Croatia Has 295 Dog-Friendly Beaches
Istria leads with 79 pet-friendly beaches, and over 2,500 pet-friendly restaurants are open along the coast.
Istria leads with 79 pet-friendly beaches, and over 2,500 pet-friendly restaurants are open along the coast.
Planning a summer vacation with your dog is no longer the logistical nightmare it was a decade ago. According to data from the specialized website Croatia Pet Guide, along the entire Adriatic coast there are now 295 designated beaches where pets are welcome, and 2,537 restaurants carry the "pet friendly" label.
The most dog-friendly beaches are in Istria, with 79. The absolute record holder is the Rovinj area with eleven such beaches. There are six each in the areas of Pula, Poreč, and Vrsar. Umag, Novigrad, Funtana, Fažana, and Premantura each have five pet-friendly beaches, while Duga Uvala and Rabac have four each. Medulin and Banjole share three, two are in Ravni, and one each in Rakalj, Sveti Lovreč, Koromačno, Duga Luka, Drenje, Sveta Marina, and Plomin.
When you get hungry, Istria offers 491 restaurants where you can bring your four-legged friend.
Kvarner offers 71 dog-friendly beaches, with the most located on the islands. Krk has 15, Lošinj 11, Cres eight, and Rab five. In Rijeka, there are three such beaches, while Kostrena and Mošćenička Draga each have two. Dog-friendly beaches can also be found in Opatija, Lovran, Novi Vinodolski, Selce, Crikvenica, Dramalj, Jadranovo, Povile, Gusti Laz, and on the island of Susak. In this area, as many as 533 establishments happily welcome dogs.
Northern Dalmatia has 73 dog-friendly beaches. Pag has 11, Murter eight, and Vir and Primošten five each. There are four in Rtina and three in Šibenik. Two beaches each are in Zadar, Starigrad, Privlaka, Zaton, Maslenica, Pakoštane, Srima, and on Ugljan and Pašman. A number of smaller towns, including Nin, Biograd na Moru, Vodice, and Rogoznica, each have one beach. There are 524 restaurants here that accept dogs.
Central Dalmatia has 53 beaches. Hvar and the Makarska Riviera lead with nine each, Split and its wider surroundings have eight, Brač seven, Čiovo six, Vis four, and Šolta three. There are two beaches in Kaštela and the Omiš area, while Trogir and Biševo each have one. Along with these, there are 386 pet-friendly establishments.
The fewest beaches, 17, are in southern Dalmatia. Korčula has six, Pelješac four, Ploče two, and Dubrovnik, Zaton near Dubrovnik, Trn, Komarna, and Peračko Blato each have one. In the south, there are also 205 restaurants open to guests with dogs.
The Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) reminds that foreign tourists coming to Croatia with pets must comply with regulations aligned with European rules. "Pets must be identified with a microchip or a clearly readable tattoo applied before July 3, 2011, must be vaccinated against rabies, treated against the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis (for dogs), and have a valid European pet passport when traveling from one EU member state to another," states the HTZ information for EU citizens.
The passport is issued by authorized veterinarians and remains valid as long as you regularly vaccinate your pet against rabies. Citizens of third countries must obtain an EU animal health certificate. "Unlike the passport, the certificate, which also contains the name, pet details, and rabies vaccination history, must be endorsed by an authorized veterinarian in the country of origin no more than ten days before arriving in Croatia," HTZ notes.
