Croatia recommendations please.

[Ifulikepinacoladas]

Looking at Croatia for early July next year. It will be me, DH and DS16.

We would like a lovely hotel, very near or on the beach. Hopefully near one of the bigger cities to visit.

While I am happy to do nothing all day long, DH and DS need activities, like jet skis, kayaking or similar.

Budget would be around £3k. Could spend more but having looked on Love Holidays and On the Beach, this seems to be fine.

Would love some ideas for us, thank you in advance.

Apologies as I didn't get back to the thread last night.
Right, some suggestions:

Sailing trips: a lot are booze cruises, or 50-plus people packed onto a old fishing boat. We used this company instead and they were excellent. We had a boat like this one, a very knowledgeable skipper, and only 4 other passengers.
We spent a whole day sailing around the islands, visited Telašćica Nature Park (very busy) but later moored in a cove to swim from the boat. (wonderful!) Most of the trip was motorised but we were under sail on the way back to Zadar.
https://sailingcroatia.hr/

You can also get the car ferry from Zadar port to the islands of Ugljan and Pasman. There are some sandy beaches, but we climbed up to Fort Saint Michael for the views.
General tips:
Konoba is a restaurant serving local food.
Wear swimming shoes because of the sea urchins.
Car parking generally needs to be paid in advance, in coins, with exactly the right money. Cards don't work whatever they might claim!

We also visited Plitvice National Park.
It's absolutely breathtaking, but also rammed with tourists. However, everyone emptied out just before closing and we had the place to ourselves and could enjoy the Veliki Slap (Great Waterfall) in peace.
If you decide to cross into Bosnia Herzegovina just because it's there, bear in mind that the queue to leave the EU will be considerably shorter than the queue to get back in........
However the alternative route back through the mountains was an experience in itself, as was the 'No Guns Allowed' sticker in the service station.

Nin lagoon is just 15 km from Zadar. You walk across duckboards on the wetlands to get to a sandy beach, or there are busier beaches with more facilities. Again, it was stunning but you'll need to leave by dusk or you'll get bitten to shreds.
We only popped into Nin village for a drink on the way home but I think you could spend a good few hours there. There were churches, Roman remains, and a salt museum. It claims to be the most romantic town in the world and everything was heart themed.

There is so much to do in Zadar itself that we didn't even make it to the cathedral or the church of St. Donatus.
The sea organ and salutation to the sun are fun for an evening walk.
The Roman forum is totally open and just...there. People were sitting on the pillars to eat pizza.
I loved the Museum of Ancient Glass. The local people used to cremate their dead then bury the ashes in glass urns! (The lids look like nipples).
And that's about it really.
Maybe someone else will post food and wine tips as that could be a thread of it's own. (Hint: Žlahtina)

@BaronessBomburst amazing, thank you so much.

We will definitely look at the boat trip, and getting a ferry over to another island.

The Plitvice Nat Pk is on our list too.

Fab tips especially re car parking, the kind of thing that can turn a pleasant trip into a nightmare 😆

Will look out for those things in Zadar too. I love that we'll be able to walk into the city. Can't wait... Thanks again.

You're welcome!
We had a fabulous time and I'm more than happy to talk about it.