Camping tips: Camping directly at the surf spot - the best places in Croatia
Manuel Vogel
· 15.03.2026
Croatia is a dream destination for camping windsurfers: many beautiful bays, several reliable wind systems, good infrastructure and, above all, easy to reach from southern Germany. We have selected a few campsites for you that are located directly at the most famous surf spots in the region! Here you can go straight from your bed to the board without having to start the engine before your session!
This is just a selection, and perhaps you know of other spots that fulfil the "from bed to board" criterion and are worth presenting. If so, please send us your tips: redaktion@surf-magazin.de.
Even more camping tips:
Premantura
44.7972, 13.9187
The Premantura peninsula south of Pula is one of the absolute windsurfing hotspots on the Croatian Adriatic, as it is easily accessible and suitable for different wind directions. You are in good hands here, especially with a camper, as there are places right next to the spot where you can pull the rigged sail out from behind the camper and start your first manoeuvres less than two minutes later. As on Lošinj, the best time to visit is from March to June and from September to November. This is when the Bora from the east-northeast and the Scirocco from the southeast are most frequent and the temperatures are still pleasant in autumn and already very pleasant in spring. In midsummer, longer periods of gliding winds are less likely, but certainly possible.
Two ideal locations are the Stupice and Kažela campsites - both can be found via www.arenacampsites.com. Stupice is exposed on the peninsula, the bora comes onshore and brings some chop, the entry is in small gravel bays. When a depression approaches, the warm scirocco builds up - often over several days - bringing swell waves that are largely blocked by the offshore islands, so that no surf experience is necessary here. Tip for wave fans: Just south of Stupice, there is a solid surf wave at the Kamenjak spot when there is a strong south-easterly wind.
Camp Kažela is also ideally located, where the bora comes in sideshore from the left, here too with a bit of chop. Relaxed strokes are possible here, whether with a freeride or foil board. With a strong scirocco, Kažela even mutates into a real surf spot with a diagonal onshore wind from the left. The Arena Grand Kažela campsite has also long since developed into an upmarket site with pools, children's playgrounds and other sports facilities.
Nerezine/Losinj
44.6829, 14.39838
The island of Lošinj is relatively unknown among windsurfers. This is probably mainly due to the fact that the summer thermals here are weak and there is no reliable wind system in midsummer that would guarantee a regular gliding wind. However, Lošinj is a good (insider) tip in the early and late season, as the bora from the east-northeast and the warm scirocco from the southeast blow regularly from September until the beginning of winter and in spring until June. Both winds blow freely along the east coast of the island, which is around 40 kilometres long. Camping fans have two options here for finding a place to stay near the water.
On Campsite Rapoca in Nerezine you can relax under the pine trees. Scirocco blows constantly and slightly sideonshore from the right, bringing a moderate swell that invites you to freeride and make small jumps. Like everywhere else, the bora from the east-northeast is a little gusty and at this spot it comes from the left, diagonally onshore. There are small gravel bays to enter the water, but these do not offer any significant standing area. This is another reason why Nerezine is a tip for foiling, but only suitable to a limited extent for intermediates in strong winds. You should bring shoes, as the ground is stony, like almost everywhere in Croatia. There is a supermarket, cafés and restaurants in the nearby village.
Alternatively, you can go two kilometres further north, at Lopari Camping Resortrent. There you can also camp right by the water, and mobile homes are also available. Because the islands of Lošinj and Cres form a narrow channel here, the surf is a little more sheltered and the water remains smooth even in stormy weather, although it is also gustier than in front of Camp Rapoca when the bora blows. Lopari even has a small standing area and entry points with a pebble beach. Scirocco from the south-east also arrives well at the Lopari campsite, a moderate swell then runs into the channel from the right and the strokes over to the island of Cres are quite short. A small surf school is also open at the Lopari campsite in summer, and the nearby village of Osor is also worth a detour and offers nice cafés and restaurants.
Bol/Brac
43.2631, 16.6109
The Golden Horn ("zlatni rat") is as impressive as it is famous - on the south coast of Brac, the iconic pebble beach juts out into the deep blue sea. However, its popularity also makes for crowded beaches in summer and sometimes also for party noise. Things are much more relaxed around two kilometres further west, where the Aloa campsite (www.aloa.hr) is an ideal base for camping fans.
You stand on terraced pitches under pine trees and can quickly cool off in the sea, as the site is located right by the water, where you can enter via a small pebble beach. Although it quickly gets deep here too, intermediates can use the mornings when the wind is usually light to get out on the water. At lunchtime, the thermals from the west are extremely reliable and the wind picks up between the mountain ranges of Brac and the offshore island of Hvar. 12 to 20 knots of wind are the rule in the afternoons, so like Pelješac, Brac is not a strong wind spot, but it is very reliable. On the water, there are only small chop spots and plenty of space for freeriding or foiling. There are catering facilities and a surf school at the campsite, but the shopping options here are somewhat limited.
Peljesac
42.9786, 17.1083
The Pelješac peninsula is one of the most reliable thermal areas on the Croatian coast. The best time to visit is from May to late summer. When the weather is fine, a moderate westerly thermal is set in motion from midday, which is channelled between Pelješac and the offshore island of Korcula. Winds of 12 to 17 knots are the rule, which means that Pelješac is not a strong wind area, but it is very regular enough for foiling or windsurfing with larger sails. A great base for a surfing holiday are the Maestral campsites (www.maestral-camping.hr), Ponta and Antony Boy (www.antony-boy.com) in the village of Viganj, which are lined up next to each other and located directly on the water.
There is another similar set-up around 1.5 kilometres further east: in Kuciste. Here, the Palme campsites (www.kamp-palme.com) and Perna are also available in the immediate vicinity of the spot. This means you can sleep in and spend the morning with an alternative programme, and intermediates can also practice in light winds. The thermals pick up at lunchtime and usually blow until late afternoon. In the early and late season, there can also be days with strong winds - but then in the form of a scirocco, which channels itself between the mountains and brings some swell with it.
Dugi Otok
44.1544, 14.8224
Croatia's longest island is another insider tip for water sports enthusiasts. Here, too, the hot midsummer usually offers only light thermals and only irregular strong wind phases. In the early and late season, Bora and Scirocco get going, often for several days at a time. A good location is the Kargita family campsite (www.camp-kargita.hr) in the north-west of the island. The site is on the west side, so you can enjoy great sunsets and are relatively sheltered even when the bora is strong. The house beach is ideal for swimming and snorkelling, while surfing can be done in the lagoon a few hundred metres to the east. Depending on your location on the campsite, a small surf buggy can be helpful for transporting your equipment to the entry point (Haljina Dražica).
You can get in at the small gravel bay, but shoes are still no disadvantage here. The bora blows onshore here, but due to the headland in front, there are not many waves and the chop is short and steep. The lagoon is also known among sailors as a safe anchorage, so keep some distance from the boats. Even scirocco from the south-east is easily navigable in the lagoon, which then comes in sideshore from the right. Even then, drifting is hardly possible and there are no large waves. If you do want to be mobile, you can also surf in the surf at Scirocco: at Lopata Point (sideshore) or at Sakarun Beach (sideshore to onshore).
Manuel Vogel
Editor surf
