# Coastal towns we loved

> Coastal towns worth visiting: San Sebastián, Sveti Stefan, Ulcinj, Zadar, Šibenik, Sokcho. Travel guide and coastal photography prints for each.

- Source: https://clevertourists.com/guides/collection-coastal-towns-we-loved
- Authors: Evan & Clara, Clever Tourists (first-hand, from a 526-day trip across 20 countries)
- Published: 2026-05-09
- Last updated: 2026-07-13

Not every coastal stop needs to be a headline destination. These smaller harbor towns won us over anyway.

## Places

### San Sebastián, Spain

Known in Basque as Donostia, San Sebastián is an elegant coastal city built around the near-perfect arc of La Concha bay. It is famous for its belle-époque architecture, its beaches and one of the highest concentrations of acclaimed restaurants in the world.

### Sveti Stefan, Montenegro

Sveti Stefan is a fortified islet village on Montenegro's Budva Riviera, its terracotta rooftops packed onto a small rocky outcrop connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway of pale stone.

### Ulcinj, Montenegro

Ulcinj is Montenegro's southernmost coastal town, its clifftop Old Town — Kalaja — overlooking a string of rocky coves near the border with Albania.

### Zadar, Croatia

Zadar is a Dalmatian port city on a peninsula jutting into the Adriatic, its Roman-grid old town ringed by a small working harbor and Venetian-era walls.

### Šibenik, Croatia

Šibenik is a Dalmatian coastal town wedged between hillside and harbor, its stone houses climbing to St. Michael's Fortress above a natural bay on the Adriatic.

### Sokcho, South Korea

Sokcho is a coastal city on South Korea's northeastern shore, set between the East Sea and the rugged peaks of Seoraksan National Park. It combines beaches and a working fishing harbor with one of the country's most celebrated mountain parks.