Croatia Online - Croatia Destinations, Travel Tips and News

Just in case you don’t have time to scroll down our index of postings to find what you want – see under “Links” on our home page - here’s a quick way of getting to our reports on some of the essential places to see, as well as the more undiscovered ones.

Trogir
Unesco protected Trogir is hard to beat as a base for exploring central Dalmatia, and an all year round destination in its own right – plenty of good family hotels, a lively promenade (Riva), an abundance of restaurants and a vibrant music festival in the summer. It gets pretty packed in July and August and it’s a fair walk or drive to the better beaches, so for peace and quiet, choose Trogir out of season.

For our previous postings on Trogir see Croatia Online - Trogir, which has links to earlier postings on the town.

Split
The big tourism news in the Split area is the opening of Le Meridien’s new, five star, Grand Hotel Lav (Lav means lion!). In the city centre, another five star – Hotel Atrium – is due to open in a couple of months. Hitherto it’s not been that easy to find an abundance of good accommodation in Split but the pressure is easing. Split is certainly worth a visit for a walk around the Roman Diocletian Palace and a trip to the city centre sandy beach at Bačvice. Just by Bačvice beach, the grand, but not intimidating, Hotel Park has a lovely palm tree lined terrace on which to sip your cocktails. If you’d prefer the relative peace and quiet of an island village, but still want to visit Split, try Slatine on Ciovo island which runs a regular ferry right into the heart of Split from June to September.

Previous postings include:
Croatia Online - Hotels in Split
Croatia Online - Split's New Techno Riva
Croatia Online - The Royal Navy's HMS Cornwall in Split
Croatia Online - Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior in Split
Croatia Online - New Hostel in Split
Croatia Online - The Split Boat Show (see previous postings on this page for full report on the show)
Croatia Online - Black Cat Cafe for A Great English Breakfast

Kaštela
We have a vested interest in making sure that Kaštela, between Trogir and Split (a group of seven villages, each with its own Castle), does not become over exposed. However we will be sharing some of its secrets with you in a week or so. In the mean time, some friends of ours did a roving report and this includes a link to their site providing details of a great apartment to let in Slatine (see visiting Split by ferry above). Go to Croatia Online - Lifestyle for the full lowdown.

Vis Island
Vis has to be one of the best islands to visit in the high season. It’s more remote than many and it’s difficult to see how it can get too spoilt, or too crowded, too quickly. Book early though as there are not many good hotels on the island.
See our recent posting Croatia Online - Vis Revisited for a recent report.

Brac Island
One of the most popular islands, less than an hour’s ferry journey from Split, Brač still has a number of less discovered villages as well as the more popular destinations such as Bol. For a taste of what’s on offer go to Croatia Online - Brac

Zadar and Šibenik
These two major cities in northern Dalmatia are now much more accessible since Ryanair announced regular flights to Zadar. Zadar is a cosmopolitan delight and fast becoming a cultural and music centre. Both cities are steeped in history and the great and varied architecture tells the story. Good city centre accommodation exists but is hard to find (see postings). If you’d prefer an unspoilt island, with some gems of family run hotels, this area is hard to beat. See the following posting for more information and links to other relevant postings on the area.
Croatia Online - Zadar and Šibenik

Quiet Getaways for July and August
See our report Croatia Online - Croatia in August: Is it for You? to decide whether you’d like to compete with the madding crowds in the more well known destinations, if you’re confined to school holidays for your break. If you prefer some peace and quiet try:

a) Inland Istria
We spent last Christmas in Lupoglav and had a great time. The prices go down in the high season, when everyone’s heading for the coast. If you’re not fussed about sunbathing on the beach, find a mountain village retreat in inland Istria and enjoy the cool air and countryside. See Croatia Online - Inland Istria for more details.

b) Bosnia and Hercegovina
In the Croat part of Bosnia are two picture postcard inland towns – Livno and Kupres – where you can get away from it all. Tourism is not too developed here so you’ll have to work hard to get the right accommodation. Alternatively drive there for a day trip from Dalmatia. Croatia Online - Livno and Kupres will wet your appetite further.

For other useful travel information and tips try the following postings:

Croatia Online - Which Destination and When
Croatia Online - How To Get There – please note that this was posted in January 2006 so there are many more flights now but this posting has links to all the main travel companies – sea, rail, air, etc.
Croatia Online - Croatian Beaches – tips on the best places, depending on your preferences.

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This is a humbling posting - we've only just scratched the surface of the best of what Croatia has to offer. Look out for more destination news in the weeks to come and browse our other postings for the inside story on where to stay, what to eat, where to go, getting a haircut, going shopping, learning the language, etc.