Croatia Travel Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Croatia’

Today’s Timesonline has a useful article about cruising the Croatian coast with kids in tow. Writer Mark Solomans cruised the coast in a gulet last summer and made some interesting points even if you don’t have kids. Here are the main points:

• There’s a mixture of nationalities on these small boats which adds an international flavour
• Cruising is informal; “there’s no need to pack socks or long trousers let alone a dinner jacket”
• Vegetarians can be accommodated but the main diet is seafood “including fish caught that morning yards from the boat, swimming in the sea,”
• It’s safe for kids with a “boat/ship (who cares?) small enough for the children to be able to jump off the sides into the sea”
• Costs are reasonable; “It’s still outside the Eurozone so you can still get a main course for under a tenner in the restaurants though the local wine tends to be pricey for anything decent”
• Tipping is practised; “allow for around 20 euros a head for the week”
• Watch out for nudity! “we had a yacht of naked men moor up alongside us near Bol beach”
• Croatia Airlines is better and cheaper than Ryanair

See more about travelling Croatia with kids.

At least for certain Croatia ferries, summer holiday planning has become easier. Summer and fall 2010 ferry schedules are now available for:

• the coastal ferry connecting Rijeka-Split-Hvar-Korcula-Mljet-Dubrovnik
• Split-Ancona ferries
• Ancona-Zadar ferries
• Ancona-Hvar ferries
• Bari-Dubrovnik ferries

Around the beginning of next month other ferry schedules should be online. Stay tuned!

See more on ferries to Croatia and ferries in Croatia.

It’s official now. CNN has proclaimed Croatia the new destination for celebs in 2010. Now that Dubai has come down with a nasty and most un-cool case of bankruptcy, the A-List needs another haunt to hide from the likes of you. With a galaxy of spots for yachts and 1185 islands, Gwyneth, Sharon, Clint & Andre (all previous Croatia visitors) will have no trouble escaping your prying eyes.

Even the lesser lights are finding themselves in Croatia although they, poor things, have to work. Currently filming in Trogir is an episode of the BBC series, Doctor Who with actor Matt Smith in the title role. It’s all very hush-hush but apparently will involve vampires or Van Gogh or something. And, a local source has whispered that Nicolas Cage will be filming Rob Cohen’s “Medieval”  in Trogir, Split and Dubrovnik in the spring of 2010.

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.

The vineyards of Peljesac peninsula produce some of the finest wine in Croatia. Dingac, Plavac Mali, Postup are renowned throughout Croatia and produced in the dry soil of the Peljesac peninsula.

Now this centuries-old winemaking region has attracted an unlikely new vintner: AIG’s new CEO, Robert Benmosche. Reuters has reported that Mr Benmosche, who had recently come under fire for a 12-bathroom villa in Dubrovnik, has spent millions bringing California vines to his vineyard in Viganj to produce the popular Zinfandel wine. Recent tests have placed the origin of Zinfandel grapes squarely in Croatia, so for this CEO it’s just a return to the source.

While steering AIG back to financial health with taxpayer funds, Benmosche also hopes to put Croatia’s wine industry on the map. Rather than a lot of unknown vintages with unpronounceable names, Croatian wines will eventually be dominated by the well-known Zinfandel. Mr. Benmosche is sure that Croatian Zinfandel is a very good investment. Perhaps better than AIG.