Makarska sits on a horseshoe bay halfway between Split and Dubrovnik, with the BIOKOVO massif rising to 1,762 metres directly behind the town. The gap between the sea and the mountain is about two kilometres, and that compression is what makes the place.
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THE MOUNTAIN IS THE REASON TO COME HERE RATHER THAN TO ANY OTHER DALMATIAN RESORT. Biokovo is the second highest range in Croatia and it goes up almost vertically from the coast, which means you can swim in the morning and be in alpine limestone with a 1,500 metre drop below you by lunchtime. THE BIOKOVO SKYWALK, opened in 2020, is a horseshoe of glass floor cantilevered off the mountainside at about 1,228 metres, and it is the single most dramatic thing on this coast. Our Croatia travel guide for women covers the country.
THE SECOND THING IS THAT THE BIOKOVO ROAD NEEDS PLANNING RATHER THAN IMPROVISING. The park road is a narrow single-track climb of more than twenty kilometres with passing places, sheer unbarriered drops and sections that are effectively one-way, and ENTRY IS TICKETED WITH TIMED SLOTS that have to be booked, with a daily cap. Camper vans and larger vehicles are prohibited. It is not a difficult drive for a confident driver and it is genuinely frightening for a nervous one, and the alternative is a shuttle or a tour. CHECK THE CURRENT BOOKING ARRANGEMENT RATHER THAN A GUIDEBOOK, because the system has changed more than once.
THE THIRD IS THE RIVIERA, which is what the coast here is called and which is the real reason the town is busy: a string of pebble beaches running northwest and southeast under pine, at BRELA, BASKA VODA, TUCEPI and PODGORA, all within fifteen minutes. PUNTA RATA at Brela is regularly named among the best beaches in Europe. They are pebble, like almost everything in Croatia.
The Town, the Beaches and the Skywalk
A Franciscan monastery with a shell collection, a two kilometre pine-backed beach, and a glass floor 1,200 metres up.
MAKARSKA'S OLD TOWN is small: a waterfront promenade, the Kacic square with the church of St Mark, a morning market, and the FRANCISCAN MONASTERY at the eastern end whose MALACOLOGICAL MUSEUM holds one of Europe's better shell collections, which is a far odder and better thing than it sounds. The whole centre is twenty minutes to walk.
DONJA LUKA AND THE MAIN TOWN BEACH run west from the harbour under pines for roughly a kilometre and a half, which is the pleasant surprise of Makarska: the shade is real and it is the reason this beach works in August when others do not. OSEJAVA, the headland walk east of the harbour, is the best short walk at sea level.
THE SKYWALK AND THE PARK are a half day. Beyond the glass platform, Biokovo has the SVETI JURE summit at 1,762 metres, a botanical garden at Kotisina, and a road that climbs through four distinct vegetation zones. IT IS TEN TO FIFTEEN DEGREES COOLER AT THE TOP THAN ON THE BEACH and the wind is constant, which is the thing people get wrong when they drive up in swimwear.
FOR THE ISLANDS: a car ferry runs from Makarska to SUMARTIN on BRAC in about an hour, which makes Brac a comfortable day and is the quiet end of that island. HVAR is reachable with more effort via Drvenik or Split; our Hvar packing list covers it.
AND THE EVENINGS ARE THE POINT in a way they are not further north: the promenade fills, the restaurants put tables out, and the mountain goes pink behind the town at sunset. It is a resort and it is a pleasant one.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Split, Dubrovnik and the Dalmatian Coast
An hour to a Roman palace, two and a half to the walls, and islands in between.
SPLIT is about an hour northwest and is built inside Diocletian's palace, which is the most remarkable urban fact on the Adriatic. It is also the transport hub for the whole region, with the airport, the ferries and the fast trains.
DUBROVNIK is two and a half hours southeast along a coast road that is itself a reason to drive, THOUGH NOTE THE BOSNIAN CORRIDOR AT NEUM: the route crosses about nine kilometres of Bosnia and Herzegovina, so you pass two border controls each way and need your passport and the right vehicle documents. The alternative is the Peljesac bridge, which opened in 2022 and bypasses it.
FOR THE REST OF DALMATIA: the Trogir packing list covers the walled town west of Split, the Sibenik packing list and Zadar packing list the coast further north, and the Korcula packing list the island south. Inland, the Plitvice packing list covers the lakes, three hours north.
Getting around: Split airport is about 90 minutes and is the practical arrival point, with Dubrovnik roughly the same from the other direction. Buses along the coast road are frequent and cheap. A CAR IS USEFUL FOR THE RIVIERA AND NECESSARY FOR BIOKOVO unless you take a tour, and parking in Makarska in August is its own small ordeal.
When to Go
June and September. August is very hot and completely full.
A hot Mediterranean climate, warmer than the northern Adriatic: January and February 7 to 12C, July and August 24 to 31C and often higher, sea between about 15C in spring and 26C in late August, with rain concentrated from October to December.
JUNE AND SEPTEMBER are the answer. The sea is warm by mid-June and warmest in early September, the restaurants are open, Biokovo is comfortable rather than punishing, and the Riviera is busy rather than packed.
JULY AND AUGUST are hot, with inland temperatures above 35C and the beaches full from nine in the morning. This is the Central European holiday peak and prices roughly double. It is also the HIGHEST WILDFIRE RISK period, and the Biokovo road can close for fire.
MAY AND OCTOBER are quiet and good for the mountain rather than the sea, with the water too cold for most in May and a lot of rain possible in late October.
NOVEMBER TO APRIL is genuinely off-season on the Riviera: most seasonal restaurants and hotels close, the Biokovo road closes in snow, and the town reverts to its 13,000 residents. The coast is mild and the mountain is white, which is a striking combination and almost nothing is open.
AND THE WINDS MATTER HERE TOO: the BURA falls off Biokovo cold and violent and flattens the sea, while the JUGO comes from the southeast with warm wet weather and swell. A strong bura stops the Brac ferry.
Is Makarska Safe for Women Travelers
Very safe. The mountain road, the sea and the sun are the risks, and the FCDO has a taxi warning.
US State Department travel advisory: the Croatia advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/croatia, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
The FCDO publishes no advised-against areas anywhere in Croatia and no country-level warning, and it describes overall crime levels as low with violent incidents rare. Four named risks matter more than that reassurance suggests. Sexual assaults have occurred in taxis, and the FCDO's advice is practical: photograph the taxi's identification, share your ride status, and tell someone which car you are in. Overcharging, where visitors report being presented with inflated bills at certain venues and then threatened for payment. Wildfires through hot dry summers, which the FCDO calls highly dangerous and unpredictable. And LANDMINES AND UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE left from the 1990s war, which still affect Eastern Slavonia, Brod-Posavina County, Karlovac County, areas around Zadar County and the more remote parts of Plitvice Lakes National Park. The rule there is simple and absolute: stay on marked paths and roads, and do not walk into uncleared ground to photograph anything.
CROATIA IS ONE OF THE SAFEST COUNTRIES IN EUROPE and Makarska is a family resort within it. Violent crime against visitors is rare and a woman alone draws no attention. Petty theft is the ordinary summer pattern: bags on the beach while people swim, and the promenade crowds in August. The FCDO also notes that tourists have been heavily overcharged at certain clubs in Croatia and threatened if they refuse to pay, which is a nightlife caution rather than a Makarska one.
THE FCDO CARRIES A SPECIFIC CROATIAN WARNING ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULTS IN TAXIS, and its advice is concrete: photograph the inside of the car where the taxi number shows and send it to someone, share your ride status in the app, and make a call during the journey saying which taxi you are in and where you are going. Worth following for a late return from Brela or Tucepi.
THE BIOKOVO ROAD IS THE LARGEST PHYSICAL RISK HERE and it should be decided on rather than drifted into: single track for most of its length, sheer drops without barriers, blind bends, and a long way from help. Larger vehicles are banned. If you are not a confident mountain driver, take the shuttle or a tour, and do not attempt it in rain or low cloud.
THE MOUNTAIN ITSELF carries the ordinary alpine risks in a place that does not look alpine from the beach: THE FCDO ADVISES GETTING LOCAL GUIDE ADVICE FOR CROATIAN MOUNTAINS however tame they look, notes that the weather changes quickly even in summer and that overnight temperatures can get very low, and warns about getting lost on unmarked paths. Croatian Mountain Rescue is reached on 112. Biokovo is karst with sinkholes, almost no water and little shade.
THE SEA is steeply shelving pebble with sea urchins on the rocky entries, and lifeguard cover is partial and seasonal. WILDFIRE is the other summer risk and the FCDO notes Croatian fires are common, dangerous and unpredictable.
Croatia still has unexploded mines from the 1990s war and the FCDO names the areas. The affected ground is EASTERN SLAVONIA, BROD-POSAVINA COUNTY, KARLOVAC COUNTY, AREAS AROUND ZADAR COUNTY and the more remote parts of PLITVICE LAKES NATIONAL PARK. The instruction where it applies is to stay off uncultivated land, not to step off marked paths, and to take local advice if in any doubt. For most coastal trips this is background rather than a live concern, and the honest reason to carry it anyway is that the Zagreb road to the northern Adriatic crosses Karlovac County, and that Plitvice is on most itineraries.
Croatia is in the EU, so a UK Global Health Insurance Card or an EU European Health Insurance Card gives you state-provided medically necessary care on the same terms as a resident. That is not the same as free and it does not cover repatriation or a private clinic, so travel insurance sits on top of it rather than instead of it. Croatian public hospitals are good, the coastal cities have private clinics used to foreign patients, and a ljekarna handles minor problems without an appointment. Tap water is drinkable throughout. Jellyfish and sea urchins are the common summer complaint on the Adriatic, and swim shoes solve the urchins.
Socially this is relaxed and very international in season, with English, German, Czech and Polish all widely heard. Dalmatia is more conservative than the coast's beach culture suggests only in its villages and churches, where covered shoulders are the courtesy.
The Makarska Packing List
Something on your feet for pebbles and urchins
The first item on this coast. Every beach here is pebble, the rock entries are sharp and sea urchins are common. Our affiliate registry holds no uncontested water-shoe entry, so this is advice with no product attached: swimming shoes, or trainers you will not mind soaking.
A warm layer for the mountain, which is the Makarska item
The skywalk is ten to fifteen degrees colder than the beach with a constant wind, and people drive up in swimwear and regret it within minutes. Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and one long sleeve merino wool base layer for women plus a fleece mid layer turns a miserable twenty minutes at 1,228 metres into the best hour of the trip.
Proper shoes if you are walking on Biokovo
Karst limestone is sharp, loose and ankle-breaking, and the paths are variably marked. Walking shoes or boots with ankle support, not trainers, and not sandals under any circumstances.
A windproof layer
A packable rain jacket for women, taken for the bura and for the mountain rather than for rain, which barely falls in season.
Serious sun protection
A wide brim sun hat, high factor sunscreen and a long sleeve sun hoodie. The beach has pine shade, which is unusual and welcome; the mountain has none at all and you are 1,200 metres closer to the sun. We hold no sunscreen in the registry, so that is advice rather than a recommendation.
Water, especially for the mountain
An insulated water bottle and more than you think for Biokovo, which is karst and holds essentially no surface water. Croatian tap water is drinkable.
The small things
Sunglasses. A beach bag that closes. Cash in euros for the market and smaller konobas. Your passport if you are driving to Dubrovnik, because of the Neum corridor. And book the Biokovo slot before you arrive rather than hoping on the day.
Essential Resources for Women in Makarska
Emergency numbers: 112 for police, ambulance and fire, free from any phone including a locked mobile, with operators who will find an English speaker. It is the single number across the whole European Union.
Tourist police: Croatia deploys seasonal tourist police in the main coastal destinations through the summer, alongside the regular police, usually speaking English and German. 192 reaches police directly if you prefer it to 112.
Mountain rescue: the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, HGSS, is reached through 112 and covers Biokovo. This is the number that matters if anything goes wrong above the town, and the FCDO points to HGSS advice for anyone walking in Croatian mountains.
Main hospital or clinic: Makarska has a health centre and private clinics for routine and minor problems. THE NEAREST FULL HOSPITAL IS KBC SPLIT, about an hour and a quarter northwest, which is where anything serious goes, and that distance is worth knowing before a mountain day. For an emergency dial 112. A pharmacy is an apoteka.
Official health authority: the Croatian Institute of Public Health. Carry a UK Global Health Insurance Card or an EU card. Makarska has a health centre only, with the nearest full hospital KBC Split about an hour and a quarter away
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Zagreb.
Official tourism authority: the Croatian National Tourist Board. And with the Biokovo Nature Park authority, which operates the ticketed timed-entry system for the park road and the skywalk and closes it for fire and snow, plus the Makarska tourist board for the Brac ferry timetable
The Biokovo road is ticketed with timed slots and a daily cap, and larger vehicles are banned. Book before you arrive and check the current arrangement rather than a guidebook, because it has changed more than once.
It is ten to fifteen degrees colder at the skywalk than on the beach, with constant wind. This is the thing visitors most often get wrong.
The beaches are pebble with sea urchins on rocky entries. Footwear for the water is the first item on this coast.
Driving to Dubrovnik crosses nine kilometres of Bosnia at Neum, so carry your passport and the right vehicle documents, or use the Peljesac bridge.
Solo women safety assessment: Makarska is very safe for a woman travelling alone, in one of the safest countries in Europe, and it is a family resort rather than a party one. Violent crime against visitors is rare and a woman alone draws no attention; English, German, Czech and Polish are all widely heard in season. PETTY THEFT is the ordinary summer pattern of bags left on the beach during a swim and promenade crowds in August, and the FCDO separately notes that tourists in Croatia have been heavily overcharged at certain clubs and threatened when refusing to pay. THE ONE CRIME WARNING TO TAKE LITERALLY is the FCDO's on taxis, which records reports of sexual assaults in taxis in Croatia and gives concrete advice: photograph the inside of the car where the taxi number shows and send it to someone, share your ride status in the app, and make a call during the journey saying which taxi you are in and where you are going. That matters here for a late return from Brela or Tucepi. THE REAL RISKS ARE PHYSICAL. The Biokovo road is the largest: single track, sheer unbarriered drops, blind bends, a long way from help, and not to be attempted in rain or low cloud by a nervous driver, with a shuttle or tour the sensible alternative. The mountain carries ordinary alpine risks in a place that looks like a beach resort, and the FCDO advises local guide advice for Croatian mountains however tame they seem, notes the weather changes fast even in summer and that nights get very cold, and warns about unmarked paths; HGSS mountain rescue comes through 112, and the nearest full hospital is an hour and a quarter away in Split. The sea is steeply shelving pebble with urchins and only partial seasonal lifeguard cover, and wildfire is a real and unpredictable summer risk.
Reading On
For the country-level picture, start with the Croatia travel guide for women. For the islands and towns around it, read the Hvar packing list, the Trogir packing list, the Korcula packing list and, up the coast, the Sibenik packing list and Zadar packing list. For the northern Adriatic in this same batch, the Krk packing list. Inland, the Plitvice packing list. For why merino rather than cotton when a day runs from a 30C beach to a windy 1,228 metres, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
