February 12, 2019 - Croatian coastal tourism is developing beyond the sun and beach. Kayaking in Croatia is now big business. 

It has been fascinating to watch the trends in Croatian tourism over the last 15 years. The transformation from cities such as Split from the Gateway to the Dalmatian Islands to one of Europe's hottest spots, for example. Or Bol on Brac reinventing itself as a family and adventure tourism destination after being the biggest party on the Adriatic. 

And while the sun, sea and beach understandably remain the biggest draw, there has been a noticeable rise in different aspects of tourism. Kayaking in Croatia, for example, was an activity which barely existed 15 years ago, but is now a very popular way to explore for half-a-day for beginners, or multi-day, multi-island trips for the more experienced. So popular has kayaking in Croatia become that Rough Guides named it in their list of 17 unmissable things to do in Croatia.

I remember having a beer with one of the pioneers of sea kayaking in Croatia, Vese Huljic of And Adventure, several years ago. As a young enthusiastic local trying to develop kayaking as a tourist activity on her native Hvar, she recalled the bemused looks of locals sitting with their morning coffees watching these young kids carrying kayaks and other equipment to the waterfront. It looked like far too much work when all you had to do was enjoy the sun and think of the beach later. 

Huljic and her colleagues persevered, and an exciting new adventure tourism offer was born. Half-day kayaking tours of the Pakleni Islands in front of Hvar Town, sunset kayak tours, and multi-day adventures. With the only requirement for beginners being the ability to swim, here was a new activity which was open to almost everyone. And with expert local guides to take you to the most hidden coves, there was even the chance to discover local secrets off-limits to most tourists.  

From Hvar to elsewhere in Dalmatia, and kayaking is truly becoming popular. Here is the And Adventure team from their official Facebook page yesterday, exploring the UNESCO World Heritage Site of St. Nicholas Fortress, other military tunnels and the island of Zlarin. Sibenik of course is the only town in Croatia with two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, St James Cathedral being the other, but if you are looking for UNESCO sites to kayak to, you have come to the right place.  

The old town of Trogir, perhaps, as seen in the video above, or Diocletian's Palace in Split, where the kayaking has exploded in recent years. Hvar has its own Stari Grad Plain, and further south, kayaking around the majestic walls of Dubrovnik is an experience most tourists miss.  

And it is not just UNESCO of course. There are many other unforgettable holiday experiences to be had while kayaking in Croatia. Up close and personal with a donkey, for instance. 

To learn more about an aspect of Croatian tourism you had perhaps not yet considered, check out the options with And Adventure.  

The nautical blog Sailing Europe published a heartwarming piece about the often overlooked Croatian island of Krapanj near Šibenik. While the original article is of some age now, it's unusual to see Krapanj mentioned in detail by anyone outside of Croatia, as media coverage about the lowest-lying Croatian island, famous for its long tradition of sponge diving, is unfortunately not all that frequent.

As Morski writes on the 26th of January, 2019, the island of Krapanj is the smallest and lowest-lying inhabited island in the whole of the Adriatic sea. Located just south of the historic Dalmatian city of Šibenik, it rises only 1.5 metres above sea level, making it the "lowest" Croatian island of all.

About 200 inhabitants live permanently on an area of ​​less than 0.5 km². Not so long ago, there were about 1,500 people living on Krapanj, which once made it the most heavily inhabited island in the Adriatic. The island fosters a long tradition of dealing with sponge, a way of life which has been known on Krapanj for centuries now.

The sponge tradition on Krapanj is over 300 years old, and in 1893 it became a real job, because then the first set of heavy diving equipment arrived at the island, and an official diver's cooperative was established. The secrets of sponge diving on the island were originally brought there by a Franciscan, who arrived there from the Greek island of Crete.

He taught local divers from Krapanj how to handle the raw sponges, which is this unassuming Greek could easily be considered a reformer of the local economy on the island. You can find out more about the history of the island in the monastery of Sv. Križ, surrounded by a thick pine forest, in the very centre of the island.

Krapanj is connected to the mainland by a boat which operates daily, while a taxi service is available on request.

The author of the text warns nautical drivers to take care of the varying depths of the sea, especially when they approach Krapanj through the very small group of islands located just in front of it.

Detailing further, the author of the text on Sailing Europe states that even though Krapanj is not the most popular Croatian sailing destination, one should be sure to visit it.

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Click here for the original article by Sailing Europe

The catamaran belonging to the Šibenik-based company Envira d.o.o., which should have been connecting Zadar, Šibenik and Split since April the 1st, is set to remain firmly in the harbour, at least for this season.

As Morski writes on the 24th of January, 2019, and as the coastal shipping agency posted on January the 17th on its website, Envira d.o.o. stated that it was unfortunately unable to realise its initial intention to maintain a fast boat line without a public service obligation (implying seasonal lines) on the Split-Šibenik-Zadar route and vice-versa from April to October 2019.

As the competent state agency states, during this year, Envira d.o.o. has announced the continuation of preparatory actions for the acquisition of a vessel with the aim of realising a fast boat line connecting Zadar, Šibenik and Split, therefore covering three counties. The realisation of such preparations for this season at least, appears to be farfetched and has already been written off as a resounding no.

The plans were, and as far as we're aware still are, for the vessel to travel from Split to Šibenik and Zadar every single day from April the 1st to October the 31st. The catamaran would sail from Split to Šibenik at 09:00, at 10:35, continuing on to Zadar, where it would arrive at 12:40. It would then sail from Zadar to Šibenik at 17:30 and then from Šibenik to Split at 19:35, with an expected arrival time of 21:10.

According to the published price list, the longest route which is from Split to Zadar, will cost 158 kuna, while the route from Split to Šibenik and from Šibenik to Zadar will cost 110 kuna.

All this seems, at least for this season, to have well and truly fallen into the water (no pun intended), and it remains to be seen whether or not Envira will be able to provide an appropriate ship for such journeys by next year.

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It isn't unusual to see Croatia's stunning coast being talked about, the natural beauty and the sparkling Adriatic sea are enough of a winning combination for any wordsmith. But it's somewhat different when someone outside of Croatia recognises and talks, or writes rather, about the success and the renaissance history of a city, especially in a publication with as much international respect as the Washington Post boasts.

As Morski writes on the 19th of January, 2019, this is exactly what the historic Dalmatian city of Šibenik has experienced on multiple occasions in recent years, and the city was written about once again on Friday in one of the world's most highly respected daily journals, the Washington Post. The journalist who wrote about Šibenik is Anja Mutić, who has Croatian roots. She is the daughter of legendary sports journalist Boris Mutić and lives in New York, she has written for the likes of Lonely Planet, the Wall Street Journal and Conde Nast Traveler for a number of years.

Anja's vivid description of Šibenik for the Washington Post begins with her gazing upon the Adriatic sea from St. Michael's Fortress, describing how the late September bura has cleared the skies. Her comments about the scent of Cypress trees in the air is enough to fill the senses of anyone who has spent any time on the Dalmatian coast.

Anja continues, talking about how the fortress upon which she is standing as she takes in the views was all but an abandoned place not so long ago, and how Šibenik itself was much more of an industrial place, which saw the majority of tourists skip right over it in favour of the glitz and the glamour of the arguably more tourist-developed south of Dalmatia. Touching on the 1980's, when tourism and leisure came a firm second to industry, she details how the war changed Šibenik's industrial ''look'', altering its direction permanently. With that being said, as Anja correctly states, the city only really got its first city beach, Banj, in 2012.

Going back to Šibenik's very roots, Anja takes the reader through a proverbial maze of time, detailing Šibenik's glorious renaissance, the foundation of the city by King Petar Kresimir IV in 1066, the later Venetian era, Juraj Dalmatinac's touch on the city, all the way to UNESCO recognition and the city which it has become today. Anja speaks in depth about how Šibenik, unlike southern Dalmatian cities, has adopted a culturally sensitive way of developing its tourism.

''Taking small measured steps, respectful of the ground it walks on, immersed in heritage and tradition, Šibenik is on the slow rise to Croatia’s hall of fame,'' Anja concludes.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated lifestyle and travel pages.

Click here to read the Washington Post's entire lowdown on Šibenik

As SibenikIN writes on the 16th of January, 2019, the much loved Seasplash Festival is set to move from Istria where it has been held so far, to a brand new location for 2019's festival. Seasplash Festival's seventeen-year long tradition will take to Martinska beach in Šibenik, as the festival's organisers have revealed.

''Situated directly across from the city of Šibenik, on the unique Srima peninsula and at the entrance to Šibenik's harbour, Martinska will open up a new chapter in the history of the festival with its appearance and location. From July the 18th to the 21st, 2019, relaxing in the sun and the sea with the best of domestic and international reggae, dub, drum and bass, jungle, ska and punk is waiting for you at Martinska!,'' Seasplash Festival's organisers state.

Lee "Scratch" Perry, Scientist and Mad Professor - the trinity of still active diva and reggae legends will perform together on the main stage of the 17th Seasplash Festival. Martinska, as the new venue for the festival, will host some of the world's top bass music for its premiere.

Lee "Scratch" Perry, a true Jamaican icon, a music producer and a revolutionary, has the rightful title of one of the most enduring and most original reggae producers and performers of all time. In 2003, Perry won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album, in 2004, Rolling Stone added Perry to the list of the greatest artists of all time, and this year, in the eightieth year of his life, he will perform for the first time at Seasplash Festival. Bob Marley, The Wailers, The Clash, Beastie Boys, Max Romeo, and Adrian Sherwood are just some of the famous names he collaborated with.

After last year's memorable performance, the ingenious dub producer Mad Professor returns to Seasplash Festival. Until the early 90s, Mad Professor and his Ariwa Studio achieved a legendary status with over one hundred albums, world-wide tours and many stars (Depeche Mode, Jamiroquai, Beastie Boys). In the new millennium, with more than 200 released albums, Ariwa created his own soundsystem, with which he travels around the world, to various clubs and festivals.

Earlybird festival tickets for Seasplash Festival are now sold out, and currently tickets are being sold at a price of 249 kuna for the Republic of Croatia and the countries of former Yugoslavia.

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Fans of the band Thirty Seconds to Mars and its frontman (and famous Hollywood actor) Jared Leto are in for a treat, as they have announced two concerts in Croatia this summer as part of the new Mars Island Festival, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on January 17, 2019. 

Namely, the Oscar and Golden Globe winner and his team have rented the island of Obonjan to accommodate their fans for a three-day festival. From August 9 to 12, 2019, the new Croatian edition of ‘Mars Island Festival' will be held on the island of Obonjan, just off the coast of Šibenik.

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In addition to concerts by the favorite band, the festival will offer a range of accompanying content such as yoga, meditation, workshops and water sports. Visitors will be accommodated in luxurious four-bed tents (at a price 9750 kuna), which includes accommodation for three nights and food.

For a (much) higher price, accommodation will be offered in two-bed wooden homes, which will also include a VIP experience with Jared Leto. 

The actor has yet to reveal his exact plans for the summer spectacle, but judging by his activity on social media, as well as his close relationship with his fans, we can expect more information soon

As we know now, ticket prices will range from 9,750 to 42,270 kuna - yes, you heard that right. 

The "Mars Island Festival" has thus far been held in Malibu, though for their fifth anniversary, Leto wanted to change the atmosphere and move to "the idyllic Croatian coast."

Company "Obonjan Rivijeria” is not hiding their pleasure and pride that Obonjan will host one of the world's greatest new-age bands. 

According to Kristijan Gržetić, the arrival of Jared Leto and Thirty Seconds to Mars is a great spectacle for the international recognition of the island as a destination that is based on the concept of well-being and attractive and unique amenities.

“This is proof that Obonjan has achieved a certain status thanks to its recognition in the world. Thirty Seconds to Mars will leave Malibu and Los Angeles for the first time and bring along their fans who usually organize this type of event once a year,” said Gržetić.

Gržetić added that Obonjan would continue to launch a number of prestigious events in the coming years, while maintaining the status as a favorite destination for corporate events, as it offers a wealth of exciting content, such as yoga, meditation, health, workshops, team building activities and more.

Gržetić also promised that there would be similar attractions in the future.

“We're sure we will not stop there. The town of Šibenik and Obonjan are growing. Our wish is that the city is spoken about as one of the main destinations, not only for tourism, but also for music, festivals, and entertainment,” concluded Gržetić.

Recall, in 2015, the company Obonjan Riveria was granted a concession for 43 years from the City of Šibenik, and thus built a luxurious camping site with a capacity of 1,000 beds on the now popular ‘Obonjan’ island. 

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

It goes without saying that the historic coastal city of Šibenik is beautiful, and yet despite that, quite a lot is still said about it. How could one not try to describe the beauty of the sunset over the Adriatic sea? And on the other hand, how could one really begin to describe it? 

Dotted with ancient stone cities and towns, the Dalmatian coast is a magnet for tourists from not only Europe but from all over the world. Attracting millions and millions of international travellers each and every year, the world's ''discovery'' of Dalmatia has propelled Croatian tourism to previously unimaginable heights, even seeing it leak over into continental Croatia, the country's still somewhat undiscovered gem. 

As SibenikIN writes on the 9th of January, 2019, the well-known New York musician and DJ, Brian Cid, who performed live in Šibenik in May last year and opened his music season with his live video set at Šibenik's utterly stunning St. Mihovil (St Michael's Fortress), has recalled his stay in this incredible Dalmatian city in a beautiful manner and shared it with his army of fans on both Facebook and Instagram:

''On this precise moment, while playing a live stream set on the highest tower of a majestic castle in Šibenik, Croatia, overlooking the historical city, river and mountains...

I turned around, took a deep breath while looking straight to the orange sun, and said ‘thank you. I surrender to you, mother nature’.

This is the perfect representation of 2018 for me. On to the next one''

His live video set located at the fortress, where he performed alongside the Šibenik DJ Lawrence Klein, has been viewed by about 55,000 people on Facebook, and tens of thousands of views of the video have accumulated on different YouTube channels, with the stunning city of Šibenik playing host.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.

The Croatian demographic crisis is something that is making all the headlines for all the wrong reasons of late, but just how ''new'' is this negative and concerning trend? It would appear that the tap has been trickling for a great number of years. The popular historic Dalmatian city of Šibenik is an unlikely but excellent example of this.

As SibenikIN writes on the 8th of January, 2019, in the face of the Croatian demographic crisis, in his latest blog post, Ivo Jakovljević has written about the gradual reduction of the Šibenik population since the beginning of the Homeland War, the largest reduction caused by the plague back in 1649. All this, as Jakovljević writes in his blog post, has influenced Šibenik's age and education composition with long-term consequences, even in terms of the local surname composition.

The largest demographic changes in 300 years occurred in the area of ​​Šibenik-Knin County during the Homeland War between the years 1991-1995 this was highlighted by the population census taken in 1991, and then again in 2001. Not only did the total number of inhabitants decrease significantly (in part due to deaths on both the Croatian and the Serbian side, and mainly in the face of forced migration), but there were also changes in many other areas, too.

As opposed to the economy being the main driving force for the negative trends the country is experiencing today, war migrations played a huge role in the Croatian demographic crisis back then. During the Homeland War, from the summer of 1991 onwards, a lot of movement could be witnessed. These displaced people were predominantly Croats, and also some Serbs who didn't agree with Greater Serbian politics. Individuals and families were expelled from their places of residence in many cases during the war, and many of these people moved to Šibenik and the unoccupied areas of Šibenik-Knin County, while a smaller number went abroad.

As of mid-1992, amid the continual spread of the war in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, many refugees, made up mainly of Croats and Bosnians, also arrived in the wider Šibenik area. At the beginning of August 1995, a significant number of Serbs left not only Šibenik-Knin County but Croatia as a whole, heading generally in the direction of the Banja Luka area and towards Belgrade, and from those areas they were displaced in all directions, with some even heading towards the north of Kosovo.

Hundreds of them (mostly younger, more mobile and better educated people) then continued moving onwards to Central Europe, with some of them even heading much further afield, outside of Europe to Canada and Australia. During the time of the pre-war crisis in Kosovo, after 1995, many people from Janjevo arrived in the village of Kistanje, and later settled and declared themselves as Catholics.

At the end of this pattern of deep demographic shock, the total number of inhabitants in Šibenik-Knin County during the period between 1991 to 2001 decreased from 152,125 to just 109,799. According to the latest estimates by the Central Bureau of Statistics (due to the chronic low birth rate and the somewhat new trend of economic emigration - predominantly to Zagreb, Germany, and Ireland) in 2019, there may be less than 100,000 in total.

Thus, from 1991 to 2001 the total number of inhabitants in the aforementioned county decreased by 42,326 persons - almost one third! Then, from 2001 to 2019, by about ten thousand. Among the emigrants from 1991 to 2001, almost three quarters (or 74 percent of them) were Serbs.

In Šibenik-Knin County, Serbs once made up as much as 40.7 percent of the population. Just ten years later, Serbs were no longer a majority in any one of the counties. This trend continued, and in 2011, the number of Serbs in the county decreased from 60,800 in 1991 to 11,518 in 2011, and in Šibenik, there were 1,434 Serbs recorded in 2011. On the other side of that same medal, the number of Croats in the total composition the population in the county increased from 58.42 percent in 1991, to 83.80 percent in 2001, and then to 85 percent in 2011.

The same trend changed the confessional composition of Šibenik-Knin County. The number of Catholics increased from 54.9 percent in 1991 to 82.8 percent in 2001, while the share of those of the Orthodox faith decreased from 38.02 to 7.31 percent.

The long-term consequences of war victims, forced and voluntary emigrations, and war and transitional economic damage in the broader Šibenik hinterland, right up to Drniš and Knin, have resulted in some significant changes in the area's surname structure, which - judging from both from the 2001 census and from the much later 2011 census, has seen the apparent disappearance of a subset of traditional Croatian and Serbian surnames from the Šibenik hinterland.

Want to find out more about the Croatian demographic crisis and much more? Give our dedicated lifestyle and politics pages a follow.

Good news for the residents of the island of Zlarin, located near the historic city of Šibenik in Dalmatia as a longtime desire of the island's locals is finally fulfilled.

As Morski writes on the 6th of January, 2019, Zlarin's permanent inhabitants have at least one less problem with the turning of the brand new year. As they state from Zlarin's local committee, after one hundred years of pleading with the powers that be, Zlarin's residents have finally had their wish granted, in the form of an additional ferry service which will operate on Sundays and during holidays.

"After one hundred years of pleading for this, we've now got an additional [ferry] line on Sundays and holidays which goes from Vodice at 15:00 to Prvić and Zlarin at 15:35, and then goes to Šibenik. Thank you very much to the cities of Šibenik and Vodice for their help, and to our colleagues from the local committees in Prvić for their very pleasant cooperation with us. And a huge thanks to our member of the local board, Katarina Gregov, on this sacrificial work, because had she not put her foot down as much as she did, we'd certainly not be hearing anything about this ferry line,'' they state from Zlarin's local committee via Facebook.

An additional 55,000 kuna was set aside for Zlarin's additional ferry line from the urban budget of the City of Vodice for 2019. On Sundays, the ferry line will run until the June 16th and then again from August the 26th through to the very end of the year. Unfortunately for many locals from Vodice, as well as visitors to that destination, the Sunday ferry line will not be in operation during the summer from June the 17th to August the 25th, according to a report from local portal Info Vodice.

The good news which came after this announcement was perhaps best summed up by local woman from Zlarin who simply wrote: ''Now I can come and go''.

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A two million kuna project will see the popular Sovlje beach in Tribunj near the historic Dalmatian city of Šibenik get a variety of new facilities, including new steps, smart benches, new showers, and a very welcome cash injection from the ministry.

As SibenikIN writes on the 3rd of January, 2019, the new year has started off wonderfully for the Tribunj Municipality, where the Croatian Ministry of Tourism has approved 400,000 kuna for the ''doing up'' of the popular Sovlje beach, while the rest of the funds are set to be provided by the municipality itself.

''The public procurement process is currently in progress, and as soon as January the 8th, we should know who the contractor to carry out the works on Sovlje beach will be, as that will be when the public procurement process ends,'' said Tribunj Mayor Marko Grubelić.

With a massive total investment of around two million kuna, the entire coastline of Sovlje beach will be given a new lease of life. There will be stone steps going into the sea in more place,s and a ramp for wheelchair access for the disabled will be constructed. There will also be two brand new smart benches and two new showers on the beach.

''Considering the increase in the tourist accommodation capacities in the area of ​​Sovlje, increase the surface area of the beach should reduce the crowds during the summer months,'' stated Grubelić.

Grubelić was initially dissatisfied with the original conceptual solution for the fixing up and modernisation of Sovlje beach and, when he took over the function of Tribunj's mayor, he requested that the architectural office in charge of overseeing the procedure to change its plans.

As a result of the new conceptual solution and the collection of all the necessary certifications and green lights to get things going, the Sovlje beach project became a major one and a building permit was finally obtained. Works should begin in January this year following the announcement of the company which will be chosen and contracted to do the works on the 8th of this month, and the project's completion is expected as soon as May this year.

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