Snorkeling in Croatia is quite popular pastime for many tourists. Although the Adriatic sea is not filled with colorful fish and coral reefs abundant in life, snorkeling in Croatia is quite fun!
From the inlets of Istria to the clear waters of Dalmatian coast and islands, fish, anemones, crabs, ship wrecks…all wait for explorers of all ages!

Since our coast is mostly rocky, the visibility is great in all areas. This also enables for plenty of places for small fish and various underwater animals, to hide and live. Certain areas are better than the other but, in general, expect lots of small fish like many different species of goby (or glamoč or glavoč as called in Croatian)

All sorts of sea shells are also quite common and, in the grassy underwater fields, expect to see cuttle fish and squid (depending on the season). On sandy beaches, small flounder can be seen quite often (list – in Croatian)

When it comes to historic remains, many shipwrecks left traces all over the coast. I have found broken medieval bottles at only 6 ft and remains of ancient pottery. But, if you even see something like that, leave it! If you are looking for “real” shipwrecks, take the SCUBA classes and dive to some of Europe’s most interesting wrecks as Croatian coast has it all: from the “field” of amphorae near Cavtat to 17th century brig near Kornati and even the remains of the British and American WW2 bombers near Vis…

To me, especially beautiful are the different species of sea urchins!

But more common are these black sea urchins that everyone should watch out for and be careful not to step on them with bare foot or touch them hard. The spines then get under your skin and, if not removed fast, can cause some problems.

But good thing about the sea urchins is that they live only in clear and good waters where is no pollution!
Sometimes they “infest” big parts of the beach and some people just throw a little bit of copper(II) sulfate to chase them away 🙂

Another beauty that can hurt you is a common Snakelocks anemone.

Snorkeling is a lot of fun and a very safe way to enjoy the beauties of the Adriatic for entire families. Get one of these inexpensive plastic housings for camera and enjoy even taking photos!

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