Croatia Travel Blog

After a long, long overhaul of the old Hotel Split, the luxury four-star Radisson Blu Resort Split has opened for business and the results are spectacular. Designed for both business travellers and comfort-seeking leisure travellers,  the Radisson Blu Resort Split excels in pleasing the senses. There’s fine dining with a choice of two restaurants, accenting Mediterranean and Croatia specialties. There’s a spa with eight treatment rooms, a whirlpool, sauna and steam baths. Relax on a private beach or paddle around in the indoor or outdoor swimming pool. Tone up in the fitness centre or spend the inheritance in the casino. Treat yourself to the panoramic views of the Croatian sea and the islands of Brac and Solta. Are you a Saudi sheik or would you like to live like one? Try one of the  853-square-foot Presidential Suites that offer three bedrooms, a private terrace with Jacuzzi and an outdoor sauna.

The hotel is a 15-minute drive from Split’s historical center which insures peace and tranquility.

You know what I like? Wifi access is FREE. I hate when hotels nickel and dime you on wifi.

Rates start at €82/day off season. Check availability and get the lowest prices for the Radisson Blu Resort Split.

See more luxury hotels in Split.

Eko-centar Caput Insulae in Beli on Cres Island is my favorite nature-break in Croatia (despite its un-memorable name). Set up in 1993 by Goran Susic, a scientist from Zagreb University, the centre is a delightful, educational and inspiring venture dedicated to protecting the majestic Griffon vulture.

“I was spending my life studying the Griffon vulture and then I thought there’s no sense to it if they become extinct!” said Susic. So he chucked the world of academia, bought some land and a building on Cres Island and set up a rescue center and hospice for this threatened species.

With a wingspan of almost 3m and weighing up to 9kg, the bird looks big enough to take on passengers. Yet, their survival is fragile. Young birds are often scared out of their cliffside nests by passing boats and try to fly before they understand how to catch the seaside air currents. Soon they flop exhausted into the sea. Before the Eko-centar, many drowned. Now all the locals know to call Caput Insulae for a rescue team. The young birds are taken to the centre, fed and exercised until they are ready to fly away a few months later.

We visited Caput Insulae last week with a teen and tween, usually blasé when it comes to anything that smacks of an “educational” excursion. But their mouths fell open when we entered the special viewing room–constructed with a one-way mirror–and they saw a dead sheep in the middle of grassy knoll and a dozen or so mammoth vultures hovering overhead on platforms. Cres Island’s vultures feast on dead sheep, thoughtfully procured by the Eko-centar. Apparently it was not yet dinner time but the sight was impressive anyway.

The center includes much more than the vulture-stars. There’s a butterfly garden, botanical garden, eco-trails, labyrinths and soon a multimedia center. There are peaceful corners for rest and reflection, special games for kids and plenty of exhibits telling you all you need to know about vultures.  Yet, it’s not just about sensitizing visitors to the birds but also to the habitat that sustains them. It’s easy to spend a day there, especially when the coast is baking in the summer heat. The Eko-centar is always several degrees cooler.

Even more interesting is the Caput Insulae Volunteer Program. Volunteers staff and maintain the center, help in vulture rescues and accompany the visitors. They are well-lodged, eat local food and the international atmosphere seems most convivial. For a fuller description of the volunteer experience see this article in The Sunday Times. Contact Caput Insulae for more information and see more about Cres Island.

Zagreb should soon attract more visitors as Easyjet has announced new routes to Croatia’s capital. Starting November 1, the low-cost carrier will fly four times weekly from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport and will fly five times weekly from London Gatwick to Zagreb.

Germanwings, Wizz Air and Norwegian are other budget airlines that fly to Zagreb and Croatia Airlines, the country’s national airline also handles the routes from London and Paris but Easyjet’s entrance into the market should help drive down fares. That may not be good for Croatia Airlines which is already losing money but it will be good for Zagreb tourism and other sectors of the Croatian economy.

Just to recap, Easyjet already flies from Rome, Milan, Geneva, Paris Orly, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Liverpool and Berlin to Dubrovnik and from Split to Rome, Milan, Geneva, Basel, Paris, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Bristol, Amsterdam and Berlin.

See more on cheap flights to Zagreb and cheap flights to Croatia.

Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor inaugurated a 28km dual carriageway section of the Istrian Pula-Kanfanar motorway which should greatly improve driving times to and around the Istrian peninsula. The Y motorway project is the largest in Istria and represents a strong governmental commitment to improving the Istrian infrastructure.

The project has been a joint venture with France’s Bouygues Telecom which is fitting as Istria is the most accessible part of the Croatian coast for French tourists. The modern motorway should do a lot to increase French travel to Istria. Another 50km section of the Y motorway is due to open in about a year and an additional 18km section will open by the end of 2011.

See

• a road map of Istria
• more about Istria
• driving in Croatia

Island-hopping in Croatia is not a simple matter because ferry service between islands in Croatia is much more limited than services back and forth to the mainland. Southern Dalmatia can be particularly irritating to travellers with a limited amount of time who want to see several islands.

Hvar and Korcula islands are among the most beautiful in southern Dalmatia and now it is much easier to travel between them–if you have a car, that is. Now you don’t have to wait for the coastal ferry that connects the islands only a few times a week. You can take the car ferry from Sucuraj on Hvar Island to Drvenik on the mainland and then catch the new car ferry that runs from Drvenik to Domince on Korcula island. The new ferry eliminates the need to take two ferries to reach Korcula from the mainland: one from Ploce to Trpanj and the other from Orebic to Domince. Whew.

I know, I know. Why don’t they just run a daily car ferry between Hvar and Korcula? The ways of Jadrolinija are most mysterious. Ours is not to reason why; ours is to catch the ferries and get on with the holiday in Croatia.

See

• the ferry schedule from Drvenik to Domince;
• the ferry schedule from Sucuraj to Drvenik;
• a pocket ferry guide with the schedules of all local ferries in southern Dalmatia.