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The big rubber rafts that Dalmatia Rafting supplies for your trip down the Cetina River are comfortable and soft and you might be reminded of the deck chair or lounger that you left behind on the beach in order to come out for a drift down the river. The similarities will soon leave your mind.

While the first few hours of the trip start on a lazy, winding river, the second half of the trip takes you down serious rapids that require group maneuvers, life jackets, and helmets for everyone on board.

Even so, most of your time is spent drifting down the beautiful river canyons of the Cetina river and like Croatia rafting in general, the point of the trip is to enjoy the outdoors rather than prove anything to yourself or the river by going through the biggest or toughest rapids.

Rafting is popular on the Cetina river, but the best place to go if you want to drift through canyons and hit the whitewater is Karlovac. With three rivers converging within just a few miles, there are multiple trips you can take from your base camp at Karlovac.

If you do decide to run the rivers around Karlovac, your first day trip should be the Kupa river. The Kupa runs through Risnjak National Park, allowing you to see the park from the inside out and see the complete path of the river as it winds its way along. Unfortunately, the Kupa river is only high enough to raft during the spring.

Your second day of rafting should be on the Dobra River. The Dobra was the first river in Croatia to have commercial rafting trips grace its waters and is one of the most popular places to get wet with whitewater. It is also one of only two rivers in Croatia with category IV rapids, the other being the river Una which makes up part of the Croatia/Bosnia border.

Rafting in Croatia typically runs between 20 and 40 Euros per person per day. Longer trips get more expensive and a lot of the rafting companies compete with each other for the lesser number of tourists during the late spring and early fall, before and after the rush of tourists come to join their river expeditions.

If you only have one day or have limited time in Croatia, you may want to try combining a tour of the Plitvice Lakes park with a rafting trip down the Korana river. Tour Plitvice first for a day and be amazed by the marvelous waterfalls, then follow the water that you watched cascade the day before down through the river and toward the ocean. There may be no better way to feel like you really saw one of the most impressive sights Croatia has to offer.

There are two distinct stories of Brijuni Beach. The first is of a fairy tale secluded romantic getaway for lovers that brings two people closer together walking hand in hand on the soft sand as the sun sets and waves flirt with toes and the sounds of silence accentuate the conversation. Brijuni is often voted Croatia’s most romantic beach and sometimes one of the top beaches for couples in Europe.

The second story of Brijuni Beach is that of a circus or a zoo. Marshal Tito considered Brijuni his personal playground and now the island runs wild with the offspring of the many and varied types of wildlife that he brought to the island as amusement for the aristocracy that he hosted and entertained.

Zebras, horses, peacocks ostriches and other animals populate the island and because of the diverse wildlife, the island has been slower to be settled and developed than other islands in Croatia.

Staying on Brijuni is more difficult than on some of the more popular islands. Tours are often sold in conjunction with accommodations, so if you don’t have a hotel room booked on the island it can be difficult to get out to the zoological wonderland.

This may be part of what makes Brijuni so romantic. Because getting there is so difficult, you’ll often find your parties limited to just you two and a forest full of unnatural wildlife.

Although the island is located just off the coast of the Istrian Peninsula, getting to Brijuni can be tricky. The best way to get to the island is to book transportation through your hotel. This will require an overnight stay, but you cannot do Brijuni justice in one day or less. Once you’re on Brijuni, be sure to get to the Roman ruins on the west side. There are several tours that go through here on their way around the island.

Brijuni is tough to see on a budget but it can be done. The hotels and resorts are three, four and five star hotels with prices to match. Luckily each one is right on the water and worth every penny that you sink into the trip.

The best of these hotels is the Istra Neptun, which provides you with activities and things to do on your trip like cycling and wine tasting. The Istra Neptun runs at 123 Euros a night but offers comparable service with a five star resort at that price which is significantly less than what you would pay for a comparable hotel in Dubrovnik or on one of the islands.