Travel

One of the most attractive new additions to the Istrian tourist offering is nearing completion: Paleo Park, Bale's answer to the world-famous Jurrasic Park is set to open in four months! Paleo Park will be a part of the new, much improved camping Mon Perin, which currently undergoes a major enlargement, creation of the whole new tourist complex that will include the park dominated by the swimming pool shaped like a dinosaur. The dino-shaped pool will have the surface area of over a thousand square meters of water surface, and almost three times as much area for sunbathing. Why the…

February 13, 2019 - Korcula is quietly establishing itself as a luxury gourmet destination, and if you want to see it truly shy, late April is the time to be there. After the snow and the cold, the sun is beaming through my Varazdin window, and thoughts turn to one of the nicest times of year - Spring in Croatia.  One of my highlights of 2018 took place in Spring last year, a rather delightful discovery on Korcula. The weather played fair, and the long May bank holiday weekend was spent at the 2nd Korcula Spring Food and Wine Festival,…

February 13, 2019 - As Zagreb makes a concerted effort to promote its considerable medical tourism potential, a look at the leading clinics, starting with one of its superstars, Bagatin.   One of the joys of being a foreigner living full-time in Croatia is that there is always something new to learn. When I moved into my house in Jelsa back in 2002, a very jovial neighbour came round to say hi and give me a bottle of wine. It was seven years later that I realised that he was one of Croatia's most famous winemakers, Andro Tomic. And through Andro,…

February 12, 2019 - Croatian coastal tourism is developing beyond the sun and beach. Kayaking in Croatia is now big business.  It has been fascinating to watch the trends in Croatian tourism over the last 15 years. The transformation from cities such as Split from the Gateway to the Dalmatian Islands to one of Europe's hottest spots, for example. Or Bol on Brac reinventing itself as a family and adventure tourism destination after being the biggest party on the Adriatic.  And while the sun, sea and beach understandably remain the biggest draw, there has been a noticeable rise in different…

February 12, 2019 - The Hvar Tourist Board has finally launched a new website. It might have been better if they hadn't.  Let's start with the good news, as I always try and be positive. The Hvar Tourist Board has issued a tender looking for help from a PR company for 2019. Hopefully, this will finally lead to a proper promotional campaign for the town, which has so much potential to grow as a quality destination, but which has ambled along through accidental tourism for years now.  Because the Hvar Tourist Board certainly needs help.  It is more than two…

Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian Tourist Board, gave a lengthy interview to Globus weekly, about the prospects for the 2019 tourist season, interest thus far, rise of the competitors etc. We'll translate the most interesting highlights from the interview. He starts off by saying that the numbers from the fairs that were held so far are comparable to last year's, but that it's still too early in the year to be making projections. Situation is optimistic, but now is the time to take promotional activities up one notch, in order to secure succesfull year. Croatia's visibility on foreign markets…

February 11, 2019 - The island of Hvar is set to welcome its first ever 5-star hotel with the opening of Palace Elisabeth, hvar heritage hotel. So what gives it the authentic historic feel? 2019 is going to be a great year for the heritage of Hvar Town. No less than three of its giants are set to reopen to the public after renovation: the oldest public theatre in Europe, the 13th-century Arsenal one floor below the theatre, and the first 5-star hotel on the island, Hotel Palace Elisabeth, hvar heritage hotel. All three have played a major part in the…

February 11, 2019 - International cuisine restaurants are in relatively short supply in Croatia - meet a Lebanese treasure tucked away in the hills outside Zagreb: Habibi (Byblos). I love the randomness and unpredictability of life in Croatia, where things pop up where you would least expect it.  A few years ago, for example, I was driving my family from Split to the airport to catch the seaplane back to Jelsa when I noticed the most extraordinary thing by the side of the road in an industrial part fo Kastela - a Korean restaurant!  Having been starved of Asian food…

February 11, 2019 - Inland Dalmatia is one of the fastest growing tourism areas in Croatia. Find out why in this new promo video. Of all the tourism regions in Croatia, I have the biggest soft spot for inland Dalmatia, a magnificent region a short drive behind the mountains from Split and the Makarska Riviera. A region that has been largely ignored by tourists until the last few years. These days tourists are learning that Inland Dalmatia has a wealth of treasures which can be easily explored in a day trip (or longer) from the beach.  My soft spot for inland…

In January, we introduced you to a new Croatian flight company named Smile Air, a Zagreb-based startup airline registered in the summer of 2017 by the director and co-owner Nino Borić, who has been working in the field of aviation for over thirty years.  The exciting new project is in no particular rush to begin, however, and is instead proceeding with caution. Thus, Smile Air hopes to start operations by 2020 using two Embraer E190 jets for year-round travel. They’ll also lease an Airbus A321 for seasonal flights, and eventually the wide-body A330 for long haul operations, reports Ex Yu Aviation…