Public, natural, and organized beaches are part of the maritime domain and must be accessible to everyone under the same conditions, regardless of whether they are in front of a hotel, campsite, or private home.
If someone tells you this summer on the Adriatic that a beach is "private," know that this is generally not true. According to information from Index.hr, all public, natural, and organized beaches in Croatia must remain accessible to everyone under equal conditions. This means you can swim, sunbathe, and lay out your towel on them, even if they are in front of a hotel, campsite, apartment complex, or private villa.
The sea and coastal areas that in Croatia belong to the so-called maritime domain are not private property. The owner of a house by the sea does not automatically own the beach in front of their property, and a hotel does not become the owner of the beach just because it is directly in front of the building. Signs like "Private Beach," "Reserved for Guests," or "No Entry" do not automatically mean that access can legally be denied to you.
Hotels, restaurants, and concessionaires may charge for sunbeds, umbrellas, drinks, food, or other services, but they may not charge for entry to the beach or access to the sea. In other words, you do not have to rent a sunbed, order a drink, or be a hotel guest to swim there. You can bring your own towel, food, drinks, and cooler, unless this conflicts with specific safety, hygiene, or other regulations.
However, there are legitimate reasons for restricting or prohibiting access to the coast. You cannot enter a military port, shipyard, or other port with a special purpose. Restrictions may also apply in publicly accessible parts of ports where swimming and sunbathing are prohibited for safety reasons.
According to Croatian law passed in 2023, public, natural, and organized beaches must remain accessible to everyone under the same conditions. They must not be fenced off, excluded from general use, or have entry fees charged. A concession may allow commercial use of a specific part of the beach, but it does not grant the right to turn the entire beach into a private space, a zone exclusively for hotel guests, or an area reserved for invited persons.
The law provides for two explicit exceptions. The first concerns beaches intended for patients of public health institutions who are being treated or rehabilitated there. The second exception is nudist beaches, or, as the law calls them, beaches whose users are "naturist tourists." Such beaches may be excluded from general use.
What about those who sell ice cream on the beach or rent out sunbeds, umbrellas, pedal boats, and other summer equipment? They have obtained a permit or concession for a specific commercial activity, not for the beach itself. Sunbeds and umbrellas may only be set up to the extent and in the areas specified by the approval, concession, or local regulation. They may not, at six in the morning, spread empty sunbeds across the entire beach, stick umbrellas into every free corner, and thus "reserve" the beach.
You can safely ignore such empty sunbeds. If someone harasses you, drives you away, or removes you from your spot because of this, call the police or contact the municipal or maritime inspection. The same applies to vendors: if someone sells ice cream, they cannot demand that you not bring your own; if they sell drinks, they cannot forbid you from bringing a cooler; if they sell food, you do not have to be their guest to stay on the beach.
A concessionaire may sell ice cream, drinks, and lunch, but they may not sell the right to stay on the beach. You can buy ice cream and sandwiches or bring your own.
Coastal areas that belong to the maritime domain are, in principle, open to all, but they must be legally accessible via a public path or from the sea. Private land behind the beach remains private land. The right to access the coast does not mean you may pass through someone's yard, garden, or other private area. The sea and coast belong to all of us; other people's land does not.
Enjoy the Adriatic beaches; they are freely accessible to everyone. And do not let anyone stop you.
