Croatia

There is a Croatia guidebook and then a separate one for Paklenica only. We couldn’t find them locally to buy so would recommend buying in advance – especially if you have the luxury or spending more time in any of the climbing hot-spots.

A few websites helped us figure out the climbing landscape a bit more and get a lay of the land: The Crag Journal, Climb Croatia and an interview with Croatian climber Jurica Levatic for his 6 best spots.

The Crag – a bit overwhelming with the number of crags, often broken-down into micro-areas but lots of info available.

Roads – no issues with roads, but travelling long distances does take longer compared to Belgium/France/Italy where Croatia does no have the same level of mega-motorways.

Camping – Croatia was the only country we visited during our 2024 roadtrip where wild/free camping was explicitly not allowed. We still used park4night and found a lot of informal camping site which involved a small fee to landowners – sometimes in a farming paddock, an olive grove, a car park or a restaurant in exchange for a meal. Often these places had no services and if they did, the fees would be higher – so worth considering as part of your budgeting. If staying for a longer time in a climbing area (and there are definitely areas that warrant this) it could be worth looking at alternatives to camping.

• We had a big debate about where Plitvice Lakes National Park would be a total tourist-trap – expensive and overcrowded. It was rather expensive, there were indeed a lot of people – but contrary to my fears it really was worth it! The waterfalls are spectacular, we completed the 8km trail and every part was well-maintained and interesting – weaving through varied scenery and wonderous water-ways. Pack a picnic!
• On our way from Plitvice to Paklenica (for climbing) the Cerovac Caves made for a fun stop – the walkway has no barriers but instead keeps people away from the sensitive formations by having a narrow path raised up from the cave floor. This really added to the immersive feel of the cave. We also go to learn about prehistoric cave bears.
• A bit of a random find, the Dragon’s Eye lake in Rogoznica ended up being a family highlight. Free to enter, we found the access ladder, all had a swim and took it in turns to jump in. A quick google will provide you with many legends about the lake’s origins which also added to the fun.
• In terms of historic cities we made a stop at Zadar and Split. Split is perhaps the more famous, and full of rich history but we had to share the narrow alleyways with huge numbers of cruise-ship tourists, perhaps on a different day it could be more atmospheric. Zadar felt more relaxing to explore – we really walking the old city walls and the Sea Organ.
• We stopped at Omis for the climbing but then also took a little rafting trip which was super kid-friendly.We combined one climbing day with a visit to the pretty city of Dinant, see more detail on the Carrière de Durnal crag page.