Best of Dalmatia, Croatia

The complete guide to Dalmatia: 220 hand-picked beaches, towns, viewpoints and hidden spots, mapped and honestly described.

Islands, Roman cities and the clearest water in the Mediterranean, running from Zadar down to Dubrovnik. This is your complete guide to the 220 places we have mapped in Dalmatia.

What’s here

Popular Beach (40), City & Town (32), Cultural Landmark (28), Viewpoint (27), Abandoned Place (20).

Browse every spot

• Ancient Artillery gun. map
• Artillery Gun. map
• Bacvice Split, sand city. map
• Banje Beach Dubrovnik, old town. map
• Barone Fortress Sibenik. map
• Baćulov dvor. map
• Beach Tatijna. map
• Biloševac. map
• Bilušića buk. map
• Biokovo Nature Park, sveti jure 1762m. map
• Biokovo Skywalk, glass platform. map
• Boninovo. map
• Brstilova Jama. map
• Bubnjevača. map
• Bunker iz II.WW. map
• Cava Beach. map
• Cavtat, konavle. map
• Cetina Canyon. map
• Citadela. map
• Copacabana. map
• Crvena pećina. map
• Crveno Jezero Imotski, sinkhole deepest. map
• Cvitačka FKK. map
• Diocletian Cellars Split, roman substructures. map
• Divna Peljesac. map
• Drniš, an inland dalmatian town on the čikola river, gateway to the krka hinterland. map
• Dubinica. map
• Dubovica Hvar. map
• Dubrovnik Old Town, a medieval maritime republic, the republic of ragusa, that rivalled venice for centuries. map
• Eremitaža. map
• Fort St. Johns. map
• Fortica Omis, starigrad fortress. map
• Gospa Od Loreta. map
• Gospina Kapelica. map
• Gospodarska zgrada kompleksa Bunić. map
• Grablje Hvar, village. map
• Gradina. map
• Gradska Plaža. map
• Gradska Špilja. map
• Greeting to the Sun Zadar, solar installation. map
• Gubavica Cetina. map
• Hotel Belvedere Dubrovnik, a clifftop hotel above dubrovnik’s old town, opened in 1985 and abandoned after war damage in 1991. map
• Hotel Grand Kupari, the oldest of the kupari resort hotels, built in 1920 with 139 beds and an indoor pool. map
• Hotel Pelegrin, one of the kupari bay hotels, opened in the 1960s as a showcase of yugoslav resort architecture and frequented by military elite. map
• Hotel Tucepi, crumbling resort hotel on the makarska riviera. map
• Hotel Đuro Salaj, a workers’ resort on the makarska riviera built for miners from the bosnian coal mines of đurđevik, banovići and kreka. map
• Humac Hvar, seasonal village. map
• Hvar Town, venetian. map
• Imotski, red blue lakes. map
• Jama Komoračišće. map
• Jurlinovi dvori. map
• Kamerlengo Trogir. map
• Kaštela, a string of seven fortified villages lining the bay between split and trogir. map
• Kaštelanska vidilica. map
• Kaštilac. map
• Klis Castle. map
• Klis Fortress, a stronghold above split that guarded the approach from the inland for over two thousand years, famed for its resistance to the ottomans under the croatian captain uskok. map
• Ključiće. map
• Knin, fortress capital. map
• Knin Fortress, 2nd largest europe. map
• Koloč. map
• Komiza, vis fishing. map
• Konavoska mati. map
• Korcula Town, marco polo birthplace. map
• Korcula War Tunnels, a network of concrete tunnels dug into the hillside beneath korčula town during the yugoslav era for civil defence and military storage. map
• Kornati National Park, archipelago. map
• Korčula, a network of concrete tunnels dug into the hillside beneath korčula town during the yugoslav era for civil defence and military storage. map
• Kozjak Split, above split. map
• Kralj hrvatski Tomislav. map
• Kriznice. map
• Križ na Srđu. map
• Krka National Park, a national park along the krka river, centred on the vast skradinski buk waterfall. map
• Krka Visovac Island, once thought to be the largest adriatic island, krk has been settled since roman times.
• Krkic Waterfall Knin, once thought to be the largest adriatic island, krk has been settled since roman times.
• Krvavica Childrens Resort, a striking 1963 modernist children’s health resort designed by architect rikard marasović on the coast near makarska. map
• Kula Sveti Nikola. map
• Kupari, a beach resort built from the 1960s for yugoslav military officers and their families, with five hotels lining a sheltered bay near dubrovnik. map
• Labirint. map
• Lastovo Islands Nature Park, dark sky. map
• Lili Josko imanje. map
• Lisičja pećina. map
• Ljubovička pećina. map
• Lovrijenac Dubrovnik, west walls. map
• Lozovac Aluminium Factory, founded in the early 1930s near the krka waterfalls, this was the oldest aluminium plant in the balkans. map
• Makarska, biokovo riviera. map
• Makarska Riviera. map
• Mali Ston, salines. map
• Malo Grablje, a stone village tucked in the hills of hvar, founded in the 16th century. map
• Mandlova Ploča. map
• Manojlovacki Slapovi Krka. map
• Marjan Hill Split, peninsula. map
• Matića jama. map
• Metković, a port town on the lower neretva river, close to the delta and the hutovo blato wetland. map
• Miljacka Krka. map
• Mirabella fort. map
• Mljet Lakes, veliko malo. map
• Mljet National Park, lakes. map
• Modra Spilja Bisevo, blue cave. map
• Modra špilja. map
• Modro Jezero Imotski, blue lake. map
• Monastery. map
• Montokuc. map
• Mosor. map
• Napoleon Road. map
• Naturist Beach. map
• Necropolis ad Viam Suburbanam. map
• Nin, oldest royal town crown. map
• Nudist Beach Zavala - FKK. map
• Nudistička plaža. map
• Nugal. map
• Nugal Makarska. map
• Oaza Jelinjak. map
• Odisejeva špilja. map
• Omis, cetina pirates. map
• Only PUBLIC beach. map
• Opuzen, a small neretva delta town founded as a venetian and ottoman border stronghold. map
• Pajzatva. map
• Partizanski spomenik iznad Knina. map
• Pasjaca, nugal area. map
• Peovo. map
• Plaża Okrug. map
• Plaža Drmač. map
• Plaža Lučica. map
• Plaža Mina. map
• Plaža Plavina. map
• Plaža Stari Porat. map
• Plaža Vela Luka. map
• Pojilo. map
• Pomorski Svjetionik rt Donja. map
• Potkop Duba. map
• Potkop Krušica. map
• Potkop Maslinova. map
• Potkop Smrka. map
• Potkop Soline. map
• Prapratno Peljesac, camp. map
• Primosten, a town built on a small island that was linked to the mainland by a causeway and fortified with walls against pirates. map
• Prva vidilica. map
• Prve Lučice. map
• Punta Rata Brela. map
• Pustinja Dračeva Luka. map
• Roski Slap Krka. map
• Roški slap. map
• Sakarun, dugi otok. map
• San Magradi. map
• Saplunara Mljet. map
• Sea Organ Zadar, steps waves. map
• Sibenik St James Cathedral, unesco. map
• Sinj, sinjska alka. map
• Skradin, krka gateway. map
• Skradinski Buk Krka, main falls. map
• Slanica Murter. map
• Sokol Fortress Konavle.
• Spilja Ričevica. map
• Spinutska vidilica. map
• Split Diocletian Palace, a roman palace built around 300 ad by the emperor diocletian as his retirement home. map
• Spomenik Prvom splitskom partizanskom odredu. map
• Spomenik palim borcima NOVJ i žrtvama fašizma. map
• Spomenik političkim zatvorenicima, interniranima i deportiranima. map
• Spomenik težaku. map
• Spomenik vojnicima. map
• Srđ Dubrovnik, cable car. map
• St Mihovil Fortress Sibenik. map
• St Nicholas Fortress Sibenik, maritime unesco. map
• Stari Grad, one of the oldest towns in europe, founded as pharos by greek colonists from the island of paros in 384 bc on hvar. map
• Stari Grad Hvar, oldest town adriatic. map
• Stari Grad Plain, unesco greek parcellation. map
• Stiniva Vis, cove. map
• Ston, longest walls europe. map
• Ston Salines, oldest europe. map
• Ston Walls, the 5. map
• Stupišće. map
• Sustjepan Plaža. map
• Sv. Petar Svjetionik. map
• Sv.Mihovil. map
• Svetac Island. map
• Sveti Ilija Makarska.
• Sveti Jure Biokovo, the 1,762 m summit of the biokovo range, with a small chapel and a road that climbs to the top. map
• Svilaja. map
• Telascica Nature Park, dugi otok cliffs. map
• Trogir, unesco. map
• Trstenik Peljesac.
• Trsteno Arboretum, oldest arboretum. map
• Tunnel. map
• Uvala Bočići. map
• V. Gajna. map
• Vela Luka, korcula. map
• Vela Przina Korcula, sandy. map
• Vela Špilja. map
• Velika Gubavica. map
• Velika Papalićeva palača. map
• Velington. map
• Via Ferrata Fortica Omis, via ferrata. map
• Vidilica. map
• Vidova Gora Brac, highest adriatic island. map
• Vis, the most distant inhabited adriatic island, closed as a yugoslav military base until 1989. map
• Vis Military Sites, the island of vis was a closed yugoslav military zone, off-limits to foreigners, with submarine pens, tunnels and army barracks cut into the rock. map
• Vis Town, the most distant inhabited adriatic island, closed as a yugoslav military base until 1989. map
• Visovac Monastery Krka, the most distant inhabited adriatic island, closed as a yugoslav military base until 1989. map
• Visućgrad, the most distant inhabited adriatic island, closed as a yugoslav military base until 1989. map
• Vosac Biokovo. map
• Vransko Lake Nature Park, largest natural lake. map
• Vratosolina. map
• Vrboska, little venice hvar. map
• Vrlika, a small inland town near the source of the cetina river, overlooked by the medieval prozor fortress. map
• Zadar, sea organ. map
• Zelovski gaji. map
• Zlatni Rat Brac, golden horn. map
• Zmajeva špilja. map
• Zrmanja Canyon. map
• beach. map
• bunker Vela Glava - glavni ulaz. map
• bunker Vela Glava - kupola. map
• bunker Vela Glava - ulaz na vrhu1. map
• bunker Vela Glava - ulaz na vrhu2. map
• sunset view. map
• sv. Tomáš. map
• ulaz - BOT rt Veljeg Mora. map
• Šaldun. map
• Šatarice. map
• špilja Vranjača. map

When to visit

June and September are the sweet spot across Dalmatia: warm, bright and thinner on crowds than high July and August. Winter is quiet and cheap inland, though coastal ferries run less often.

Part of the open Croatia library by Photograph by John, real places, real maps, no paywall.