What's on in Makarska, Croatia through the year

Busy — Winter (Christmas) holidays in Croatia, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Bura season (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Bura season (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — Spring (Easter) holidays in Croatia, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Easter

  5–6 AprClosures

  Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are public holidays: most shops close, churches overflow for Holy Week services, and families gather for long lunches. On the coast many restaurants and guesthouses open for the season around this weekend, while others stay shut until May. Source ↗

Still on: Bura season (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Easter, Spring (Easter) holidays in Croatia

• Opening

  Biokovo park road season

  1 Apr – 31 OctTrail seasonBook early

  The mountain road and the glass Skywalk above the town are open from April to the end of October and shut for the winter. Only twenty cars go up each hour, so the slot is the thing to book, not the ticket. Source ↗

Still on: Easter (5–6 Apr)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Biokovo park road season (1 Apr – 31 Oct)

Busy — Summer holidays in Croatia, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Adriatic swimming season

  15 Jun – 5 Oct · usuallySea warm enough

  The sea here holds its warmth into October, which is why September is the local's answer: same water, half the sunbeds. The pebble beaches under the pines are the whole draw.

Still on: Biokovo park road season (1 Apr – 31 Oct)

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, Package-holiday peak

• Season

  Package-holiday peak

  5 Jul – 25 AugSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  Charter flights into Split fill the riviera for eight weeks and the coast road backs up at the changeover on Saturdays. Prices roughly double against June and drop again in the second week of September.

Still on: Biokovo park road season (1 Apr – 31 Oct), Adriatic swimming season (15 Jun – 5 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Package-holiday peak, Assumption Day, 15 August

• Holiday

  Assumption Day, 15 August

  14–16 AugNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  15 August, Velika Gospa, is a public holiday at the height of summer. Churches hold processions and masses, many shops close, and it makes one of the busiest weekends of the year on coast roads, ferries and in accommodation, so book crossings ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Biokovo park road season (1 Apr – 31 Oct), Adriatic swimming season (15 Jun – 5 Oct (usually)), Package-holiday peak (5 Jul – 25 Aug)

Busy — Autumn Leaves Jazz Festival, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Battle of Makarska re-enactment

  15–20 Sep · usuallyMajor festival

  A staged ninth-century sea fight on the harbour pier one September evening, with fireworks at the end of it. Small-town theatre rather than a spectacle, and free to stand and watch. Source ↗

• Festival

  Autumn Leaves Jazz Festival

  25 Sep – 10 Oct · usuallyMusic festivalCrowded

  About thirty concerts spread across fourteen venues in town over a week, with musicians from as far as Scotland and the US alongside Croatia's own scene — a quieter, smaller sibling to the town's August jazz weekend. Source ↗

Still on: Biokovo park road season (1 Apr – 31 Oct), Adriatic swimming season (15 Jun – 5 Oct (usually))

Busy — Autumn Leaves Jazz Festival, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Biokovo park road season (1 Apr – 31 Oct), Adriatic swimming season (15 Jun – 5 Oct (usually)), Autumn Leaves Jazz Festival (25 Sep – 10 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Hazard

  Bura season

  1 Nov – 31 Mar · usuallyWind seasonClosures

  The cold northeasterly falls off the Biokovo wall in winter and can shut the coast road and the island ferries for a day. Half the town is closed then anyway; it is a summer resort out of season. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Christmas closures, Winter (Christmas) holidays in Croatia

• Holiday

  Christmas closures

  24–26 DecChristmas & New YearClosures

  Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day on the 26th are public holidays. Most shops and many restaurants and museums close, public transport runs a holiday timetable, and Christmas Eve is a family evening with shops closing early. Source ↗

Still on: Bura season (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))