July 23, 2020 - Continuing our look at the real estate opportunities in Dalmatia through the portfolio of Trgostan, this week a delightful 2-bed old stone house in idyllic Jelsa. 

An island stone holiday home is the dream of many, and it was the most sought-after property when I had my real estate business on Hvar some 15 years ago. 

And while I may have given up my real estate career, the sale of authentic stone houses in Croatia continues, including the latest Property of the Week from Trgostan, in Jelsa on the island of Hvar, which Trgostan describe thus:

A three-storey stone house in Jelsa on the island of Hvar, built over 100 years ago, fully reconstructed in 2001, 70m2 internal space, consisting of:

• ground floor: old "konoba" rearranged into a kitchen with dining area with refreshing atmosphere during summer since it's partly under the ground, but with enough light, bathroom and small terrace;
• 1st floor: bedroom with two windows, storage area and bathroom;
• 2nd floor (attic): indoor stairs, spacious room with two windows;
• The ground floor is connected to the upper two floors by outdoor stairs only. The house doesn't have it's own parking, but a public one is very close to it.

For more information and to book a viewing, visit the original Trgostan listing. 

July 19, 2020 - Harvesting lavender on top of Hvar, what can be more magical than that? A visit to the aromatic fields of Jadran Lazic. 

It has been one of my favourite summer activities for the last 7 summers, and I have not missed a single harvest. 

They used to start with a 4 am wakeup call and an early descent to the top of Croatia's premier island and straight to work before the heat became too fierce. These days, harvest lavender in the fields of Jadran Lazic takes place in the late afternoon. 

Back in 2013, I accompanied Jadran on his first harvest, which consisted of one expert harvester cutting the precious lavender bushes, while Jadran used his photography expertise to record the event. It was just the three of us, the bushes were small, and we were finished within the hour. 

The bushes grew, and so did the team of pickers. A grill for the workers was added to the schedule, and it became a great social event, as well as one of the most enjoyable authentic experiences of my time in Dalmatia. 

Especially when the workers spontaneously started singing their traditional songs while working in the fields. Listen to these guys above. 

Jadran brought some of his celebrity friends from LA, all amazed at the tranquil, authentic way of life he enjoys on Hvar away from the much higher-profile life in LA. 

Here is Jadran, interviewed by me last year, telling us how his project got started, before demonstrating how to cut lavender. 

Sadly this year, after 7 faithful years of attendance, I was unable to make it to Hvar, but I will be there next year for sure. 

My presence was clearly not missed, and the happy team from all over the world worked hard to cut the raw materials to produce 3 precious litres of lavender oil. 

Jadran uses this oil daily back in the States to remind himself of Dalmatia. Always a Split boy at heart, he puts a drop on his pillow each night before bed to remind him of his beloved Dalmatia, and he sleeps like a baby.  

Check out some of the photos of this year's harvest below, as well as a video overview of the whole experience a couple of years ago. 

July 2, 2020 - As locals complain of Hvar Town hosting just 66 guests, why Croatian tourism strategy makes that inevitable. 

There was an interesting report in Slobodna Dalmacija the other day on the quietness of the season in Hvar Town - just 66 registered guests. 

Corona is the main reason, of course, but it is worth taking a closer look at what is happening, and how the complete lack of any tourism strategy is making a terrible situation so much worse. 

Slobodna says that at the same time last year, there were 4,588 guests, a sizable difference. Now let's do some maths. 

I was speaking to someone in the Hvar hotel business the other day, and he told me that the main problem at the moment is that 75% of the normal guests - from USA, UK, Scandinavia, Australia, Brazil etc - simply cannot get here due to issues with borders or flights. 

25% of 4,588 is 1,147.

So if this was a record year like last year, then the remaining 25% of tourists would number 1,147. 

This is not a record year. 

Our tourism chiefs tell us that last month was 30% of the same time in 2019. So 30% of 4,588 would be 1,376 tourists.

The thing is that Istria is MUCH fuller than Dalmatia, as it is much closer, and LOTS of Slovenians have holiday homes a short drive from their home countries. And yes, they are in the tourism stats too, and no, they don't need 319 local tourist boards, 20 regional tourist boards, a national tourist board, a ministry of tourism, or a tourism section of the Chamber of Economy to tell them where there house is. 

There are 110,000 Slovenians alone who have holiday homes in Croatia. You can bet almost all of them came to chill after lockdown. If they averaged three per household, there are 300,000 of the 892,000 tourists which came to Croatia in June, according to our official statistics. And those are just the Slovenian home owners. 

The increased distance to Dalmatia (and lack of flights) means that it is probably more like 10% capacity of last year, which would be 459 tourists, which is more than the current 66. 

So let's have a look at the current Croatian tourism strategy and what it is doing to fight for every guest in the corona age where Minister Cappelli tells the world Croatia is 'breathing tourism.'

As there are almost no flights, the only options are to arriving by car and ferry, or by sea. Split is a long drive from any Croatian border, and then you have the 2-hour ferry. 

Did we find a way to reduce the tolls on the motorway? No. Just from Zagreb to Split is 400 kuna return. 

Did we find a way to subsidise the ferry, a State-owned company fighting for tourism?

(Ministry of Tourism website)

No, but the Ministry of Tourism thought it was cause for celebration that ferry prices were not going up in the middle of a pandemic. 

So the return ferry from Split to Stari Grad is 1,192 kuna for a good-sized family car, this after you have been fleeced on the motorway as well as spent a considerable amount on fuel. 

Add all the costs of that just to arrive, as well as the distances required by car, when there are so many other closer destinations are offering incredible deals, that in some ways, I am surprised that there are as many as 66 tourists. 

If only there was a market which could get there more easily... something like the domestic market, perhaps? For those with money, a unique change to enjoy Lijepa Nasa without the crowds, with a local campaign with special promotional prices. Thought you would never be able to afford a holiday on Hvar? Here is your chance!

Croatia is the only tourism country in Europe that I can see that has not conducted a promotional campaign to the local market. 

But then it hasn't really done much abroad either. 

Still we have 40,000 of those wonderful CRO kartica cards available, and didn't our dear minister say that they would save tourism?

The Netherlands - as of July 21, Croatia is placed on the "Orange" list by the Dutch government, which means that both the Croatian nationals and the Dutch nationals returning to the Netherlands from Croatia are strongly advised to self-quarantine for 14 days.

June 23, 2020 - Welcome to Balkan Blackmail, and why one of Hvar's best advertisements to the Scandinavian market will be closed this summer, perhaps forever. Bravo, Majstori!

It is one of the great hidden gems of Hvar that few people on the island even know about. 

And yet, in certain sports around the world, it is internationally famous.  Meet Lost Villa, idyllically located in an isolated waterfront plot in a bay south of Gdinj on eastern Hvar. 

In the words of Swedish owner, Per:

We have a fitness villa and bring mostly Swedish crossfit and weightlifters to work out in the sun and enjoy Croatia! We have had some of the world's best athletes in these sports, and in Sweden, we are very famous with our destination. 

A fabulous spot, a great business, and a wonderful promotion of the island of Hvar. 

But, as Per said, all bookings this year (and there were many) have been cancelled. Not because of corona, but because of Balkan Blackmail. 

Because of greed.  

I have heard of many real estate horror stories of foreign purchases (as well as many success stories) during my time in Croatia, but few have been such a clinical example of Balkan blackmail as this one. I had my own real estate business, Hvar Property Services, many years ago, an experience which aged me and from which I am still not completely free some 16 years later. But let's focus on Per's story.

She then built a wall blocking the road. 

We removed this wall by hand. 

Another time the same year she ordered a big truck with huge rocks, however we were able to stop this truck on the way to our villa and he turned around and drove away.  

For us it is very clear that she is blackmailing us. She knows the legal process to open up the road is very slow, and during this time she is pushing our limits. And now with corona we can't even go to Croatia to do anything about the big walls she has built blocking our house. We have guests booked for our house this summer, we can't ask them to climb big walls in order to get to the house. 

No comment required from the author of this article.  

June 20, 2020 - The 10th edition of the Hvar Half Marathon will take place on June 27 as things return to a semblance of normal on the island.

After weeks of lockdown, what could give a more refreshing feeling of freedom than taking part in one of the most beautiful races in the world, running through natural beauty flanked either side by spectacular views of the Adriatic on Croatia's premier island of Hvar?

Tourism event calendars have been decimated this year due to the effects of COVID-19, but as the season now begins to start slowly, several events look more certain to take place. Among them is the 10th edition of the Hvar Half Marathon, which made its debut back in 2011. The 21 km race starts from historic Stari Grad, then rises sharply along the old road to Hvar Town,  through olive groves and lavender fields, before descending to the finish in Hvar's majestic main square, the largest in Dalmatia, right next to the oldest public theatre in Europe. 

Race organisers believe this is the first marathon to take place in Europe after the corona lockdown, one more reason to take part. The race traditionally attracts runners from all over the world, from as far away as Brazil, and both the men's and women's race often have international winners.

It is all taking place on June 27, 2020, and registration is still possible until June 24. Below you can get a flavour of a previous race, as well as taking in some of the natural beauty and atmosphere at the finish. 

Hvar, which is developing its credentials as an adventure and sporting island, also has another marathon each year, one which has taken place for more than 40 years and is considered one of toughest swims in the world, attracting top athletes including Olympic gold medal winners. The Faros Marathon in Stari Grad takes place in late August/early September each year, and it involves a 16 kilometre swim in open water from the Stari Grad harbour out to the tip of the Kabal Peninsula (8  km) and back. Check out the 2015 race report, with English subtitles, below. 

To learn more about Hvar, check out the Discover Hvar article in our Virtual Croatia series. 

June 18, 2020 - An interview with Hvar Tourist Board Director Petar Razovic on corona and the future direction of the island's tourism in one of Dalmatia's most beautiful buildings - the oldest public theatre in Europe. 

I was in Hvar Town last week, helping with the logistics of the test trial of a rapid temperature check service developed by a company in Varazdin - a great tool in the battle against corona, which you can read about here.  

I had already contacted Hvar Tourist Board director Petar Razovic, who was helping with the filming, and he agreed to a video interview for TCN about Hvar in the corona era and plans for the future direction of the island. 

"Do you have the key to the theatre?" I asked. 

Indeed he did, so I suggested we do the interview in the oldest public theatre in Europe. Located on the main square above the tourist board office, the theatre was built in 1612 and reopened after a 20-year renovation last year. 

It is a spectacular building, as you can see from this drone footage shortly after its reopening. 

Petar gave me the tour of both the theatre and the renovated Arsenal building on the floor below, before sitting down for the interview, which you can see below. 

Petar always speaks to me in English, but he felt more comfortable on camera in Croatian, so we agreed to do it that way, with English subtitles (which you can turn on the Subtitles/Closed Captions icon in the bottom right of the video).

"Do you know," he said after we had finished, "that this is only the second interview to take place in this historic building, after Prime Minister Plenkovic last year?"

To learn more about the island of Hvar, check out the digital tools you need from our Virtual Croatia series.  

June 16, 2020 - Some new rapid temperature check software developed by a Croatian company in Varazdin is tested on the island of Hvar - an outstanding tool in the battle against corona, especially against the second wave.  

This would be absolutely perfect for the island of Hvar, was my first reaction when the technology was shown to me and explained. 

Croatia's premier island, whose most famous son, Ivan Vucetic, discovered the art of fingerprinting. The wellness island where organised tourism in Europe began in 1868 with the Hvar Health Society. And an island which did an outstanding job keeping its citizens safe during the corona era. Just two cases recorded, both recovered, both from islanders returning from jobs in Austria. 

Jelsa on June 12, 2020, the place where this little story began on Hvar. 

Some days earlier, I was at home in Varazdin when my web developer, Bernard Toplak from Exabyte, invited me to the 9th birthday party of his favourite team, NK Varteks. The party was 75 metres from my front door, and we had things to discuss and he had something to show me. 

As TCN wrote previously, Bernard has developed Croatian software with Chinese technology to produce a rapid temperature check measuring system at a distance of 5 metres, which can process 30-40 people at one time and flag anyone with a higher temperature. Bernard explains more in the earlier TCN article as well as in the video at the end of this article. 

The uses are multiple - borders, ferries, catamarans, hotels, kindergartens, old people's homes, hospitals, restaurants, sporting occasions. After a successful 2-week trial in a Varazdin hospital, Bernard agreed to let me try it somewhere else.

And where better than Hvar, especially I could persuade Suncani Hvar Hotels to accommodate Bernard and his family while we tried it out. 

I wrote to the Hvar police chief, the mayors of Hvar, Stari Grad and Jelsa, the Hvar and Stari Grad tourist board directors, and Suncani Hvar Hotels. Almost all replied enthusiastically. And so it was that Bernard and I arrived on Hvar to present the idea to the police chief, Hvar and Stari Grad tourist boards, Stari Grad mayor and Suncani Hvar Hotels, once Bernard had checked in to Hotel Riva.  

It was a very lively chat, with plenty of questions from all sides.  

A quick demonstration in Hotel Riva before the main job the next day.  

We started at the Stari Grad kindergarten, where national television was waiting.  

And then to meet the team at the Stari Grad old people's home to demonstrate the system there.  

The system identifies the head and measures the temperature under the eyes, producing a reading above the head of each person. And a red flag and alarm will appear for any high temperature.  And the thermal imaging ensures no GDPR issues.

Next stop the Stari Grad ferry, where Radio Split took an interest.  

Temperatures all ok on the 08:30 from Split.  

Time to set up on the exclusive Hvar Riva.  

Healthy passengers on the 12:30 Krilo catamaran.  

Back to Jelsa, where my day had begun to catch passengers on the 18:10 catamaran arrival from Split.  

A fascinating day, and a great tool in the fight against corona, especially should a second wave come. You can find the TCN video report of the day and an interview with Bernard in English below. 

If you are looking for more information about the system and applications, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

June 13, 2020 - Are restaurants open on Hvar? A blissful return to the 'old normal' at Me and Mrs Jones in Jelsa.  

I had a meeting with Deni Ohlsen-Dukic, General Manager of Hvar's only 5-star hotel, Leading Hotels of the World member, Palace Elisabeth hvar heritage hotel in Hvar Town. We had met only briefly at the hotel opening in October and had been meaning to catch up for an extended interview. Deni kindly agreed to come to see me in Jelsa, which immediately gave me a problem; I knew he was a big foodie, so what was actually open to impress him?

Jelsa's fine dining restaurant Artichoke is still not open for the season, so I wandered around the other side of the harbour to see if Me and Mrs Jones might be working. Although the door was closed, I heard voices inside and then saw the welcoming smile of owner Josipa Belic Skarpa. Were they open? If someone wanted to eat, they were open. These must be very strange times for restaurateurs, not knowing if there will be guests or not. I booked a table for four. 

And then the next few hours (and it was a few) passed by like a dream, a reminder of the carefree summers of a previous life. The waterfront terrace at Me and Mrs Jones looks across the harbour to the old town, and we enjoyed the lone sailboat gliding gracefully into the harbour in the tranquil afternoon sun.  

And where else to start than with the signature Me and Mrs Jones octopus salad?  

I was too relaxed to record the main dishes, but a wonderful dessert to finish.  

The food and the service were outstanding as always, but what captivated us as well was the view, the calm waters of Jelsa harbour.  

Then it was the turn of the Jelsa rowing club, located at the other side of the harbour, to engage in their daily practice.  

Restaurant views of European harbours - does it get any better than this?  

My phone rang. Some foodie friends in Stari Grad. Did I know of any good restaurants on the island which are actually open. 

"Come to Jones in Jelsa."

"Jones is open? Great."

And so they came, as did many others. A full house at Me and Mrs Jones, and a reminder that glimpses of the old normal are possible.  

Jelsa is divine at the moment, as is the whole island. Regarding restaurants open on the island, there are a handful in Jelsa and Stari Grad, and Hvar Town has six currently (including Alviz, Jerolim, Hotel Riva, MIzarola) but many more will open this week.

Learn more about magical Hvar from our Virtual Croatia series. 

June 11, 2020 — An infrastructure project on Hvar ripped an unsightly gash into a hillside overlooking one of the island’s bucolic bays. Locals are angry, while officials shrug and promise to make fixes.

Devastation or progress?

Hvar locals are weighing the two after a water supply project created an eyesore in one of the iconic island’s more-secluded bays, Mala Stiniva.

The bay falls within the Municipality of Jelsa, which is trying to bring water to the few parched homes which line the bay. In order for the excavators to be able to lay the pipe, several meters wide tracks of land were cleared in the bay.

This work could be done without any problems on the upper areas above the bay, and without disturbing nature,” said Mladen Matković, whose family owns plots in the eastern part of the island near ​​Mala Stiniva. “Not to mention that during the passage of the machine, a plot of 400 square meters, which has now been turned into an embankment, was covered with construction material and stones. What are the islanders doing to their island and their tourism, their most beautiful bays?”

Matković sent his complaints to the Tourism Ministry. Apparently, word got out.

The work stopped. The director of Hvar Waterworks Ivo Grgičević, requested an urgent meeting with the contractors, Šibenik-based company MIAB and their subcontractors. 

Grgičević said in an interview with Jutarnji List the contractors were warned to be more careful in the continuation of their work.

“It seems that there was a minor lapse, but the contractors are obliged to repair any damage,” he said. “In any case, this is not a devastation of nature. There is no forest in that area.”

The works would bring a stable water supply to people living around the bay. Every year, the state spends two and a half million kuna on subsidies to bring water to these areas in cistern tanks. 

“Of course, there will be minor damage,” Grgičević said “The excavator must pass. But if they want, we will stop the work and there is no water.”

The HRK 16 million project is being funded by the Municipality of Jelsa, Hvar Waterworks and Croatia’s Forest Service and should be c0mpleted by 2022.

Hvar’s water supply comes from an underwater pipeline running from neighboring Brač. The whole island is undergoing a major infrastructure investment, with an EU-funded HRK 270 million public sewage system being added to Jelsa and Vrboska.

The municipality of Jelsa makes up 55 percent of the island of Hvar. There are four large settlements and 35 inhabited bays on the water supply route.

Matković claims the contractors haven’t been following the code, and even stored construction materials on his land. Jelsa’s Mayor Nikša Peronja said the work is being done according to strict regulations, and that the contractor must correct any mistakes.

“When they break through the route, they do it in a width of about five meters, and in the protected bay Lučica, which is really beautiful and the pearl of Hvar, they have to reduce it to a maximum of three and a half meters,” he told the paper. “If stones are excavated, because it is a karst area, it is necessary to load all waste material into the truck and take it away, and all excavations must be buried immediately.”