The Telegraph: Europe’s Best Hidden Beach for 2016 is in Croatia

One of the UK’s leading newspapers says that you need to head to Croatia to find the best hidden beach resort next year…

The Telegraph have compiled a list of the Top 10 best secret beach resorts for family summer holidays, with Croatian beaches coming in at number 1 and 2 on the list.

Here is the Telegraph’s Top 10:

1. Palagruza, Dalmatia, Croatia

Palagruža (photo credit/tzkomiza)

Rising from the deep blue Adriatic, the remote rocky islet of Palagruza lies halfway between Croatia and Italy. Measuring just 4,590ft by 985ft, Palagruza’s arid slopes support scanty Mediterranean vegetation, and on its highest point (295ft), the lighthouse, dating from 1875, affords magnificent views over an apparently endless seascape. Through the centuries, many passers-by (who used the island as a reference point when navigating the open sea) were drawn to its glorious isolation. Archaeologists have unearthed fragments of painted ceramic vases and jewellery, dating from the 6th-2nd centuries BC, possibly intended as votive offerings, that were left by the ancient Greeks. Today Palagruza is uninhabited, but for the lighthouse keeper. Its two pristine pebble beaches, Stara Vlaka and Veli Zal, give onto shallow turquoise-blue waters, in total solitude. No one will bother you here – described The Telegraph.

2. Mljet, Dalmatia, Croatia

Mljet (photo/wikimedia)

A green refuge from Dubrovnik’s summer crowds, this undeveloped island offers dense pinewoods and two interconnected saltwater lakes. Contained within Mljet National Park, the emerald-green lakes are perfect for swimming (and normally a few degrees warmer than the open sea) and you can rent kayaks, too. Alternatively, hire a bike and cycle the 7.5-mile perimeter of the Big Lake, hike up to Montokuc (830ft) for fantastic views, and visit the 12th-century Benedictine monastery on an islet on the “Big Lake”. As most visitors to Mljet come on organised day trips from Dubrovnik, once the last excursion boat has left, tranquillity reigns. Just a few yachters stay overnight, putting down anchor in sheltered bays, then hopping ashore to eat the local speciality: lobster. French deep-sea explorer Jacques Cousteau was especially fond of Mljet – writes The Telegraph.

3. Anamur-Iskele, Turkey
4. Koufonisia, Greece
5. Paleochora, south-west Crete, Greece
6. Viveiro, Galicia, Spain
7. Cíes Islands, Spain
8. Comporta, Tróia, Portugal
9. San Pantaleo, near the Costa Smeralda, Sardinia
10. Notre Dame, Porquerolles, France