Croatian recommendations please

[Iamanon55]

I'm looking to pick your brains, please.

My DH and two YA children are looking to holiday in Croatia next year. We are looking for a beach resort which isn't too built up, has some water-sports, near places of interest for day visits, with authentic (or as authentic as can be) restaurants and bars. Myself and my DD love to swim in the sea so that's important too. I realise I'm being very specific but some of you lovely people may have some recommendations.

Many many thanks.

When you say “resort” do you mean a big hotel, or a town with lots of holidaymakers?

More of a town with holidaymakers - looking to rent an apartment or villa rather than stay in a hotel.

Cavtat is my favourite place. Close to the airport and a bus ride into Dubrovnik

I'm looking at that now - looks lovely. Are the beaches nice there?

Cavtat is a really good spot if you don't mind being on the flight path. The beaches near the main big hotels (e.g Albatross) are stony, but nice for swimming...the water was clear and we saw lots of fish. There are pedalos and an inflatable assault course for hire from there. We went in August and it was boiling, but didn't feel over-run with tourists. The old town was lovely for a wander (and probably a better spot for a villa) and I loved sitting in the shade watching the locals play water polo in the harbour.
You can get a boat or bus to Dubrovnik, plus loads of other boat and day trips advertised.

Makarska has a good selection of water sports and from there you can do day trips to Biokovo Skywalk, Cetina river rafting, Krka waterfalls, and other coastal towns like Brela, Baška Voda, and Tučepi. I think it’s also possible to get a boat to Split.

Stari Grad on Hvar

Cavtat is a nice town but the beaches aren’t the best and it has plane noise - I stayed happily for 2 nights but not sure I’d pick it for longer trip.

You could look at the islands off Split OP - we stayed in Sutivan on Brac island recently (with a night in Split) and it was lovely, though you would ideally want a car to get around to other towns and beaches. Or without a car you could stay in Bol which is bigger with a choice of beaches. Korcula and Hvar also look lovely, Hvar island has great beaches although Hvar town and surrounding area is yacht central and very pricey.

The Elaphiti islands near Dubrovnik are smaller and sleepy, they do get day trippers but otherwise traditional and quiet. Lopud has a long sandy beach, Sipan has pretty harbour towns and smaller stony beaches, Kolocep has a lovely hotel (Kalamota beach house - but it’s quite isolated). Good islands for combining with Dubrovnik.

There are also some lovely looking beach towns along the “Dalmatian riviera” coast -eg Makarska, Brela. I haven’t stayed there, but could suit you well.

We have stayed in Omis, the town beach isn’t my favourite (gritty sand) but there are stunning stony beaches just to the east. Omis’s USP is that there are lots of adventure activities there like ziplining and rafting, if that appeals.

Cavtat is beautiful. We stayed in Dubrovnik and visited for the day. Would love to go back there. We stayed in Split this year and visited and loved Trogir.

We stayed in Pirovak this summer

It was really lovely. Between Zadar and Split. short walk to the beach

Pirovak town had so many lovely restuarants and lots going on in the summer evenings.

I would recommend Cavtat too. Lovely town, lots of restaurants, and Dubrovnik an hour away by scenic boat ride.

Valamar Isabella island is lively - private island resort just off Porec so you can also visit places like Pula.

The Valamars in Lapad just outside Dubrovnik are also great as you can wander between them.

Cavtat is beautiful but has three issues imo poor beaches, excessive aircraft noise and its very expensive compare to other resorts. The main pluses are its close to the airport and easy to get to Dubrovnik.
We did a 3 week road trip a few years ago and I loved it. The islands and Rovinj were probably my favourite spots. Split is a fantastic hub for visiting the islands but usually very crowded.

Rovinj is a lovely town, fab places to eat and a national forest close by. Beaches are pebbles though and not many of them.