Is Croatia LGBTQIA+ friendly?

An LGBTQIA+ person is one who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, or questioning and for members of this community, travelling to Croatia is considered to be fairly safe. While there are still laws that victimise members of this community (largely due to the country's more catholic ideologies), LGBTQIA+ rights have come a long way with many bills also being passed to protect members against harm, abuse, and discrimination in recent years. These bills include the Same-sex Life Partnership Act (enabling same-sex couples to officially recognise their relationship before the law), the Gender Equality Act, the Anti-Discrimination Act, and the Media Act (prohibiting any program media from encouraging or glorifying inequality based on sexual orientation).

On a more social level, acceptance and support for the community have also strengthened with public displays of affection between same-sex couples no longer frowned upon in larger, metropolitan cities such as Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, and Rijeka. However, if you're travelling to lesser populated cities or more rural and conservative areas of the country, the same public displays of affection may be met with hostility. This hostility could manifest itself as insults, disparaging looks, and refusal of service so be mindful of that when you're out and about.

Queer culture in Croatia

Up until recently, Zagreb was the only destination that offered any kind of queer culture and while that's changed slightly, the vibrant city is still leading when it comes to gay-friendly venues. These venues include a range of bars, clubs, gatherings, and events with popular hang out spots being Funk Club, Kolaž, and Caffe Bar Kic Klub. Luckily for LGBTQIA+ travellers, more and more cities are getting on the gay-friendly bandwagon with bars and clubs catering for the community opening in Split, Rijeka, Osijek, Hvar, Rab, Rovinj, and Dubrovnik in recent times.

The cities of Zagreb and Split both organise and put on pride parades every year in June to coincide with pride month. These celebrations have been getting stronger and stronger each year with increased participation and sponsorship showing how far the country has progressed when it comes to embracing and accepting members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Solo travel and room sharing

As an inclusive tour operator, it's important to us that everyone who books a trip feels comfortable and welcomed, both in Croatia and in other destinations around the world. If you're travelling by yourself, we'll automatically pair you with a fellow solo traveller of the same gender (as detailed on your passport) for all accommodation throughout the trip. If this doesn't suit you or you're uncomfortable with this arrangement for any reason, please let us know at the beginning of the booking process. Individual rooms may be available on some tours if you'd also rather have a room to yourself.

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