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If you're truly seeking a place in Europe that has just about anything and everything you've ever wanted, Croatia is it. Spread out over 56,000 square kilometers, Croatia is a diver's dream with enough historical sites to make any history-buff fall in love.
Location Map
The best place to go diving is Vis, where you can find all sorts of shipwrecks under the surface. The Blue Grotto is a serene place to visit while you're here; and the Mediterranean influenced weather means you've got from May to October to experience it all.
The busiest time of year is its warmest, from July to August. The rest of the year is pretty cold in Croatia, although its mostly known to snow more inland.
Even if you don't dive, Croatia offers all sorts of watersports, like kayaking and sailing to name just a few. Walking along Dubrovnik's Marina could count as a "watersport".
For the history side of Croatia, you won't want to miss cities like Dubrovnik with its medieval walls from the 13th century, monastery, and Baroque churches.
The captial city of Zagreb offers a stunning cathedral, museums, and lots of cafes to watch the world go by. It's got a happening nightlife with pubs, cocktail bars, and nightclubs for some serious nighttime action.
Don't be shy--all of Croatia's food and drink is safe.
Speaking of drinking, Hvar is a good place to try some locally made wines, while places like Pula offer Roman ruins like the Ampitheater; and Split is a third century AD town that's got a UNESCO designation.
Inasmuch as Croatia is great for diving and history, it's a wonderful country to experience nature. The Slavonia Kopacki Rit Nature Park is just the place if you're looking to do some birdwatching. And you've also got the Brijuni National Park spread out over 14 islands to do the whole flora and fauna thing. It's even better if you can squeeze in a round of golf here in the park.
Editors Note: Croatia is best done by yacht. The interior transport is appalingly cramped and insufficient.
Getting to all of Croatia's sites is made easy by its extensive network of public transportation, ferries, and trains (excect to/from Dubrovnik that has no train service) makes getting around simple and efficient. Within cities the public transport is good, and bike rentals are readily available. No need to worry about speaking Croatian, everything from Hungarian to Italian, English to German (Slovenian, Serbian, etc.) is spoken throughout the country. Besides, you'll be too busy eating Black Risotto and drinking the local wines to think about talking.
What you need to be thinking about is shopping. Croatia offers some terrific deals on lace, embroidery, ceramics, and glass jewelery. Perfect, all small enough to fit in your luggage to bring home.
Great souvenirs to bring home to brag to your family and friends about how wonderful a place Croatia is. And with a population just over 4 million, it's not crowded at all. It's almost like you'll find you have the Adriatic Sea all to yourself--now that's a real vacation.
