5 Small Towns in Croatia Worth Visiting

Croatia is such a beautiful country. With its 1700km of coastline (5800km if you include all the islands and inlets!), there are SO many places worth exploring. Most visitors flock to the larger cities of Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik, and while they are both beautiful and incredibly scenic, they tend to get a little crowded. During our three weeks in the country, Mac and I visited a number of towns that weren’t so heavily frequented by tourists and oozed with Croatian charm and beauty. So without further ado, here are 5 small towns in Croatia worth visiting!

5 Small Towns in Croatia Worth Visiting

Gospić

Located almost smack dab in the middle of the country, this small town is definitely off-the-radar for the typical traveller. With a population of less than 13,000 people it’s a wonder Mac and I ended up here at all. But, thanks to the wonders of CouchSurfing, we managed to find a great host here and actually ended up learning so much not only about the area, but about Croatia as well.

In addition to being the birthplace of the famed Nikola Tesla*, Gospić is actually home to several notable historical events as well as some incredible natural wonders. On our first night, our host took us up to the Kubus Ura (the Cube) – a monument which celebrates the construction of the road through the Velebit mountain range that connects Gospić with the coastal town of Karlobag. The views of the setting sun over the Adriatic sea were incredible, and if it weren’t for the biting wind, we could have stayed there for ages!

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The next day, our host took us to meet his friend and the four of us headed out to the (even smaller) town of Perušić (about 13km north of Gospić). Here, we hiked up to the Turkish Tower (Turska Kula) which has had many uses throughout history but was used most recently in the Balkan War. It’s easy to see why – the sweeping views of the plains below span in all directions. We went for a walk through the fields and in the forest and experienced yet another impressive sunset.

One of the more memorable things that our host taught us was about the Croatian War of Independence in the early 1990’s. Gospić was the battleground between Croatian and Serbian armies for several years. We saw hotels and apartment buildings with bullet holes and damage from shells and mortars that still haven’t been repaired. Most of the town was destroyed in the war and the majority of homes and buildings there now are new. Our CS host is the same age as Mac and I and was just a child during the war. It was incredibly sad to think how different our respective childhoods were. Thankfully there has been peace for the last 25 years and Gospić has been rebuilt though memories of the war still remain.

*Tesla was actually born in Smiljan, just 6km from Gospić. Though we didn’t go, there is a Memorial Center for visitors interested in learning more about Tesla’s roots.

Gospić Population: 12,745

Šibenik

This charming coastal town is situated on the coast about halfway between Zadar and Split. It’s often heralded as the gateway to the nearby Kornati Islands, but for our adventures in Šibenik, Mac and I headed inland. Šibenik is a great place to base yourself for exploring Krka National Park as there are frequent daily buses to/from the park.

We were only in Šibenik for two nights, so we didn’t get to explore as much of the town as we would have liked. The two fortresses (Barone and St. Michael’s) seemed very enticing to enter, but unfortunately we arrived too late in the day. The balcony of our accommodation overlooked the sea, and we were treated to two epic sunsets over Tvrđava sv. Mihovila (St. Michael’s Fortress).

I spent our last morning in Šibenik wandering the quiet streets and taking way too many pictures of the stone-walled alleyways and picturesque courtyards. There were so many small clusters of cafes and restaurants sprinkled throughout the Old Town that I could have imagined sipping the day away on a cafe crawl… if only we didn’t have a bus to catch!

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Šibenik Population: 34, 302

Primošten

This aforementioned bus took us along the coast to the teeny town of Primošten. During the 1500’s in the era of the Turkish Invasions, this town was once an islet connected to the mainland by a drawbridge. After the Turks retreated, a newly constructed causeway replaced the drawbridge making this settlement easily accessible. It was renamed Primošten in 1564 which comes from the Croatian verb primostiti (to bridge).

Mac and I only stopped in Primošten for a few hours en route to our next destination, but what we saw in that brief amount of time was just beautiful. We ate lunch on benches along the beach and watched children frolic in the waves. While wandering the streets, we saw lazy street cats seeking refuge from the sun in pockets of shade dotted around the town. After lunch, we hiked up to the top of the hill and admired the sea stretching out in all directions.

Though the town was fairly empty in early April, we could tell that folks were starting preparations for a busy summer season. Construction workers were fixing up restaurants, home owners were shaking out dust-filled rugs, and souvenir shops were just starting to awake from the quiet winter months. Our time in Primošten was over too soon and we eventually made our way to the gas station on the highway and hitched a ride down the coast.

Primošten Population: 2,828

Trogir

Not too far from Primošten is a similarly small town called Trogir. The historic center of the city is a miniscule island connected by numerous bridges to the mainland, and the bigger island of Čiovo. Walking around Trogir’s Old Town provides a similar feel to the streets of Primošten and Šibenik. There are lots of cobbled streets, shuttered windows, and stone buildings just oozing with character.

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It was here in Trogir where we went to our very first handball game! The sport of handball is huge in Croatia and after we saw a poster advertising a game featuring Trogir vs Split, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go! The community center was packed and I’m happy to report that we witnessed Trogir beat Split in an epic win. The crowd went wild! (And Mac and I mostly stared in confusion since we couldn’t understand what was going on… the attitude was overwhelmingly positive though, so we attempted to fit in by clapping and cheering along with the others.)

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The next day we decided to take the ferry to Split. In the summer months, the ferry docks right in the city center on the small island, but in the low-season, it only leaves from the far end of Čiovo Island. Considering we were staying on Čiovo, we decided to hike across the island to the port. We may have gotten partially lost and had to bushwhack our way over stone walls and through overgrown bushes, but we were treated to some incredible views of the area AND we made it to the port with plenty of time to spare!

Trogir Population: 13,260

Omiš

The last of the small towns in Croatia worth visiting that I’ll highlight in this post is Omiš. This teeny seaside town is less than an hour from Split, making it a perfect place for a day trip. And that’s exactly what I did! While Mac nursed a sore foot back in Split, I took one of the many daily buses along the coast to Omiš. The River Cetina runs right through the center of town and giant stone foothills rise up on either side creating quite the dramatic scene.

My first order of business was finding a hike, and boy did I strike gold!! There is a trail that leads right from the town center all the way up (up, up, up) to Tvrđava Starigrad (Starigrad Fortress). The fortress is so embedded in the rock face that it’s barely visible from sea level. The trail is quite well marked and there are stellar views all the way up to the top.

The abandoned fortress has so many different places to explore and I enjoyed my lunch up on the roof of the lone remaining tower. A guideline secured in the rocks beside the trail provides a safe way to walk along the top of the rocky hill to a lookout point. This was the view I hiked for! Far below I could see the incredible number of boats cruising up and down the river. Familiar red rooftops dot the town center and the surrounding jagged, rocky hills completed the epic scene.

I took a different route down and it took me through the forest. The lively birdsong distracted me from my aching quads – the forest trail was steep!!! Eventually I made it back to town where I strolled through the quiet streets before enjoying my (second) lunch along the seashore. Hiking definitely makes me work up an appetite!!

Omiš Population: 14,936

*****

These 5 small towns in Croatia worth visiting are only a small sample of some of the off-the-beaten-track gems that this country has to offer. Small towns like Cavtat & Molunat are great spots to stop between Dubrovnik and Montenegro. Makarska is just down the coast from Omiš and apparently has one of the most incredible beaches in the country! Slunj way up near Plitvice Lakes was a place I wish we could have stopped at after breezing through it on the bus. And these suggestions don’t even touch any small towns in Eastern Croatia (even farther east than Zagreb!) or any of the 1200+ islands off the coast! Croatia is a beautiful country with epic mountains, coastlines, beaches, forests, and more. The large cities of Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik are wonderful in their own right, but if you’re planning a trip to the Balkans, I’d encourage you to check out some of these small towns in Croatia worth visiting.

Tell me, have you ever been to Croatia? What’s your favourite thing about small towns in Europe? (For me it’s the red roofs and cobblestone alleyways!)

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