May 28, 2019 - Stari Grad is the 2400-year-old town of my grandmother; a gem located on the glorious island of Hvar. While the island itself is recognized most for the glitz, glamour, and party culture of Hvar town, Stari Grad is an ancient sanctuary located just under 30 minutes away from its better-known sibling. It is a quiet escape from the buzz on the other side of the island, and a paradise when you need to flee from the swarms of tourists already hitting the city of Split. 

With May nearing its end and a month of peculiar spring weather almost over (we hope), we inch closer to the heart of the tourist season in Croatia. But before the scorching summer heat, sweaty tour groups and long queues ensue, I opted for a preseason getaway to Stari Grad for a moment of meditation; a chance to enjoy the calm before the storm. 

While my grandmother hails from Stari Grad, and specifically the village of Dol, I’m ashamed to say I seldom visit. If I make it once or twice a year, I consider myself lucky, and it’s usually thanks to family visiting during the summer. I have, however, been fortunate to visit Stari Grad a handful of times in the preseason, specifically in May - and it is a tradition I intend on keeping. 

So, with the weather a gamble, sea temperatures not quite up to par, and a 50/50 chance that anything will be operating, why is Stari Grad a preseason paradise? 

Quiet streets, empty squares, and no crowds in sight

And dare I say it - peace. Living in Split, I’ve grown accustomed to the tourist boom hitting earlier each year, which is really beginning to take its toll. How rare it is to be able to navigate your way through a narrow alleyway, not cramped or behind a group of umbrella-clad tourists who sometimes seem to forget that others exist.

Stari Grad, on the other hand, had none of that. And it felt as if we were the only ones in town. 

The restaurants are just beginning to open for the season

While one might assume this comes with sides of good and bad, for our weekend, it was perfect. Sure, the staff might still be working out the kinks, the menus might still be developing, and you’ll most likely be sitting in an empty restaurant or alleyway with no way of gauging whether it's good or bad; however, the positives prevail. 

For starters, you receive the undivided attention of the restaurant staff. You’re able to get personal and learn about the biography behind the business, and, well, you’re probably treated a bit better than when hundreds of hungry and screaming tourists jump in asking for orders of ketchup and pomfrit. It’s an intimate experience you’ll be hard pressed to find in the peak season, and one you should never take for granted. 

You can buy local 

Namely, a French couple with a ‘passion for gastronomy, wines, culture and beautiful places around the world’ opened the alleyway treasure ‘Za Pod Zub’ a few years ago - and TCN even met Chloé and Yvan last year. Bringing together more than 70 producers and 250 products from the islands and all over Croatia, Za Pod Zuub showcases the best that Croatia has to offer - and you get to take it home with you, too. 

We opted for a fresh goat cheese made from the ‘goats around the corner’, red-wine soaked prosciutto from Drniš, and sage and onion crackers to create our charcuterie lunch at home. To drink, we couldn’t pass up the Rosina by Master of Wine, Jo Ahearne of Ahearne Vino on Hvar. 

They even carry a creative collection of Croatian gin, which we went back to buy before our ferry home.

And an impressive selection of hot sauces which warms any Californian girl's heart.

And you can swim

If you’re brave enough, that is. And there were a few. 

There’s even entertainment 

How lucky were we to find that the Evening of Singing - Večer od kantonjo - was held in St. Stephen's Square on the Saturday we visited. Organized by the Faroski Kantaduri, this was the sixth meeting of the island klapa, conceived as an evening of original singing. Each klapa group performed two old original songs, and the groups included female klapa Frecija (Jelsa), Klapa Kaštilac (Vrboska), Klapa Galešnik (Hvar), female klapa Bodulke (Hvar), Klapa Pharia (Brusje), Klapa Priženca (Svirče), and Faroskikantaduri (Stari Grad). The guest of the evening was Klapa Mela from Murter.

This klapa meeting officially opens the tourist season and the cultural summer in Stari Grad. 

A picture-perfect paradise before the chaos of summer hits on the coast, why wouldn't you escape to Stari Grad?

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

In the last several days we've received three separate reports of new catamaran lines introduced for the summer season of 2019, with the intent of inter-connecting Croatian islands. The fact that Croatian islands were often perceived as not inter-connected enough, and that you often had to go to Split in order to get to another island which was in fact quite close was often listed as one of the bigger problems for tourists in Croatia. 

Well, that seems to be changing: during summer 2019, there will be at least three new catamaran lines which will help fix that! Those are:

• Split Airport - Split Town - Bol on Brač Island - Stari Grad on Hvar Island, operated by https://splitexpress.com/en
• Rijeka - Krk (Krk) - Lopar (Rab) - Novalja (Pag) - Zadar, operated by G&VLine
• Dubrovnik - Korčula (Korčula) - Hvar (Hvar) - Bol (Brač) - Split, operated by Jadrolinija.

The last of the three mentioned existed last year too, as we've made clear in our 2018 guide on how to get to Korčula Island. Obviously, it has proven to be a success last year, so Jadrolinija has decided to bring it back, starting operation on May 30th, and lasting until the end of September. The timetable (link to the .pdf document) is similar to last year's, with the key difference being that it will be departing Split 45 minutes earlier in the afternoon (at 15:30, while last year it was at 16:15), thus arriving in Dubrovnik also 45 minutes earlier. In addition, in Korčula, the ferry will not be docking at Dominče ferry port, rather at either the east or the west port in Korčula town itself. The very modern catamaran Jelena will be carrying passengers on this line.

Rijeka - Krk - Rab - Pag - Zadar is a new line, which connects the islands that are close to one another, but have never been well-connected. Now the new catamaran line will give the passengers the chance to island-hop, but also to make a same-day visit to the islands, as it will leave Rijeka in the morning, arriving in Zadar around midday, and you'll be able to from Zadar to Rijeka at around 8 pm. For a detailed timeline, click here (link to the .pdf document).

The timetable for the catamaran line connecting Split Airport, Split Town, Bol on Brač and Stari Grad on Hvar is a bit more complicated, but you can see it below:

Just last week, TCN announced a new catamaran connection between Split Airport and Bol on the island of Brač, but did you know you could travel to Stari Grad on Hvar, too? Meet Split Express.

Namely, from June 1 this year, travelers will be transported between the Split Airport and the islands of Brač (Bol) and Hvar (Stari Grad), and the city of Split with a new fast catamaran line branded as Split Express (splitexpress.com), reports HRTurizam on May 24, 2019. 

This new service will significantly shorten the voyage to the islands of Brač and Hvar from the Split Airport concerning the trip so far available with public transport.

This direct connection from Split Airport to the islands via catamaran is years in the making, and it’s safe to say no one is complaining.

"When we first had the chance at the beginning of this year to buy the right catamaran, we decided to launch this unique service," says Alan Klanac, one of the founders of Adriatic Fast Ferries Inc., a shipping company behind Splitexpress.com.

“Opening this line is a remarkable addition to the close opening of the new passenger terminal building at the Split Airport. The ‘new’ airport's increased capacity, coupled with an efficient and fast trip by sea to faraway destinations, will enhance the overall experience for all travelers visiting the area of Split and the islands this year and over the coming years,“ said Klanac.

Bol on the island of Brač will be connected five times a day, while Stari Grad on the island of Hvar and Split town will be connected thanks to the new catamaran line two or three times a day.

Ticket prices range from 199 kuna for the Split - Bol connection, 99 kuna between Split Airport and Split town, and 199 kuna between Split Airport and Stari Grad on Hvar.

For more information, visit Split Express at https://splitexpress.com

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

With the opening ceremony held at the beautiful Hvar Arsenal, accompanied by delicacies and fine Croatian wines, the 6th International Festival Taste the Mediterranean has begun. This year, in addition to a rich programme designed for professionals as well as fans of gastronomy and oenology, seven foreign and six top Croatian chefs are taking part in the festival. From 22 to 25 May, the festival, taking place in the Mediterranean ambience of the town of Hvar, will promote the benefits of the Mediterranean diet which UNESCO has included in the list of world’s intangible cultural heritage.

The town of Hvar and the Hvar Tourist Board, as well as the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ), have recognised the importance of the event attended by many foreign journalists. The festival was opened by Hvar mayor Rikardo Novak, together with Petar Razović from Hvar Tourist Board and Ingrid Badurina Danielsson.

“We are delighted that the festival is developing and has been recognised by numerous exceptional partners from the gastronomy segment, as well as the local community and the Ministry of Tourism and the HTZ. The festival promotes the values of Mediterranean culture, bringing together top-quality chefs, winemakers and local food producers, and experts from the field of agriculture, cultural landscapes, fisheries and sustainable tourism,” said Ingrid Badurina Danielsson, director and founder of the festival.

The Mediterranean specialities and Hvar wines from the Tomić and Vujnović wineries were appropriately tasted at the opening ceremony, and Andro Tomić and Juraj Vujnović personally presented their wines to the guests.

Japanese chef Ippei Uemura hosted a culinary show and presented the art of tuna filleting. Sommelier Daniel Čečavac hosted the Dalmatian wine tasting, and the following wines were included: Tomić Beleca 2018, Vujnović Prč 2018, Stina Vugava 2018, Ahearne Wild Skins 2017, Duboković Prije 6009 Godina 2015, Rizman Primus 2015, and South Side Plavac Mali 2014.

The wine workshop will be hosted by the well-known duo from Split, Siniša Koceić and Alen Gulan from Winebox. Spain will be represented by chef Vicente Patino, whose Saiti restaurant boasts a Michelin recommendation, and he will demonstrate the traditional cuisine of Valencia. He will cook an exclusive dinner at the Hvar Divina together with the restaurant’s chef Nataša Vukmirović, and guests will enjoy delicacies and Spanish wines on the terrace.

Hrvoje Zirojević, the Croatian chef of the year according to Gault&Millau, will host in his kitchen Bee Satongun, the best chef in Asia for 2018 according to the 50 Best Restaurants. With a creative menu and an exclusive dinner at the Laganini restaurant, they will demonstrate common features of the contemporary Thai and Mediterranean diet.

The third dinner will be held on the terrace with the most beautiful view on the historic Hvar, at the Kod Kapetana restaurant, where the Italian chef Marcello Trentini will join his two hosts: Tonči Jerković and Antun Matković Car. For the first time, a chef from Albania will come to the festival. Sokol Prenga is a master confectioner, baker and chocolatier, and a great promoter of Albanian cuisine, and his non-profit organisation “Culinary Education Center” focuses on promoting Albanian history, culture and gastronomy in the world. Slovenia is represented by Igor Jagodic, the Slovenian chef of the year according to Gault&Millau, from the Strelec restaurant in Ljubljana, and the wine academician and sommelier Mira Šemić.

Renowned lecturers will speak at the conference “Sustainable Mediterranean Food Systems, Cultural Landscapes and Biodiversity” held at the Hvar Arsenal. It will undoubtedly be interesting, varied and very, very tasty.

More Hvar news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

As Goran Rihelj writes for HRTurizam on May 19, 2019, if we want to extend the tourist season, then we have to rely on diverse, authentic and quality content and offers, which do not depend solely on the sun, sea or swimming.

This is only logical, because if we leave the sun and the sea as the primary motive for arrivals, what else remains? 

Thus, we must ask the following questions: Why would someone come to Croatia when they cannot swim? What other content is there? What will work outside of the season? Why should tourists visit Croatia?

Most importantly, to inspire and motivate travelers, we have to think about new tourist products that can be offered to our guests; products that will be available throughout the year.

Running is just one of the active products Croatia can offer.

Namely, over 50 million people are regularly involved in running in the EU, and their annual consumption is estimated at 9.6 billion euros. Some see this as the potential for growth and development, while others may not, but one thing is for sure - running is just one of the rapidly growing trends, both in Europe and the world.

Thus, this specific segment was targeted by the team from SightRun, who points out that after cycling, running could become a new trademark of Croatia if it is done right. 

Promoting running in Croatia seems like a logical and natural conclusion because of its potential. Croatia boasts different types of terrain across a small area, a long coastline and islands, numerous racing events and outdoor festivals, superb and authentic gastronomy, top accommodation, good traffic connections, and a mostly pleasant climate all year long on the Adriatic.

Thus, the SightRun mobile application for running tourists enters a new tourist season with new destinations and exciting tours. The SightRun application combines running and sightseeing for tourists and is intended for those who do not give up their running habit when they are on the road or vacation, especially when they have less time for sightseeing tours. By using the SighRun app, runners can discover a city and visit its many attractions.

After Zagreb, Šibenik, Split, Pula, Opatija, Munich and Graz, the SightRun applications this season is enhanced by three new destinations - Rovinj, Omiš, and Hvar.

The SightRun App includes audio running tours that give navigational instructions and interesting location information while running. All the user has to do is pick their desired pace on the app, get to the starting point, puts on their headset, and hit play. The app uses GPS and follows the runner’s movements. The SightRun application is entirely free for the user and is available on Google Play and the App Store.

SightRun is an excellent tourist story, but it is just the beginning of branding destinations as ‘Runner Friendly’. 

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

May 19, 2019 - Meet PickApp Hvar, an Uber-style app which ushers in a new era for taxi travel on Croatia's premier island - 45% cheaper and 100% transparent.

One of the things I love about technology and Croatia is that the days of certain ripoffs, which have long been in place, are slowly coming to an end. The digital tourist has much wider choice these days, and technology is being used to bring a higher level at cheaper prices to the end user. 

Nowhere is this more true than in the taxi scene, in Croatia and elsewhere. My aversion to taking taxis in Croatia unless absolutely necessary was a result of several unpleasant - and expensive - experiences with taxi drivers here, and I cheered along with many others when Uber launched in Croatia a few years ago. 

But while travel around Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik, nothing changed on the islands. 

Hvar taxi drivers have been getting away with charging crazy prices for years now. One friend told me he was charged 120 kuna from the supermarket in Hvar Town to his apartment on the hill, a journey of no more than 1 kilometre. Often unmetered, prices also seemed pretty arbitrary. I have not taken a taxi on Hvar since 2004. 

And so when I heard about the launch of PickApp Hvar, a new application for the island which allows users to hail a ride, I was very happy indeed. Finally there seems to be some serious competition to the taxi drivers, and the thing I liked most when I checked out the PickApp Hvar website was this:

Great price savings, but 100% transparency as well. Refreshing. 

“We are confident that local residents, as well as tourists who are visiting Hvar, will enjoy the fact that from now on you can get a quality and affordable taxi service available 0-24h on Hvar. We want to provide a quality and accessible taxi service for our fellow citizens, and the price will not change regardless of the tourist season.”

Refreshing indeed. 

So how does it all work?

Similar to applications like Uber, you need to download the app (available on Apple and Android) and then simply select your destination and point of collection. Waiting times are promised to be only a few minutes, and you will be able to track the whereabouts of the car. Payments can be done in cash or by credit card. The price will be displayed in advance, and passengers will also get a photo of the drive and licence plate of the car. Once completed, passengers will receive an email with full details of the trip - route, driver, price etc. 

The service started on May 15, and PickApp Hvar is offering a special deal until the end of May:

“We call on all local Forani to take advantage of the 50% discount on their first ride by the end of this month.”

The pricing is very transparent - 29 kuna to start, 9 kuna per kilometre plus 1 kuna per minute. By my calculations, that would make Hvar bus station to the Stari Grad ferry in the region of 200 kuna. Wow!

Other examples PickApp Hvar have provided include Hvar Dolac bus station to the Spanish fortress (40 kuna) and to the popular beach and fish restaurant haven of Milna (79 kuna). Perhaps my friend who paid 120 to take his weekly supermarket shopping home can now get back for a third of the price. 

Fantastic stuff, and I look forward to checking it out this summer on Hvar. 

So can you, via the official PickApp Hvar website. 

Or download the Apple and Android apps. 

To learn more about the island of Hvar, check out the Total Croatia Hvar in a Page. 

The sixth edition of the international Taste the Mediterranean festival will take place in the town of Hvar, on the Hvar island, for the second time. This event is organised in late May, 22nd - 25th.

It's a unique festival, with the sole goal of celebrating the Mediterranean food, culture, way of life - all of which have been placed on the UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The festival will bring together many top international and Croatian chefs awarded with Gault&Millau toques and Michelin stars, the best sommeliers, experts in the fields of ecology, agriculture and cultural heritage of the Mediterranean sea, local producers of food and wine, journalists and many others who enjoy the Mediterranean cuisine.

The program will take place at 7 locations in Hvar (one of them will be on the divine island of Palmižana, a short boat ride away from Hvar), and includes Chefs' Masterclasses, international conference on sustainability of the ecosystem of the Mediterranean, wine and food tastings and workshops, exclusive dinners and Mediterranean market taking place in the centre of Hvar during the entire duration of the festival.

The festival will welcome 12 chefs' masterclasses, and we'd like to mention just two: Chef Ippei Uemura, Gault&Millau France Young Talent 2017, the chef in the Le Tabi restaurant in Marseille will present the technique for carving and preparation of tuna, provided by Centaurus. Biljana Milina, the chef from the Konoba Mate from Pupnat, Korčula island, Gault&Millau Croatia Pastry Chef 2019 will present a "sweet" masterclass.

Exclusive dinners will take place every evening of the festival: on Thursday it will be hosted by DiVino Restaurant in Hvar, prepared by DiVino's resident chef Nataša Vukmirović and the guest star Chef Vicente Patino, from the restaurant Saiti located in Valencia in Spain. On Friday the exclusive dinner will be prepared on Palmižana, in Laganini restaurant with 4 Gault&Millau toques and is one of the four best restaurants in Croatia selected by Gault&Millau. Hrvoje Zirojević, Chef of the Year in Croatia in 2019 will host in his restaurant Chef Bee Satongun, who holds the title of the Best female chef in Asia 2018 awarded by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, working in restaurant Paste in Bangkok. The last exclusive dinner, on Saturday, will be prepared by six hands (3 chefs) in the Kod Kapetana restaurant in Hvar: chef Toni Jerković will host chef Antun Matković Car and Marcello Trentini, the chef from the Magorabin restaurant in Torino. Limited seats are available for the dinners, so make your reservations on time.

More about the programme and Taste the Mediterranean festival on their website: http://www.tastethemediterranean.eu/ and Facebook page.

At the Hvar Arsenal, as part of the 15th edition of the Dobar Kus event, selected restaurants, taverns and cafés from Hvar, Palmižana and Velo Grablje presented dishes which Croatia’s sunniest island wants to show to the world as a successful combination of traditional and contemporary cuisine, reports Dalmacija Danas on May 13, 2019.

About twenty exhibitors participated with their dishes in the event held as part of the celebrations of St. Prosper – the co-patron saint of the town of Hvar. The plates full of sea delicacies, workers food, fish dishes and innovative recipes attracted hundreds of local and international visitors. The skills of the chefs were evaluated by international culinary judges from the Chefs of the Mediterranean and European Regions (ŠKMER) – Željko Neven Bremec, Marija Lulić and Nikša Ivičević. Each bite was accompanied by some of the finest wines brought to the Arsenal by leading Hvar winemakers and guests from Slavonia and Istria.

“Dobar Kus is a wine-and-dine event that celebrates St. Prosper, as well as the traditional and new Hvar gastronomy and wines. It was also an opportunity for the first time to show what the three teams from our Hvar High School can do together with their mentors to promote the culinary profession and knowledge. Here on the island, we have a long gastronomic tradition that needs to be further developed, because it is one of our postcards with which we present ourselves to the world, especially through the experience of our visitors,” said Katica Vučetić, president of the Hvar Association of Crafts, whose Hospitality Section launched the event in 2005.

Hvar mayor Ricardo Novak opened the event, and the tastings could start, accompanied by the music of Trio Gušt. The Bacchusa team from Palmižana welcome the guests at the Arsenal gate with a large pot, in which about 50 portions of shrimps and shellfish were being prepared. The Dva Ribara restaurant offered a roll with spinach from their family fields and young cheese. Mizzarola presented the proper workers’ spoon dish; pasta with broad beans and asparagus with veal, while Mediterraneo brought homemade lamb and beans. Popular dishes were also presented by the Bonaca restaurant, with potato cuttlefish and broad beans and a cake made of carob and wild orange jam, while La Bocca prepared baby beef with peas. Appetit presented the seafood risotto and tiramisu. Grande Luna offered gnocchi in mushroom sauce and roast beef, and pasta with shrimps and asparagus. Štajun served a top-of-the-line carpaccio of zucchini and truffles, roast beef with white truffle cream, and fresh macaroni with black truffles. The Palača Paladini team, with its 15th-century palace and a garden of bitter orange trees used to produce jams and liqueurs, has been writing some of the best pages of the new gastronomic history of Hvar for the last over 50 years. For this occasion, they prepared linguine with prawns and vongola clams and marbled cherry cake.

The newly opened Odos restaurant (Greek Street) offers the contemporary Mediterranean gastronomy with international influences, so they presented at the Dobar Kus the tuna tartar on a bed of vegetables and rice paper, shrimps, carrots and leek in tempura and fresh Odos fettuccine with shrimps and grated truffles.

The Zbondini Tavern from the ethno-eco-village Velo Grablje served a plate with top quality homemade cheese and prosciutto, the famous Grablje pašticada with homemade gnocchi and the "Grobajski Koloč", which showed that the island also offers dishes like they were prepared by Hvar housewives a hundred and more years ago. Dalmatina, a 30-year-old family restaurant, made black gnocchi with Istrian truffles, while Macondo offered shark gregada. From Palmižana, the Meneghello restaurant brought black risotto and carob cake.

“The judges and myself were delighted with the dishes served, the successful combination of tradition and the new. We have tasted brunches, new ideas, great cakes and desserts closely related to the ingredients of this region. Congratulations to the participants, they have prepared fine dishes. What we thought they could do differently – we told them. Also, it is great that at one place we could combine great food and top-quality wines,” said Željko Neven Bremec, president of ŠKMER.

Wineries taking part in the event were Tomić, Plenković, Duboković, Plančić, Vujnović, Marijan, Carić, Cuj, Benevutti, Radovan, Kutjevo, Krauthaker.

More Hvar news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

Translated from Dalmacija Danas.

May 9, 2019 - Days after the reopening of the oldest public theatre after 20 years of renovation, an invitation to dance at the Hvar Theatre Ball.

First came the theatre performances, now comes the dancing. 

It has been a strong heritage start to the season for Hvar Town with the reopening of the oldest public theatre in Europe on May 1. The opening three nights featured theatre plays which were fully attended (entrance was free).

And this Sunday will see an altogether event, as it seems that the local authorities intend to make full use of its heritage jewel after so many years of it being closed. 

There is an open invitation for all to come to the theatre on Sunday at 20:30 to take place in the Hvar Theatre Ball. 

The lead will be taken by local folklore society, Saltin, with music provided by Gradska Glazba Hvar. All are encouraged to join in and dance. 

It should be a wonderful evening. If you would like to learn more about the theatre, this excellent interview with art historian professor and author of a book on the first 400 years of the Hvar theatre, Mirjana Kolumbic, goes into great detail. 

And for a tour of the theatre, take a look at this fabulous drone footage, shot by Jaksa Kuzmicic for the Hvar Tourist Board.

To learn more about the island of Hvar, check out the Total Croatia Hvar in a Page. 

There are certain events which signal change in the calendar year. During my many years in Jelsa, one of those was the opening of popular cocktail bar Mojito, which sits in a gorgeous waterfront location in the harbour looking across to Jelsa's picturesque old town.

Mojito is known for its lively and innovative tourism programme throughout the summer, and it is arguably the most proactive business in trying to attract visitors to the town with its events. 

A great night venue, I actually prefer Mojito during the day, a great place to chill with a cocktail or two, with the gentle breeze adding to the already cool and relaxed atmosphere.

And season 2019 will begin tomorrow, as Mojito celebrates its 10th year in business, with another of its legendary opening parties from 10pm:

Dragi gosti i prijatelji:Dragi gosti i prijatelji:
Pozivamo vas na PARTY OTVARANJA jubilarne 10-te sezone ?

☆ COCKTAIL BAR-a MOJITO ☆


10-ti party otvaranja / petak 10-ti /10h navečer ???
Music by: ?DJ Paulo Y.??
Special guest of the night: ?? Sarah S. ??
The rest you know ??
Cee yaaaa

You can follow the Mojito summer on Facebook.