Where to go in Croatia?

[oneforwardtwoback]

I've got a half-formed idea that we should holiday in Croatia this Summer, probably for 7 - 10 days, but we're at the very start of the process of figuring out where to go. We have two DS aged 14 and 11. We'd like to spend some days on the beach, ideally with some options of activities such as wind-surfing, kayaking, snorkelling. We also like walking, and scenic landscapes, so day trips to national parks would be good too. We like to be independent so would probably hire a car and self-cater in a villa or Airbnb. We live in South-west London, so would normally fly from Heathrow or Gatwick, but could fly from other London airports if necessary.

Any suggestions of a good base? Any tips of things not to miss?

I have heard good things about Split, Cavtat, Rovinj, and Hvar, but I haven’t been to any yet. They’re on my list! When we flew into Dubrovnik we drove over the border to Montenegro and had a fabulous holiday in Kotor which I would certainly recommend. It hits the spots on the scenic hiking side and kayaking in the bay was a highlight.

I go to Croatia every year. For the type of holiday you are describing I would suggest Split lovely city, great beaches nearby lots of your companies offering trips to Krika National Park and Plitvice Lakes plus the neatr by islands. I love Dubrovnik but find split much better for an all round holiday. Beautiful country. It will be very warm in August.

We stayed in the mountains just outside of Cavtat. We went in the summer holidays in August. We had planned trips to national parks etc but didn't do them in the end as it was just too hot. Up to or over 40° every day and the day we went to Kotor in Montenegro, it was 47°. We did a lot of snorkeling, going to lots of beautiful bays. We hired a car for our stay which enabled us to go and visit places of interest as we could then retreat back to the car's air con when needed. Dubrovnik was absolutely stunning, we did a daytime and an evening visit but it was so hot and so busy, not my favourite combo tbh!