The festival season in Croatia in 2011 was truly epic and will take some beating...but we think all the festivals (and attendees, of course) can do it! The big news is that all of festivals previously held in the village of Petrcane have moved to the town of Tisno, which is located roughly halfway between Zadar and Split. Read up more on the individual festival guides below!
Festivals in Croatia 2012
Umagination Umag, 1st - 3rd June 2012
After last year's top name acts - Tiesto and Rev Run - some big names are also expected for this year!
Echo Festival Makarska, 22nd - 24th June 2012
A new festival for Croatia for 2012, an intimate and friendly dance music festival in the beautiful setting of Makarska.
INmusic Festival Zagreb, 28th - 30th June 2012
A perfect festival to combine with a long weekend in Croatia's capital!
Hideout Festival Novalja, island of Pag, 29th June - 1st July 2012 A great success in its first year in 2011, Hideout returns bigger and better for 2012.
Garden Festival Tisno, 4th - 11th July 2012 A brand new venue for 2012 for what will surely be the best Garden Festival yet!
Electric Elephant Tisno, 12th - 16th July 2012 Set yourself up for almost two weeks of Croatian coastal partying by attending both the Garden Festival and Electric Elephant directly afterwards!
OHM Festival Hvar, 14th - 21st July 2012 Another new event for this year, the OHM Festival brings together some of the world's best house DJs for a week long party on Hvar!
Seasplash Festival
Pula, 19th - 22nd July 2012
An eclectic mix of musical genres and acts appear at Seasplash each year.
Soundwave Festival Croatia Tisno, 19th - 23rd July 2012 More fun in the sun in Tisno at the fourth Soundwave Festival!
SuncéBeat Tisno, 27th - 29th July 2012 Brought to you by the people behind Southport Weekender, the third SunceBeat also moves venue for 2012!
Stop Making Sense Festival Tisno, 2nd - 6th August 2012 SMS wraps things up for the Tisno events this summer - and will be sure to make things go out with a bang!
Terraneo
Sibenik, 7th - 9th August 2012 Terraneo returns for its second year with a cracking line-up!
Outlook Festival Pula, 30th August - 2nd September 2012
Dubstep delight in a wonderful old fort just outside Pula - a great way of rounding up the Croatian festival season.
(But hold your horses - now there's another end-of-season festival, see below!)
Dimensions Festival Pula, 6th - 9th September 2012
The little sister of Outlook (see above), Dimensions is an electro music festival held in the same great venue.
Tisno - you could be here!
Some festivals have yet to announce their full plans for 2012. As such, we've left last year's pages live so you can still start your travel planning right now. We will update these pages as soon as fresh info becomes available!
Festivals in Croatia 2011 Mars Festival Zagreb, 10th June 2011
Other Festivals The very well-known Exit Festival is held in the neighbouring country of Serbia and is an amazingly fun event to attend - and perfect for combining with a holiday in Croatia!
Started in 2000 as a protest against the political system at the time (and initially primarily a dance music festival), Exit has now grown considerably to become one of Europe's top festivals. A whole host of big names appear each year - 2011's line-up included Pulp, Arcade Fire, Editors, Santogold, Portishead, Groove Armada, Underworld and Deadmau5, amongst many, many others.
Held in the impressive Petrovaradin Fortress at night-time (festival hours are 9pm to 6am each day) over four days, many like Exit as a chance to experience an incredibly fun, foreign festival in a cheaper setting.
2012's event will be held 12th to 15th July 2012, with tickets already on sale on the Exit Festival website. The line-up is still a secret, but it will no doubt be as superb (and eclectic!) as ever.
I attended the 2009 Exit Festival - read up on my experiences, as well as hints and tips that may be useful to you!
