April 1, 2019 - Putting Croatian adventure tourism on the map, with the biggest welcome in the world. Day 5 of this incredible 2011 adrenaline trip covering 2,500 km along the Croatian coast. 

The World's Biggest Welcome, an ambitious adventure tourism project in 2011 in Croatia enters Day 5 of this 2019 appreciation of one of the finest tourism promotion projects ever in Croatia.  

The plan? To showcase the diversity and fabulous offer of adventure tourism in Croatia by following a GPS route the length of the Croatian coast in the shape of the word 'Welcome' - thereby creating the biggest welcome in the world from a hospitable tourism country. 

Day 5 moved on foot and by bicycle from Labin to Opatija.

40 kilometres for the day: 10 km bicycle ride from Labin to Plomin, followed by 15 km on foot and cycling from Plomin to Učka, before heading north once more on the final part of the first letter (W of Welcome), with another 15 km of walking and cycling from Učka to Opatija. 

This part of the journey began with an overnight stay in Nedeščina, at Villa Celeste.

Before arriving in the colorful Labin.

And adventuring through a mine there.

Labin in all of its glory.

And then onto Brseč, a small village on cliffs high above the Kvarner Gulf.

And into the stunning Učka Nature Park, made up of Mount Učka and part of the Ćićarija mountain range.

Daniel in action on the reefs in Učka.

Ozren Renko and Daniel Lacko pedalling on demanding macadam in Učka.

Daniel was even struggling a bit.

But then there were horses. 

And a stunning view from Vojak.

From Učka, they made their way to Veprinac, known to have the most beautiful view on Kvarner.

And finally arrived in Matulji, just five kilometers from the town of Opatija, before sundown.

A key part of the project was promoting tourism, and the official website has details of the key places visited during the day. Učka.

You can see the entire project on the Welcome website, as well as much more of Luka Tambaca's stunning photography on the Welcome Facebook page. 

Tune in tomorrow for Day 6, as Lacko moves from Opatija to Delnice by bike and on foot. 

To follow the whole project from the start, follow the dedicated TCN page. 

March 31, 2019 - Putting Croatian adventure tourism on the map, with the biggest welcome in the world. Day 4 of this incredible 2011 adrenaline trip covering 2,500 km along the Croatian coast. 

The World's Biggest Welcome, an ambitious adventure tourism project in 2011 in Croatia enters Day 4 of this 2019 appreciation of one of the finest tourism promotion projects ever in Croatia.  

The plan? To showcase the diversity and fabulous offer of adventure tourism in Croatia by following a GPS route the length of the Croatian coast in the shape of the word 'Welcome' - thereby creating the biggest welcome in the world from a hospitable tourism country. 

Day 4 was a 3-stage kayak and bike ride from Pazin to Labin, and there was even four-legged support on the initial cycle from Pazin.

65 kilometres for the day: 20 km by bike from Pazin to Rasa, followed by a 20 km kayak paddle from Rasa to Koromacno, before heading north once more on the final part of the first letter (W of Welcome), 25 km to the overnight resting point of Labin.

Lacko managed to outpace some of the locals ascending the glorious hills of Istria. 

It was also an opportunity to observe and appreciate the traditional way of life of the locals in Istria. Here, the locals are fishing for whitebait in Trget. 

The early stages of the World's Biggest Welcome were dominated by sea kayaking, and Lacko was back in the water for the second leg of the day. negotiating the River Rasa channel with companions.  

There was plenty to see along the way, including the mussel farms of Rasa.

Onwards under a bridge on River Rasa. 

Istria is fast becoming one of the most exciting cycling destinations in the region, with its rolling green hills, exceptional vineyards and historic stone hilltop towns. The last leg of the day was a cycle along the eastern part of the peninsula.  

Destination Labin, yet one more touristic jewel on the region they call 'the Croatian Tuscany'.  

And no day would be complete without photographer Luka Tambaca capturing another glorious sunset, this time through Croatia's famous dry stone walls.  

A key part of the project was promoting tourism, and the official website has details of the key places visited during the day. Pazin.

You can see the entire project on the Welcome website, as well as much more of Luka Tambaca's stunning photography on the Welcome Facebook page. 

Tune in tomorrow for Day 5, as Lacko moves from Labin to Opatija by bike and on foot. 

To follow the whole project from the start, follow the dedicated TCN page. 

March 30, 2019 - Putting Croatian adventure tourism on the map, with the biggest welcome in the world. Day 3 of this incredible 2011 adrenaline trip covering 2,500 km along the Croatian coast. 

The World's Biggest Welcome, an ambitious adventure tourism project in 2011 in Croatia enters Day 3 of this 2019 appreciation of one of the finest tourism promotion projects ever in Croatia.  

The plan? To showcase the diversity and fabulous offer of adventure tourism in Croatia by following a GPS route the length of the Croatian coast in the shape of the word 'Welcome' - thereby creating the biggest welcome in the world from a hospitable tourism country. 

Having started on the Slovenian border in Savudrija, Daniel Lacko spent the first two days kayaking 80 km along the Istrian coastline to Brijuni. Another early start on Day 3. 

In order to work on forming the first letter 'W', Lacko headed north and inland, combining his kayaking with cycling and speleo-alpinism. 

He was not the only man up early that morning. The timeless Adriatic. 

The first part of a busy day was a 25 km kayak paddle from Brijuni to Pula, passing Verudela.

Time to head north at the southernmost part of the Istrian Peninsula, Cape Kamenjak. 

After more than 100 km of sea kayaking, the journey hit dry land for the first time, with the kayak exchanged for a bicycle. Destination Pazin, some 60 km away. 

One of the most impressive and important tourist attractions in all Croatia had to be visited along the way. The outstanding Pula Area, the sixth largest Roman amphitheatre in the world. 

Did you know that this ancient treasure has been used for some of the most innovative modern-day tourism projects, including an ice-hockey match, gladiator fights and concert venue for the likes of Sting and Leonard Cohen? 

Cycling the green hills of Istria with its idyllic historic mountain villages is an increasingly popular attraction, and no wonder with beauty like this. A quick stop at St. Vincent. 

Final stop Pazin, but there was no time to rest just yet. One more kilometre to go, with a little speleo-alpinism at Pazin Pit, quite a change from paddling the calm waters of the Adriatic. 

A key part of the project was promoting tourism, and the official website has details of the key places visited during the day. Brijuni. 

Pula and Pazin. 

You can see the entire project on the Welcome website, as well as much more of Luka Tambaca's stunning photography on the Welcome Facebook page. 

Tune in tomorrow for Day 4, as Lacko moves from Pazin to Labin by bike and kayak. 

To follow the whole project from the start, follow the dedicated TCN page. 

March 29, 2019 - Putting Croatian adventure tourism on the map, with the biggest welcome in the world. A little kayaking on day 2 from Porec to the Brijuni islands via Rovinj.  

An idea to celebrate the extraordinary potential of adventure tourism the length and breadth of the Croatian coast. As TCN explained in the introductory article, back in 2011, Daniel Lacko and his team's vision was to create a route which mapped out on GPS the world Welcome from Savudrija on the border with Slovenia, to Dubrovnik in the south, to showcase the different types of sporting challenge that could be enjoyed in this hospitable tourist nation. Some 2500 km in total.

After a first-day kayak from Savudrija to Porec, day two was also on the water, and it was an early start for Lacko carrying his kayak through the historic streets of gorgeous Porec.

The challenge for Day 2 - 45 km of kayaking from Porec to the Brijuni islands via Rovinj. 

There would be many different disciplines on land, sea, lake and river ahead, but the project started with kayaking along the Istrian coast. 

A morning farewell to gorgeous Porec. 

Sailing is an important part of Croatia's tourism offer, with the Istrian peninsula dotted with marinas - paddling in Vrsar marina. 

And back out again into the open sea.

The next tourist jewel is one of the gems of Coratian tourism - the peninsula walled stone town of Rovinj, which has more overnight stays than anywhere else in Croatia. But not many tourists arrive by kayak. 

The timeless backstreets of one of the most beautiful towns on the Adriatic. 

And from Rovinj to another national treasure - Brijuni National Park. Apart from its natural beauty, it is also home to some rather unusual animals, including zebras, an elephant and Shetland ponies. 

Tito used Brijuni as his base during his rule, and he hosted more than 60 world leaders here, many of whom brought indigenous animals from their countries as gifts. I am not sure which is more unusual - the collection of living animals, or the stuffed animals who did not survive the relocation. Here are my impressions from a visit six years ago. 

This being the Adriatic, most days end with sunsets like these to mark the end of another perfect day. 

A key aspect of the Welcome project was to promote Croatian tourism, and the official website presents information on the main sites visited. Porec.  

Rovinj and Brijuni. 

Tune in tomorrow as Lacko kayaks to Pula, cycles to Pazin and then indulges in a little speleo-alpinism at Pazinska Jama. 

You can see the entire project on the Welcome website, as well as much more of Luka Tambaca's stunning photography on the Welcome Facebook page. 

You can follow TCN coverage of the whole journey on our dedicated page.

March 28, 2019 - Putting Croatian adventure tourism on the map, with the biggest welcome in the world. A little kayaking kicks off this incredible journey of adrenaline tourism along the Croatian coast.  

It is 8 years since one of the finest tourism promotion ideas I have come across in my 17 years in Croatia took place. 

An idea to celebrate the extraordinary potential of adventure tourism the length and breadth of the Croatian coast. As TCN explained in the introductory article yesterday, Daniel Lacko and his team's vision was to create a route which mapped out on GPS the world Welcome from Savudrija on the border with Slovenia, to Dubrovnik in the south, to showcase the different types of sporting challenge that could be enjoyed in this hospitable tourist nation. 

As I said in my article yesterday, I had only just started writing online when the event took place, and I hadn't fully appreciated the level of achievement until now. Looking back at the media coverage, there was very little in English, and I thought it would be an opportunity to take a closer look at the potential of Croatia as an adventure tourism destination, through a day by day look at Daniel's incredible journey. 

First, the formalities of the press conference to launch the event.  

And then it was time to prepare for the 50-plus days ahead, with some 2,500 km to cover with a variety of disciplines. 

Lacko started in the very north of the Croatian coast, in Savudrija, perhaps better known recently for the fishing dispute in the Piran Bay. But back in 2011, it was the enthusiastic singing of the local kindergarten which got him started on his incredible journey. 

Kayak in the water, the journey had begun! 

Hugging the Istrian coastline, a visit to Novigrad. 

And a kayaking boy must eat. Time for lunch. 

The first say was a 'leisurely' 35 kilometre kayak paddle from Savudrija to Porec, home to one of Croatia's 11 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

And a sunset to match the achievements of the day, one of many such sunsets which lay ahead, as the early April weather welcomed the World's Biggest Welcome to the Adriatic. 

Day 1 of 52 - the distance and locations covered. 

A key element of the project was tourist promotion, and the excellent Welcome website provides (and still provides) information of the main points of interest en route. On the first day, Savudrija and Porec. 

You can see the entire project on the Welcome website, as well as much more of Luka Tambaca's stunning photography on the Welcome Facebook page. 

Tune in for more kayaking exploits tomorrow, as Lacko negotiates 45 km from Porec to Rovinj to the magical Brijuni islands. 

 March 27, 2019 - It is 8 years since the incredible World's Biggest Welcome adventure tourism promotion project took place in Croatia. Celebrating timeless positive innovation, day by day. 

 Time is a funny thing. 

It was just 8 years ago that I started my writing career for international Google News websites in Canada. At the time, my knowledge of Croatia was extremely limited beyond the shores of Hvar, the bars of Diocletian's palace and the bus and train stations of Split and Zagreb. 

Soon after I started writing online, I heard about the coolest project of how one guy wanted to create the biggest welcome in the world to promote Croatia as a hospitable tourist destination, as well as showcasing Croatia's incredible adventure tourism potential. 

In order to do this, he drew the word 'Welcome' on the map of the Croatian coast, from Savudrija on the border with Slovenia to Dubrovnik in the south. He then proceeded to create a 2,500 km adventure tourism route and mark the route on GPS, to create the biggest welcome in the world.  

But this was not just any route, but one which was undertaken with a great deal of planning and including kayaking, running, cycling, paragliding, canyoning, sailing and more disciplines. An unforgettable 52-day adventure, supported by the superb photography of Luka Tambaca, whose photos were uploaded to the Welcome Facebook page daily.

And Luka made Croatia shine.  

The Welcome project had high-profile support, according to the official website. 

"Project is realised with support of partners: Croatian National Tourist Board, T-Mobile, INA, ORYX Rent a car, Grawe Osiguranje,Lenovo, 24sata, Projektil, Imago advertising agency, iSTUDIO social media company." 

What was almost as impressive as the project itself was the level of detail which was invested into helping interested parties understand the project and learn more about Croatia and the places visited.  

A full detailed breakdown of each day and each letter, the activity performed, plus more detailed information on places of interest visited on that particular stage of the journey. 

I only heard about the project as it was approaching Hvar toward the end of the journey. 

I was hooked and started writing for my Canadian website. 

Time is a funny thing. 

I remember back then that the Welcome project was the biggest thing in Croatia - they had more than 7,000 fans! - and when they shared one of my articles on that big Facebook page, I truly thought I had arrived. 

They were even kind enough to be the first to promote the first edition of my guidebook. 

I came across the project again last week while researching something for an article. The Welcome project - that was so cool. Whatever happened to it and all that positive momentum that was created?

Nothing. 

I asked several friends over the last couple of days what they knew about the World's Biggest Welcome project. They looked at me blankly. When I explained in a little more detail, several recalled something about a big welcome and some tourism project, but they could not recall more than that. A few younger projects who work in the adventure tourism business had not heard of it at all. 

I felt very sad at this. Firstly, because such an incredible project with SO much positive energy has all but been forgotten. But also because the World's Biggest Welcome is such an incredible resource for tourism promotion today, and it is not being used at all. 

I found Daniel Lacko, the man behind the project, on Facebook and connected a couple of days ago, and we will catch up for a beer soon. A very positive energy still today, I asked if he would mind celebrating this incredible project, day by day, some 8 years later. 

And celebrate it we intend to do! Starting this week, we will take an in-depth look at Daniel's incredible journey, day by day, with the amazing Luka Tambaca photography to make Croatia truly Full of LIfe. 

You can still see the original website (although it seems to work best on desktop - I had trouble with the mobile version, which I guess was not such a priority 8 years ago).  The Facebook page has most of those awesome photos.

Who best to introduce the project than Daniel Lacko himself. From the official website, this is how he presented it all those years ago:

Welcome to Welcome,an adventure that can be best summed up as a – travelogue. And this journey is made up of one single most important word travellers like to hear: Welcome!

I am planning on “writing” this kind word of welcome while travelling. Along this writer’s journey my team and I will tour through more than 2500 kilometres, including eight national parks, three nature parks, four protected landscapes, special geomorphologic reserves, six rivers, eleven mountain tops, and endless amounts of amazing experiences. 

All observation from this adventure will come from my own personal lived through experience. Whether on foot or by bike, by rowing a boat, climbing on or descending from cliffs, by parachute or by other human powered means of transport, from Savudrija to Dubrovnik, I will form a big word of Welcome stretching all over Croatia.

And while our adventure, which we will use to „write down“ the biggest welcome sign in the world, will be recorded by the GPS device, and will be visible via Google Earth, we will record all parts of this amazing experience. 

Apart from many already famous sights, we will be discovering some unseen areas, getting to know places that we have perhaps never even heard of, meeting interesting new people and dealing with unpredictable new situations.

All of this with an aim to promote our beautiful homeland of Croatia as a country with luscious nature, rich heritage and wonderful people...

...as a country with the biggest welcome in the world.

Daniel - project author