Slovenia’s deeply dramatic, handily compact coastline is alive with the ghosts of the Romans and the Venetians, with swathes of Italian influences, too. It is a littoral alive with bays and peninsulas that house its grand towns and cities like the terracotta-topped pair of Koper and Piran, but Mother Nature still holds sway in waters where dolphins play. There are beaches and hiking trails to explore, while the Piran Salt Pans, established in 804, have been the source of many wellness retreats, their rejuvenating waters and mud the ingredients of many thalassotherapy treatments in the area. Croatia’s coast is simply divine with more than 6,000km of coastline, including over 1,000 islands and islets. The Brijuni National Park in the Istria region is a northern archipelago star. There are busy isles too, like Hvar and Brač, but also hideaways like Lastovo. You will feel like Robinson Crusoe in the otherworldly Kornati islands. George Bernard Shaw could have been talking of all of Croatia’s islands when he gushed, “On the last day of Creation God desired to crown His work, and thus created the Kornati islands out of tears, stars and breath”. Croatia’s coast is blessed with world-class beaches, too, such as Zlatni Rat on Brač, Stiniva on Vis, and Pasjača near Dubrovnik.
