Zadar

Zadar is a Roman-walled peninsula that does two jobs well. The old town itself is compact and walkable: the oldest forum on the eastern Adriatic, the round 9th-century church of St Donatus built from reused Roman columns, the 183-step climb up St Anastasia’s bell tower for the best rooftop view, and at the western tip, Nikola Bašić’s Sea Organ and Greeting to the Sun, which turn the waterfront into a sunset event rather than a daytime tick-list. Two nights covers all of that without rushing.

The second job is what tips Zadar from a stopover into a base. It sits within easy reach of three of Croatia’s headline landscapes: Krka’s waterfalls about an hour south, the Plitvice Lakes about ninety minutes inland, and the Kornati archipelago a boat trip straight from the harbour. That is the case for staying 3-4 nights and hiring a car for the park days rather than chaining slow buses.

For a first trip, base yourself on the old-town peninsula or just across the bridge in Voštarnica for better value; Borik and Diklo are the quieter seaside picks if swimming matters more than walking into town each evening. The structured planning below — where to stay, the €5 airport shuttle, day-trip drive times and a realistic budget in pounds — picks up from here.