Croatia: Europe's new festival hotspot?

With its stunning coastline, glistening turquoise seas and soaring temperatures, Croatia is a perfect, yet  relatively undiscovered holiday spot.

And with a non-stop schedule of festivals over the Summer, it’s quickly becoming the destination of choice for clued-up clubbers looking for a chilled out escape in the sunshine.

From the world-class line up and huge parties of the behemoth Hideout Festival to the laid back, magical vibes of Electric Elephant, the month of July sees a festival take place over each weekend. Here’s our pick of the best that this stunning stretch of coastline has to offer:

Hideout Festival

1st - 4th July

Hideout may be the new kid on the Adriatic block, but they’re certainly not being shy about it. Indeed, the festival – the latest project from the formidable team behind The Warehouse Project and Parklife Festival - is steaming into the Croatian festival circuit with all soundsystems blazing and a huge, take-no-prisoners line up of dance music giants and exciting up-and-comers. With plenty of massive announcements yet to be made the programme is already looking impressive, with Sven Vath, Chase & Status, Pendulum, Annie Mac and Andy C just some of the names revealed so far. See the full Hideout line-up here, and keep checking back for more announcements.

For this festival the team have sourced a brand new location on the Isle of Pag, a small island just off Croatia’s coast with views out across the crystal clear Adriatic. There’ll be two large outdoor stages and one outdoor and one indoor nightspot with views directly over the sea, as well as two outdoor swimming pools. Artists and DJs will be performing from sunrise to sunset at special daytime events on the beach, numerous daily boat parties, as well as on the main festival site.

With a location like this, a line-up like that, and the incredible expertise of the Warehouse Project team, you can expect this to be one very special event. Tickets are selling fast, so if you don’t want to miss out we’d recommend getting yours now. 

Tickets for Hideout Festival

Garden Festival

6th -13th July

Next we come to Garden festival, which unfolds amongst the magical surroundings of The Garden in the small fishing village of Petrcane the weekend after Hideout. The original Croatian Music Festival, The Garden festival began in 2006 as a low-key affair for a few hundred people, but quickly spread by word of mouth to regularly attracting 2000 visitors. With live bands and DJs from all corners of dance music culture, the legendary Argonaughty boat parties and three arenas of music, it’s a small, laid back festival with a friendly vibe and a mixed crowd of well-worn clubbers and young dance music lovers. This year’s line-up so far includes Art Department, Adam regan, Adam Shelton, Different Drummer and loads more.

More about The Garden Festival

Electric Elephant

14th – 18th July

Kicking off a few days after Garden Festival packs up and goes home, Electric Elephant Festival takes place in the same beautiful Petrcane location, with many festival goers choosing to stick around and take in both festivals. Organised by Manchester clubbing legends The Unabombers, Electric Elephant is a gorgeous escape, a week-long utopia under the pine trees, stars and glistening sun of the Dalmation coast. A firm favourite amongst the Skiddle team, the festival is as relaxed and unassuming as a festival could possibly be, with three arenas of music sourced from three decades of dance, sunset boat parties and an onsite nightclub for anyone who wants to keep the party going all night. Oh, that’s all of you then.

Relax in the sunshine or beneath the pines, swim in the sea and dance into the night under moonlit skies amidst breathtaking surroundings. For families, it's a perfect place to bring the kids and unwind on the beach through the day and into the evening, for others it's a chance to let loose and party with soul mates old and new.

This year’s line up is as diverse as ever, with Derrick Carter, Andrew Weatherall, Horse Meat Disco, James Pants and loads more already confirmed to play. See the full Electric Elephant line up here. Tickets for the festival are just £85 and are available through Skiddle.

Tickets for Electric Elephant Festival

Soundwave

22nd-24th July

Rounding off an entire month of festivals at The Garden in Petrcane (well, if it ain’t broke..) Soundwave festival’s line-up has a strong focus on urban and world music as well as dance. Appearing this year are London chill-out masters Zero 7, as well as Roots Manuva, Belleruche, Little Dragon, Bonobo live, DJ Format and a whole host of established and up and coming acts. Tickets are priced at £89. Find out more about Soundwave here.

Words: Jayne Robinson

Photo: Electric Elephant by Katie Palmer