The 60km-long stretch of coastline has party nights, adventure and nature, as well as often cheaper prices than the country’s tourist hotspots.
Bombing down the rapids, the raft whipped from side to side and a cry rang out: “Boomba!”. This was the signal for our crew to leap into the boat’s belly and duck for cover. A slop of crystal-clear river water sprayed on my head, followed by the sound of the guide chuckling.
A white-water adventure was not what I had expected from my beach holiday in Makarska, the capital of the Makarska Riviera in Croatia, a 60km-long stretch of coastline around one hour, 10 minutes’ drive south of Split. I was there to see how its beach-and-party offering compared with Split’s and Dubrovnik’s, both already favourites among British tourists.
Makarska’s Jekyll and Hyde personality was encapsulated at dawn when I spotted just as many early-bird hikers as night owls winging their way home after hours of dancing.
Many of the faces that blurred past on my day of tumbling down rapids on the nearby Cetina River (a 30-minute drive from Makarska) looked vaguely familiar from when I’d wandered past the bars of the beachfront promenade the night before.
Even when you’re in activity mode, the party vibe is never far away – as I learned when greeted by rounds of cherry liqueur shots after emerging, bedraggled but delighted, from my grapple with Cetina’s waters. Trips with Rafting Buk Omis cost €33 (£29) per person.
“People love it here because you have everything around. There’s so much natural beauty, close to the coast. You can go out locally, but also reach Split, Dubrovnik and islands like Brac and Hvar easily,” said Ivanka Pejkovic, who works for the company.
The former two can be accessed by bus (in about one and three hours respectively) or, in summer, by catamaran. “We’re getting at least double the number of British visitors that we did four years ago,” Pejkovic added.
Other locals said the same. “Bigger cities in Croatia have become much more expensive in recent years, so many travellers are looking further afield to places like Makarska because of their lower prices,” said Zoran Zrna, a local guide and musician.
In Dubrovnik, you might pay €14 for a mojito, he said. In Makarska, it’s about €4. Room rates are also lower: a night at a basic three-star hotel in August starts at around £160 in Dubrovnik compared with about £100 in Makarska.
Along the town’s seafront promenade, the atmosphere is more provincial than on the thudding strips of Split and Dubrovnik. The bars – especially those in the Old Town, with its creamy stone architecture and palm trees – are pretty but with relatively small dance floors and early closing times. By midnight, most places were emptying out, although locals did offer tips for where to go next, such as Makarana Bar.
But while the nightlife has a little way to go, the hotel scene has become much more enticing as it moves away from the era of concrete Soviet-style blocks. I stayed at Dalmacija Placeshotel by Valamar – well-suited to the millennial traveller.
Floating in the infinity pool, I had an uninterrupted view of the Adriatic and listened to live DJs spin discs as the sun set. Inside there were vintage arcade games, a gym and friendly staff offering to organise everything from paddleboard yoga to bike tours of the Old Town.
For me, the main selling point was the food. When staying on a flexi half-board basis, breakfast is included and you have €25 daily credit for lunch or dinner (if you don’t make it either, you can use the €25 in the hotel bars or restaurant). Any left over credit can be rolled over to the next day.
On day one, it bought me a plate of fresh local squid (sizzled to perfection in front of me) perched on a mound of garlicky mashed potato, plus a glass of pošip, one of the Dalmatian region’s best-loved white wines.
The buffet-style restaurant was a good showcase of Croatian cuisine with enough familiar comfort food (for me: a stone-baked pizza) to revive you after the rapids. Other snacks, such as pre-made sandwiches and ice creams, can be bought throughout the day.
The food offering made the trip affordable. It also served to justify the room prices (from €147 a night on flexi half-board).
I visited last September and since the hotel opened in May 2022, about 20 per cent of its clientele had come from the UK. Joe and Sam Colebrooke, from north-west England, were among them. Aged 21 and 19, they were on holiday with their parents. They liked that they had the independence to go out by themselves as the bars are so close and the hotel’s cashless payment bracelets for buying food and drink. “You can get what you want at any time,” said Sam.
Aside from bars and beaches, one of Makarska’s main attractions is the Biokovo Nature Park, named after Croatia’s second highest peak, which juts from its centre. Roughly a 40-minute bus shuttle from the hotel, Biokovo is home to eagles, which I watched glide over towering pines, and Balkan chamois (a sort of goat-antelope). There are also, rumour has it, bears.
I stopped at Biokovo Skywalk, which first opened in 2020. This semicircular glass-bottomed balcony is 4,028ft above sea level. Swallows danced under my feet.
At the Skywalk, I met Geoffrey Cook, who was 68, and from the UK. As an adrenaline-seeker (he’d recently been ziplining in Costa Rica), Cook chose the Makarska Riviera for its many activities. He and his wife had joined excursions on most days.
“After Makarska, we’re heading to Brac,” Cook said. “We’ve been to Split before and loved it, but it’s far too busy these days.”
He, too, was enjoying the town’s restaurants and bars, proving that, if Makarska is a town that can do both, it’s a town that can do both for all – not just the millennial (or Gen Z) cohort.
It felt like I’d had several types of holiday in one: fly-and-flop-by-the-pool, sporty adventure, relaxing-in-nature, foodie. And all with fewer crowds (and often lower costs) than in Dubrovnik or Split.
Source : INews
