Easter 2027 in Croatia

Easter Sunday 2027 is 28 March and Easter Monday 29 March. Both are non-working days. Good Friday, 26 March, is not a state holiday, so shops and offices keep normal hours, even though churches hold services all day.

What is closed

• Shops and offices are shut on Sunday and Monday; larger bakeries and shops in tourist areas often open for a few hours.
• Ferries run to the holiday timetable, with fewer sailings than on a weekday. Check the schedule the day before.
• Restaurants in tourist towns stay open, often with a set Easter menu. Book ahead for Sunday lunch.

What goes on the table

On Saturday morning families take a basket to church to have the food blessed: cooked ham, hard-boiled eggs, spring onions, horseradish and bread. That is Sunday breakfast. Alongside it comes pinca on the coast and sirnica inland, and the eggs are traditionally dyed red.

Holy Week processions to see

The most distinctive Easter custom is on Hvar. On the night before Good Friday, 6 villages in the middle of the island, Jelsa, Pitve, Vrisnik, Svirče, Vrbanj and Vrboska, each send out a procession led by a barefoot cross bearer. The 6 groups walk a 25 km circuit through each other's villages and are home by dawn. The custom, Za Križen, has run for over 500 years and was listed by UNESCO in 2009. You can watch from any of the villages. Bring a torch and warm clothes, as village shops are shut overnight.

Korčula town holds Good Friday processions run by its 3 brotherhoods. Hooded members carry candles and heavy crosses through the old town. Dubrovnik has its own Good Friday procession inside the walls. In Zagreb, the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening and Sunday morning Mass fill every church in the centre. Services are in Croatian and churches are full, so arrive early if you want a seat. Dress modestly: covered shoulders and no shorts.

Getting there in late March

Easter 2027 falls before the main flying season. Zagreb has year-round flights from London and the big European hubs. Split and Dubrovnik keep a smaller winter schedule, and many seasonal UK routes only start around Easter, so check your dates. From North America and Australia you will connect through a European hub. The daily train from Zagreb to Split runs all year and coaches link every larger town, both on a reduced timetable over the holiday. For Hvar, take the car ferry from Split to Stari Grad or the catamaran to Jelsa. Drivers should expect heavy traffic towards Zagreb on Easter Monday afternoon.

Where to stay over Easter

Coastal hotels use Easter weekend as the start of their season, so the larger hotels in Split, Dubrovnik, Opatija and Hvar town are open, while smaller family hotels and many apartment rentals do not open before May. Book well ahead for Hvar on the procession night. Jelsa, Vrboska and Stari Grad have few beds, and families returning for the walk take most of them. In Zagreb, stay within walking distance of Ban Jelačić Square and the Upper Town, so you can reach churches and cafés on foot while trams run the Sunday timetable.

Easter Monday and painted eggs

Easter Monday is a family day. Families eat out or walk in the hills, and the egg-tapping game, tucanje, settles who has the strongest red egg. In Koprivnica, naive artists paint eggs about 2 m high, and they go on show on Ban Jelačić Square in Zagreb before Easter. Lamb roasted on a spit is the holiday lunch in Dalmatia and the hinterland, and roadside restaurants through Lika sell it by the kilo. Inland, expect roast meat with mlinci, thin baked pasta sheets, and walnut or poppy seed rolls for dessert.

Practical notes for the weekend

Late March is early spring. The coast sees daytime temperatures of around 12 to 17 degrees with cold nights, and the bura wind can drop them sharply for a day or more. Zagreb and the interior are a few degrees cooler and rain is common. The sea is around 13 to 14 degrees, too cold for swimming, though the beaches are empty for walking. Pack layers, a rain jacket and proper shoes for the Hvar night walk.

• Croatia uses the euro. Cards work almost everywhere, but keep cash for bakeries, markets and village bars.
• Pharmacies keep a duty rota over the holiday. The nearest open one is listed on every pharmacy door.
• Motorway fuel stations stay open. Village stations may close on Sunday, so fill up on Saturday.
• Children are welcome at the processions, but the Hvar walk is long and cold. With younger children, watch the start or the return in one village.