March 29, 2022 - A lot has happened in Croatia over the last 2 years in the Croatian digital nomad story. Ahead of the new Work. Place. Culture. conference in Dubrovnik, TCN catches up with one of the instigators of change - Split-based entrepreneur, Jan de Jong. 

A busy season for Croatia's digital nomad story is about to begin. Last year's highlights included the introduction of the digital nomad permit on January 1, 2021, and destinations such as Zagreb and Dubrovnik attracted global interest with award-winning events such as Zagreb Digital Nomad Week and Dubrovnik Nomads-in-Residence project. 

Both Zagreb and Dubrovnik will continue their push to position themselves in the market in 2022, with Zagreb Digital Nomad Week 2022 set to take place in June, and a new conference before that in Dubrovnik, as previously reported on TCN - Work. Place. Culture. 

No self-respecting nomad conference would be complete without the participation of the nation's favourite Dutchman, Jan de Jong, whose pioneering efforts in instigating the nomad permit, as well as the co-founding of the Digital Nomad Association Croatia have been key to Croatia's rapid rise as a popular nomad destination. In the first of a series of interviews ahead of the conference, TCN caught up with Jan to reflect on a crazy couple of years, as well as looking forward to what is coming next.  

1. Two years ago, the term 'digital nomad' was almost unheard of in Croatia, and today Croatia is one of the most cited countries in Europe on the topic. As the initiator of the Croatian digital nomad permit (only the second in Europe) and co-founder of the Digital Nomad Association Croatia, you have played a significant role in that. Reflect on that journey briefly for us.

Over the past 15 years that I have lived in Croatia, I have started several businesses and initiatives. I have to admit that even building a big business doesn’t give me the same fulfillment and satisfaction as I am getting from what we are doing by putting Croatia on the world map as a digital nomad hotspot. It’s a joy to be surrounded by amazing people with different backgrounds who all want to turn Croatia into their temporary home. I strongly believe that our efforts can help turn Croatia into a more sustainable, year-round destination and that the young and smart remote work professionals can leave a positive impact on our youngest generation in Croatia.

(With DNA Croatia co-founders, Karmela Tancabel and Tanja Polegubic)

2. While the visa/permit was a headline attraction, the reality is that few nomads (by definition) stay in the same place for a year, and the bigger challenge is to showcase Croatia as an attractive remote work destination for 1-6 months. You co-founded the world's first Digital Nomad Association, DNA Croatia. Tell us about that, and about the excellent work it has performed in recent months connecting initiatives and building community.

Together with my co-founders of DNA Croatia, Tanja & Karmela, we are making strong efforts daily to unite and serve digital nomads in Croatia. However, truth to be told, we can’t make the impact we want to make by ourselves. That’s why we were very excited to bring Michael Freer on board as the director of DNA Croatia last November. With Michael's experience and full-time dedication, we have been able to demonstrate what DNA Croatia is capable of doing. Michael spearheaded several national and international campaigns, including community-building initiatives with a team of 8 volunteers in 8 different cities/towns across Croatia and organizing and participating in conferences in London and The Hague – promoting Croatia abroad as a digital nomad welcoming destination. I am also very proud of the support we are offering to Ukrainian remote work professionals who wish to apply for the digital nomad permit. All in all, more and more stakeholders find their way to DNA Croatia, which means that we are slowly but surely becoming the kind of NGO we want to be, which is to be the “go-to” organization for the digital nomad eco-system in Croatia. Many more developments are about to take place, including the opening up our DNA Croatia contact center. We will make a phone number available for when digital nomads have any questions during their stay in Croatia. Soon more about this.

3. One of the comments I hear a lot from visiting nomads is the level of public-private partnership in Croatia, something that hardly exists elsewhere. You had to negotiate with 5 ministries for the permit, for example, the cities of Zagreb and Dubrovnik have been very supportive of nomad events such as Zagreb Digital Nomad Week and Dubrovnik Nomads-in-Residence, and DNA Croatia recently agreed a partnership with the Croatian National Tourist Board. Tell us about the importance of this in moving the Croatian story forward. 

The first step is always to acknowledge either the problem, challenge and/or opportunity. If we as a country, region, city, but also as citizens - acknowledge that depending on strong seasonal tourism is a problem and that bringing digital nomads to Croatia – year-round, is an opportunity – only then we can get everybody on board in pursuing our goals. And none of the stakeholders can do this by themselves without support from the other stakeholders. If Croatia wants to become a top destination globally for remote work professionals, we will need to start collaboration between the government, municipalities, national, regional and local tourist boards, private sector – and I hope that DNA Croatia can have a coordinating role in all of this.

4. This is Croatia, and even though things are moving very quickly, it is impossible to please everyone. The permit is not perfect (although it was named the best in the world by one nomad portal), and several permit holders would like to extend their stay beyond the one-year maximum. How likely is that to happen, and what changes to the permit are being worked on?

Yes, there are several changes to the permit we would like to see in the future, including the possibility to renew the permit after 12 months and some changes to tax laws. Right now, digital nomads are exempt from paying income tax on the income they have as a digital nomad, however – officially taxes on other income, such as dividend, crypto gains, rental income, etc. are not exempt. Even though the Croatian tax authorities will most likely not go after such taxes, we would like to see this changed in the law.

The ministries are informed about our wish to see some of those additional changes, however – unfortunately I don’t expect to see any of such changes happen this year, simply because it is not high enough on the priority list.

5. You are heading once more to Dubrovnik on May 5-7 for the Work. Place. Culture. conference. The city has been at the forefront of Croatia's digital nomad revolution, hosting the first-ever digital nomad conference in Croatia, as well as the award-winning Dubrovnik Nomads-in-Residence program. Tell us a little about Dubrovnik's journey so far. 

Dubrovnik was perhaps more than other cities suffering from mass tourism during the season. They were the first to acknowledge this problem and to acknowledge the opportunities that can come from hosting digital nomads year-round. And once you have a city and tourist board that understands this, you can accomplish anything you want, which is exactly what Dubrovnik is doing right now – by demonstrating real leadership when it comes to turning the city into a digital nomad welcoming destination. As a founding member of DNA Croatia, I can only say that I like what I am seeing in Dubrovnik and I hope that this serves as an example and inspiration to other cities and regions.

6. Who is the conference aimed at, why should people come, and what will be your role?

The targeted audience of this conference is not just digital nomads, but is actually more focused on the remote work professionals in general. I think there is also a lot to learn here for employers, because the way people live and work has significantly changed over the past few years. Before, we spoke a lot about work/life balance. Nowadays you more often hear about work/life integration. This is a new way of working, for both employees, freelancers and for employers. In my opinion, as a remote work professional and employer myself – I believe that the content of this conference couldn’t be more relevant.

7. Where would you like to see Croatia in 5 years in the remote workspace, and how do we get there?

I hope that in 5 years from now, when remote work professionals speak about “working from anywhere” – that they speak and think about Croatia as the place to be. Croatia should be known for being an affordable, authentic lifestyle destination – with all required infrastructure available for working remotely, including a thriving community.

How do we get there? Content, content, content!

• Content in terms of authentic experiences and things to do, 12 months a year.
• Content in terms of conferences aimed at digital nomads worldwide.
• Content in terms of user-generated blogs, vlogs, posts, stories, tweets – and local, regional and national promoted content

8. Although you are primarily known as the Croatian Nomad Visa Guy, this is actually only a small part of what you do. One of your current missions is to help revitalise Croatia's agriculture. Explain what you are trying to achieve, how it is going, and where people can follow the story. 

Being a Dutch entrepreneur in Croatia, I wanted to be the bridge between the Netherlands and Croatia – in a way that I would like to bring more of the Dutch agriculture technology to my new home country. In the past, Croatia used to produce enough food to feed an entire region. Today, Croatia is a food importing nation. That is why, together with my friend Jerko Trogrlic, I co-founded the company CROP. It is our mission to make sure that Croatia becomes less dependent on importing food, and ultimately to help turn Croatia into a food exporting nation again, like it used to be.

Currently we are working hard, together with our Dutch partners, on developing the first project, which is a 6-hectare greenhouse for growing cherry tomatoes. With a strong focus on sustainability, we plan on using geothermal heat for heating our greenhouse and solar energy for our grow lights. An estimated investment of 18 - 20 million EURO, which would create some 60 new full-time jobs in an area that desperately needs new jobs.

You can follow Jan de Jong on LinkedIn.

For more information about Work. Place. Culture. in Dubrovnik from May 5-7, visit the official website.

For more news and features about digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

March 27, 2022 - Looking to travel around Croatia quickly, at an affordable price, and with spectacular views? Meet the Croatian internal flights they don't tell you about. 

The Croatian motorways are excellent. Expensive, but excellent. 

And with so many projects on the TCN plate at the moment, from Dubrovnik to Osijek, travelling between destinations can be not only expensive, but time-consuming. 

Earlier this month, I had a long trip starting in Zagreb, which took in Split, Dubrovnik, Tivat, Tirana, Dubrovnik, Osijek, and back to Zagreb. As my car was in the garage, and with fuel prices rising due to the Ukraine conflict, I decided to use public transport for the journey, which was fine in theory, but how was I going to get from Dubrovnik to Osijek? Even if I had my car, Google told me that I had a tortuous 8-hour drive through the poor roads and eager traffic police of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

"Why don't you fly?" a friend asked. "No, not with Croatia Airlines, but check out the amazing service of Trade Air."

Trade Air. A Croatian airline based in Osijek, but which does much of its business outside of Croatia. I was aware from blogging over the years that they had some curious routes all over Croatia, but I had never considered them before. I decided to take a look. 

The routes, part of a Public Service Obligation (PSO) tender, seemed to have been prepared especially for me. Apart from the handy connections (the Dubrovnik to Osijek flight was a little circuitous, but it was less than 3.5 hours door to door), I had never come across anyone who had actually flown these routes before, apart from one aviation geek friend who told me that the Zagreb to Osijek route is legendary among the aviation community as being fairly pointless, with little take up - an expensive subsidy. 

Wait, there is a flight from Zagreb to Osijek, which is only 2.5 hours away by car, 3 hours by bus? Not only a flight, but a flight twice a day three times a week. And with a ticket price of just 30 euro one way, rather a cheap deal indeed. As I had one overnight stay in Osijek, I booked the 06:30 flight the next day - I would be in central Zagreb for 08:00 and ready for a new business day. 

But first, I had to get to Osijek from Dubrovnik. As part of its PSO mandate, Trade Air covers different routes through the working week, connecting Dubrovnik, Split, Pula, Rijeka, Osijek and Zagreb with its 19-seater plane. As luck would have it, on my day of travel, the Dubrovnik flight to Osijek was making quick stops at Split and Rijeka Airports (on the island of Krk). When I compared the price of the ticket (450 kuna) to the cost of fuel, tolls, time, and frustration had I gone by road, it looked a bargain indeed. And that was without the views.

So how was it?

I was curious to see how many people would be on the flight. 10 passengers from Dubrovnik to Split, plus flight attendant - more than half-full in mid-March.  

In many ways, the flight took me back to the era of the Croatian seaplanes of 2014-6 - a small plane hugging the idyllic Croatian coastline, flying low, and affording the very best bird's eye views out there. Having enjoyed Mljet (see lead photo), passing over Croatia's most iconic beach at Zlatni Rat in Bol on the island of Brac, while waving to my mother-in-law in Jelsa across the water on Hvar. 

We left Dubrovnik on time at 13:20, and after 30 gorgeous sun-kissed minutes of island gazing, a gentle approach to Split Airport in the March sun. 

A stop for 30 minutes to refuel and pick up extra passengers - 14 on the short flight north to Rijeka. 

And, rather than looking at more perfect islands, I took my seat on the other side of the plane for this leg, and was rewarded with the fabulous combination of sun, sea, snow.  

As well as plenty of time to reflect on the vast emptiness of this beautiful country. So much of it completely untouched.  

And if you do have island viewing FOMO on the right side of the plane, simply look left.  

One of the joys of the flight is flying low over the islands, so that you can pick out individual idyllic spots, such as this one with one small house having the bay to itself on Vela Luka on the island of Krk.  Croatia has more than a thousand islands, each unique in its own way, and there are few better ways to get an overview than this flight. 

Some island hopping, as we landed at Rijeka Airport. Time check 15:15. 

A 30-minute stopover on Krk, enough time to check out some of the interesting planes which have taken up permanent residence close to the runway. Anyone know the story of this baby? Please contact me on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Rijeka plane.

Airborne again, this time heading east, with 9 passengers for the final leg to Osijek. Slavonia, my Slavonia. Once the breadbasket of the region. Could it be again? SO much land, so much potential. 

Having started at the newly developed Dubrovnik Airport terminal, followed by a stop in fashionablee Split. arrival at Osijek Airport was a reminder of where eastern Croatia lies in the government's list of priorities.  So much potential out east, so much magic, but so little interest or meaningful investment from Zagreb. 

Arrival time 16:55, a few minutes early. One of the few flights of the day, and the airport was largely deserted. But as for the passenger experience and price, more than 10 out of 10, thanks to Trade Air and the Croatian taxpayer. The PSO service is an excellent initiative and vital link for communities (even more so with Jadrolinija connecting islands by ferry), with one major exception, as I was about to find out the following morning.  

The Zagreb to Osijek flight. With the Slavonian capital starved of connectivity anywhere (one international route to Munich starting in May), and with the allocated funds which could be used to support other, more useful routes (Osijek to Dubrovnik perhaps, allowing for locals to explore their own country, visit relatives, and do business), the final leg of my 10-day trip made no sense whatsoever. 

Just four people on the flight. How many are normally on it, I asked the Osijek ground crew? They smiled. Sometimes 2, something 3, almost never more than 5. Twice a day, 3 times a week. Yes it is a pointless route, they smiled, shrugging their shoulders. For 7 years now, apparently. And at what cost?

A little Googling got me to this paragraph, highlighting how insane the route is in an otherwise laudable PSO initiative:

The value of the new PSO contracts has not been disclosed. Under the previous deal, Croatia Airlines received 11.4 million euros in annual compensation for the domestic services. The largest amount, 4.2 million euros per year, went towards maintaining flights between Split and Zagreb, where the airline was remunerated some 22 euros per passenger carried, although the largest compensation per traveller was on the Zagreb – Pula - Zadar service, totalling 177 euros. The value of Trade Air's PSO contracts amounted to 2.5 million euros per year. The largest share of the subsidies went towards the upkeep of the Osijek - Zagreb service (1.3 million euros per year), where the airline was compensated approximately 599 euros per passenger.

I checked with some airline sources, who told me that these numbers were not accurate for the latest PSO contracts (as the website said, the amounts for the latest PSO contact were not disclosed). But the numbers were an indicator of the situation. An unnecessary waste of money on an unnecessary route, with so many more useful and deserving routes either underutlised or not existing. 

As I arrived at Osijek Aiport at 05:45 for the flight with just 4 passengers, the cafe was open, as was the souvenir shop. How many flights are there from Osijek today, I asked. Just two, inlcuding this one. The cafe went unvisited, the souvenir shop ignored. Total ticket sales mustered just 120 euro. 

I am sure somebody, somewhere knows why we have this flight for over 7 years now. And maybe one day, someone in authority will question its use and see how to better spend the money to serve Osijek.

But in the meantime, kudos to Trade Air for operating such an efficient and punctual service. It is one I shall be using again. If you want to check out the Trade Air daily timetable and ticket prices, visit the official website. 

To learn more about Osijek, check out the Total Croatia Osijek in a Page.

March 24, 2022 -  The 2022 Croatia summer flight schedule kicks off on Sunday with 100 lines to six Croatian airports! 

After a long winter, the summer flight schedule comes into force on Sunday, bringing Croatian airports back to life after months-long hibernation. After several months of slow traffic, the summer flight schedule comes into force with several new and renewed lines on several seasonal international routes to Croatian airports. Croatian Aviation brings the list of routes running in the first week of the summer flight schedule, from March 27 to April 3 to Pula, Rijeka, Zadar, Split, Osijek, and Dubrovnik.

Pula Airport
From 27.03

Zagreb / Zadar (Croatia Airlines),

London (Ryanair).

From 28.03

Split / Osijek (Trade Air),

London (EasyJet),

Brussels Charleroi (Ryanair).

Rijeka Airport
From 27.03

Stockholm (Ryanair),

Brussels Charleroi (Ryanair),.

London (Ryanair).

From 29.03

Split / Dubrovnik / Osijek (Trade Air).

Zadar Airport
From 27.03 

Zagreb / Pula (Croatia Airlines),

Vienna (Ryanair),

Budapest (Ryanair),

Dublin (Ryanair),

Dusseldorf Weeze (Ryanair),

Marseille (Ryanair),

Stockholm (Ryanair).

From 28.03

Berlin (Ryanair),

Brussels Charleroi (Ryanair),

Frankfurt Hahn (Ryanair)

Karlsruhe (Ryanair),

Cologne (Ryanair),

Rome (Ryanair).

From 29.03

London (Ryanair),

Memmingen (Ryanair),

Poznań (Ryanair).

From 30.03

Bremen (Ryanair),

Newcastle (Ryanair),

Paris Beauvais (Ryanair).

From 02.04

Krakow (Ryanair).

Split Airport
From 27.03

Zagreb (Croatia Airlines),

Munich (Croatia Airlines),

Frankfurt (Croatia Airlines),

Rome (Croatia Airlines),

Geneva (EasyJet),

Basel (Easyjet),

London (EasyJet),

Bristol (EasyJet),

Glasgow (EasyJet),

Amsterdam (KLM),

Vienna (Austrian),

Stuttgart (Eurowings),

Berlin (EasyJet),

Dublin (Ryanair),

Cologne (Eurowings).

From 28.03 

Naples (EasyJet),

Osijek / Pula (Trade Air),

Amsterdam (EasyJet).

From 29.03

Rijeka / Dubrovnik / Osijek (Trade Air),

Manchester (EasyJet),

Paris (EasyJet).

From 30.03

Helsinki (Norwegian),

Dusseldorf (Eurowings).

From 01.04

Munich (Lufthansa),

Rome (Vueling),

Osijek (Croatia Airlines).

From 02.04

Barcelona (Vueling),

Naples (EasyJet),

Frankfurt (Lufthansa),

Hamburg (Eurowings),

London (Croatia Airlines).

Osijek Airport
From 28.03

Zagreb (Trade Air),

Pula / Split (Trade Air).

From 29.03

Rijeka / Split / Dubrovnik (Trade Air).

From 01.04

Split (Croatia Airlines).

Dubrovnik Airport
From 27.03 

Zagreb (Croatia Airlines),

Amsterdam (EasyJet),

Amsterdam (KLM),

Barcelona (Vueling),

Bristol (EasyJet),

Brussels (Brussels Airlines),

Dublin (Ryanair),

Dusseldorf (Eurowings),

London (EasyJet),

London (British Airways),

Madrid (Iberia),

Paris (Croatia Airlines),

Paris Orly (Transavia),

Vienna (Ryanair),

Vienna (Austrian),

Warsaw (LOT).

From 28.03

Frankfurt (Croatia Airlines),

Istanbul (Turkish Airlines),

Rome (Vueling).

From 29.03 

Split / Rijeka / Osijek (Trade Air),

Dublin (AerLingus),

Edinburgh (EasyJet),

Geneva (EasyJet),

Naples (Easyjet).

From 30.03

Berlin (Easyjet),

Manchester (Easyjet),

Nantes (Transavia).

From 31.03

London (Jet2),

Manchester (Jet2).

From 01.04 

Helsinki (Finnair).

From 02.04 

Birmingham (Jet2)

Copenhagen (Norwegian),

Frankfurt (Lufthansa),

Munich (Lufthansa).

From 03.04 

Leeds (Jet2).

Brač Airport
Brač currently has no announced flights. For now, the first scheduled flight is expected on April 16 on the Croatia Airlines route from Zagreb.

Dubrovnik has the largest number of lines announced for the first week of the summer flight schedule (36), followed by Split with 31 lines, Zadar with 21, Pula with 5, and Rijeka and Osijek with 4 regular lines each.

Almost all lines to Zadar Airport from next week are on Ryanair, which also applies to Rijeka Airport.

On the other hand, Osijek remains on Trade Air domestic lines, which have been in traffic all winter. The start of international traffic is expected in May. At the beginning of the summer flight schedule, the novelty is the Croatia Airlines route to Split, which will start operating on April 1.

In the first week, Split and Dubrovnik expect several international routes from low-cost carriers and well-known legacy carriers such as Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, British Airways, KLM, and others.

Zagreb Airport was excluded from this list because it had several international flights in the winter, which was not the case in other Croatian airports. 

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, check out our dedicated travel section.

March 22, 2022 - The 2022 Dubrovnik summer flight schedule has been announced with flights to over 70 airports around the world. 

Dubrovnik Airport has announced its summer flight schedule for this year, which takes effect on the last weekend of this month. Thus, Dubrovnik should have direct flights to more than 70 airports this summer throughout Europe and the world, reports Croatian Aviation.

This summer, Dubrovnik Airport will be connected to more than 70 international airports, two of which are outside Europe (New York and Dubai) and only four domestic (Split, Rijeka, Zagreb, and Osijek). All other routes have been announced around Europe. 

It should also be noted that regular flights from Ukraine and Russia by several airlines have been announced in the summer flight schedule, which will certainly not happen given the war in Ukraine.

List of destinations and airlines:

Amsterdam (EasyJet, KLM),

Athens (Aegean, Volotea),

Barcelona (Vueling),

Bari (Volotea),

Basel (EasyJet),

Belfast (Jet2)

Belgrade (Air Serbia),

Bergen (Norwegian),

Berlin (Eurowings, EasyJet),

Birmingham (TUI, Jet2),

Bordeaux (Volotea),

Bristol (TUI, EasyJet),

Brussels (TUI, Brussels Airlines),

Bucharest (Blue Air),

Budapest (LOT),

Cardiff (TUI),

Cologne (Eurowings),

Copenhagen (SAS, Norwegian),

Cork (AerLingus),

Doncaster (TUI)

Dubai (FlyDubai),

Dublin (Ryanair, Aer Lingus),

Dusseldorf (Croatia Airlines, Eurowings, Condor),

Edinburgh (EasyJet, Jet2),

Frankfurt (Croatia Airlines, Lufthansa, Condor),

Geneva (EasyJet),

Glasgow (TUI),

Hamburg (Eurowings),

Helsinki (Finnair, Norwegian),

Istanbul (Turkish Airlines),

Katowice (Smartwings, Wizz Air),

Krakow (LOT),

Leeds (Jet2)

London Gatwick (EasyJet, TUI, British Airways, Wizz Air),

London Heathrow (British Airways),

London Luton (EasyJet, Wizz Air),

London Stansted (Jet2),

Luxembourg (Luxair),

Lyon (Volotea, EasyJet),

Madrid (Iberia),

Manchester (TUI, Jet2, EasyJet),

Marseille (Volotea),

Milan (EasyJet),

Munich (Lufthansa, Croatia Airlines),

Nantes (Volotea, EasyJet, Transavia),

Naples (EasyJet),

New York (United Airlines),

Newcastle (TUI, Jet2),

Nottingham (TUI, Jet2),

Oslo (Flyr, Norwegian, SAS),

Osijek (Croatia Airlines),

Paris CDG (Air France, Croatia Airlines),

Paris Orly (Transavia, EasyJet),

Poznan (Smartwings, LOT),

Prague (Smartwings),

Riga (Air Baltic),

Rijeka (Trade Air),

Rome (Croatia Airlines, ITA, Vueling, Wizz Air),

Rotterdam (Transavia),

Split (Trade Air),

Stavanger (Norwegian),

Stockholm (Norwegian, SAS),

Stuttgart (Eurowings),

Thessaloniki (Aegean Airlines),

Toulouse (Volotea),

Venice (Croatia Airlines),

Vienna (Austrian Airlines, Wizz Air, Ryanair),

Vilnius (Air Baltic),

Warsaw (LOT, Smartwings, Wizz Air),

Zagreb (Croatia Airlines),

Zurich (Croatia Airlines, Edelweiss).

According to the airline, Dubrovnik Airport is facing a very demanding season. Its biggest success is the fact that there will be a regular United Airlines line between New York and Dubrovnik, which starts significantly earlier and ends only in October.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, check out our dedicated travel section.

March 18, 2022 - The Croatia Airlines 2022 summer flight schedule has been presented with several lines added from Split, Zagreb, and Dubrovnik!

Croatia Airlines presented this year's summer flight schedule from March to the end of October - and it has been significantly strengthened compared to last year, reports Croatian Aviation.

According to a statement, the Croatian national carrier has decided to expand its network of international destinations, renew some international routes that were not flown during the pandemic, and intensify flights on existing routes in international and domestic traffic.

This summer, Croatia Airlines plans to connect Croatia with 21 international destinations, 22 European airports, and fly on 41 international routes. In total, over 16,000 flights and approximately 1,766,000 seats are planned.

Split
Croatia's busiest airport in 2021 has 18 European destinations with Croatian Airlines, which means six new destinations compared to the 2021 summer flight schedule. In addition, five new seasonal lines will be introduced in the first half of June:

Split - Amsterdam (Tuesday)

Split - Bucharest (Wednesdays and Fridays)

Split - Dublin (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays)

Split - Milan (Thursdays and Sundays)

Split - Stockholm (Fridays and Sundays)

In addition to announcing new seasonal routes, Croatia Airlines has also announced a promotional campaign (lasting until March 28) for these flights, offering a 30% discount. You can read more about the promotional campaign at www.croatiaairlines.hr.

With the new five lines, you will be able to fly from Split to the following European destinations:

Athens

Vienna

Berlin

Düsseldorf

Frankfurt

Copenhagen

London (Heathrow and Gatwick)

Lyon

Munich

Paris

Prague

Rome

Zurich

Zagreb

In the 2022 summer flight schedule, regular international flights from Zagreb to 15 European destinations are planned, which is one additional European destination compared to last year. Namely, passengers will be able to fly to:

Amsterdam

Athens

Barcelona - renewed seasonal line (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays)

Vienna

Brussels

Dublin

Frankfurt

Copenhagen

London

Munich

Paris

Rome (via Split)

Sarajevo

Skopje

Zurich

Dubrovnik
Croatia Airlines plans to directly connect Croatia's southernmost airport with direct international flights from six European destinations:

Athens

Frankfurt

Munich

Paris

Rome

Zurich.

This season, the national airline is reintroducing Rijeka - Munich flights, and the novelty is the year-round international flights between Osijek - Munich from May 2 this year.

In addition to flights to European airports, Croatia Airlines also plans flights between 7 Croatian airports (Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Osijek, Zadar, Pula, and Brac). 

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

March 17, 2022 - Join the momentum of the Croatian remote work revolution and win yourself a luxury 5-star Sun Gardens Dubrovnik workation. 

The English language is constantly evolving. 

Words that are my everyday currency in 2022 - blog, social media, digital nomads, Instagrammable - simply did not exist 20 years ago. And listening to my kids chatting to their friends, I sometimes wonder if I am still a native speaker of English anymore. 

Last year, among the many new English words that I learned was one which I now realise is going to be absolutely huge, and it represents a seismic change in the future of work. 

Workation. 

I have seen it also spelled as Worcation, and even Workcation. A combination of two aspects of daily life which have been distinctly separate until now - work and vacation. But now, with the location independence offered by the remote work revolution, a concept which is becoming increasingly mainstream. 

Instead of driving to the office in your home town in the States each day, and coming home to the usual day-to-day existence at home, now the opportunities are endless.  You can be just as productive via your laptop during the working day, then have a coffee on the riva in Split, or a cocktail on Stradun in Dubrovnik to unwind after another productive day. 

The Croatian digital nomad story is still very nascent, but it is becoming acknowledged as one of the most dynamic in the world. Only the second country in Europe to offer a digital nomad visa/permit (which came into effect on January 1, 2021), Croatia has been very active in promoting this sector, and nowhere more so than Dubrovnik. 

Host of the first-ever digital nomad conference in Croatia back in October, 2020, as well as the pioneering and award-winning Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence program in April, 2021, Dubrovnik is continuing its push as an innovative remote work destination with the recently-announced Work. Place. Cuture. conference, a collaboration between the City of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads, and Total Croatia News - the conference which brings work from anywhere to absolutely everywhere. Join remote professionals and destinations from around the world as they inspire a global workforce who have greater location flexibility than ever before, and the destinations which are reinventing to support them through policy, infrastructure and community (more on the official website).

Public-private partnership has been key to Dubrovnik's success so far, and the buy-in from the private sector is demonstrated by the very exciting offer from award-winning 5-star resort, Sun Gardens Dubrovnik - in partnership with the Dubrovnik Tourist Board and Saltwater Nomads - which is offering a fantastic Win a Workation offer. 

The winning team will enjoy a 1-week stay (between 1 and 9 May 2022) at the 5 Star Sun Gardens Dubrovnik and have the chance to partake of a specialty workshop – strategy planning, team building, wellbeing and leadership are among the options available. The all-star team will also present at the Work. Place. Culture. Conference on 5-7 May 2022.

The winning team will stay in 2 x 2 bedroom residences. Each bedroom has a kingsize bed and ensuite with shared living area.

Enjoy free access to the sports centre – with gym and facilities, and free access to group trainings such as functional training or pilates.

Laze by one of the pools overlooking the Adriatic sea, or access the spa centre – with indoor swimming pool, gym, saunas, jacuzzi, relaxation area (massages and treatments additional).

Are you part of a team working remotely for the past couple of years, whose only contact with your colleagues has been through Zoom? Why not come together, relax, reconnect and reinvigorate in Paradise?

If your team would like to apply to win this Sun Gardens Dubrovnik workation and an unforgettable 9 days in the Pearl of the Adriatic, you can apply here. Applications are open until April 8.

Check out the magical Old Town and Sun Gardens Dubrovnik video teaser above - why would you take a workation anywhere else?

To learn more about the destination, check out the Total Croatia Dubrovnik in a Page guide, and also visit the official Sun Gardens Dubrovnik website.  

For more news and features about digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

March 17, 2022 - Works on reconstructing Hotel Gruž into a home for the elderly and infirm, the first retirement home in Dubrovnik in 51 years, are progressing well.

"Amid the corona crisis and the lack of workforce, a smaller delay is justified, which will not affect the key dates we have set for the home's opening, which is the fall of this year. Furthermore, after the completion of this construction process, we are about to announce a tender for equipping the entire space, so I hope that in the next month and a half to two months, we will announce the tender and start arranging the building itself," said Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Franković for Lokalni.hr.

The Home for the Elderly and the Infirm in Gruž will be managed by the future retirement home under the General Hospital, for which a building permit has recently been obtained.

"Unified administration, unified institution, and therefore lower costs. What our goal is, of course, is that both homes enter the network of homes, which would mean a much better price than the commercial price that these homes would have if they were not part of the homes network," said Mayor Franković and thanked the director of Hotel Gruž d.d. Vido Raič and project manager Vedran Kosović on their dedicated work.

Project manager Vedran Kosović from IGH points out that most of the reinforced concrete structures have been completed, only a small part of the construction in the northeastern part remains.

"The roof's construction is also finished, and the installation of tiles is in progress. Rough works on the terrace have been completed. Only the completion of the northeastern part of the building and the excavation for the engine room towards Andrije Hebranga Street remain. We will finish that in 15-20 days, and then the focus is on the facade and the completion of the interior works," said Kosović.

The upgrade and conversion of the building, which is underway, will provide functional and comfortable space divided into five floors, designed to accommodate 48 retirees in 32 accommodation units. Six hundred ninety square meters of the existing building were retained, and about 620 square meters of additional space were upgraded.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

March 15, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Austrian Airlines Croatia flights will operate 23 times per week from the beginning of the summer flight schedule. 

Austrian national airline and Lufthansa Group member Austrian Airlines will renew seasonal routes from Vienna to Split and Dubrovnik from the end of March, and to Zadar in early April. There will also be an increase in the number of weekly operations at Zagreb International Airport, reports Croatian Aviation.

Namely, Austrian Airlines is reintroducing seasonal routes from its main hub in Vienna to Split and Dubrovnik at the beginning of the summer flight schedule, which begins on March 27 this year. In the first days of April, traffic will resume between Vienna and Zadar Airport.

The first flight between Vienna and Split has been announced for Sunday, March 27. At the beginning of the summer flight schedule, Austrian will operate between the two cities 6 times a week, every day except Tuesdays. Already in the second half of April, there will be an increase in the number of flights on a daily basis.

In the first seven rotations to Split, Embraer 195 aircraft will operate, as well as the largest aircraft from the A320 family, the A321. Currently, there are 2,000 seats in that period.

There will be a similar flight schedule at the beginning of the season to Dubrovnik Airport. Five flights a week have been announced, starting on March 27, every day except Tuesdays and Thursdays, but there will also be an increase in the number of rotations by the Easter holiday.

1,872 seats are available on the first 7 flights between Dubrovnik and Vienna, and A320 and E195 aircraft will operate on the route.

Austrian will introduce a line to Zadar a little later than Split and Dubrovnik. The first flight has been announced for Saturday, April 9, and three flights a week have been announced at the start of the season, every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Prior to the pandemic, the Austrian airline operated twice a day to Zagreb, but this route has not yet returned to its 2019 capacity. Apparently, this will not happen at the beginning of this summer season either, although there will be an increase in weekly rotations.

Namely, from Sunday, March 27, Austrian will operate between Vienna and Zagreb eight times a week, every day except Wednesday, with two flights a day announced on Fridays and Sundays.

From Sunday, March 27, to Sunday, March 3, Austrian will offer 2,160 seats to and from Zagreb. Namely, as the airline retired all DashQ400 aircraft in June last year, Embraer 195 aircraft with a capacity of 120 seats will fly to Zagreb, so the previously mentioned smaller number of flights was compensated by increasing capacity or changing the type of aircraft on the route.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

March 14th, 2022 - Fans of retro technology have the opportunity to try out old computers and consoles in Dubrovnik until the end of the month

Last Saturday, Rijeka’s Peek&Poke Computer Museum opened a visiting exhibition in Dubrovnik, more precisely at the Youth Center, where all those interested can discover about twenty vintage computers, gaming consoles, calculators and mechanical calculators.

The opening of the exhibition attracted curious people of all generations who were delighted by the display, writes Novi list. The exhibition will remain open until March 27th.

’We’re thankful for the invitation of the Dubrovnik Association of Technical Culture, who invited us to Dubrovnik and helped organise the exhibition. We’re glad to have the opportunity to exhibit what is only a small part of our museum collection in Dubrovnik. We will certainly continue our cooperation with our Dubrovnik colleagues’, said Josip Knežević from Peek & Poke after the exhibition opening.

Until the end of the month, lovers of retro technology in Dubrovnik will have the opportunity to try out the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, Schneider, along with the consoles Atari, Nintendo, Playstation, and others.

Secretary of the Association for Technical Culture Tomo Sjekavica said his personal favourites were the Spectrum and the Commodore.

‘I’m especially glad that for the second time in Dubrovnik we were able to open the visiting exhibition of the Rijeka Computer Museum Peek&Poke, where you can see old computers and calculators dating from the 1930s onwards. As a computer expert and programmer myself, I’m very glad that we’re collaborating with the Peek&Poke Museum from Rijeka and I believe that there will be more opportunities in the future for some new joint projects’, said Sjekavica.

The Peek & Poke Museum in Rijeka is known as the only Croatian museum of vintage computers. Established in 2007, it has been attracting both locals and tourists from all over the world ever since.

The museum offers an overview of the technical development of computers and the computer industry from its beginnings to the present day, with a part of the museum used for various educational programmes.

Among the exhibited computer ‘pioneers’, there are exhibits from all five continents and an enviable collection of calculators to discover, including a pocket calculator made in Croatia and known all around the world as Digitron.

March 14, 2022 - The Dubrovnik digital nomad story continues, as the Work. Place. Culture. Conference is announced, bringing work from anywhere to absolutely everywhere. 

Good things are happening in the Pearl of the Adriatic. 

A new initiative to reposition the iconic Croatian city, known also to millions as Kings Landing, is already paying handsome dividends. 

A media poster child for overtourism back in 2017, Dubrovnik is now attracting headlines for very different reasons. Dubrovnik's decision to explore the remote work path has propelled itself into an increasingly popular digital nomad destination. In partnership with Saltwater Nomads and Total Croatia News, the City of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik Tourist Board hosted Croatia's first-ever digital nomad conference back in October 2020, Dubrovnik for Digital Nomads, a conference which achieved considerable global attention, including a mention in the Washington Post. 

This was followed in April 2021 with the Dubrovnik Digital Nomads in Residence programme, the first of its kind in the world, in which the destination and its community co-created a future strategy for digital nomad tourism, in partnership with 10 resident nomads who contributed their expertise as guests of the city for 4 weeks. Read more in Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence: Meet the Creators, Download Case Study. 

DNIR has already won two international awards, as well as considerable global acclaim, and Dubrovnik is continuing its innovative path in the sector with the announcement of a major conference from May 5-7, 2022 - Work. Place. Culture. From the official conference website:

Welcome – to the conference which brings work from anywhere to absolutely everywhere. Join remote professionals and destinations from around the world as they inspire a global workforce who have greater location flexibility than ever before, and the destinations which are reinventing to support them through policy, infrastructure and community.

Work. Place. Culture. is designed for destinations, companies and service providers in the remote work space:

Destinations

• looking to attract remote workers and digital nomads.
• connect and collaborate with regions and “nomad trails”
• share success stories and further build your profile to a global audience in an event blending destinations + decision-makers.

Companies

• creating/updating remote/hybrid work policy, looking for expertise and global best practice for talent attraction, retention, productivity and wellbeing.
• with a remote work policy – promote your business to attract global talent and build profile as leading RW companies.employees:
• learn about advocacy and support for remote work, travel and work from home (wfh).

Service Providers

• Tools: remote collaboration, hiring, consulting, legal & tax
• Teams:off-sites, team building, wellbeing, coaching, etc.
• Digital Nomads: vanlife, retreats, communities, sustainability. 

Set against the backdrop of gorgeous Dubrovnik in early season, the conference will additionally offer fantastic experiences such as NetWALLking along Dubrovnik's historic UNESCO walls, sea kayaking, and plenty of treats for Game of Thrones lovers. Tickets include conference day lunch and dinners. Early Bird tickets are available until April 4 and can be booked via the official website. 

A full list of speakers will be announced shortly, and they will include 3 of the top 10 remote work voices on LinkedIn, who will all be coming in person. You can download the programme here.

It promises to be an information-packed event, set in delightful Dubrovnik, and an outstanding networking opportunity for destinations, companies and service providers. But there is more...

We will shortly be launching the first official workation pilot by the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, with Win a Workation launching on 15 March, for a team of four to enjoy a 5-star experience at Sun Gardens and present at the conference.

And for those of you planning to attend this conference, there are many reasons why you should stay a little longer in Croatia. Nomadbase will be having their conference in Primosten from May 9-15, and the award-winning Zagreb Digital Nomad Week returns in June to the Croatian capital - more details will be released on both the Win a Workation and Zagreb Digital Nomad Week later this week. 

Work. Place. Culture. is a collaboration between the City of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads and TCN, with support from the Digital Nomad Association Croatia and Dubrovacka Bastina. Zagreb Digital Nomad Week is a partnership between Zagreb Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads, and TCN. 

To learn more about magnificent Dubrovnik, check out the Total Croatia Dubrovnik in a Page guide, in partnership with Sun Gardens Dubrovnik.  

For more news and features on digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section.