ZAGREB, January 14, 2019 - The body of the third worker who died in a fire which broke out at the Dubrovnik hydro-power plant on Thursday morning was found in the plant's drainage canal on Sunday evening after an extensive search operation involving local police, the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, firefighters, local residents and medical teams, the Dubrovnik police stated on Sunday evening.

The three workers were killed in the disaster when the fire broke out in the plant at 9 am Thursday.

The body of the first victim was found at 2 pm in the drainage canal while the body of the second victim was recovered in the late evening that day from the sea off the town of Cavtat.

After the fire broke out at the power plant in the morning, the three victims who took off their clothes and tried to exit the plant through a drainage canal, went missing.

According to the information provided by local firefighting authorities, firefighters were first trying to put the blaze under control in the 500-metre-long tunnel of the plant, and after the blaze was contained and extinguished, about 14 hrs on Thursday divers found the lifeless male body of the first victim at the power plant.

After the body of the second victim was found in the seawater, the search for the third worker was broadened to cover the coastal area off Dubrovnik.

Another three workers who sustained light injuries were transferred to the Dubrovnik hospital.

More Dubrovnik news can be found in our special section.

January 13, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia, with updates from Pula, Rijeka, Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik. 

Flights to Croatia: LOT boosts operations from Poland

Polish national carrier LOT Polish Airlines, a Star Alliance member, announced the introduction of a new line from Poland in their 2019 summer timetable. In 2018, LOT introduced the Dubrovnik-Warsaw line, which ran six times per week - or every day except Tuesday. 

While this line will remain in traffic this summer with the same number of weekly flights, a new route between Dubrovnik and Krakow (“Pope John Paul II) will operate once a week, on Saturdays, from May 25 to September 28, 2019, AvioRadar reported. The Embraer ERJ-195LR will be used on this line. 

The line between Dubrovnik and Krakow already operated in the past by Slovakian low-cost carrier SkyEurope, which ran two flights a week but halted operations in 2009. Following them, Polish regional carrier EuroLOT managed this route, though they also cut off all traffic in 2015. 

Flights to Croatia: Eurowings increases operations from Cologne 

German low-cost carrier Eurowings has extended their flight offer from Cologne to Croatia for the peak season. Namely, additional flights will operate from July 15 to August 23, 2019, from Cologne to Pula, Rijeka, Split, and Zadar, announced AvioRadar. 

On the Cologne/Bonn - Pula line, there will be an additional rotation on Monday. On the line to Rijeka, there will be two additional flights in the heart of the season - on Tuesdays and Fridays. The route to Split will now fly every day with the addition of the Wednesday service, and an additional flight on Thursday will boost the line to Zadar. 

Flights to Croatia: Air Transat confirms cancelation of Toronto-Split service

While we reported earlier this week that it looked as if Air Transat canceled their new service between Toronto and Split for 2019, Air Transat's Marketing Director, Debbie Cabana, confirmed the news for EX-YU Aviation. 

"For commercial reasons, we have decided to cancel our summer 2019 program for Split, Croatia. Nevertheless, Croatia remains a key destination for Transat and, given the interest shown by Canadians in the summer of 2018 and its potential for tourism development, we will be adding a third weekly departure from Toronto to Zagreb. Flights will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays during peak season. Passengers from Montreal and Vancouver will also benefit from a connecting flight to Toronto to take advantage of this added flight to Croatia. This third flight will make Zagreb accessible from Calgary as well, via return connecting flights to Toronto". 

The carrier was to fly between the two cities once a week from June 20 to September 12.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

Good news for the southern Dalmatian island of Lastovo as no less than a French organisation is set to help the islanders with their management of their resources and further their sustainable development.

As Morski writes on the 12th of January, 2019, SMILO (The small islands organisation) is a French association that has launched an international program to help islands less than 150 km2 in size who want to improve their management of resources, according to Vjeran Filippi, President of local action group LAG 5, which belongs to the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and consists of five parts: Korčula, Mljet and Lastovo, the Pelješac peninsula and Dubrovnik primorje.

LAG 5 includes twelve local self-government units: Blato, Dubrovnik primorje, Janjina, Korčula, Lastovo, Lumbarda, Mljet, Orebić, Smokvica, Ston, Trpanj and Vela Luka. Island councils have also been formed for the sole purpose of implementing the program on Lastovo and other islands.

In cooperation with the nature park of the archipelago of Lastovo, and as part of the aforementioned LAG 5 work plan for Lastovo, the island council was formed, and a basic analysis of the needs for sustainable development of the island of Lastovo, as well as strategic project proposals in the field of economic development was elaborated for the implementation of the SMILO Program, added Vjeran Filippi. The project included the local county and the board for the islands as operational support in proper communication with various national bodies.

Katarina Slejko, LAG 5's manager, added that for the island of Lastovo, the SMILO program will facilitate the realisation of projects that local stakeholders regard as crucial phases of the transition to sustainable economic development based on eco tourism, with the promotion of olive oil production and a local market, as well as a supporting project for storing the product.

The islands which choose to establish their cooperation with France's SMILO association can count on a set of experts to help launch their respective sustainable development projects, as well as receive a special label (the SMILO label) that will enable them to communicate with other islands involved in the program and increase their chances of getting their hands on numerous development funds, said Maja Rešić.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle page for more information. If it's just Dubrovnik and the extreme south of Dalmatia you're interested in, give Total Dubrovnik a follow.

Click here for the original article by Niko Peric for Korcula online

Excellent news at the very dawn of the brand new year for Donje Čelo on the island of Koločep (Kalamota) as a huge cash injection for port infrastructure is on its way. Getting enough cash for Croatian islands is something in the forefront of the minds of many, and this move will work to ensure higher quality for all.

Koločep is one of a group of islands close to the mainland known as the Elaphite (Elafiti) islands, made up of Koločep, Lopud and Šipan, which lie just north of the City of Dubrovnik. The islands attract many visitors on the numerous excursions which leave from the popular Pearl of the Adriatic on a daily basis during the warm summer months.

As Morski writes on the 11th of January, 2019, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure has decided on allowing the financing of a massive 24 million kuna's worth of renovation and reconstruction works for Donje Čelo's port on the southern Dalmatian island of Koločep, in a move conducted by the County Port Authority of Dubrovnik. 

This is otherwise one of the eight local and regional port projects that Dubrovnik-Neretva County is preparing for owing to very welcome funding from non-refundable European Union funds, meaning that while standards are still not matching those on the mainland cash for Croatian islands is no longer just a pipe dream.

More cash for Croatian islands will be channelled through further projects currently planned for the Perna port in Orebić, Polačište on the island of Korčula, Trpanj harbour in the Trpanj Municipality, Prigradica in the Blato Municipality, a ferry-passenger terminal in Vela Luka and Luka Ubli on the island of Lastovo. The total value of the aforementioned projects stands at about sixty million euros, as has been reported from Dubrovnik-Neretva County.

Stay up to date by following our dedicated lifestyle page. If it's just Dubrovnik and the extreme south of Dalmatia you're interested in, don't forget to give Total Dubrovnik a follow.

As part of the second edition of the "Meet Your Country" project, the Croatian Tourist Guides Association and partners will organize free guided tours in many cities across Croatia. The free guided tours will take place on the International Day of Recognition in Croatia, Sunday, January 13, 2019, at noon, reports HRTurizam on January 9, 2019. 

The guided tours are intended firstly for locals to get to know their city better and become ambassadors of Croatian tourism, but, of course, to all other visitors and tourists too.

“We wanted to highlight the importance of protected land sites in the country and the Ordinance on the List of Protected Locations (which is still under construction), which are the only places in Croatia which will be presented exclusively by tourist guides who have been educated in the Republic of Croatia,” said Kristina Niuć Prka, the president of the Croatian Tourist Guides Association, adding that the initiative this year includes 58 cities.

The list of cities and municipalities where free guided tours will be organized are Trogir, Split, Solin, Klis, Sinj, Trilj, Dubrovnik, Korčula, Šibenik, Drniš, Zadar, Rab, Opatija, Vepribac, Lovran, RIjeka, Krk, Vrbnik, Trsat, Labin, Rovinj, Pula, Vodnjan, Pazin, Buje, Poreč, Karlovac, Zagreb , Varaždin, Slavonski brod, Lipik, Osijek, Vukovar, Vinkovci, Otočac, Plitvice, Đakovo, Buzet, Roč, Hum, Motovun, Viškovo, Imotski, Cres, Novalja, Krapisnke Toplice, Jastrebarsko, Pag, Bakar, Daruvar, Hrvatska Kostajnica, Nin, Kastav, and Sisak.

In Croatia, there are a total of 555 local self-government units, namely 428 municipalities and 127 cities, making it interesting that not all cities and tourist boards are participating in this action. 

“Meet Your Country” is an excellent tourist story and a significant segment in the mosaic of Croatia’s tourism story which the country cannot continue to neglect. It is the people that make up the best cities, thus the locals are tourism and the best ambassadors of Croatian tourism. The local population gives a rhythm and pulse to the destination, and visitors want to be introduced to the city by locals through their culture, lifestyle, customs, and stories because it is precisely the essence of tourism.

In conclusion, getting acquainted with your city and transforming citizens into ambassadors of Croatian tourism is crucial for the development of tourism. Get out there and learn more about your city this Sunday! You can find out more about where you're meeting in your city here. 

To learn more about tourism in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

Split, Zadar, and Dubrovnik made the top 20 most awarded cities in the world in 2018! 

January 7, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia, with updates to Pula and Dubrovnik. 

Flights to Croatia: Ryanair from Dublin to Split and Dubrovnik

Ryanair has announced that they are launching their first flights to Dubrovnik and Split from Dublin, four times a week from June, as part of its largest Croatian summer schedule so far. The 2019 summer schedule also includes flights from Zadar to Cologne, Hamburg and Nuremberg, reports HRTurizam. 

"Ryanair is pleased to announce our first flights from Dubrovnik and Split to Dublin, which will run four times per week from June, as part of the expanded summer schedule in 2019, which also includes new flights from Zadar to Cologne, Hamburg, and Nuremberg,” said Ivana Hanjš, executive director of sales and marketing for Europe.

Flights to Croatia: S7 to Dubrovnik and Pula

Russian airline S7 has also announced they’ll be boosting operations to both of their destinations in Croatia for the 2019 summer, reports AvioRadar.

Namely, on the line between Dubrovnik and Moscow (Domodedovo airport), S7 will operate using the larger Boeing 737-800 aircraft instead of the Airbus A319 aircraft. Flights will continue to work twice a week, on Monday and Friday, over the same period as last year. 

On the line between Pula and Moscow (Domodedovo), S7 has announced an additional line on Saturdays. Thus, instead of last year’s five flights per week, S7 will now operate between the two cities six times a week. There will be no flights on Tuesdays and Sundays. 

The Pula-Saint Petersburg line remains unchanged and will run as it did last year - once a week on Sundays. 

Flights to Croatia: El Al from Tel Aviv to Dubrovnik

Ex Yu Aviation announced that Israel's national carrier El Al has also announced a new seasonal flight between Tel Aviv and Dubrovnik. The Israeli airline will fly once a week between the two cities, on Tuesdays, beginning June 4, 2019. Operations will end on September 24, 2019. El Al will operate using the 189-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

We're sure that a disgruntled huff can be heard across various platforms when greeted with the unwelcome news that the Dubrovnik city walls' entrance fee has risen once again.

Dubrovnik is a bit of a paradoxical city. Known for being shamefully expensive yet also boasting some of the cheapest lesser known locations in all corners of the city, many tourists consider the sheer beauty and history that makes Dubrovnik what it is to be overshadowed by its often extortionate prices.

Having lived in Dubrovnik for several years before relocating to Zagreb, I can say with some confidence that this talk of everything being ultra-expensive isn't entirely true, and that Dubrovnik's story certainly isn't that black and white.

Regardless, seeing the price of enjoying a cold beer on Stradun is enough to make anyone jump to such rash conclusions about the famed Pearl of the Adriatic and its continuous descent into the almost Disneyland-like misery of its own wild success.

The Dubrovnik city walls, a truly magnificent medieval structure surrounding the heart of the UNESCO protected old city, are by no means left out of this age old conversation on pricing, having faced several price hikes over the past several years, it comes as no real surprise to learn that the City of Dubrovnik has raised the entrance fee yet again.

As Morski writes on the 6th of January, 2019, the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities, in agreement with the City of Dubrovnik, have introduced a new price tag for the entrance to Dubrovnik's city walls. As of January this year, visitors will need to fork out 200 kuna per person for the visit, instead of the previous amount of 150 kuna, which was already met with complaints by many.

The new decision has also abolished discounts for groups. The Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities, in addition to the Dubrovnik city walls, manages several other historical sites across the wider Dubrovnik-Neretva County, and each location managed by the society, growth in visits has been recorded. Otherwise, about 1.3 million visitors visited the Dubrovnik city walls in 2018, according to a report from RTL.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated lifestyle page. If it's just Dubrovnik you're interested in, keep up with all you need to know by following Total Dubrovnik.

This year expects to be another stellar one for the popular Dubrovnik Airport, which hopes to grow their passenger numbers 5%. Recall, in 2018, Dubrovnik hit a new record after welcoming over 2.5 million travelers through their doors, which is already up over 9% on 2017, reports Ex Yu Aviation on January 6, 2019. 

"This past year was demanding and turbulent but our goal of achieving 10% growth, which is above the global average, has been more or less attained. We expect that our net profit for 2018 will amount to 9.8 million euros. In 2019, we estimate passenger growth of 4.59%. The biggest increase in travelers is expected from the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, and the Czech Republic,” said Frano Luetić, the general manager at Dubrovnik Airport, who continued: 

"After 28 years, Croatia will be linked with the United States thanks to American Airlines' service between Philadelphia and Dubrovnik. During the summer, Flydubai will continue to run flights from Dubai while the world's largest low-cost airline, Ryanair, will launch services to our airport.” 

Up to 70 airlines will operate to Dubrovnik in the summer of 2019. 

"A significant increase in traffic is expected from cities such as London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Dublin,” Luetić added. 

Romana Vlašić, the director of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, is also optimistic about the summer season - and especially the new route on American Airlines. 

"This pilot project with American Airlines will grow over the coming years to include more American cities. We have already arranged joint marketing opportunities and cooperation. We are only too happy to help fill these flights and make sure that this new link is successful,” Vlašić said.

Dubrovnik’s expansion project will also continue this year, which is estimated to be worth 225 million euro. 

Constructing two new rapid exit taxiways, expanding the western apron, and constructing a new commercial aviation apron on the west side, a new east apron for general aviation, a small general aviation terminal and developing aircraft maintenance and operation facilities in addition to the hangars, and a 700-vehicle parking lot is all part of the improvements.  Domestic operators will also get a housing area with its own maintenance and operations premises and a new aviation fuel tank, among other things. All construction work should be done in 2020.

A new terminal building is also in Dubrovnik’s plans, though it would only be used during the peak season. 

"Current capacity is at five million passengers, and I believe this will be sufficient for some time. As a result, we will not require any significant investments following the completion of this project. However, we do have plans for a new seasonal terminal to the west of the car park, although construction should begin in 2025 or 2026," said Luko Vuletić, the General Services Manager at Dubrovnik Airport. 

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

Dalmatia woke up to negative temperatures on Friday. According to Pljusak.com, at 6 am in Knin this morning, temperatures measured -2.2 degrees Celsius, Drniš measured -2.7 degrees Celsius, and Šibenik measured -1.3, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on January 4, 2019. 

The coastal town of Primošten measured -1.6 degrees at 7 am this morning, while Sinj was -3.1, Klis was -2.3, and the Mosor Observatory measured -5.8 degrees Celsius. The coldest temperatures were measured at Sveti Jure on Biokovo, where it was a crippling -15.3 degrees Celsius at 6 am. 

The Dalmatian capital wasn't nearly as chilly, as temperatures measured 0.2 degrees Celsius according to DHMZ. Zrnovnica and Solin measured 0.4, Ploče 0.5 degrees, Makarska 0.7, Lastovo 0.9, and Omiš, Hvar and Dubrovnik measured the warmest, at 1.3 degrees.

The bura came back with a vengeance this week and will continue to wreak havoc on the northern Adriatic. Fortunately, we’ll have fewer problems than Thursday. The afternoon will boast sunshine though there is there a slight possibility of mild precipitation later today. The mountains will be quite cold in the evening with occasional snow and strong winds, so it is best to postpone any trip to the late afternoon. 

Snow will fall in the interior of Dalmatia, especially in the evening and morning, though the day will pass mostly without precipitation and with partially sunny skies. The middle of the Adriatic is still sunny, though still relatively cold, with strong and stormy bura winds. Once again, the winds are weaker than Thursday. The sea will be quite wavy and choppy.

The south will be equally windy and cold, though mostly sunny. The islands and Konavle should see some rainfall. 

Saturday morning will be even colder on land, with the daily temperature not reaching above 0°C. The north and northwest winds will weaken on Saturday. There will be some snow over the weekend and some sleet. Traffic cautions will be necessary at the beginning of next week.

On Saturday the Adriatic will continue to feature winter conditions, with some temperatures in the minus, with the potential of some snow. On Sunday, however, temperatures will be a little higher, though they come with stronger bura winds which will gust into Monday. 

The Croatian Autoclub has warned drivers of trucks and semis that there is currently no open road for them between the interior and Dalmatia. Rijeka and Istria are open for all vehicles only on the A6 Rijeka-Zagreb motorway.

Because of the winds, HAK announced that the section of the A1 motorway between Sveti Rok and Maslenica, as well as the state road Maslenica-Zaton Obrovački, is open only for passenger cars, while traffic could be prohibited for  buses, vehicles with caravans and motorcycles (I group of vehicles) on the Franjo Tudjman bridge in Dubrovnik and the Adriatic highway between Senj and Karlobag. Between Karlobag and Sv. Marija Magdalena is an additional ban on cargo vehicles and vehicles with an overhead freight area (I and II group vehicles).

The ferry line Dubrovnik-Lopud-Suđurađ, catamaran lines Vis-Split, Ubli-Vela Luka-Hvar-Split and Pula-Mali Lošinj-Zadar, and Zadar-Preko have interupptions. 

To read more about news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.