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Like many European cities, Dubrovnik this year has gained two open-air buses intended for tourist sightseeing of the city, and one of the main tasks of the bus is not only driving of tourists but awakening memories of the Dubrovnik tram which once long ago used to travel along the city streets.

The appearance, colours and recognisable bell of the bus already now irresistibly remind one of the tram which travelled along the Dubrovnik streets from 1910 to 1970.

After a few days driving in regular city transport, the open-air bus has completely reverted to driving along the outlined tourist route. Tourists will therefore be able to traverse the areas of the city from Pila to Babin Kuk by bus, and the bus also drives to two belvederes – the bridge of Dr. Franjo Tudman and one with a view of the city centre.

Modern technology has made it possible for a system of expert audio guide to be built into the open-air bus with whose help tourists during the tour which lasts about an hour and a half will be able to hear the “story about Dubrovnik” in ten world languages.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

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The American publisher of the tourist guidebook Lonely Planet has issued a new tourist guide about Croatia, that on 304 pages describes Croatian landscapes, coastline, islands, as well as the interior of the country, and wine and gastro offer characteristic for each individual region.

The author Karen Torme Olson has divided the guide into four logical units – Get under the skin, Rest Easy, Dine Al Fresco and Get Around, while each of these describes various segments of Croatian heritage, culture and everyday life.

The first part of the guide, titled “Get under the skin”, describes the richness and diversity of Croatian cultural-historical heritage, while the chapter “Rest Easy” offers useful service information like where to stay, with an emphasis on authentic coastal stone houses and apartments.

In the chapter “Dine Al Fresco” she gives a list of authentic gastro and wine offer, and restaurants and specialties which, in her opinion, you simply must not miss during your holiday in Croatia.

Here too is the part “Get Around” with a map of attractions and natural beautiful sights you should see, while in the part of the guidebook “Talk to talk” she lists practical advice, words and phrases which may help tourists to communicate with the local inhabitants.

With the issuing of the latest guidebook about Croatia, Lonely Planet has once again acknowledged tourism in Croatia, after proclaiming it as one of the most desirable world tourist destinations at the beginning of 2005.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

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One of the largest islands in the Croatian part of the Adriatic – the Island of Krk – is unique for many a reason. Arriving on the island and situating yourself in one location is a big mistake because in this was you miss out on the opportunity of getting acquainted with the rich island heritage which can also be easily explored by bike.

Krk has a surface area of about 400 square kilometres, its highest peak Obzova is located at a height of 569 metres, and the whole island has 68 settlements. Given the abundance of island locations and activities, the bicycle track construction project which is about 130 kilometres long is drawing to a close and will in this simple way connect nearly all the island attractions.

The “Island transversal” which is the name given to the track, is actually a synthesis of all existing walking-bicycle tracks which with additional construction, mutual linking, marking and mapping with the aid of the GPS system, have resulted in the creation of a very attractive bicycle track. The majority of the track passes through the most attractive areas of Krk – pristine nature in whose vicinity many cultural-historical monuments and archaeological localities are located.

Krk abounds in many natural phenomena, caves like Biserujka near Dobrinja. The coastline is also well indented – with numerous coves, sandy beaches and bays of which the bay Soline particularly stands out with its medicinal mud.

There are two lakes on the island – Jezero and Ponikva, and three rivers – Veli or Dobrinjski potok (stream), Vretenica and Vela Rika. Also especially attractive are the Krk ornithological reserves which are home to the griffon – on the small island of Prvic which is located right next to Krk and on the north-eastern steep part of the coast of the Island of Krk.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

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Known for its quality tourist activities and facilities, cultural events and attractive manifestations, Zadar is a must see locality on the tourist map of Croatia. It is sufficient only to mention the sea pipe organ constructed on the Zadar waterfront, which with the harmony of sea and sounds additionally attracts visitors and it is the only one of its kind in the world. One would do well to also mention the Musical evenings in St. Donat, the Zadar theatrical summer, Festival of contemporary music and Nights of the full moon when the Zadar waterfront has its lights turned off to bask in the full glow of the full moon and life returns to a time long ago. This festival of culture and traditions of the Zadar region attracts tens of thousands of tourists, who along with traditional music and dance can also enjoy the flavours and scents of rich cuisine of the Zadar region and other parts of Croatia. Many tourists will also remember this year’s stay in Zadar because of the spectacular manifestation the “Millennium Jump” in which a total of 1503 people dove head first from the Zadar waterfront into the sea for a Guinness record of the most massive jump of its kind. Aside from the promotional, entertainment and tourist characteristics, in the realisation of the whole project, which was organised by the Tourist Board of the City of Zadar, special emphasis was place on ecology and protection of the sea from dangerous algae, and for the millennium photograph of the well known Croatian photographer Šime Strikoman on this occasion on the pebbly part of the waterfront a sign stating “Zadar – Croatia Millennium Jump” using human bodies was also organised. The entire spectacle was followed by numerous television stations from Croatia and abroad, with VOX and RTL sending live pictures around the world from the Zadar waterfront filled with people diving into the clean sea.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

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The unique gastronomic manifestation Nin Šokolijada in whose final stages once annually tourists of the ancient town of Nin may enjoy, has a significantly greater effect than organising an attractive tourist event. The entire project was initiated five years ago by the Tourist Board of the City of Nin to promote the organised production of Šokol (an traditional smoked and cured meat) and through the hospitality offer promote the autochthonous values of their own region. Šokol is an original smoked and cured meat product which has been linked for centuries to the Nin area and is produced according to an traditional and well kept original recipe in the north-western part of the Zadar County. It is made from fresh pork neck from home reared pigs in a procedure similar to the production of pršut (smoked ham) three to seven days it sits in clean sea water, then it is placed into cooked red wine and is then covered with a number of different spices (pepper, cloves, nutmeg) which is then pushed into the meat. It is tied with string in a special way, then after a few days it is smoke cured, an then place in the bura (special type of wind), which according to the inhabitants of the Nin region is the most important part of the curing of šokol.

Namely, the unique microclimate which in itself joins together the bura wind brought from the sea and mountain air enriched with the scents and ingredients of medicinal herbs from Velebit affect the curing process and quality of the Nin šokol.

The production of šokol has many hundreds of years history and is part of the family gastronomic tradition of the Nin region in which once livestock breeding and in its making even the youngest generations took part. Given that it was produced in very small quantities it was once served only to selected guests, and even today it is offered as a special delicacy. According to maintained tradition šokol is eaten on the occasion of celebrating the apparition of Our Lady of Zecevo in 1516, where every year on the 5th of May and the 5th of August the faithful make pilgrimages by boat and on foot to the Island of Zecevo and after the holy mass traditional feast on šokol. By stimulating its organised production for which the local inhabitants of the Nin region are showing increased interest, is a guarantee that in the future an increasing number of tourists will be able to enjoy in the flavours and scents of this original delicacy.

Source: Croatia Tourist Board

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Recently the Umag company Istraturist completed construction of new attractive Istrian villas which have now become an integral part of the tourist settlement Stella Maris in the immediate vicinity of the town of Umag.

With an investment worth about 17 million Euros, the settlement Stella Maris has been transformed into an exceptionally comfortable holiday region – it is an area of about 80 thousand square metres which is dominated by a hundred year old pine forest surrounded by an attractive lagoon. There used to be accommodation facilities in this area earlier, however, now the settlement has been modernised – supplemented with the new luxury resort Istrian villas.

In the entire resort tourists have at their disposal a total of 180 accommodation units of four star category. Every villa has its own private garden which blends perfectly into the picture of an otherwise picturesque peninsula isolated from traffic, noise and activities of the rest of the settlement.

Aside from their own luxury villa, guests can also relax in the new Aqua Chill Out zone with a pool, sun tanning area and relaxation area.

The whole renovation of the entire area was approached with great care which also included the restaurant where primarily sea specialties and the flavours of Istrian traditional cuisine are offered.

Along with the newly restored beach, a beautiful walking path leads all the way to the historical centre of Umag.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

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The old town of Osor on the Island of Cres, known among classical music lovers also for the Osor musical evenings, which have been taking place in the cathedral and on the central square of the old town for more than 30 years, is also unique for the number of cultural monuments. The town is lies on the south-western side of the Island of Cres on a narrow strip which connects the Island of Cres and Lošinj in the Primorje-Goranska County. A long time ago these islands were joined, however because of the needs of trade and the Amber path they were separated by an artificially dug out canal at Osor, which today does not serve any function. The town is surrounded by old walls from which the history of Osor can be read which reaches back to ancient times. The centre of the town is dominated by the Parish Church of St. Mary (cathedral) from 1498 and is ranked among the most beautiful Renaissance monuments in Croatia. It is a three-naved structure with a three-leafed façade and Early Renaissance portal with the statue of the Mother of God in a niche, which is the work of the great Croatian sculptor and builder Juraj Dalmatinac. The bell tower of the cathedral is the work of a Krk master Jakov Galeta from 1575, but it was later reconstructed and in 1901 raised to today’s height. In the cathedral there are three altars and pictures from the time period from the XVI to the XVIII centuries, while the treasury guards a wooden gothic sculpture from the XV century, golden and silver liturgical items and dress from the XIV to the XVIII century and in the capitular archives illuminated codices from the XV century. Aside from the beautiful cathedral in Osor there are also a series of structures which were built in the surrounding area in the gothic era and a few Romanesque churches – St. Mark and St. Catherine, Churchof St. Lawerence on a hill to the southwest of the town, the small church of St. Petar at the foot of the Osoršcice and on the peninsula Supaton the pre-Romanesque church of St. Plato with a richly decorated weave, while in the Bijar cove are the remains of a Franciscan monastery and church from the XV century.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

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It is my personal belief and the belief of the Croatian Government that Rijeka is one of the most important cities with one of the most important sea ports. It is located within the Pan-European traffic corridor and for that we are willing to undertake large projects of infrastructure to boost the city’s development, concluded the Minister of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development Božidar Kalmeta at a press-conference held after a meeting with the mayor of Rijeka Vojko Obersnel and other local authorities.
Kalmeta also announced a faster realization of important projects in Rijeka, which includes the completion of the passage Diracje – Orehovica by summer 2009 and the further construction of the Motorway Rijeka – Zagreb. He also added that at the same time tenders will be invited for the construction of the passage Sveti Kuzam – Krizisce. The representatives of the media further received the information that talks were held regarding the building of the road D 403, D 404, the Blue highway and the Liburnia beltway.
Projects which will be finalized by November include the motorway passage from Kikovice to Ostrovice (7.7 km), by summer 2008 the passage from Tuhobic to Jovorova Kosa and by the end of next year will be organized the opening of the necessary tunnels.

During the upcoming period will be handled the reconstruction of the Rijeka Airport, the solving of the debt caused by the Port of Rijeka Inc.

Source: MMTPR 

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In 1962 the first “Ilocka berba grozda” (Ilok grape picking) was held. It resulted from a old Srijem- Slavonian custom of gathering the people together at the beginning of the picking period with the aim of looking after the vineyards – working as a vineryardist, celebrating a good year and crop and unavoidable socializing, primarily the young who have not had much experience for free socializing in one place in vineyards.

For years significant ethno-wine-tourist manifestations have been created, some lasting a number of days and attracting a greater number of guests of varying programmes. The main part of the programme usual takes place in the first weekend of the month of September with daily and nightly cultural-entertainment content.

A total of about 500 participants participate in the programme with about 6,000 spectators. Due to the close proximity of the border and attractiveness, some of the guests come form neighbouring Vojvodina.

Source: Croatian National Tourist Board

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In the first seven months of 2007 as well as in July alone Croatia recorded an increase in the number of tourists and overnight stays in relation to the same period in 2006.
This July the number of tourists went up by 3.3 percent in relation to the same month last year, while the number of overnight stays last month rose by 6.6 percent.
In the first seven months, the number of tourists went up 8.4 percent in relation to the same period the year before, while the number of overnight stays rose by 6.7 percent, according to figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
According to these figures, a total of 2,645,089 tourists visited Croatia last month and recorded 16,523,581 overnight stays.
Comparing to last year’s July, the number of tourists this July went up by 3.3 percent and the number of overnight stays rose by 6.6 percent. Over 2.36 million tourists were foreigners (2.6 percent more than in July 2006). The number of tourists from Croatia increased by 9.3 percent while the number of overnight stays that they recorded went up by 17.1 percent. This July a total of 281,160 tourists were from Croatia who recorded 1.58 million overnight stays.

Source: MMTPR

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