What Are the Warmest Cities in Croatia?

Croatia is one of the most popular among tourists country in Europe. The most visited southern part of the country has relatively mild winters and dry, sunny summers. If you’d like to visit Croatia or move there and enjoy the highest average temperatures in the country, this article is for you.

I’ll share with you my list of the warmest Croatian cities with at least 4,000 residents. I’ll cover the top 10 in more detail and then present the entire ranking in a table with 22 major cities in the country.

Top 10 Warmest Cities in Croatia

Here are the top 10 warmest places in Croatia. The places are ranked by their annual daily mean temperature. Each city also includes temperatures in January and July. Croatia’s weather in general provides plenty of sunshine in the summer (offering ideal beach weather) and mild to cool conditions in the winter months.

1. Dubrovnik – 16.6 °C

The most internationally-known city of Croatia, Dubrovnik on the Adriatic coast, is the warmest city in Croatia. You can count on summer weather between May and October. In the shoulder seasons with fewer crowds, Dubrovnik still has relatively warm weather. In the winter proper, between December and February, average high temperatures are between 12-13 °C and drop to 7-8 °C at night.

This seaside town enjoys plenty of sunshine, receiving 2,668 average sunshine hours a year. Dubrovnik doesn’t have a typical Mediterranean climate because there’s too much precipitation in the summer to be qualified as such. Note that despite being the warmest city in Croatia, sea temperature is only comfortable between June and October.

Average high temperature in January: 12.3 °C

Average high temperature in July: 28.2 °C

2. Hvar – 16.55 °C

Hvar is an island in southern Croatia in the Adriatic Sea. Hvar is also the name of the largest town on the island. In the summer months Hvar gets slightly hotter temperatures than Dubrovnik. In the coldest months Hvar has the mildest winter days out of all places in Croatia. Temperatures are between 12-14 °C. Unlike Dubrovnik, Hvar does have a typically Mediterranean climate because it has drier summers and thus enjoys very sunny weather in the tourist season.

Average high temperature in January: 12.6 °C

Average high temperature in July: 29.5 °C

3. Split – 16.2 °C

Split is the second largest city in Croatia after Zagreb. It has notably lower winter temperatures than the previous two cities. Between December and February Split sees average daytime temperatures of 10-11 °C. While Split has hotter summer months, the temperatures already begin to get 1-2 degrees lower than in Dubrovnik or Hvar in early October.

Average high temperature in January: 10.4 °C

Average high temperature in July: 30 °C

4. Solin – 16.15 °C

Solin is a suburb town of Split. It features virtually the same climate.

Average high temperature in January: 10.3 °C

Average high temperature in July: 29.8 °C

5. Mali Lošinj – 15.6 °C

Mali Lošinj is a small town on the island of Lošinj, in the northern Adriatic Sea. Because it’s located in the most protected part of the Lošinj bay, it features a warmer and sunnier climate.

Average high temperature in January: 10.2 °C

Average high temperature in July: 28.4 °C

6. Zadar – 15.1 °C

Zadar is the fifth largest city in Croatia. It’s the biggest city near the national parks of Paklenica, Krka, and Kornati. Located on the Adriatic coast, it’s protected from the open sea by the Zadar archipelago. Zadar doesn’t have as hot summers as Split, with temperatures about two degrees lower. It also has slightly warmer winters.

Average high temperature in January: 10.8 °C

Average high temperature in July: 28.2 °C

7. Rijeka – 14.05 °C

Rijeka is the third most populous city in Croatia. Located on Kvarner Bay in the northern Adriatic, Rijeka is just 28 km south of the border with Slovenia. It has some of the coolest winter temperatures out of all cities on this list, with average high temperatures in the single digits.

Average high temperature in January: 9.1 °C

Average high temperature in July: 27.9 °C

8. Pula – 14.05 °C

Pula is the biggest city of the Croatian Istrian Peninsula. It’s located on its southwestern tip. It has the same average temperature as Rijeka but experiences slightly warmer winter days.

Average high temperature in January: 10 °C

Average high temperature in July: 28 °C

9. Labin – 14 °C

Labin is located in the Istrian Peninsula but on its eastern side and several kilometers inland. It has the coldest daytime winter temperatures out of all cities in this ranking. The town experiences warmer nighttime temperatures during winter than Pula. For example, average low temperatures in Labin are 3 °C while in Pula they’re 2 °C. In the summer, Labin doesn’t feature as hot weather as other cities on this list.

Average high temperature in January: 8 °C

Average high temperature in July: 27 °C

10. Knin – 13.4 °C

Knin is a small city in the Dalmatian hinterland, 110 km east of Zadar and 18 km from the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Knin has hot summers, with record highs up to a few degrees Celsius higher than in Dubrovnik, Zadar, or Split. If you want the hottest summers in Croatia, head to Knin.

Average high temperature in January: 8.9 °C

Average high temperature in July: 30.1 °C

Top 22 Warmest Croatian Cities Ranked by the Average Temperature

Here’s a table with 22 major Croatian cities that have at least 4,000 residents. Many cities are missing because I couldn’t find climate data for them. The data comes from several sources, but primarily from the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service.

You may also be interested in articles about the warmest cities in other European countries.

I also wrote an article on where it’s warm all year round in Europe. You may also want to read my article What’s the Hottest Country in Europe?