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15 Best Experiences in Croatia during Workation
Croatia is truly a dreamworld on the Mediterranean and the variety of 15 things to do during your Workatino only scratch the surface of how you can enjoy your time when working and traveling in the country.
Culture, adventure, and history combined across Croatia that can take you island hopping along Dalmatia, enjoying traditional recipes in Istria, or discovering new trails that weave around the scenic panoramas. Swim in the Adriatic, sail to hidden coves, and enjoy the exceptional flavor that represents hyper-local communities.
A Workation in Croatia is more than just living in a new place, it is a balance between work and exploration. Enjoy Croatia through the heritage and activities that you enjoy with our top 15 experiences that act as the beginning of what you can do on your Workation.
Downhill Skiing
Downhill skiing in Croatia can feel like a hidden gem you uncover during a Workation in winter. The winter sport is not usually the first thing people think of when visiting Croatia, but the slopes that basically border the country offer fantastic winter activities and the thrills of carving through fresh powder.
Slaloms, steep descents, and fantastic views create a trifecta of opportunities around Croatia’s select resorts, each one framed by pine trees and leading to the cozy atmosphere of the contemporary accommodations.
Hiking
Croatia is clearly one of the best destinations for hiking in Europe but often underestimated by US travelers. Sparkling coastline, ancient ruins, and secluded islands offer a myriad of unique vistas and experiences, especially when near the best destinations to visit in Croatia for your Workation. Whether inside a national park or when following the winding cliffs of the shoreline that overlooks the Adriatic Sea, each hike can take you into the fascinating hinterlands or introduce you to a medieval town stacked on a hillside.
Trek to the top of a mountain for views over Dubrovnik, walk the loop around Plitvice Lakes National Park, or take note of the landscape as it changes from dense forest to Mediterranean coastal hills when visiting one of the best national parks in Croatia. Always bring enough water and make sure someone knows you are going out onto the trails in case of an emergency but when walking the trails around Croatia, you are never truly lost.
Snorkeling
Croatia is a sublime place to snorkel, with crystal clear water and a fantastic array of marine life. Ancient ruins, remote coves, and an absence of dangerous species add to the great quality of snorkeling spots along the mainland coastline and the Dalmatian Islands.
You can’t take the historical or marine treasures home with you but you can witness colorful fish, crabs, and sea urchins thriving around the Brijuni National Park waters near Pula where 1st-century Roman ruins lie at the bottom of the sea. Around the Pakleni Islands, you can relax on the beach before stepping back into the clear blue water that eventually leads to the Ujedinjeno Gaso cave. Each new spot you find can make it feel like you have an entire stretch of ocean to yourself.
Scuba
Scuba diving in Croatia is not just about marine life, and instead features a combination of thriving reefs, steep canyons, and ancient wrecks to explore. Scuba diving can feel like discovering the hidden layers of history trapped under the water and far from the view of those on land.
Your memorable experience can take you swimming alongside a dolphin pod near the island of Brac or searching for the SS Tomislav outside of historic Dubrovnik. Find lobsters, learn from octopi, or witness how the sponges inflate and contract with the movement of the current.
Sailing
Sailing in Croatia embodies the Mediterranean dream. Crystal-clear turquoise water, dramatic coastline, and countless islands that spread across the sea demonstrate why the country has become such a popular destination among travelers in summer. Sailing along the coastline gives you access to far more than when driving or hiking along the coastline.
Your boat can navigate the waters to reach remote beaches, hidden coves, and even reach the entrances of the famous colorful caves that exist around Dalmatia. Croatia’s collection of islands and popular beaches are often compared to the splendor of the French Riviera in the 1950s and 1960s before excised production and popularity won out.
Find more ideas for the islands or coastline to sail along during your trip with our Croatia Workation Packages.
Fishing
Part of Croatia’s beauty is its diversity of options when looking for the best place to fish. With more than 2,485 miles of island coastline and approximately 1,104 miles of mainland shoreline, the clear Adriatic, rushing rivers, and pristine lakes around the country create a range of fish rarely seen in combination anywhere else in Europe.
The saltwater accounts for nearly 400 species alone, before considering the freshwater fish found in the lakes, rivers, and ponds across the country. Find bluefin tuna in the deep waters and carp in the freshwater. Look for trout or bass. No matter your angling preference, you can find it in Croatia.
Cycling and Mountain Biking
Croatia is one of the best cycling and mountain biking destinations in the world. The landscape is rocky, fast, and has trails that can travel around the sparkling sea or onto an extensive network that connects far-flung places.
More than some of the ways to travel around Croatia, the terrain suits all abilities, from amateurs to professionals, cyclists looking to follow a former elegant Hapsburg railway to thrill-seekers enthusiastic about the steep descent around Losinj. The combination of Dalmatia and Istria together connects nearly 2,500 miles of trails alone, and the traditional spas around the country make it easy to recover after a more challenging ride.
Food Tour
The food of Croatia is finally getting more attention as tourism has realized the historical, cultural, and delicious impact of the cuisine around the country. A food tour, no matter where you visit, introduces you to the pleasures of traditional flavors and contemporary dishes influenced by the past. Each city and town hosts its own spin on a classic Croatian dish emphasized by local ingredients and seasonality.
Truffles in Istria, oysters in Ston, squid ink pasta in Dubrovnik, you may be able to find these flavors around Croatia but each specific region offers something special to the dish that makes it uniquely its own as you discover the top foods to eat in Croatia and where to find them.
Cooking Lesson
A cooking class in Croatia is an adventure of flavor and a lesson in cultural significance passed down through the traditions of the kitchen. It is much more than a foodie experience, it touches on the heart of heritage and why the center of the Croatian home is the kitchen.
Learn how to make traditional dishes from a local mother or experience the methods for layering restaurant-level dishes with a trained chef. A cooking class is about cultural immersion with a visit to the local market, and connection to the local ingredients, and the perspective of a local chef, for a brand new insight into the thrills, tastes, and beauty of food.
Wine Tasting
Croatia is one of the oldest wine-producing destinations in the world making it a perfect place for a wine tour during a Workation. White and red wines have been in production for more than two millennia with micro-climates affecting the flavors due to the rain, soil acidity, type of rocks, and the breeze from the Adriatic.
The variety of influences creates remarkable diversity across the country, whether when using different grapes right for a particular region or when using the same grapes across micro-regions that develop differently. Vineyards terrace hillsides, overlook the coastline, cover islands, and spread across lush valleys with small vintners often producing an incredible wine with a grape you may have never heard of.
Truffle Hunting
Croatia has some of the world’s finest truffles making it a wonderful place to experience a truffle hunt. Istria is the capital of Croatia’s truffle excursions, where you can set out into the woodlands with a guide and the help of trained dogs or domesticated pigs who sniff out the truffles from under the dirt.
It feels like a treasure hunt and finding a truffle does feel equally as exciting as discovering buried treasure because of the mushroom’s incredible value. The delicacy can be easily paired with cheeses, spreads, oils, sweets, and wines. It’s common to sample the truffles with a meal after the hunt to experience why Croatian truffles are so coveted around the world.
Olive Oil Tasting
Olive oil production in Croatia dates back thousands of years and remains popular for its high quality that you can taste during an olive oil tour. The oldest producing olive tree in the country is 1,600 years old and lives on the island of Pag on a family-run olive orchard. It is said to produce one of the best olive oils in the world.
Beyond the fame and heritage of olive oil, its production in Croatia emphasizes the importance of microclimates and oil composition when anticipating different textures, flavors, and aromas. Growing and producing olive oil is a lot like crafting wine, making every detail matter. You can learn more about what it takes, why it’s important, and the variations of tastes accrued through production during your tour, and possibly even sample the combination of figs, cheese, and wine when paired with the right olive oil.
Rakija Class
Rakija is a Croatian traditional liqueur and a tasting class can teach you the recipe for producing your own, as well as the tasting notes you are looking for during and after production. Rakija is one of those spirits where every family has their own recipe passed down through the generations, each with slight variations but essentially the liqueur is a homemade brandy at its best.
You may find families who use grapes while others use plums, those who use herbs or apricots and quinces. The diversity of the drink means that you have the blessing to twist even the most traditional version during the class or when you take the recipe home with you.
Artisan Crafts Museums
Museums in Croatia go above and beyond the typical art and historical galleries to create immersive artesian experiences unlike any other museums in the world. Interact with the galleries, the art, and the history as you make your way to the typical curiosities of Ethnographic ephemera in Varazdin City Museum located inside a grand castle or when viewing the shimmer and glint of glass inside Zadar’s Glass Museum.
The most popular museums that defy tradition include the Museum of Broken Relationships which displays an artifact and descriptions of crumbled affairs. Galleries fill fortresses, antique villas, or feature ancient discoveries found only in the Mediterranean representing the various examples of why Croatia stands out from other countries as having some of the finest museums in the world spanning the diverse regions of Croatia and where you should visit.
Find the Right Time of Year for Your Workation
Every activity in Croatia will be perfect for building memories and experiencing the diversity the country has to offer, whether you are enjoying the summer on the Adriatic or have found a winter paradise exploring the best walkable cities in Croatia. You can tailor each day to surpass your expectations by working with a local Workation Hero. Lounge on a beach, ski down the slopes, or taste incredible food for which the Istrian Peninsula is famous as you balance working and traveling across Croatia.
Find more of the information you want and need to create the right Workation experience for you. When you are ready, let us elaborate on your time and accelerate your productivity. Take one step closer to planning your Workation or find more about What you need to know before traveling to Croatia for a Workation.
