Croatia Packing List: 5 Must-Haves

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Look, if you’re planning a trip to Croatia in summer my first tip to you is reconsider. Go in spring, or in September/October. I hear it’s lovely then. It was lovely in August as well. But lovely with hellish undertones, you know? It didn’t help that hubby and I took turns getting sick over the course of our one week honeymoon. The sun beating down on us all the livelong day only made us sicker. Still, if you find yourself with plane tickets to Croatia in August or any summer month heed this Croatia packing list well. And, spend as much time cooling off in the sea as possible.

Heading to Vis Island while in Croatia? Check out this guide! Want to travel through Croaita like a pro? Don’t make these mistakes while visiting!

Croatia Summer Packing List

1. Swimsuit / beach towel

This is your 2-in-1 because who packs one without the other?

Us. We do.

And then we pay for a beach towel at a pricey stand near the beach because #vacation or #souvenir or just plain #oops. Honestly, I figured we would just use our Airbnb or hotel towels. The thought of actually carrying a bulky one of those around, though, became silly in the moment. So, bring your beach towel. It shouldn’t take up too much space anyway.

For something lightweight that dries quickly, try a microfiber towel for your travels.

2. Cover-up that doubles as a dress

Even if you’re in the water a ton, you’re not going to want to walk around anywhere else in only your swimsuit and towel. Well, you may want to. But don’t. You will stand out and it may be seen as crass.

I saw plenty of folks wearing cute cover-ups around town, ones that easily doubled as summer dresses. Aside from formal beaches, you’ll notice a lot of random access points to go swimming around the cities. Better to be prepared with a cover-up that can do double duty.

3. Straw hat

A cap won’t do it here and your sunglasses will not suffice. We know, because we bought sunglass-wearing husband a straw hat from a stand outside of Diocletian’s Palace. These aren’t always the easiest to pack without squashing, but I’ve found I can make mine fit nicely if I leave a gap at the top of my backpack.

You’ll want additional shade from the sun beyond what sunglasses can provide, and anything other than a straw hat or visor will probably make your hair sweat off your head. I highly recommend the straw hat route.

4. Breathable, flowy clothes ONLY

I, for some reason, took it as a given that evenings in Croatia would be cooler than its days.

Wrong.

Sure, the sun wasn’t in our eyes after sundown and we could ditch the hats. But there was no change in temperature. The cute new jeans I’d brought along for some evening wear never debuted and only weighed down my suitcase as we traveled from city to city. Bring dresses, skirts, flowy/lightweight shorts. For men, ditch the undershirt and tee combo for tanks and shorts instead.

5. Water shoes

I read about water shoes when I was doing my own research on packing for Croatia (yes, even with that research I learned a lot from my own packing misadventures). Majority of Croatia’s beaches are pebble beaches rather than sand. This means, both on the shore and in the actual water, you’re walking on smooth yet hard rock. You also need to be aware of sea urchins.

If anyone, only locals who have grown up used to pebbles under their feet may go without shoes. Though, even this was rare.

I disregarded this tip about packing water shoes, who knows why? Mistake. The first night we tried to go swimming we literally could not figure out how to get into the water without slipping on rocks and cracking our heads open.

By the time our next beach day came around, we first went to buy water shoes from a stand. They were not cute, not even a little bit, but they definitely did the trick.

So, my advice to you is to buy a cute (as cute as water shoes can be) pair on Amazon before you go. I personally like the athletic look of these. If you hate how the regular water shoes look, you could even go with jellies instead. Bottom line is you need some sort of shoe for swimming.

6. Bonus Tip: Sunscreen

Come on, now. This is common sense but I’m including it as a friendly reminder because I care about you and your skin health. Sunscreen should basically be a permanent staple in your suitcase.

Hope this list of what to pack for Croatia helps you be more prepared than we were! Traveling with kids? Then be sure to check out this list of family airport essentials!