Croatia Travel Blog

Archive for the ‘Croatia Islands’ Category

Lopud Island

Croatian islands really are special and it’s easy to find the island of your dreams. In this week’s Mirror, journalist Karen Rockett visits the luscious Elaphiti Islands off the coast of Dubrovnik.

First up was Sipan with the romantic Hotel Bozica, perched on top a hill and a “perfect honeymoon destination, without the honeymoon price tag”.

Next on the tour was Lopud, noted for its magnificent, sandy Sunj beach.  Yes, it’s busier mainly because it’s an easy day trip from Dubrovnik.

The writer also stopped at sleepy Kolocep, noting that there were no restaurants open on the island and this was May!

Better pack a lunch if you want to visit the Elaphiti Islands off-season. Unless you’re a free-wheeling travel writer, you’ll need to book a tour to visit all three islands in one day. Or, you can just pick one or two and go under your steam by taking a local ferry.

Go to article.

The beautiful islands of Losinj and Cres will be much easier to visit, especially for Austrians. Starting in May 2010 and continuing through September Innsbruck and Mali Losinj will be connected by weekly charter flights. A recent promotional flight brought 40 passengers to the tiny Losinj airport for the first time in 20 years. Long used as a launchpad for sightseeing flights and air taxis, the Losinj airport will require significant investment in order to lengthen the runway. As soon as that’s done, Mali Losinj should have a jump in demand for its newly renovated four star hotels.

See more about Losinj and Cres islands or flights to Croatia.

I’m a big fan of Vis Island and try to visit it as often as I can (read about my last visit to Vis Island) which is why I like to see little Vis get some press. The Guardian ran an informative article last week emphasizing Vis Island’s authenticity, its most endearing attribute. Although the subject was the island cuisine, naturally the writer veered off-course into Vis’s slow pace, rural rhythm and relative indifference to tourism. I knew that Vis-landers, like most Croatian islanders make full use of the farm-fresh vegetables, wine and fish that amass with their own hands. “Cooks here also typically think in terms of maximising the use of the ingredients, so that nothing goes to waste: uneaten vegetables will be cooked and bottled for winter; fruit becomes jam or is dried and spiced to keep longer; the broth from the stewed fish goes into the bean stew.” What I didn’t know was that islanders are now putting a few tables and chairs outside their houses to anyone lucky enough to stray by. They’re not exactly restaurants; it’s home-cooking for a small fee and it sounds wonderful. It makes me want to rush back!

Read the article here.

Read my guide to Vis Island.

See photos of Vis Island

Are five-star hotels seeming a little too shabby for your taste? Looking for the hotel experience of a lifetime? Tiny Solta Island, a short hop from Split, has stepped up to the plate.

According to World Architecture News, a new resort is in the works that will include the world’s first rotating hotel. Ever had the experience where you and your wedding party want to rent out a hotel but not everybody can have a seaview room? Awkward. This new hotel will have three storeys on a giant turntable, rotating at the dizzying speed of 1.3 times per day. As the diameter of the place is 61m, you probably won’t get dizzy and you are guaranteed to experience a view across the bay to Split as well as the new luxury marina (yet to be built).

The planned hotel will have individual infinity swimming pools and an infinity edged swimming lake that drops down to a spa below in a series of steps.

Construction hasn’t yet started so you’ll have time to start saving up for your experience. Let the kids pay for their own damn college.

As the Washington Post recently reported, the Croatian economy is facing dire problems. Once the summer tourist season ends, “Croatia’s unemployment will rise and living standards deteriorate”. The unemployment rate which currently stands at 14% will rise to God-knows-what level while labor unions are gunning up for massive demonstrations in September.

Is that a reason to put the family jewels on sale? The Croatian government apparently thinks so. Rumors are that the Brijuni Islands, a Croatian National Park in Istria and former hideaway of late Prez Tito, are on the block.  Do you have an extra billion or so euros? These delightful islands could be yours.  Actually, the price is a bargain; a couple of years ago the asking price hovered around two billion euros but the property market in Croatia has gone into a serious decline. As the New York Times just reported, prices have fallen 20 to 25% this last year and most real estate professionals expect prices to fall even further.

Under those circumstances, raking in a billion or so euros for the Brijuni Islands is probably not a bad idea. Unlike other Croatian islands, there’s no regular ferry service to the islands as hardly anyone lives there. Although of great historical and even archaeological interest (traces of Roman settlements and dinosaur footprints) the islands have not been a great performer on Croatia’s tourism scene. It could be a prestige location but the hotels need serious work and private accommodation is non-existent. A deep-pocket investor could turn a nice profit.