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Wild Camping in Croatia

If you feel inspired to try wild camping, enjoy sleeping under the stars on the beach or seashore in Croatia, I must disappoint you:

As far as legal issues are concerned, according to current regulations, it is not allowed to camp outside designated camping sites and areas.

This kind of activity is regulated by the Croatian Tourism Act issued by the Croatian Ministry of Tourism.

According to The Act, camping outside legal campsites is forbidden and you can be penalized for it – currently, anyone caught passing a night or two in a vehicle or tent in unregulated and free-from-charge locations, can be fined up to 3000 HRK (Croatian currency).

According to the same Act, in cases of sport or cultural events, local authorities can, if they wish, designate areas where people can camp outside legal campsites, but this is a different issue…

Most of the people I see wild camping around the Croatian Coast do that in their motorhomes – they park their motorhome somewhere on the side of the road (usually at the spot with beautiful views) and spend a night or two there.

Tent at Croatian island
Tent at Croatian island

I also see people sleeping in their sleeping bags on the beaches or along the coast – this is also not allowed.

Currently, it is legal to ask the landowner to spend a night or two on his/her land. The landowner should not charge you for that. As this is considered a kind of ‘friendly gesture’, I never heard of anyone being prosecuted for that.

It is not that I want to encourage wild camping, but in my opinion, wild camping is ok, as long as you act responsibly and leave no trace of your visit behind you. However, my opinion is something private and you should act according to the law.

If you are interested to read the complete Acts that regulate these issues check here.

If you have a wild camp in Croatia, let us know about your experience at Camping forum