October 6th 2008
I think Zagreb is a great city but am I objective? Not so much, maybe. It’s always good to get person-on-the-street impressions and that’s what the Zagreb tourist office has done. They’ve conducted extensive surveys last year and here’s what they found: Continue Reading »
October 3rd 2008
Good news for the Emerald Isle. Jet2.com has announced a new route to run from Belfast to Dubrovnik.
October 2nd 2008
Dubrovnik is one of the world’s safest spots. Yet on the night of September 17, Australian backpacker Britt Lapthorne left the Fuego nightclub and disappeared without a trace. The 21-year old was last seen getting into a car outside the nightclub and, after that, the trail runs cold. Local and national police are investigating and would very much like to speak with the people who were with Britt on the night of her disappearance. Those people are: David Barbalet, 21, from Perth; Barry Levy, 22, an Australian living in Johannesburg; Dominic Dobrowiecki from Pennsylvania; Garet Hopkins, 20, from Cheltenham, UK; and a Portuguese couple. There is no suggestion that these people had anything to do with her disappearance, only that they may shed light on her final night.
September 23rd 2008
Jadrolinija’s local ferry schedules valid from October 2008 to May 2009 have finally been published. It’s been a long, long wait and the result is. . .not too different from last year! As usual, it appears that Jadrolinija is moving ever closer to the goal of having a different schedule for every day of the year–at least it seems that way. There’s weekend exceptions, holiday exceptions, Sunday exceptions–you have to read it carefully!
September 10th 2008
Good news for those from the chilly north! Jet2.com has announced the launch of a new service from Newcastle International Airport to Split. The link will start next year on May 2, and there will be a weekly service between the two destinations operating on Saturday, with one-way tickets starting from £56.99.
September 3rd 2008
For those of you waiting for the updated edition of my hugely popular downloadable Pocket Ferry Guide, I must ask you to wait just a little longer. A spokesperson for Jadrolinija, Croatia’s national ferry company, confirmed this morning that the fall and winter schedules may not be published for a week or so. Apparently, the Transport Minister needs to confirm the schedules and this has not yet been done. Until those local schedules are official, I cannot publish my new ferry guide. But you can plan your trip anyway! Remember that all inhabited Croatian islands have ferry connections to the mainland all year. We are just waiting to find out the exact time of the ferries and whether there will be, say, three or five per day. So you will not be stuck on an island! Also, some ferry schedules have been published. See the following schedules: Continue Reading »
August 19th 2008
The Jadrolinija company, solely responsible for running the coastal ferry route that runs from Rijeka to Split, Hvar, Korcula and Dubrovnik, has issued the timetable valid through the end of the year but not beyond! It’s curious. Usually, the timetable is issued from October through May but not this year. In any event, there’s no change from last year. Click here for the coastal ferry schedule.
August 11th 2008
Dubrovnik Airport has a brand new attraction that will make you wish your flight was delayed. It’s called Durovic’s Cave and it’s an archaeological site that dates back to the Iron Age. Opened last week, the cave lies 25m under the airport runway and is 156m long. Scientists have known about the cave for a long time as it was used as a shelter until 1962 when the entrance was closed. Excavation has been going on for seven years now and it’s not finished. Eventually there will be a modern entrance to the cave and multimedia exhibits centering on the creation of the universe. Only in Dubrovnik.
July 16th 2008
Tennis fans in Istria should make a beeline up to the coastal town of Umag, where the Croatia Open is taking place. Anyone with the remotest interest in tennis has noticed that Croatia churns out top players with awesome regularity. Many of them are now playing on the clay courts of Umag, including Ivan Ljubicic and Ivo Karlic. Other top-ranked players on the courts this year include last year’s winner, Carlos Moya plus clay-courters Guillermo Canas, Fernando Verdaso and Nicolas Massu.
July 14th 2008
Go ahead clubbers. Party away in Hvar Town. True culture buffs now zero in on the Stari Grad Plain, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located outside Stari Grad town on Hvar Island, this new site makes seven World Heritage Sites in Croatia. The others are: Plitvice Lakes National Park, the Old Town of Dubrovnik, Trogir, Diocletian’s Palace, the Euphrasian Basilica and the Cathedral of St James.
