Croatia Food & Wine Tours
Croatia eats like three countries: Istria in the north is truffles, Malvazija and the world’s best olive oil; Dalmatia down the coast is black risotto, Plavac Mali and oysters from Ston; Zagreb inland is štrukli, market cheese and sparkling wine from the hills. This is our Croatia hub. Below are the top-rated food and wine experiences across the country, then our pages for Istria, Split, Dubrovnik, Zagreb and the wine areas, each comparing GetYourGuide and Viator experiences with our own notes on what to taste, when to come and how to get there.
Top-rated food and wine experiences in Croatia
Start with Istria: the Istria hub for truffle hunting, Malvazija and Teran wine tours and olive oil tastings.
Then the coast: Split for food tours and the Kaštela vineyards where Zinfandel was born, Dubrovnik for Pelješac wines and Ston oysters, Hvar and Korčula for island wineries.
And the capital: Zagreb for Dolac market, štrukli and Plešivica sparkling wine.
Food and wine in Croatia: how the country eats
Croatia is long and thin and its food changes with the latitude. Istria, the peninsula in the north, was Venetian and then Italian for centuries and eats like it: fuži pasta, truffles from the Motovun woods, wind-dried pršut, and olive oil that Flos Olei has named the best in the world nine times. Dalmatia, the coast from Zadar to Dubrovnik, is Mediterranean and stubborn: fish grilled with nothing but oil, black risotto from cuttlefish ink, peka cooked under an iron bell, and red wine from Plavac Mali on slopes that face the sea. Zagreb and the continental north are Central European: štrukli, turkey with mlinci, cottage cheese and cream from the market, and gemišt, wine cut with sparkling water. The experiences below follow those three Croatias.
Istria
The strongest food region in the country and the one most visitors underrate. Truffle hunts with dogs in the Mirna valley, wine tours through Malvazija and Teran country around Momjan and Buje, olive mills near Vodnjan, food tours in Rovinj and a market-to-table cooking class in Pula. See Istria food and wine tours.
Split and central Dalmatia
Split has the best food tours on the coast and a cooking class that has become a small institution; the Kaštela vineyards twenty minutes away are where DNA testing traced Zinfandel’s origin. Hvar’s Stari Grad plain and Korčula’s Pošip and Grk are an hour or two by boat. See Split, Hvar wine tours, Korčula wine tours and Dalmatia wine tours.
Dubrovnik and the south
Dubrovnik’s food tours run inside the walls; its wine tours run to the Pelješac peninsula, an hour north, for Dingač and Postup and the oysters of Mali Ston. Cooking classes happen in the Konavle valley to the south. See Dubrovnik and Pelješac.
Zagreb and the north
A capital with a great market, Dolac, and a food culture nobody flies in for and everybody enjoys: štrukli, sir i vrhnje, Zagorje wines and the sparkling wines of Plešivica half an hour away. See Zagreb and Zadar.
Croatian wine
More than a hundred native grapes, of which you need to know five: Malvazija and Teran in Istria, Plavac Mali on the Dalmatian coast and islands, Pošip on Korčula and Graševina in Slavonia. Our Croatia wine tours page maps the regions and the tours that reach them.
When to come
May, June and September are the months: warm sea, open kitchens, no August prices. Truffle season runs September to January with the peak in October and November, when the olive harvest and new oil arrive too. July and August are hot and full on the coast; winter closes much of it, though Istria’s truffle inland stays open. Ljubljana and Slovenia are two hours from Istria: see Slovenia food and wine tours.
Read next: Croatian dishes explained · Peka explained · What to eat in Hvar · Croatia food & wine road trip: Istria to Dalmatia
How we choose
We list only experiences with a strong rating over a meaningful number of reviews and free cancellation where available, and we favour small-group and family-run hosts. FindEatLocal earns a commission when you book through GetYourGuide or Viator links on this page; it doesn’t change the price you pay. More about how we choose.
FAQ about Croatia Food & Wine Tours
Frequently asked questions
Why Croatia for food and wine?
Because it is Italy’s neighbour across the Adriatic with its own grapes, its own truffles and a coast where the fish is still landed in front of the restaurant, at prices Italy stopped charging years ago.
Which part of Croatia is best for food?
Istria for truffles, wine and olive oil; Dalmatia for seafood and Plavac Mali; Zagreb for the market and continental cooking. Istria is the strongest single region.
What food is Croatia known for?
Truffles and pršut from Istria, black risotto and peka on the coast, Pag cheese, Ston oysters, štrukli in Zagreb, and wines from Malvazija, Teran, Plavac Mali and Pošip.
When is the best time to visit Croatia for food and wine?
September for harvest, warm sea and the start of truffle season; May and June for asparagus, new Malvazija and empty beaches; October and November for truffles and new olive oil in Istria.
Do I need a car in Croatia?
Not for the cities or the islands; tours collect you in Rovinj, Pula, Split, Dubrovnik and Zagreb. A car helps in inland Istria if you want to stay in a hill village.
Is Croatia expensive?
Dubrovnik and Hvar in August are; everywhere else, food and wine experiences cost noticeably less than in Italy, and Istria in truffle season is a bargain.