7 Nude beaches in Croatia that you shouldn’t miss

Croatia has hundreds of nude beaches. We know this because we’ve spent a significant amount of time working our way through them, on boats, on foot, on questionable paths that turned out not to be paths at all. And the truth is, not all of them are worth the effort. Some are beautiful but almost impossible to reach. Others are signposted as FKK but turn out to be a single flat rock with room for three people.

So this is the edited version. Seven beaches that we’ve visited ourselves, spread across five different regions from the Kvarner islands in the north to the Makarska Riviera in the south. They’re all free to enter. Everything on this list costs you nothing to access.

Rab is one of those islands that has been drawing naturists for nearly a century, and Kandarola Bay is the reason why. It sits at the southern end of the island near the town of Rab itself, and it operates as a nude day resort. This means no overnight stays, but during the day you have access to sun loungers, parasols, a beach bar, a restaurant, a volleyball court, and a small pool. All of it clothes-free.

For us, who usually show up with nothing more than a towel and a bottle of water, it felt almost luxurious. You can rent a sun lounger if you want one, or you can claim a spot on the rocks and spend the day ignoring the sun loungers entirely. The water here is beautiful, and the bay is sheltered enough to stay calm even when the wind picks up further out.

What stays with you about Kandarola is the atmosphere. People are relaxed in a way that only happens when a place has been doing this for a very long time. There’s no awkwardness, no novelty-seeking crowd. Just people who came here to enjoy a very good nude beach, and are doing exactly that. Unsurprisingly, many of them come back the next day. We did too.

The northern tip of Rab is a completely different world from the polished bay at Kandarola. Near the village of Lopar, the coast becomes something rare in Croatia: Sandy. Most of the Adriatic coastline is pebbles and rocks, so stumbling onto actual sand always feels like a welcome surprise.

Stolac is the main clothes-free beach in this part of the island and consists of three sandy coves side by side, with FKK signs on the rocks and along the paths so you always know that’s you’re at the right place. There are no facilities here at all, no bar, no lounger rental, nothing. You bring your own supplies, you pick your cove, and the day is yours.

From Stolac, a coastal trail leads to another beach called Sahara, about thirty minutes on foot. The whole walk can be done naked, which somehow makes it feel even more like a proper adventure.

Most people associate Pag with two things: salt flats and summer parties. Both are accurate. What fewer people mention is that Pag also has one of the most spectacular nude beaches on the Adriatic.

Bay Bok opens up like a fjord. The hills close in on either side, the water is completely still, and the sandy floor turns the whole thing a shade of blue that looks unrealistic in photos and even in person.

The clothes-free section of the bay has its own reliable rhythm. The naturists settle on one side, the swimsuit crowd takes the next cove over, and the two coexist without any drama. Even in peak season, the clothes-free section holds its own. We’ve visited in July and found it exactly as it should be.

We visited several naturist resorts in Istria and most of them have a beach that well deserves a spot in this overview. But that would be unfair advantage. So instead, we’ll give you an Istrian nude beach that’s not part of one of the huge naturist campgrounds.

Cape Eva is located just outside the town of Rovinj, which is one of the most beautiful towns in Croatia, and it’s unlike any other clothes-free spot we’ve visited anywhere. There’s no sand and no pebbles. Instead, Cape Eva is a large lawn under olive trees. People reading, napping, talking, all of it naked, all of it in the shade.

After a few weeks of shuffling across sharp rocks in 35-degree heat, Cape Eva felt almost comically pleasant. We kept wondering why they didn’t create more places like this.

If you’ve looked at any Croatia travel content, you’ve seen Zlatni Rat. It’s that famous triangular beach on Brač that ends up in every guide, and every Instagram reel. Well, except ours because the truth is that we never visited this island (yet). But our friends Kasia & Kornel from Naturystka did and told us that we just HAD to put this beach on the list.

Seen from their footage, it is genuinely beautiful with fine pebbles that grade into almost-sand, extraordinary water, a dramatic shape that shifts slightly with the currents.

Paklina runs for about 300 metres beside Zlatni Rat, with two main coves and a string of smaller ones. It’s not the most private beach on this list, as you’re close to one of Croatia’s most visited spots, but the water quality and the ease of access are hard to argue with.

By the time we reached the Makarska Riviera, the heat had become something we were actively negotiating with rather than just tolerating. Nick, who under normal circumstances approaches the sea with a certain caution, was in the water constantly. That tells you something about temperatures on the Makarska coast in summer.

Krvavica is the beach we would pick if the goal is to actually get away from people. It’s a series of small rocky coves tucked into the coastline, and because each one is small, you can easily find one just for you. There are no facilities, no umbrellas for hire, no bar. Just rocks, trees, and sea.

If Krvavica is the quiet option on the Makarska Riviera, Dračevac is the spectacular one.

It’s a long pebble beach between the towns of Tučepi and Podgora, clearly signed as FKK, with a bar and restaurant on the beach and a clothes-free section that holds firm even through the peak of summer.

But what makes the setting at Dračevac really memorable is what’s behind you. The Biokovo mountain range rises almost directly above the beach. Pine forest runs down the slopes in front of it. You’re lying on pebbles at sea level, looking up at a wall of mountain. It’s the kind of setting that makes you feel very small in the best possible way.

We spent a long afternoon at Dračevac, in and out of the water more times than we could count. For size, consistency, and sheer setting, it’s the most impressive clothes-free beach on the Makarska Riviera, and one of the best on this entire list.