The Perfect Makarska Riviera Road Trip

The northern end of the riviera has a different character from what comes later. Baška Voda announces itself with a large paid car park and a former campsite area that has seen better days. The infrastructure is slightly worn, the signage for accommodation a little faded. The nude beach, however, holds up. A few minutes along the coastal trail to the right of the main beach brings you to a pebble cove with clear FKK signage and an easy water entry. The Biokovo mountains are already making their presence felt from here, and the relaxed atmosphere sets a reasonable tone for the days ahead.

Krvavica follows naturally: a 10-minute drive south, a park in the small town, and a left turn onto the coastal trail from the main beach. The clothes-free coves begin within 5 to 10 minutes — small, pebble-floored, sometimes intimate enough to feel private even when others are present. The quiet here is among the best on the northern riviera. No facilities on the nude sections, but the town’s bars and restaurants are within comfortable walking distance.

Makarska is where you base yourself for the middle section, and it earns that role. The town has the best accommodation offer, reliable parking, good restaurants, and two clothes-free options within walking distance or a short drive.

The northern Cvitačka cove sits roughly 2 to 3 kilometres along the coastal path northwest of town. It is small, well-shaded by pines, and consistently naked in practice. Mornings are the right time. The shade is welcome, the water is calm, the beach fills slowly. Walk both directions or use the tourist train on the return. The southern section of Cvitačka, closer to town, is mixed in character; continue past it.

Sveti Petar, the small peninsula in the heart of Makarska, offers a different kind of option: large concrete sunbathing platforms at the southwestern lighthouse tip, FKK-signed, with no shade and no facilities but exceptional convenience. It is functional rather than beautiful, and its main virtue is that you can walk there from your front door. On a rest morning, or for an early swim before the day’s driving, it serves the purpose well.

Two days in Makarska is right for this mid-point: time for each beach at the right hour, space for a slow evening, room to plan the next cluster without rushing.

These two beaches sit about 20 minutes apart by car and represent opposite ends of the riviera’s clothes-free reliability spectrum. Visiting them on the same day teaches more about the Makarska Riviera than anything else on the route.

Nugal comes first, arrive before 9am if possible. The cove is genuinely dramatic: limestone cliffs, pine cover, clear water. A 30-metre waterfall runs in spring. On a peak-season morning before the main crowd arrives, it is possible to swim naked and understand why this beach has the reputation it does. By mid-morning, the path from the car park above will have deposited enough clothed day-trippers to change that picture. This is a beach that rewards arriving early and leaving before the heat of the day. Come for the scenery; treat the nudity as a bonus rather than a guarantee.

Dračevac is where the day shifts. Drive south through Tučepi, park at either end of the beach, and walk the coastal trail to the southern FKK section. The designation holds. The Biokovo mountains fill the skyline behind you, pine forest meets the pebbles at the tree line, and water entry is straightforward. Bars and restaurants sit at the northern end of the beach. Spend the rest of the afternoon here. There is no compelling reason to leave.

Podgora is the quieter counterpart to Makarska and a sensible base for a day spent on the beaches to its north and south. Two clothes-free options here tell contrasting stories.

Garma lies north of town on the coastal trail and has the look of a beach that should work. The cove is well-formed, the setting is attractive, and FKK signs are posted. On a high-season visit it was heavily clothed. The smaller coves directly adjacent carry the same designation and see fewer visitors; if Garma itself is overrun, those adjacent stretches are the practical response and worth exploring rather than heading back to the car. In shoulder season, Garma is worth the stop on its own terms.

Čaklje is south of Podgora, reached by a rough descent from a small number of roadside parking spots on the main road. The path is not well-signed. The beach is rocky, the approach is unglamorous, and there is nothing on site. The clothes-free character here is a function of indifference from other visitors, clothed bathers do not make the walk, so the beach more or less belongs to those who do. For a day that began at the sociability of Dračevac, the silence at Čaklje reads as a deliberate contrast rather than a step down.

The southern end of the riviera is its quietest stretch. Both beaches here require something from you: rough ground at Drašnice, shallow rocky water at Ratac. Both return that effort with a quality of solitude that thz better-known beaches further north cannot match.

Drašnice is a small town with a nude beach at each end. Head for the southern option: a path from the edge of town winds through an olive grove, uneven underfoot and not suited to sandals, and delivers you to a cove that opens into a larger rocky main section. Flat spots exist if you look for them. No facilities, no shade structures. Outside high season this beach is genuinely quiet, and even in summer the approach keeps the numbers down.

Ratac, north of Igrane, is the final stop on the route. Several coves and small beaches make up this stretch, which means you can move along the coastline until you find a pocket of space that suits you. Pine shade is available. Views down the coast are wide. The water entry is the one challenge: shallow and rocky, uncomfortable without water shoes. Bring them, use them, and then settle in for a long afternoon. This is the kind of beach that rewards arriving with no particular plan and no immediate reason to leave. It is a good place to end the riviera on.