It’s no secret I love my newly adopted homeland of Croatia. This blog and its contents are enough to tell you all of the great things about living in Croatia. My shouting from the rooftops about it non-stop means I get tweets and emails from people asking questions about ‘what are the best things to do in Croatia’ or specific questions about their upcoming visit. I love answering them.
Yesterday, a reader asked me if they should bring their Mother-in-law with them to Croatia. Not because this reader did not like his Mother-in-law – but instead asking if his Mother-in-law would like Croatia.
What was I supposed to say to that? It got me thinking about the types of people who should not visit Croatia. So I told him, that she should not visit Croatia if she does not like….
Skip Ahead To My Advice Here!
Ancient Ruins
These are everywhere in Croatia. Leftover from various previous rulers from centuries ago. Not only do you have Roman forums, like this one in Zadar and places like Diocletian’s Palace in Split, but you’ll see ancient & historical ruins and many small villages in every town.
If ancient ruins don’t interest you, you may not want to visit Croatia.
Brands We Use And Trust
Coffee
Croatians have a severe love affair with coffee. Business meetings, catch-ups with friends old & new are all conducted over a tiny cup of espresso coffee, for hours!
There are cafes everywhere here in Croatia, so you’ll have no trouble finding one. Cody from Zablogreb wrote last year that Croatians annually drink 5 kg of coffee per person, that’s 22,500 tons of coffee per year, and they spend 2.25 million hours having coffee each year, that’s half an hour a day per person.
So, don’t visit Croatia if you don’t like coffee.
The Sun
It’s one of the sunniest places on earth, well at least in the Mediterranean. During summer, the sun does not go down till well after 9 pm, which means you can enjoy a full day of exploring and then still have plenty of time to take a stroll along the many Croatian beaches after dinner and watch the sunset. Croatia is known worldwide for incredible sunsets. If you hate sunsets, you best not come to Croatia.
Smiling Faces
A Croatian would give you the shirt off his back. They’re friendly and happy-go-lucky here in Croatia. Whenever we travel, we always ask the locals we meet for their recommendations, and they’re always happy to tell us about a secret spot, or hidden restaurant that we should visit.
If smiling friendly locals turn you off while on vacation, I recommend you book someplace else.
Natural Beauty
I recently wrote about Croatia’s eight stunning national parks, and I had some people tell me they had no idea that Croatia was so diverse. As well as the UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the breathtaking waterfalls at Plitvice Lakes, you can climb, raft, hike, cycle, and trek all across Croatia. Things of beauty, not your style, then you know my response….
Now, I have not yet had a response from that reader. So I do hope that he had a giggle at my cheeky response and that he and his Mother-in-law visit Croatia and they have a smashing time. I did give him this list of things to do in Croatia if they do decide to come on over to this paradise I now call home.
Would these reasons keep you away from Croatia?
Want Ideas For Things To Do In Croatia?
If you are traveling to Croatia, we’ve got a stack of suggestions. Here are just a few:
- Super Fun Ideas For Day Trips From Zagreb
- Top Day Trips From Split
- Top Croatia Travel Guides & Books
- What to See And do in Croatia
- Best Things to do with Kids in Croatia
- 62 Ideas From Travel Bloggers on What to do in Croatia
- Car Rental Tips and Deals
- Find out about Festivals in Croatia
- See which tours of Croatia we Recommend.
I think I need to plan another trip to Croatia fast. Sounds pretty perfect! :)
Yes, and head a little further North… hint, hint
It is a trilling and interesting title of the post! I was opening this page a little bit armed up, punched, but really made me smile! It is a great post and I love it!
Thanks Ratko! The title is a little eye opening isn’t it.
Yes indeed! You know the phrase, for sure: ‘pila naopako’! Translation of that is ‘saw upside down’, but I’m not sure if it is a good translation..?
Ohh it must be so hard to live in a place surrounded by such natural beauty and amazing scenery ;) sounds like somewhere I would absolutely just hate… to leave!
I am so NOT going to enjoy my upcoming vacation in Croatia! ;)
Very fun and great post I loved it – we really have to come and spend some time in Croatia!
Well done! Sure makes us want to come to Croatia… even with all of these reasons not to. ;)
Yes, yes you should… unless you dislike these 5 things :P
Great post!
Since twenty years I spend summer holidays on island Losinj (Kvarner), where my father-in-law was born and has a house. I have only one reason for provole not to visit Croatia: the less we are, the best we stay! ;-)
(people, not provole)
I am not so sure what to say to that Mr. Podesta, except that we need tourism here – so I am not so sure that your statement rings true. In any case I’d love to get to Losinj, so hopefully you can give me some tips. I promise to not tell too many people.
One of my finest memories of 2014 is sipping macchiato coffee and nibbling on fritules in a waterfront café in Šibenik to kick-start my (very busy) day. Totally divine!
I won’t mention Trogir, Brač, or Zadar, because we’d all be here for ages – if not longer!! ;)
Great article, Mrs Donkey. And you didn’t even mention the food or wine!
Ahhh yes, I feel like there could be 5 ‘more reasons’ to stay away… huh?
Check your coffeetime statistics!
22,500 tons of coffee per year (22,500,000 kg) divided by 5 kg of coffee per year gives a population of 4.5 million (~confirmed on Wiki).
If 4.5 million Croatians spend “2.25 million hours having coffee each year,” that’s half an hour a YEAR per person, not per day!
For me, that is not enough time having coffee!