May 7, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Delta Air Lines flights to Croatia will operate from JFK Airport to Dubrovnik this July! 

Yet another American airline is coming to Croatia this summer! From July, Delta Air Lines will operate on the route from New York (John F. Kennedy Airport) to Dubrovnik!

One of the three largest American airlines, Delta Air Lines, is introducing a direct route between Dubrovnik and New York. Since the independence of the Republic of Croatia, Croatian airports have had no direct connection with this famous American city. Now, in another pandemic year, a second line between New York and Dubrovnik has been announced in just 3 weeks!

Delta has its main hub in Atlanta and an additional 8 throughout the United States. One of them is the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, from which the airline's planes will fly to Dubrovnik Airport. Under normal circumstances, this company operates to as many as 52 countries on 6 continents and is also a member of the SkyTeam airline association.

Only 10 days ago, United Airlines announced the New York - Dubrovnik - New York (Newark Airport) route, which will start operating in July.

The Delta flight between Dubrovnik and New York (JFK) has been announced from the beginning of July with as many as four flights a week, with B767-400ER aircraft.

Dubrovnik will have 7 flights a week to New York this summer!

Delta has 21 aircraft of this type in its fleet, mainly in three classes: 40 seats in business, 28 seats in premium economy, and 178 seats in economy class.

This is great news for Dubrovnik Airport, which this summer will have 7 flights a week to and from New York to two different airports that serve this popular city. It will be even nicer to see two big American airlines in Dubrovnik!

After American Airlines was the first American carrier to introduce a route to Dubrovnik in the summer of 2019, it is currently the only one of the three major carriers in the United States that will not operate to Croatia this summer. 

Croatia opened its borders to guests from the United States, which was immediately recognized by American travel agencies and airlines. The introduction of regular lines from New York will ensure the arrival of passengers who, even before the global pandemic, had a significant share in the total tourist traffic of the city of Dubrovnik and the wider region.

In addition, the arrival of two prestigious and globally known airlines in Dubrovnik will put this Croatian airport in the focus of the world aviation public, which can certainly only help attract new airlines. 

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 6, 2021 - The Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence program is well underway with the nomads getting accustomed to their new place of residence and colleagues. We have caught up with one of them, Ron Tardiff.

Ron Tardiff is quite a guy. He is a highly educated marine ecologist with an impressive educational background. He studied at seven educational institutions pursuing marine sciences (BSc), maritime studies (BA), and aquaculture (MSc). Ron dedicates his work and effort to bettering aquaculture and fishing practices. He advocates better regulation based on scientific research. Ron is also actively voicing his concerns regarding overtourism. Being a dedicated marine ecologist, he is well aware of the environmental damages it brings. In his spare time he practices yoga and learns foreign languages.

Getting to Dubrovnik

Aside from being a dedicated ocean advocate, he is an avid traveller. Not only that, but a true digital nomad. With no preferred spot in which to spend his days, Ron has found himself working, studying and living in 10 different countries. COVID-related travel problems prevented him to get back to Europe. While trying to find a solution, the Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence program caught his eye. Now, he is testing the waters of the Croatian South and sharing his insights with us and the local community.

Ron is frustrated with the slow pace at which national governments adopt policies related to digital nomads. For him, it seems like the struggle between the comfort of familiar but outdated practices and progress is taking too long. All he wants is a chance to work in different spots, helping local communities in the process. It might be time to listen to what he has to say.

In a quick interview below check out some of his impressions of Dubrovnik, life in Croatia and Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence. Through conversation with Paul Bradbury Ron reveals the reasons he never considered Dubrovnik before as a digital nomad destination. He also says a few words about cooperating with the other nomads. Find out more below.

You can learn more about the program here. 

Saltwater Nomads' Tanja Polegubic on Dubrovnik Digital Nomad-in-Residence Program

Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Frankovic on Digital Nomads, US Flights, 2021 Season

For the latest digital nomad news from Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section.

The winner announcement video:

May 5, 2021 - Good news today as the high-speed Lastovo - Korčula - Dubrovnik line will operate from May 15, 2021! 

The state high-speed line 9808 Lastovo - Korčula - Dubrovnik (and return) will be established this May, and the first trip will take place on Saturday, May 15, 2021. The line will be maintained by the shipping company TP line d.o.o. by the "Anastasia" ship, announced the Agency for Coastal Shipping.

TP line d.o.o. was selected as the most favorable bidder in the negotiated public procurement procedure without prior publication of a call for tenders, and during the next week a contract will be signed with the shipowner to perform temporary transport on the line 9808 Lastovo - Korčula - Dubrovnik.

After signing the contract, the Agency will publish the sailing schedule with the price list on its official website.

TP line d.o.o. will maintain the line until it is taken over by the shipowner who will be selected in the open public procurement procedure for transport on line 9808 Lastovo - Korčula - Dubrovnik, and which proceedings are currently suspended for appeal.

For more information and travel tips to Dubrovnik, be sure to visit our newly launched Total Croatia portal.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 4, 2021 - The Dubrovnik Port Authority has announced that the Dubrovnik cruise ship season will open on June 11. 

Important news for Dubrovnik came at the start of the week as the Dubrovnik Port Authority confirmed the first major cruise ship to visit Dubrovnik this year will be the MSC Orchestra on the 11th of June, as reported by Dubrovacki Vjesnik.

Question of Sustainability and Pandemic Woes

Cruise ships bring in well over half a million tourists each year to Dubrovnik, making it one of the busiest cruise ship ports of the Mediterranean. With the city's infrastructure strained under the pressure of all the guests visiting during a typical summer season, many have raised a question of whether these numbers are sustainable. With cruise ship guests having very limited time during which to visit the city, the financial effect of their visits is a thing of controversy in the „Pearl of the Adriatic“. 

The past 12 months have been anything but typical. This is very true for Dubrovnik’s tourism sector as well. The driving force of Dubrovnik’s economy has ground to a halt during 2020 and the voices screaming for sustainability are very much silent at the beginning of another extremely uncertain tourism season. With this in mind, it is easy to see why the news about the arrival of MSC ship is hailed almost universally as a good thing.

Beginning of Dubrovnik’s Bounce Back?

After the initial arrival on June 11th, there are 35 more visits to Dubrovnik planned by MSC in the 2021 season by the company’s ships MSC Orchestra and MSC Splendida. According to the official website, MSC Orchestra has a maximum capacity of 3013 passengers, while MSC Splendida can hold an impressive 4363 passengers. Even if the maximum capacity is reduced due to COVID-related measures, it is clear these numbers look very promising for a destination hit by a pandemic drop in revenue more severely than the rest of the Croatian coast. 

According to the General Manager of Dubrovnik’s Port Authority Blaz Pezo, there are several other cruise companies that will be confirming their Dubrovnik arrivals very soon. Many in the tourism industry are crossing their fingers in hope of seeing the sector bounce back during the summer. At the same time, some Dubrovnik locals and guests were happy with clear roads and city streets free of excessive crowds last summer. 

Maybe this year the city will get close to the perfect balance of tourists bringing in revenue and people being able to enjoy the city. 

For more information and travel tips on Dubrovnik, be sure to visit our newly launched Total Croatia portal.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 2, 2021 - In a press release, the candidate for the mayor of Dubrovnik, Andro Vlahušić, asked for experienced people and professionals to save the cruising season.

As Dulist.hr reports, Andro Vlahušić has requested a staff solution regarding the Dubrovnik Port Authority director, Blaž Pezo, through an open statement from his platform, Dubrovnik our city:

‘‘Dubrovnik is, among other things, a city of sailors. In history, they created a network of trade and connected the city with the whole world. Even today, Dubrovnik naval officers have impressive captaincy and managerial careers at the world's largest companies. That is why in 2017, it was easy to find someone professional and experienced to come to the head of the Dubrovnik Port Authority. However, HDZ decided on the completely opposite approach and appointed a person who has neither a day of work experience nor an hour of education in maritime affairs. Although he did not meet the conditions of the tender, HDZ party operative (which was once called the party commissioner) Blaž Pezo was appointed director of the Dubrovnik Port Authority. The Dubrovnik public protested then, but the commissioner rubbed his hands together. For obedience and loyalty, he was awarded a respectable position upon which hundreds of jobs depend in Dubrovnik. Aware of the way in which he was appointed, he continued to deal exclusively with the party, not professional tasks. That is why cruisers bypass Dubrovnik today. There was no one in the Port Authority to prepare and develop the epidemiological protocols that are a prerequisite for receiving ships on cruises’’, Vlahušić said in a statement and continued:

‘‘Unfortunately, Mayor Franković did not do anything in the preparation of the protocol of visiting the City, entering museums, the walls or movement in organised groups in an epidemiologically safe way. And hundreds of jobs have become compromised. Buses, taxi drivers, guides, souvenir shops and restaurants will remain without income for the second year in a row. They will not be able to survive it. The responsibility of the irresponsible director Pezo, but also of those who appointed him even though he is not qualified, is simply such that the minimum of decency is to admit a mistake, dismiss him, and appoint someone who has knowledge of ships and seafaring in his place.

The Dubrovnik our City platform calls on Minister Butković to find a staffing solution for this catastrophic situation without delay because Dubrovnik cannot afford that the income that once remained in Dubrovnik today goes to Greece and Cyprus just because someone does not know that his job is to negotiate with directors of shipping companies, not pay for beer to party cadets. And with every cruiser that will not sail into Dubrovnik, a million kuna is lost.

The people of Dubrovnik still remember how the Dubrovnik hospital became a central place for examinations and medical treatments of the world's largest cruising company at the time when it was headed by Dr. Vlahušić.

The Dubrovnik our City platform and candidate for mayor, Andro Vlahušić, have been proposing and appealing for months that epidemiological protocols for receiving ships and visiting the historic core be developed, defined and implemented, and this will be our first task as soon as we come to power and thus create preconditions for the return of cruisers and job preservation.

In the year in which the Olympic Games are being organised, this is very possible. We just need to appoint serious people, experienced professionals and work with all our strength to make that happen’’, Vlahušić and his platform Dubrovnik our City point out.

For more about politics in Croatia, be sure to bookmark our dedicated section.

For more about ''the Pearl of the Adriatic'', visit Total Croatia's Dubrovnik in a Page 2021 guide HERE.

A LinkedIn message from the Managing Director of Pragusa One, Kresimir Budinski, with some UNBELIEVABLE news. The press release in full. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

London (3/5/2021) - Pragusa.One is delighted to announce non-stop flights from the United States to Croatia this summer. Three weekly flights from Los Angeles (LAX) and New York (EWR) to Dubrovnik (DBV) will be operated by Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft. The inaugural flight from New York scheduled for 21st June 2021 followed by the inaugural flight from Los Angeles scheduled for 22nd June 2021. The service will be maintained until the end of October 2021.

The company will operate Airbus A330-300 between New York and Dubrovnik offering 15,700 seats in total. The flights will operate on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday from New York and Dubrovnik.

Airbus A340 will be engaged on the flights between Los Angeles and Dubrovnik offering 14,700 seats in total. The flights will operate on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday from Los Angeles and Dubrovnik.

“We worked hard since summer 2020 to create this unique product for avid travelers that are ready and steady to fly abroad. Point-to-point flight operations bundled with a full travel package and premium in-flight service are key success factors for the ultimate travel experience in the future. The US market represents one of the focus markets for Pragusa.One” said Kresimir Budinski, managing director at Pragusa.One Ltd.

Ticket sales start on 24th May 2021. Group reservations and information on full travel packages available to travel agents per request over email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or website www.pragusa.one

# # #

About Us

Pragusa.One Ltd. is a UK-based travel company established in August 2020. The company is offering full travel packages to Europe from America, Asia, and South Africa with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Media inquiries: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Looking for information about the Pearl of the Adriatic? Check out the Total Croatia Dubrovnik in a Page guide.

For the latest flight updates, check out the TC Flights to Croatia page.

April 30, 2021 - As tourism chiefs gather in Dubrovnik, several sources indicate that direct flights from New York JFK to Dubrovnik with Delta Air Lines will be announced today. 

Apparently the Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Stancic, is in town, flying into Dubrovnik from Zagreb last night. 

And a press conference has been announced. 

Perhaps he is going to issue me with another pointless lawsuit, or perhaps he is going to make a public apology to me and the Croatian taxpayer for wasting my time and their money. (Read more in Croatian Media Compares Paul Bradbury Lawsuit to Kafka's 'The Trial')

But I think there is another reason for the press conference, for there are other things afoot. 

Ina Rodin, New York Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, is also in town, along with a group of American travel agents on a fam trip around Croatia. 

It is just over two weeks until the elections. 

Hmmm. Put all the above together, and I am guessing there is some big announcement coming. A lot bigger than another pointless lawsuit in any case. 

The New York connection can mean only one thing - a new direct flight announcement. I did some digging with some New York and aviation contacts, and it appears that we have some big news on the way. 

I don't normally report on flight speculation until things are officially confirmed, but my contacts in the States are pretty sure on this one, and I will be offline in a workshop all day at the Dubrovnik Digital Nomads in Residence programme. 

From the information I have sourced, I would expect the following announcement:

Delta Air Lines will initiation a direct connection between New York JFK to Dubrovnik this summer. It will be a seasonal line beginning in July and flying four times a week. 

Add this to the recent announcement of United Airlines also flying from Newark to Dubrovnik, and this is yet more excellent news for Dubrovnik, which is the most flight-dependent destination in Croatia, as well as the preferred choice for American tourists. 

Interest in Dubrovnik has always been strong from the American market, and the city got some great free promo last year via our Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community (which won the 2021 International PR Grand PRix for Crisis Management), as Kresimir Macan, the City of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik Tourist Board hosted the ABC crew for several days, resulting in 6 features on ABC News, including this one above on Good Morning America, which was watched by 12.5 million people. 

One of the first places that could share the news to an American audience once confirmed is the KB and Marlee radio show, which normally broadcasts from Fort Worth in Texas. Marlee is currently in Dubrovnik, however, one of the 10 winners of the inaugural Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence programme. Here she is in the old quarantine station of Lazareti, close to the city walls, currently a co-working space for digital nomads. 

We will provide an update to the story after the press conference with confirmed details, assuming it is the flight announcement. Or perhaps another lawsuit. Or public apology. 

For more flight announcement news, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

April 28, 2021 - In an interview with Vanity Fair, the Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron answered questions from the Proust Questionnaire and said she was the happiest on a family vacation in Croatia. 

In 2019, Charlize Theron, a South African-born actress, is among many celebrities to vacation along the Croatian coast. 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Charlize Theron (@charlizeafrica)

The Vanity Fair Proust Questionnaire consisted of 35 quick-fire questions to get to know Charlize's personality. One of the questions asked was 'when and where were you the happiest?' and Theron answered, "Last summer on vacation with my tribe." Later on, in the reflection session, Charlize explained her family traveled through a bit of coastal Croatia and described it as "just magical." 

She went on to explain, "It was with a couple of families and tons of kids and people who I just really love and consider my adopted family. I've been thinking a lot about that vacation during quarantine". 

Charlize stated that she is the happiest when in a warm climate, so it comes as no surprise that she chose to spend her summer along the Croatian coast. With her tribe, as Charlize described them, they spent their days exploring the southern Dalmatia, more specifically Hvar and Dubrovnik. 

During their time in Croatia, Charlize and the tribe were spotted enjoying their time on a private yacht and local restaurants on the mainland. The famous actress described was extremely satisfied with the local food as she described her experience as "so delicious, so amazing!" in a video from Gariful official Instagram profile. 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by RESTAURANT GARIFUL (@restaurantgarifulhvar)

On vacation in Croatia, the actress and her daughters and family friends spent time doing what they love the most sailing, touring restaurants, and exploring the beautiful Croatian coast.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Charlize starts talking about Croatia about 8 minutes into the video.

April 28, 2021 - Dubrovnik in April - is there really a better time to visit the Adriatic pearl? 

The sun is shining, the weather is warmer, and the summer crowds a thing of the past. If you're ever lucky enough to visit Dubrovnik in April, we promise it is not something you will soon forget. 

As the walled city awakens from a winter slumber, revitalized from the sleepy season to welcome the sun, the intoxicating spring beauty of Dubrovnik is unrivaled. 

The camera lens of photographer Ivan Vukovic confirms just that. 

If you want to know more about the things to do and see in the ''Pearl of the Adriatic'' in 2021, visit Total Croatia's Dubrovnik in a page HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

April 18, 2021 - Congratulations to Student Centre Dubrovnik, as the innovative student dormitory project has won a prestigious architectural award. 

It has been my accommodation discovery of the year, as I wrote in Dubrovnik Cocktails at 35 Kuna?!? Meet Akademis "Academia". But the new student campus in Dubrovnik is also getting rave reviews for very different reasons. 

As Dubrovacki Dnevnik writes, the Croatian Chamber of Architects has selected the student dormitory project for the most successful architectural creation in 2020.

"We're the best! The Viktor Kovacic Award is now in the hands of our designers,'' read the post on Facebook written by the director of the Student Centre Dubrovnik, Marko Potrebica, who is also the leader of the project team for the construction of the dorm.

"Congratulations to the authors, our designers, Associate Professor Tin Franic, Associate Professor Vanja Rister and Ana Martincic Varesko, B.Sc,'' wrote Potrebica.

The student dormitory provides accommodation for 503 students, and in addition to that, there is a library, a main restaurant boasting 627 seats, a modern kitchen with storage and refrigerators, a fast food restaurant and restaurant for both citizens and visitors, a fitness centre, a student club, classrooms, a multipurpose hall, a kitchenette and even an underground garage for as many as 179 cars.

The total value of the project stands at 201 million kuna, of which 151 million kuna came in the form of a grant. It is an investment in which 85 percent was financed by European Union (EU) funds and is also the largest project financed through the "Competitiveness and Cohesion" Operational Programme.

This is what the Croatian Association of Architects had to say about the project:

In one of the most famous fortified cities in the world, the authors built a city within a city, inexplicitly mimetically repeating the forms of the original historic Dubrovnik fortification on the outside and transforming the cloister square into a rhombus on the inside. The newly created typology is a bold step forward in a heritage-defined city, but in this place and at this time - successful. The city inside consists of three strong volumes laid on a common base that make up three connected residential “neighborhoods” with streets facing three inner courtyards surrounded by rooms. The intimacy of the courtyard is emphasized by introverted design, but also by the choice of wood as the main material of the courtyard facade, which offers us another modern interpretation of coastal wooden shutters. The simultaneous distance and interactivity of the façade with its gentle absorbent color made this house unobtrusive to the surrounding urban space of uneven morphology. Regardless of the fragmented surrounding urban landscape, the "house" has found a way to successfully communicate with the environment and at the same time stabilize it. New walking routes are being introduced through the plot, which includes the home in the network of city flows and everyday life. All decisions are strong and clear, whether it is about shaping large accommodation volumes or the emptiness of the park park in front. The connecting glass membrane of the ground floor in some parts denies a clear difference between the interior and exterior of the building, and emphasizes the democratic and communal character of the home as a space intended for all Dubrovnik students, but also for all citizens and travelers. Everything in this house is contemporary, and everything is at the same time deeply archaic and intuitive. Each space evokes the memory of familiar Mediterranean ambiences, but spoken in a new language. The City has been given a house by which it undoubtedly communicates to the outside its own ambition: young, hardworking and smart are needed by this City.

You can learn more about Dubrovnik in the TC Dubrovnik in a Page guide.