Why Makarska Public Beach was a Bad Idea

You guys know how I love Croatia. And when I say love, i mean ADORE, ADMIRE and TREASURE it as much as I can! This is why this post is so hard for me to write. Because until now, I’ve been writing odes and hymns about this country, and this is the ONLY bad experience I’ve had so far. Makarska was a total let-down. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about the city, but specifically about the Public Beach, where we stopped on our way back home after a heavenly week of crystal-clear water, rich seal life, serenity and the best memories. We thought we’d stop just one more time (as leaving the country became extremely difficult after such a wondrous week), so we could enjoy ourselves once more before we hit the road that led to the border. As we were walking down towards the beach, we found ourselves passing by a huge, never ending bazaar, where they sold everything from sunglasses to water guns (and a surprising amount of non-Croatian, non-beach related things – one of us even found a Christmas ornament-in August!!!). We finally got to the beach after about an hour of wandering around, and this is what we saw:

mountains & the sea = the perfect combination!

Makarska Public Beach

Okay, we thought, there wasn’t a big crowd (it was 7 p.m), the water looked great, and the party boat in the background made even the people on the land dance, so, evidently our mood grew even bigger. After this scenario, disappointment seemed impossible. It hit me hard as I struggled to get into the water, because the current was so strong, it kept pushing me back ashore. I thought to myself that it must be because of the boat, so I went in. And the disappointment began:

– the water was surprisingly dirty, compared to what we were used to back in Hvar (it must be because of the big amount of people that come here daily, and also because of the boats)

– as I got more in, it was getting harder and harder to see with goggles, and the water became even messier. I was looking around for some kind of animal life, but even after more than an hour, Arpi came up with a cockle and a seastar, and that was kind of it. I, personally, didn’t see even one sea creature, and I was very disappointed

– not only the water, but the beach was also filled with garbage and there were very few garbage cans (a thing that they should look after in the future)

– after half an hour of searching without any results, I gave up and got out of the water (the first time I didn’t like it in the water in Croatia)

– all I wanted to do is take a good shower and wash away the salt, but after you put some Kunas in the shower “toll”, you have a mere 30 seconds to do your thing, after which it stops and you get to pay another fee for additional showers. I was “lucky” enough to not have any more Kunas, so the ride home wasn’t very comfortable (I was itching both from the salt and from the shower cream)

But enough of the bad stuff. Let’s see something that was pretty cool:D

changing room also used as advertising space- clever!

sunset in Makarska

These two things turned the situation around a little bit, so with the image of the beautiful sunset in my mind (and an ice cream in my hand), I was sad to leave Croatia behind. When I got home, I talked to others who were also in Makarska, and they said they had a great time and everything was clean (at another beach, though). So don’t you dare skip it if you’re in the area, just choose better than we did! 😀

Related posts:

Treasures of the Adriatic Lim Fiord through my lens Hvar from the “Vár” Our Personal Holiday