A family friendly travel guide to Croatia

Croatian food comes from a melting pot of different cultures and is influenced heavily by its European neighbours. One dish you’ll see again and again on restaurant menus is Peka, meat and vegetables slow cooked in an earthenware pot over the embers of a fire until meltingly tender. The country has a long coastline and fish and seafood is very popular, octopus and simply grilled white fish being local favourites. Small plates of pasta or risotto are standard starters in most restaurants and make good kid friendly options for a restaurant meal. You’ll also find at least one pizza restaurant in most towns.

The local village of Starigrad has good family friendly options for a night out, with pizzerias, relaxed snack bars and restaurants serving meat and fish simply prepared over a charcoal grill. The Croatians tend to speak very good English, are very hospitable and love children, so you’ll be made to feel very welcome. High chairs may not always be available, so if you can, bring a baby booster seat, you’ll also find that baby changing facilities are few and far between.

At Alana Beachclub families will love the buffet meals with breakfast and lunch included every day. Four evening meals are included each week are eaten in the brand-new restaurant located close to the beach with lovely views of the bay. The beauty of the buffet is that there is bound to be something to suit most tastes and you will find Croatian and British inspired dishes with typical crowd pleasing favourites.

Culturally rich and child friendly, Croatia is a must for families looking to add a little sightseeing and history to their holiday. Alana Beachclub is jammed packed with inclusive activities for the whole family and is in the enviable position of being on the shores of the Adriatic which is great for children and at the foothills of the magnificent Paklenica National Park. You’ll be spoilt for choice and will probably need more than one week’s holiday to fit everything in.

Paklenica National Park: The turning to the national park is only 100m from the entrance to the beachclub and 1.5km to the national park itself. Part of the Velebit Mountains, Croatia’s largest mountain range, Paklenica is Croatia’s 2nd oldest national park. The first thing you’ll notice upon entering the park is rock climbers, they’re everywhere! Children as young as eight years old can climb here, there’s something for all abilities with experienced guides to assist you as you climb. A family climbing adventure will give you something to talk and laugh about. If you prefer to keep your feet on terra firma, there’s hiking trails aplenty with lots of little waterfalls and natural pools to cool off in. The park also has an activity centre with an indoor bouldering centre, cinema and knot tying lessons.

Zadar:  A city with an extraordinary history and extremely valuable cultural heritage. Located just 40-minute’s drive from Alana Beachclub it has a beautiful and historic old town, medieval churches and plenty of cosmopolitan cafes. The city is well known for its Sea Organ and Sun Salutation art installations, they are a source of endless fascination for children and adults alike and both need to be seen and heard on a visit to this lovely city.

Zrmanja river canyon: After the last ice age period, the sea level rose for more than 120 metres and created the Zrmanja and Krupa rivers in Velebit National Park, and one of the most impressive canyons in Croatia. Take a boat ride on the perfectly clear and jewel like green waters; you’ll see beautiful waterfalls and plenty of local wildlife on this great family day out.

Transfers from Zadar are a family friendly 45 minutes, Split is a little longer at 1 hour 30 minutes. You can pre-book car seats for the little ones on the transfer. Push chairs can be loaded into the luggage storage on the transfer coach or you can borrow one of our pushchairs in resort. Everywhere in the beachclub is easily accessible via garden paths and there are very few steps around the communal areas.

If you’re planning on heading into town it’s only a 10-15-minute walk along the seafront promenade or a very short taxi ride. There’s also a few restaurants just outside of the entrance to the beachclub. You’ll find almost everything you need for the week in Starigrad but if you did want to venture into Zadar it’s about an hour on a public bus, which runs three times a day. If you want to hire a car ask at reception, this is the best way for a family to fully explore the region.

Currency: Kuna
Local time: GMT/BST+1
Flight time from UK: approx. 2 hours 30 minutes
Visa info: Visa is not required for UK passport holders.
Car hire: Note that the law requires drivers to carry personal ID, licence and car documents while on the road. Children under 12 years must travel in the rear seats of the vehicle. Children 5 years and younger must be in a child safety seat.
Can you drink the tap water: Tap water is fine to drink in Croatia and bottled water is readily available.
Is there somewhere to buy nappies and other baby essentials? There’s a few supermarkets within a five-minute walk, usually open from 8am-9pm, where you can buy baby essentials and there’s a 24-hour baby room where you can make feeds, warm milk and sterilise bottles
What is there for teens to do in and around the beachclub? There’s a great club for teens (up to 17 years). The Neilson team encourage the teens to sign up for activities and organise group fun and games. They also arrange evening meals, quizzes and excursions. All the inclusive activities (such as sailing, wakeboarding cycling, tennis etc.) are available to teenagers as well as climbing taster and high rope courses. Away from the beachclub it’s a short walk into the local town or the national park.
Are their lifeguards on the beach and around the pool? No, but there is a safety tower on the beach with a member of the Neilson team on duty as well as safety boats in the water. We do however have an on-site swim coach available for children’s swimming lessons.
Is Croatia safe for families to travel to? Before you travel visit www.gov.uk/foreign-advice-travel/croatia for recommendations and advice for your holiday to Croatia.