Wanderlust Travel Magazine (UK)
A MINI SECRET SEASON GUIDE TO CROATIA’S ADVENTURES
Summer in Croatia is a sun-blessed escape filled with sailing adventures, island hopping and the chance to see towns and villages at their liveliest, with festivals in full swing. But Croatia is much more than a one-season wonder; it’s a year-round destination. In fact, many events, activities and sights come into their own before and after the summertime holidaymakers arrive (and are often unique to that time of year), when the weather is still splendid and fewer people tend to visit. It makes this period much more appealing for visitors. Here’s our guide to seeing Croatia out of the summer season.
Spring
Springtime brings a freshness and a riot of colour to Croatia with carpets of wildflowers and fragrant herbs, while Easter celebrations gently wake up some of the sleepy islands from their winter hibernation. Zagreb heralds the spring with a four-day Festival of Lights in March, when fabulous light installations pop up around the city’s major landmarks.
Further south, Split’s International Festival of Flowers brings a pleasant sensory overload to the depths of Diocletian’s Palace in March. On the Pelješac peninsula towards Dubrovnik, the highly prized and delicious oysters from the neighbouring villages of Ston and Mali Ston are celebrated in exuberant style around the feast of St Joseph’s in mid-march, during the Festival of Oysters. You’ll have the chance to try some of Pelješac’s best wines during the festival, which is marked by quite a lot of singing and dancing.
This is also a good time to tackle the 6.5km walk up the Walls of Ston, the 14th-century fortifications that have shot up Game of Thrones fans’ wish-lists over the past few years. Rather than tackle the trek in the heat of high summer and when the walls are at their busiest, get a head start by coming in the spring. Indeed, hiking in general is one of the joys of
visiting Croatia during these months, especially in May when the Adriatic starts to warm up and you can have a refreshing dip after your hike.
If you’re a keen whitewater rafter, the spring months usually provide better conditions than during the summer. Melting snow feeds the rivers and raises the water level, making rafting that much more exciting – not to mention feasible. During the hottest summer months, some river levels dip too low for rafting, making them suitable only for kayaking and canoeing.
Autumn
September is one of the best months to visit Croatia: the crowds have thinned but the seas have kept their summer warmth. Springtime flowers are fooled by mild temperatures into blossoming again, and then the autumn colours arrive in all their glory. In a country as thickly forested as Croatia, this means nature puts on a stupendous show. Ticket prices for all of Croatia’s national parks are lower outside the months of June to August, so the autumn is an excellent time to take the boat that goes from Skradin through Krka National Park and gaze in wonder at its waterfalls. The colours of the forested mountains overlooking the Krka River are quite extraordinary at this time of year.
Another of nature’s superb displays is in full flight during the autumn migration of birds in Kopački Rit Nature Park. As in the spring, the nature park is an important stop for migrating birds during and around September, when you can look out for cormorants, eagles and storks.
Autumn means harvest time, which naturally translates into food festivals. To the scent of fermenting grapes during September’s wine harvest you can add the heady aroma of truffles, particularly during Istria’s Zigante Truffle Days. Autumn culinary traditions can be found throughout Croatia, with the winegrowing communities of the north celebrating St Martin’s Day every year on 11 November, an ancient tradition dating back to the 17th century with a feast marking the annual wine baptism.
Dubrovnik takes advantage of October’s harvest bounty by holding a fortnight-long Good Food Festival. Enjoy themed dinners and workshops by chefs that take place in restaurants and some of Dubrovnik’s tourist attractions. If that’s not enough, there’s also live
music, barbecues and a dinner with a Michelin-starred chef. Its highlight is a communal lunch that takes over the whole length of the Stradun, the Old Town’s main pedestrianised thoroughfare.
Winter
While snow does occasionally make an appearance in southern Croatia, for the most part the weather is mild. Even in November, you can still swim in the waters around Dubrovnik. It’s a different story if you’re visiting continental Croatia, however, which takes on a thick winter coat to resemble a frosty wonderland. Wigged in snow, Croatia’s castles have an extra layer of medieval mystique in winter, with 13th-century Trakošćan and the fortress of Varaždin (as well as its pretty Old Town) blending in with the surrounding sugar-white scenery.
Croatia’s handsome small towns also look even more magical when covered in snow, especially Samobor (just a day trip from Zagreb), Motovun and Groznjan. The latter in particular is home to an impressive local art scene and has a wealth of cosy taverns that offer the opportunity to sample traditional Istrian fare.
Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, becomes very festive at Christmas. Advent markets are held all over Croatia, from the Christmas market that takes over Split’s Riva waterfront to the fairy-tale atmosphere and Baroque streets of Varaždin. Once the people of Zagreb pack up their Advent market in January, many flock to Plitvice Lakes National Park, which becomes magical in the winter when its waterfalls are frozen in mid-flow and the park turns white.
Winter means carnival, especially in Rijeka. The town holds Croatia’s biggest carnival over several weeks, from January right through to Ash Wednesday. The carnival spirit takes over much of the Kvarner Gulf, with Rijeka’s suburbs and the towns of the Opatija Riviera all holding their own festivals. Not to be outdone, Dubrovnik has two major festivals in February, starting with the two-day feast of St Blaise (3–4 February), and then its own pre-lent carnival. Proof that it pays to visit out of season to see Croatia in full flow.