Running on holiday in Croatia

As you may have seen elsewhere on the blog, I love to run while on holiday. For me it’s a great way to start the day and a novel way to discover new sites. In Croatia I went running in Dubrovnik, Korcula, Hvar and Zagreb. Here are some tips and ideas if you’re interested in including running in your trip!

Dubrovnik

We stayed in the Old Town in Dubrovnik. You can definitely run through the Old Town, but I’d recommend going early (before 7:30am) to avoid both the crowds and the heat. I ran along the Stradun, through the Pile Gate, round the port in the Old Town and also out through the Ploce Gate and in the direction of Banje Beach. There were a few other runners out and about which was nice! I ran in mostly pedestrianised areas and the biggest hazards to watch out for were delivery trucks and wet or uneven paved ground.

For runners who want a challenge, you could run up Mt Srd. This would be quite a challenging run but the views at the top would be great!

Korcula

We stayed a few hundred metres out of the Old Town in Korcula. I enjoyed running along the water and around the promenade around the Old Town. I did have to run on roads for some of the time, so made sure to face oncoming traffic and take it easy around corners. Again the biggest hazard was slippery cobblestones/pavers underfoot. 

Hvar

Hvar was one of the easiest places to run! We stayed in Hvar Town, and found there to be an excellent walking path extending along the coast either way from the port. This made for flat and easy running. One day I ran west, as far as Falko beach bar. The other day I set off east and ran around the headland towards Pokonji dol Beach (you could add in a swim if keen!). I’d also recommend going running early as it gets reasonably busy with foot traffic and at least some of the path will be in the sun whichever way you go.

Zagreb

We stayed in the centre of Zagreb. As it’s quite a bustling city, I decided to mostly run in a park so I didn’t have to wait at traffic lights and cross roads. I ran in Park Ribnjak, which had nice gravel walkways. I did a few circuits of the park. An added bonus was seeing a lot of dogs out for their morning walk! Zagreb has a lot of parks which give lots of good running options.

General tips

I’d recommend taking a decent pair of running shoes, as I often found myself running over slightly uneven pavers or cobblestones. I’d also recommend using an app like Strava to record your runs – it’s fun to look back on later to see where you’ve been!