Dubrovnik has the walls. Split has the palace. The sea has everything else.
Which speedboat gets inside the Blue Cave and which one waves at it. What a day on the Elaphiti costs out of Dubrovnik. Whether Plitvice or Krka is the better use of one inland day. Reviews of every tour you can book in Croatia.
Bisevo, Hvar and backThe Blue Cave dayfrom $56
Sixteen lakes, one boardwalkPlitvice Lakesfrom $16
One way round, two kilometresThe Dubrovnik wallsfrom $29 Krka, the Elaphiti, the Dubrovnik walls, Plitvice.
The four days a first Croatian trip gets built around. What each one costs, how long it takes, and the thing worth knowing before you book it.
01The waterfall dayKrka Waterfalls Trip with Boat Cruise and SwimmingKrka out of Split, with the boat across the lake to Skradinski Buk. Take the first departure; the boardwalks jam by mid-morning.
02The island dayFull-Day Dubrovnik Elaphite Islands Cruise with Lunch and DrinksThree of the Elaphiti in one run from Dubrovnik, lunch and drinks on board. Sipan, Lopud and Kolocep are car-free, which is most of the appeal.
03The first morningOld Town Walking TourDubrovnik on foot before the ships unload. Two hours through the Stradun and the lanes above it, and you have the shape of the place.- 04The inland dayPlitvice Lakes Guided Day Tour with TicketsPlitvice from Zadar with the entry ticket already handled. The park caps how many people are inside at once, so the ticket is the whole trick.
Four kinds of boat day, out of Split and out of Dubrovnik.
The cave at Bisevo only lights up for a couple of hours around midday, and only when the sea is flat. The Blue Lagoon is a half day. The Elaphiti are a full one. What it costs to board each.
★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · Blue Cave Small-Group Boat Tour from Dubrovnik
The Blue Cave and five islandsA full day by speedboat, with the cave booked as a timed slot.
The Blue Lagoon half-dayShallow turquoise water off Drvenik, back in Split by mid-afternoon.
The Elaphiti, out of DubrovnikThree car-free islands, lunch on board, home before the light goes.
Kayaks under the wallsOut of Dubrovnik to Lokrum, or the Zrmanja canyon inland from Zadar.
Every one of the 176 boat days →
Split or Dubrovnik: the choice that decides the rest.
Almost every Croatian day trip leaves from one of these two. Split reaches the middle islands, the waterfalls and the rafting river. Dubrovnik reaches the Elaphiti, the walls, and the long border runs into Bosnia and Montenegro.
Split
from $14Krka, the Blue Cave, the Cetina canyon
Krka Waterfalls Trip with Boat Cruise and Swimming★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · from $31
Krka Waterfalls, Food & Wine Tasting Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · from $45
Blue cave, Mamma Mia and Hvar, 5 islands speedboat tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · from $111
Dubrovnik
from $17The walls, the Elaphiti, Mostar in a long day
- Blue Cave Small-Group Boat Tour from Dubrovnik★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · from $84
- Full-Day Dubrovnik Elaphite Islands Cruise with Lunch and Drinks★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · from $78
Epic Game of Thrones Tour + Lokrum & Saver Option★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · from $25
Sleep in Split or Dubrovnik. Then argue about the rest.
A Roman palace you can walk through at midnight, a walled city on a cliff, a Venetian old town in Istria, a Roman arena still standing at Pula, and the capital with the lakes two hours south. Six starting points, and the best day out of each.
Hvar, Brac, Vis and the Pakleni, on one wake.
The channel between Split and Vis holds the busiest small islands in the Adriatic. Lavender terraces on Hvar, a white shingle spit on Brac, a cold-war submarine tunnel on Vis, and anchorages in the Pakleni that only fill up after lunch.
The most-booked days in Croatia.
The whole catalogue →These carry more travellers than anything else on the coast, and each one earns the slot for a different reason.
1
Krka Waterfalls Trip with Boat Cruise and Swimming
Review of Split’s Krka Waterfalls and Primošten day trip, with a river cruise, guided park walk, beach time, practical tips, and value advice.
From · $31
Read our review →
2
Blue Cave Small-Group Boat Tour from Dubrovnik
from $84
3
Krka Waterfalls, Food & Wine Tasting Tour
from $45
4
Full-Day Dubrovnik Elaphite Islands Cruise with Lunch and Drinks
from $78
5
Blue cave, Mamma Mia and Hvar, 5 islands speedboat tour
from $111
6
Krka Waterfalls, Food & Wine Tasting Tour
from $44
7
Blue Cave, Mamma Mia, Hvar and 5 Island Tour
from $109
8
Epic Game of Thrones Tour + Lokrum & Saver Option
from $25
Plitvice, Krka and Kravice: three waterfall days, one decision.
Plitvice is the big one and wants a whole day plus a timed ticket. Krka sits close enough to Split to bolt onto a boat trip. Kravice is over the border in Herzegovina and almost always comes bundled with Mostar.
Croatia priced, from an arena ticket to a chartered speedboat.
Every tour on the site, grouped by what it costs. A good number of the best Croatian days land under the price of dinner inside the Dubrovnik walls.
Old-town walks, park entry, the Pula arena, tuk-tuk runs and the short hops out of the ferry ports.
The full-day standards: the Blue Cave run, the Elaphiti cruise, Plitvice with a guide, the Cetina rafting day.
Private skippers, chartered speedboats and the once-a-trip days that earn it.
Three Croatian days you cannot take anywhere else.
Old towns and clear water exist all round the Mediterranean. A cave that turns silver at eleven, a canyon you raft half an hour from a Roman palace, and sixteen lakes stacked on top of each other do not.
The Blue Cave
The cave on Bisevo has no windows. Light arrives under the water through a submerged opening and throws the whole chamber silver-blue, and it only works for a couple of hours around midday when the sun is high and the sea is flat. Boats go in on a timed ticket, one at a time, and a rough morning closes it for everybody.
- 1Blue Cave Small-Group Boat Tour from Dubrovnik★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 9,360 reviews
- 2Blue cave, Mamma Mia and Hvar, 5 islands speedboat tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 7,150 reviews
- 3Blue Cave, Mamma Mia, Hvar and 5 Island Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 6,320 reviews
The Cetina Canyon
The Cetina cuts a limestone gorge behind Omis and comes out at the sea in the middle of town. The standard run is grade two, which means more swimming and cliff-jumping than whitewater, and it works for people who have never held a paddle. Levels drop through August, so the late-summer trip is gentler rather than shorter.
- 1Cetina River: Rafting and Cliff Jumping Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 1,774 reviews
- 2Cetina River Rafting with Cliff Jump & Swimming★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 1,258 reviews
- 3Zipline Croatia: Cetina Canyon Zipline Adventure from Omis★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,248 reviews
Plitvice Lakes
The lakes are stacked down a wooded valley behind travertine barriers the water is still building, a few millimetres a year. You walk it on plank boardwalks laid inches above the surface, in one direction only, and the park limits how many people are inside at any hour. Nobody swims. That is the trade for the colour.
- 1Plitvice Lakes Guided Day Tour with Tickets★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 3,148 reviews
- 2Plitvice Lakes National Park Guided Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,002 reviews
- 3Plitvice & Rastoke Guided Day Trip with Ticket★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 2,955 reviews
Four Croatian tickets you should already be holding.
Most of this coast can be arranged over breakfast. These four run on timed entry, cave slots and sea conditions, and none of them care what time your flight lands.
- 01Plitvice Lakes Guided Day Tour with TicketsEntry is capped and sold by time slot through the summer. The morning slots go first and the gate turns people away when the park is full.
- 02Blue Cave Small-Group Boat Tour from DubrovnikThe cave at Bisevo takes boats in a queue on a timed ticket, and a swell closes it outright. Operators sell you the slot, not the weather.
- 03City Walls Early Morning or Sunset Walking TourThe walls are one way round and almost entirely unshaded. First entry and the last hour are the only comfortable ones, and both go when ships are in.
- 04Full-Day Dubrovnik Elaphite Islands Cruise with Lunch and DrinksThe island cruises sail once a day with a fixed number of seats. Miss the departure and the next one is tomorrow.
The wind that cancels Croatian boats, and what to do instead.
The bura drops off the Velebit range in gusts and shuts down crossings out of Zadar, Sibenik and the Kvarner at short notice. It runs hardest from autumn through spring, it can arrive under a clear sky, and the answer is always the same. Go inland. Waterfalls, cellars, Roman stone and a long lunch.
Ten days down the Croatian coast, in the order most people drive it.
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