Croatia: A Thousand Islands
on a Turquoise Sea

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A Roman emperor’s palace that is still a living town, sixteen emerald lakes, and 1,200 islands strung down one of the great coastlines of Europe.

Croatia does two things better than almost anywhere: coastline and continuity. The Dalmatian shore runs for hundreds of kilometres past medieval walled towns, pine-covered islands and water clear enough to see the seabed from a boat deck. And its heritage is not preserved behind glass — Diocletian’s fourth-century palace in Split still contains homes, shops and bars, seventeen centuries after the emperor retired into it.

Inland, Plitvice Lakes National Park is the natural counterweight: sixteen interconnected lakes in impossible shades of green and blue, joined by waterfalls and crossed on wooden walkways laid directly over the water. It became one of the world’s first UNESCO natural sites for a reason, and on a quiet early morning it does not look real.

At Finders & Keepers Safaris we travel Croatia privately, by road and by boat, with timing that matters more here than in most places — Plitvice before nine, the Dubrovnik walls at opening, and the islands reached on our own hull rather than a scheduled ferry. It is a country best experienced slightly ahead of everyone else.