Croatia Travel Blog

Archive for March, 2008

Sipan (pronounced shee pan) Who would have thought? Today’s Telegraph highlights Sipan (one of the Elaphiti Islands) as part of an article discussing property in Croatia. With properties in Dubrovnik selling for a mind-boggling £9,500, sun-starved Londoners are looking for something a little more, uh, affordable, like buying on one of Croatia’s less travelled islands. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this week, the “pearl of the Adriatic” got polished by  tornados! No, this is not normal weather in Dubrovnik.  At least 12 little twisters  swirled around the city as part of the ‘Cicero’ cyclone that wreaked havoc on Croatia weather. There was actually snow on Easter!It’s too bad because spring in Croatia can be marvellous.

Dubrovnik  typically takes a breather in spring before the summer tourist onslaught. This year, hotels in Dubrovnik are getting ready for bikini season by undergoing extreme makeovers. As I previously reported, the five-star Hotel Excelsior is closed for renovation until May. Also closed for renovation are the Valamar Club Dubrovnik (formerly the Minceta), the Hotel President, the Hotel Tirena, the Hotel Park and the Hotel Lapad. No word yet on prospective re-opening dates but figure it will be sometime in May–at the latest.

Dubrovnik’s sleek & slick new hotels will be ready just in time to make Austrians happy. Austria Airlinesis adding ten flights a week to Dubrovnik and another ten to Split. That’s great news for travellers who want to fly into Split and out of Dubrovnik (see a suggested Split to Dubrovnik itinerary). 

And there’s further good news for ‘green’ travellers, swimmers and anyone else who thinks that the waters of the Adriatic should stay crystal clear. Dubrovnik authorities are stationing a boat in Gruz harbour whose function will be monitoring the pollution in the water and cleaning it when necessary. The sheer quantity of cruise ships chugging into the harbour poses a threat that will be addressed by this new boat.

It’s too early to pop open the Champagne (or a nice bottle of Croatian wine), but this week’s “Open Skies” agreement between the U.S. and Croatia may just open the skies to direct flights between the two countries. U.S. Transportation Secretary, Mary E. Peters, announced that two days of negotiations have concluded with an Open-Skies agreement that will, for the first time, establish free trade in aviation services between the U.S. and Croatia.

“This agreement continues our effort to improve transportation and trade ties with nations around the world that help our companies and our travelers,” said Secretary Peters. “Today’s agreement lays the groundwork for future air service between the United States and Croatia that will provide new options for travelers as well as economic benefits to both countries.”

Under the new agreement, airlines from both countries will be allowed to select routes and destinations based on consumer demand, without limitations on the number of U.S. or Croatian carriers that can fly between the two countries or the number of flights they can operate. The agreement also contains no restrictions on capacity and pricing, and provides opportunities for cooperative marketing arrangements, including code-sharing, between U.S. and Croatian carriers.

This can only be good news for American travellers with a yen to visit Croatia and its constellation of islands. So far, there are no direct flights from the U.S. to Croatia. There was a summer service between Toronto and Zagreb last year but there’s no word on if or when flights will recommence this summer.  One can only hope that the agreement will encourage airlines to start direct services between the two countries. Maybe New York to Zagreb? As matters stand, North Americans need to fly to Croatia via a European city (usually London) which adds time and money to the cost of travelling to Croatia. See more about flights to Croatia.

Can you afford to travel to Croatia this year? Prices in Croatia have been creeping up, the dollar is in a free fall but the answer is a resounding yes, you can afford Croatia. How? Well, it takes a little planning and maybe an attitude adjustment. Do you really need to feast on fish in Croatia? Maybe at $40 for a plate of seafood, you can save it for a splurge and fuel yourself with delicious pizza, pasta and risotto. Must you stay in a hotel? You can save a bundle if you stay in private accommodation. Can you tweak your vacation schedule a few weeks to avoid the peak July-August period? You’ll find fewer tourists and lower prices outside of the summer mad season. Why not explore one of the lesser-known national parks such as Paklenica or Risnjak? And if you avoid the trendiest southern Dalmatia islands and head to, let’s say, the Sibenik archipelago you’ll pay less and see more of the real and unfiltered Croatia. See more tips to make your Croatian vacation affordable.

Much anticipated, even longed-for, Jadrolinija’s online booking is now live. It makes sense that Croatia’s state-supported national ferry company should finally allow visitors to reserve international and coastal ferries online at its website. Although there are several companies besides Jadrolinija that handle ferries from Bari to Dubrovnik, Ancona to Split, Ancona to Zadar and Pescara to Split and Hvar, only Jadrolinija handles the coastal ferry route that runs from Rijeka to Split, Hvar, Korcula and Dubrovnik. Now all these Jadrolinija ferries can be reserved and paid for online. It’s about time. Now, they only need to allow online booking for their elaborate network of local ferries. Maybe next year.

See more about ferries to Croatia.