Finding Family Adventures

Pula in Croatia with Plitvice National Park

A 1 week underwater adventure for all the family. Self-drive.

Date of trip: August 2025

Total cost: £2500

Including

Flights to Pula: £812 including seat selection and luggage.

Car hire: £250

Fuel: £50

Accommodation 5 nights Pula: £388

Accommodation 2 nights Plitvice: £150

Food: £500 (5 meals out and rest catered ourselves)

Activities £350 (including sunset boat trip with dinner, entrance to national parks, water inflatable course, pedalo hire).

Number of party: 5 (2 adults, 3 children).

My first visit to Croatia was 12 years ago to run a marathon in Plitvice National Park. We brought our baby boys over with their Grandparents for a weeklong trip. I was instantly captivated by this gorgeous country and vowed I would be back as soon as I could.

Life goes on and with work and a third child, it has taken me 12 years to get back but I can assure you it will not be 12 years till my next visit. Twelve years of yearning for a place that feels like home, excitement and wonder all rolled in together. When I think why I have such a draw to Croatia, I wonder if perhaps it’s the limestone rocks and clear blue ocean reminding me of home and growing up jumping across rocks on Portland, a reminder of freedom. Perhaps it is the desire to jump in clear waters at every moment. With the warm Croatian sea, we could all happily swim and snorkel all day, every day. Perhaps it’s the friendly people, good food and sense of adventure. Croatia just ticks all my boxes and more.

There is a slight concern when re-visiting favourite places or showing these off to those you care about. Will it still be amazing? Have I remembered it correctly? Will my kids enjoy it too. I need not have worried, Croatia received a huge thumbs up from all three children too. They loved the warm water full of life and enjoyed the food.

There are lots of things you can plan to ensure a trip goes well. Sometimes, luck will be with you for an extra special surprise if you allow yourself to find it. Our extra special moment was finding comb jellies. Comb jellies are made of a jelly like tissue, similar to jellyfish, but they are not jellyfish. Comb jellies usually lack the stinging cells and instead have ‘combs’ to help them swim. These can look iridescent when they are swimming. The really cool thing about them though is that they produce light. We spotted comb jellies by their balloon shape, rather than semi-circle shape during the day. There was a bloom around the local beach where we were swimming. This is not a concern for swimming, they don’t sting and just float away from you. We knew they glowed so hoped that by coming back when it was dark, we might see them. Like chasing any marvel, there is no guarantee of sightings or glow when you are looking. As a family, we have spent many nights chasing glowing skies and animals and understand the rarity, this set our expectations low for a spectacle. On our first night exploring, we saw hundreds. Unfortunately, they were all washed up on the shoreline. There were plenty of people still swimming but none paying attention to these magical animals. Our children gently picked up those that were washed up and put them back in the sea. They felt slimy. The act of picking them up or a wave washing over them made them glow along their comb rows, like little LED lights. You could also see these light up patterns whilst swimming in the water at night. It was a magical evening. We tried to find them 2 nights later and couldn’t find a single glowing comb. It was a relief no further comb jellies were washed up. The kids had questioned the survival rate and future of the species if they got washed up every night in the quantity observed initially. What could be more magical than glowing animals under a sky of meteors?

The clear warm waters made snorkelling for hours possible and interest sustained by the variety of the underwater life. In between the swimming there were rocky scrambles to explore, quirky beach bars, olive oil tasting, plenty of water based inflatables and other activities and even a Roman amphitheatre.

Pula

Pula is a coastal city in Istria, Croatia. Pula is worth visiting for its well-preserved Roman ruins, especially the spectacular Pula Arena, its beautiful beaches and boat trips. There are many amazing places to eat here and stay.

Along the Stinjan coast, there are lots of rocky beaches and water activities including pedalo hire, kayak hire, paddleboard hire and inflatable courses.

Brijuni National Park

Brijuni national park is a collection of 14 islands off the coast of coast of Istria in Croatia. You can see Roman ruins in Verige Bay, safari park on Veliki Brijun, one of the world’s oldest olive trees thought to be over 1600 years old and warm waters teeming with life including dolphins. There is a ferry to the islands where you can take a tour or explore independently. We chose to explore the area by sunset boat tour with dinner and were rewarded by sea birds and dolphins.

Kamenjak Nature Park

Kamenjak nature park is a protected area located on the Premantura peninsula at the southern tip of the Istrian peninsula. You need to pay entry to enter the park, costing 15 euros per day. This can be paid online or at one of the entry gates. Inside the park, you will find the roads are not tarmacked. They are uneven, rocky and very dusty. Check your car insurance covers you to drive on these types of road. There are plenty of options to leave the car outside the park and walk, hire a bike or quadbike for use in the park. You will receive a map with your entry which will show you where the inflatable park and boat hire locations are and where the restaurants are located.

You will find amazing spots everywhere along this peninsula but our favourite was to go right to the end of the peninsula to the Safari Bar. The bar is hidden within the vegetation but contains a maze of private booths overlooking the sea and set within the vegetation and lots of play activities for kids. You could get cocktails, chilled drinks and hot food. Our favourite was cevapcici pronounced chiv-ap-chi-chi. It is like seasoned burger strips served with bread, raw onions and ajvar sauce (like a red pepper salsa). Even our pickiest eater enjoyed these. The park is also famous for dinosaur footprints imprinted into the stone. Our kid’s enjoyed comparing their foot size and stride length.

Plitvice National Park

The Plitvice Lakes National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site in central Croatia. It is famous for its cascading lakes, waterfalls, and vibrant and clear blue and green waters and really is the most beautiful place. Visitors can explore the park via a network of wooden walkways and hiking trails that wind around and over the water. Our kids thought this was really exciting and loved how it felt like you were part of the lake. We saw a swimming snake, lots of dragonflies and fish. This is also bear country and just knowing that is exciting. There are cafés spread out across the park but it is worth taking snacks or a picnic in case these are closed or the queues are large. We arrived at 7:30am and had an apple strudel breakfast at the park before making our way through the trails and boardwalks. There is an electric boat to shorten the walking distance for tired legs and options to take a shorter route. The full distance took us 7 hours to walk. We took a picnic but enjoyed ice cream half way and chips at the end. The toilets were welcomed and clean. You cannot swim in the lakes as they are part of a delicate ecosystem. It is about a 4 hour drive from Pula. We broke the journey up by stopping at one of the many beaches along the coast for a swim and lunch.

We did not have time for these locations on this trip, but enjoyed them on a previous trip and thought they were worth mentioning.

Kirka National Park – also a protected landscape with cascading waterfalls and restored watermills. There are well trails and boardwalks to follow. We spotted tortoises here and plenty of other wildlife.

Paklenica National Park – a protected area on the southern slopes of the Velebit mountain range in Croatia. It’s known for its dramatic canyons and exceptional geological features. It is a great location for hiking and rock climbing.

Zadar – A fantastic city for children. Our children particularly enjoyed listening to the sea organ. Followed by dancing on interactive lights on the ground.

Vransko Jezero National Nature Park – great for birdwatching with boardwalks taking you over the lake and swampy grounds.

When to go

Anytime will be beautiful. Spring and Summer for wildlife. Summer for warm water.

Activities for free

Walks (some of the parks have entry fees), snorkelling, swimming, wildlife spotting.

Difficulties

If you plan to drive on unpaved roads (in Kamenjak Nature Park), check your car hire insurance covers you. You can park outside the park and walk within it fairly easily. The road inside was rocky, dusty but mostly manageable in a regular car if you are sensible.

Top tips to keep the kids interested

It was very hot when we visited. We managed by swimming a lot, hiding from the midday sun in shade/inside and drinking regularly. The water was still lovely and warm at night with lit up areas in Pula for safe night swimming. We woke up late to avoid some of the heat, then stayed out in the evening instead. The mountain areas are usually cooler. We started our Plitvice walk early when it was cool enough to wear a jumper and avoid the crowds. Our kids loved Croatia and spent time playing adventure roll-play type games on walks.

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