When is the Best Time to Visit Croatia? Off Season

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Do you want long stretches of Croatian beaches to yourself? To be able to visit UNESCO World Heritage sites in peace or maybe wander by the majestic waterfalls at Plitvice Lakes without being elbow to elbow with other tourists? Well, it’s not possible. At least not in summer.

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When is the Best Time to Visit Croatia?

Croatia is one of the most popular summer destinations in Europe and unless you want to experience the country in the cold winter months then you’ll have to suck it up and visit in the tourist season; from mid-May to mid-September.

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But it’s not all bad news. Having previously visited Croatia in June, July and September. I can say that June is by far the best time to visit. Spending July at the beach was a nightmare. It was way overcrowded for my liking. September was quiet and beautiful but the temperature dropped very quickly making swimming out of the question.

This year we visited in June. It has been warm, there’s a tolerable number of fellow tourists and reasonably priced accommodation has been easy to come by. I’ve loved it this year more than ever. We even had Tucepi Beach almost to ourselves as you can see in this quick video:

Tips for Avoiding the Crowds

Even in the busier months, there are things you can do to avoid the crowds to a certain extent.

• Wait for day-trippers to leave popular destinations like Dubrovnik, Korcula, Hvar and Rovinj before setting out to explore the old towns.
• Visit underrated Zagreb.
• Start your visit to Plitvice Lakes as early as possible (before 9am) to avoid the bus loads of tourists.
• Avoid resort towns like Opatija and Makarska.
• Travel slowly to give yourself time to get away from the main tourist spots.

The only other time I think it would be nice to visit Croatia is in winter when it’s snowing at Plitvice Lakes. That I would love to see.

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