Croatian Islands

Introducing Split

February 5, 2015

Introducing Split View gallery The second-largest city in Croatia, Split (Spalato in Italian) is a great place to see Dalmatian life as it’s really lived. Always buzzing, this exuberant city has just the right balance of tradition and modernity. Step inside Diocletian’s Palace (a Unesco World Heritage site and one of the world’s most impressive […]

Introducing Northern Dalmatia

February 5, 2015

Introducing Northern Dalmatia View gallery Serving that classic Dalmatian cocktail of historic towns, jewel-like waters, rugged mountains, sun-kissed islands, gorgeous climate and Mediterranean cuisine, this region is a holidaymaker’s paradise. Yet it’s the cities and islands further south that hog all the limelight, leaving Northern Dalmatia, if not quite undiscovered, then certainly less overrun. Yachties […]

Introducing Dubrovnik

February 5, 2015

Introducing Dubrovnik View gallery Regardless of whether you are visiting Dubrovnik for the first time or the hundredth, the sense of awe never fails to descend when you set eyes on the beauty of the old town. Indeed it’s hard to imagine anyone becoming jaded by the city’s marble streets, baroque buildings and the endless […]

Introducing Istria

February 5, 2015

Introducing Istria View gallery Continental Croatia meets the Adriatic in Istria (Istra to Croats), the heart-shaped, 3600-sq-km peninsula just south of Trieste in Italy. The bucolic interior of rolling hills and fertile plains attracts artsy visitors to Istria’s hilltop villages, rural hotels and farmhouse restaurants, while the verdant indented coastline is enormously popular with the […]

Introducing Zagreb

February 5, 2015

Introducing Zagreb View gallery Zagreb has culture, arts, music, architecture, gastronomy and all the other things that make a quality capital city – it’s no surprise that the number of visitors has risen sharply in the last couple of years. Croatia’s coastal attractions aside, Zagreb has finally been discovered as a popular city-break destination in […]

Introducing Plitvice Lakes National Park

February 5, 2015

Introducing Plitvice Lakes National Park View gallery The absolute highlight of Croatia’s Adriatic hinterland, this glorious expanse of forested hills and turquoise lakes is excruciatingly scenic – so much so that in 1979 Unesco proclaimed it a World Heritage Site. The extraordinary natural beauty of the park merits a full day’s exploration, but you can […]

Introducing Mljet Island

February 5, 2015

Introducing Mljet Island View gallery Mljet is one of the most seductive of all the Adriatic islands. Much of the island is covered by forests and the rest is dotted with fields, vineyards and small villages. The northwestern half contains Mljet National Park, where the lush vegetation, pine forests and spectacular saltwater lakes are exceptionally […]

Introducing Around Dubrovnik

February 5, 2015

Introducing Around Dubrovnik View gallery Dubrovnik is an excellent base for day trips in the surrounding region – and even in the surrounding countries of Montenegro and Bosnia. You can hop over to Lokrum or the Elafiti Islands for a day of peaceful sunbathing, wander through the gardens at Trsteno or pop down to Cavtat […]

Introducing Rovinj

February 5, 2015

Introducing Rovinj View gallery Rovinj (Rovigno in Italian) is coastal Istria’s star attraction. While it can get overrun with tourists in summer, and residents have developed a sharp eye for maximising profits by upgrading hotels and restaurants to four-star status, it remains one of the last true Mediterranean fishing ports. Fishers haul their catch into […]

Introducing Hvar Town

February 5, 2015

Introducing Hvar Town View gallery The island’s hub and busiest destination, Hvar Town is estimated to draw around 20,000 people a day in the high season. It’s odd that they can all fit in the small bay town, where 13th-century walls surround beautifully ornamented Gothic palaces and traffic-free marble streets, but fit they do. Visitors […]