If you are preparing for your vacation in Croatia, Dalmatia is probably one of your first options for your dream holidays. And if you explored the vastness of internet searching for places to stay in Dalmatia, then you probably stumbled upon a city called Makarska. And now you are here, you’ll read this post and find out our top reasons to visit Makarska.
Makarska is a beautiful city situated in a middle of Dalmatia, right in the place where Adriatic sea and Biokovo mountain kiss. It’s a city full of history and beautiful nature. There is something for everyone, whether you’re an outdoor type of person just seeking for a new thrilling adventures or you want to party all night long.
Since we are an outdoor type persons and don’t feel like experts in night life topics, we are going to write this text from our point of view. Let’s make your Makarska vacation a dream one.
biokovo mountain
This might mountain is our number one reason to visit Makarska. You,can’t miss it, if you come to Makarska, it will dominate your every day and call you to explore it. We believe that Biokovo is one of the top reasons why people decide for Makarska vacation. The whole mountain stretches for around 100 kilometers and it’s full of history and nice places to explore. Part of the mountain above Makarska is a nature park and the highest peak of the mountain is above Makarska too.
If you decide to visit this beautiful mountain, you have 2 options. You can either hike or drive up. If you decide to hike it, you have many routes at your disposal, some starting from Makarska and some from places near it. One route that starts from Makarska leads to Vošac peak, one of the most prominent peaks in vicinity. You can see it from Makarska since it’s shaped like a horn. If you look closely you’ll even notice the mountain hut on top of it. That’s where you can sit and enjoy your cold drink or warm coffee after the ascent.
To be honest, the view from Vošac peak is much better than the view from Sv. Jure, highest peak of Biokovo mountain. One of the reasons for that is the position of Sv. Jure which is more inland than Vošac peak.
If you decide to visit Biokovo mountain and nature park by car you need to know that the road through the park is pretty narrow and you’ll need to have some driving skills and steel nerves. Especially now that Biokovo skywalk has opened and the queues are long. We tried going up the mountain few times but we decided that we prefer hiking than losing our time inside of car.
makarska riviera and adriatic sea
If you choose to visit Makarska, you are probably doing it so partly because of the coastline and beautiful images you saw online. Makarska Riviera is a stretch of coast starting at Vruja and ending in Gradac, some 50 kilometers to the south. Makarska Riviera is full of gorgeous beaches of different kinds and your Makarska vacation won’t be the same if you don’t explore at least part of the coastline.
We suggest you take a drive one day. Driving on a coastal road is an experience for itself but this way you’ll explore the Makarska Riviera too. Google is your friend so you can check what are the best beaches around. If you prefer being alone on the beach, it’s possible, just expect to walk a bit more to these.
outdoor activities
Your Makarska vacation wouldn’t be the same without these. You have to try them, you have to add some adventure spice to your holidays. There are numerous options, if you like water sports, we suggest kayaking or rafting on a Cetina river. If you are more of a land person, hiking is a good way to go for you. If you are an adrenaline hunter then we suggest zipline or rock climbing. See, there is something for everybody.
You can check our adventure tours and see if there is something you are interested in. If you are seeking for something different, we suggest our night kayaking tour. It’s something out of this world. If you are willing to drive for one hour, we suggest you visit Bacina lakes and do some tour there. There are many options and when it comes to us, we run our most popular adventure tour there – Bacina lakes kayaking.
Visit Makarska, but also visit the other places around it.
nearby islands
Croatian coastline is full of islands and some of the most beautiful ones are just across Makarska. So when you visit Makarska, you can also plan to visit them too. The 2 closest ones are Hvar and Brac and both of them are beautiful. There are even some boat tours going from Makarska and visiting both of these islands for a short time. It’s a cool day trip but since you stay on these island for a limited amount of time, we would suggest you rather take ferry and choose one island to explore. Spend a whole day on it and if you really like it, then explore the other one some other day of your Makarska vacation.
proximity of other natural beauties
Now these are some places near the city of Makarska and some that require a bit of driving around. You can go in both directions, toward Split or Dubrovnik and find many unique natural creations. If you choose to go toward Split, we suggest you visit the city of Omiš and beautiful canyon of Cetina river. On the other hand, if you decide to go toward Dubrovnik we suggest visiting Bacina lakes and Neretva river delta. Then there is Dalmatian hinterland full of good wines and local food.
We reccomend you visit official Makarska tourist board website for more info.
