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.
Yep, four weeks in May ……
Yes, booked for May :))
Haha, I read this curious about what’s not great about Croatia as I’ve always wanted to visit and haven’t been yet – so it’s great to see this list, which just makes me want to visit even more – I’m hoping I might make it this year – any tips on where can be seen in just a 4-5 day trip? I know it needs a lot longer than that but I have a short break and was thinking Croatia but there are so many areas I want to see that I don’t know where to start!
So glad you enjoyed it. 4-5 days is tough because yes there is so much to see. In saying that you can see a few things in that time. Let me know what things you like. Nature? Museums? Will you rent a car or be bound by a bus? Is there one thing you have to see while you are here? Once I know that I can make a personal recommendation for you – I think I’ll even turn it into a blog post especially for you.
How kind of you to be so helpful with ideas for me! I guess we mainly like nature / views / ruins / coastal areas and nice food – museums etc would probably be a lower preference. We’d be open to hiring a car if that makes things easier. I hear a lot about Dubrovnik, Dalmatian coast, Split and Hvar which have all appealed to me as some of my preferred places and even the Mljet island looks beautiful….but I’m not all that familiar with how close any of these places are and so I’m fully aware it may only be possible to visit one or at a push, two of these places within a 4-5 day break so any thoughts you might have would be really helpful and once again, thank you :)
Hi SJ, I wrote a reply comment thanking you for this and answering some of your questions but can’t see here – just wanted to check if it’s in moderation or whether it never went through at my end – didn’t want you to think I hadn’t replied to your kind offer!
Sorry, I have been so busy with the house that mu blog comments all sat in moderation. Lemme take a look at this next week for you :) xx
Interesting reasons that make me want to go to Croatia even more! Thanks for sharing these, it helps my planning and pitch to the family immensely!
hell no, its made me all the more likely to want to go! Croatia looks absolutely breakthtaking and I am a total ruin geek so its high on my wish list.
This made me want to Croatia even more.
How do smiling friendly locals can possibly turn someone off ? :D
Yeah, okay you got me bruno :D
I was born there so I go every other summer to visit my cousins in Zadar & Dubrovnik! Very beautiful but the economy is bad. Enjoy!
Mary
Croatia is one of the most beautiful countries . Come and check :-)
What? Coffee…ruins…smiling people…SUNSETS? Oh boy…that’s a lot to put up with because, you know, there could eventually be too much of a good thing. Maybe. Then again…maybe not. :)
You failed! Sorry, but I’m not put off and you now have a bunch of us tourists coming to invade you! :)
Giggle! Well, I hope you have a wonderful time Malinda.
Coffe 5kg annually … Underestimated I drink at least 12 kg annually, my family no difference , and that is one strong coffee :)