to have been settled in the fifth century, but became a summer destination when those from Dubrovnik with the means were taken by its beauty and decided to build vacation homes there.

Technically a few minutes in from the coast, rival park Plitviče gets all the attention, but the breathless posts about it you’ll see all up and down Pinterest and whatnot overlook a critical fact: You cannot swim in the Plitviče waterfalls. You can, however, swim in the Krka waterfalls, and having been to both I can say that the comparatively overlooked Krka is about 85% as beautiful as Plitviče, and when adjusted for the swimming handicap comes out to 200% as beautiful (these were the GoT Westeros Riverlands.) If you are not afraid, you can sneak around the teenage lifeguards and climb the waterfalls and jump. The climb up is slightly dangerous, but I will say that standing atop these waterfalls is magical.

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