Jane Graham, a mother of four, gives us her take on indie travel in Croatia where great beaches, simple restaurants, and a laid-back mentality make for a destination that while not always child-equipped, is certainly child-friendly

Let’s be honest, taking a family vacation can sometimes be a far cry from the relaxing beach getaway you’d hoped for, especially if you opt to travel independently. There’s no babysitting service, and everything you do at home (including laundry) still needs to get done.

Even so, you shouldn’t be put off by well-meaning relatives and friends, who may suggest that once you’ve got kids, you’ll need a charter firm to take care of it all. Routine may be fine for 11 months of the year, but kids thrive on novelty and react badly to rigid itineraries and guidelines on vacation. Finding a country everyone likes, where there’s room to accommodate everyone’s wishes, can make all the difference. For our family, that country’s Croatia.

While English-speaking travelers have been slower to seek out the charms of this Baltic country, German, Slovenian, Austrian, and Italian visitors have been coming in increasing numbers every summer since the war ended. With its warm Mediterranean climate, great resorts and beaches, clear blue sea, beautiful islands, and rough and dramatic landscapes, Croatia certainly rivals its Mediterranean neighbors as a top destination.

As a child-friendly destination, it excels, though it should be noted that Croatia is child-friendly rather than child-equipped. While you might be given a high chair in a restaurant, baby travel beds are few and far between (and often retro communist in style) and changing facilities are almost non-existent, but you’ll get by just fine without these things, spurred on by the warm welcome your children receive.

Traveling with four kids, we found Croatia’s Catholic heritage worked in our favor, particularly with the older generation, who were pleased to see our very visible promotion of large families. At a gourmet restaurant in Stari Grad, the husband-and-wife kitchen team had our children crawling across the 500-year-old stone flagged floor with their own kids, while a gently teasing waiter’s jokes never seemed to get old, not even on the third occasion we dined there. Let your kids find their own “funny man” waiter, and they’ll want to eat in the same konoba every night.

In some countries, the term ‘public beach’ often refers to a place you’d want to avoid. In neighboring Italy, for example, almost all the decent beaches seem to be attached to hotels.

Not so in Croatia, with its communist legacy, where land is rarely privately owned. These wonderful, public beaches, often sheltered by the islands of the Adriatic, rarely face open sea, and the shallow water is great for smaller kids to paddle in. On islands like Losinj and Hvar, natural shade is provided by pine forests that stretch right down to the bay, and the walk back to the house is accompanied by the chirping of cicadas and the sweet scent of pine cones.

Eating out is easy in Croatia, even with kids, and fairly cheap. Most towns, even the smallest ones, will have a broad sweep of cafes and restaurants with outdoor space, usually along the riva waterfront or in small, ancient squares. Groups of kids playing boisterously while their parents finish eating are a common sight.

Meanwhile, the food is great for kids.  Try them on one of the country’s specialties, cevapcicis – lightly spiced meat sticks that all children seem to love. Pljeskavica meanwhile is similar to a burger, while raznijici are bite-sized pieces of pork meat on skewers.  And don’t forget the old stand-by served in almost every restaurant – pizza!

A word of warning about cafe prices:  While beer and wine may be cheap, soft drinks and juices can get expensive when you’re buying a family round. If you can, encourage your kids to drink water, bottled or tap (either is perfectly safe to drink).

Give the generic, overpriced supermarket ice creams a miss and treat your kids at a slasticarna, or ice cream parlor, at least one of which can be found in every town. Cheap, wonderful Italian-style gelato ice cream and free entertainment from those who serve it is available all around Croatia. In Supetar, the man tossing his ice cream into the air and catching it in the middle of the road had my kids enthralled and in fits of laughter when he missed.

Despite its upward mobility within Europe, Croatia still retains that wonderful, Slavic devil-may-care attitude, an Eastern-European scruffiness that makes it ideal for independent travel. Croatian culture embraces finding a way to do it yourself, and what’s great is that although it’s still a fairly poor nation, it’s one that eagerly welcomed the Internet very early on, so when it comes to broadband, it’s very well connected. Those looking for a WiFi connection will find one in most hostels and hotels and many cafes.

When to go: If you can, try to come slightly off-season. The intense heat of August can be too much for smaller children, and the crowds can make moving around harder. In June, for example, restaurants are much friendlier and beaches less busy.

Do you travel with your kids? Have you been to Croatia? Share in the comments section.

Read more about Croatia and family travel in the links below:

The Amazing Coastal Towns of Croatia

Family Health and Safety on a RTW Trip

How a Family Packs for Long-Term Travel

Photo credits: Shutterstock.com, Nadezhda1906 /Shutterstock.com, Nadezhda1906 /Shutterstock.com, Nadezhda1906 /Shutterstock.com, Nadezhda1906 /Shutterstock.com, Darios.