:: Travel News for Your next Holiday & Vacation in Croatia | Croatia Blog ::

According to the British Daily Telegraph, the beach Zlatni rat in Bol on the Island of Brac is the most beautiful beach in Europe. Also, the tourist guide publisher Lonely Planet has ranked Zlatni rat among the ten most beautiful beaches in the world. Zlatni rat is located on the west side of Bol on the mid Dalmatian island of Brac, positioned beneath the Vid's Mountain, the highest Adriatic insular mountain. It is half a kilometre long and is one of the biggest natural attractions of the Croatian Adriatic coast. The beach is spectacular on account of its triangle shape, and its specificity is that it changes shape depending on the direction of the wind. This makes it perfect for surfing and other water sports, which is why many international sports competitions are organized here. The beach is surrounded by a pine tree and oak tree forest, and offers numerous possibilities for the organization of various entertainment events. Numerous high quality hotels, suite resorts, restaurants, cafes, taverns and nightclubs, as well as sports facilities for both children and adults are located in close proximity to the beach.
Source: Croatia.hr

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The Dubrovnik hotel Uvala, operating under the Maestral Hotels company, has been proclaimed one of the best hotels in the world by Expedia, the world's leading online booking provider. Expedia awarded Uvala with the Expedia Insiders Select Hotel 2009 recognition, for its quality of service, dedication to making its visitors happy and an optimum cost to value ratio. The four-star hotel Uvala has already received much recognition. It features 51 rooms, an inside and an outside pool, and a wellness area on two floors that has also received many awards. The hotel also comprises business meeting halls and generally features a rich offering, on account of which it has repeatedly been ranked among the world's leading hotels.
Source: Croatia.hr

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Apart from its basic activity, the production of salt, the salt pans in Nin, near Zadar, are also devising tourism programs. A couple of years ago, the Nin salt pans became a sort of natural park with organized guided tours for visitors.The Nin salt pans, along with the ones in Ston, are the only ones of their kind on the Adriatic, where salt is manufactured in a traditional way, as was done thousands of years ago, with sea water perspiring from shallow pools. This is why a procedure has been launched to protect the entire area as a natural good, a protected landscape of flora and fauna, with the end goal being protecting the entire laguna area, partly through the UN project Natura 2000. The Nin salt pans are spread over 55 ha of the Nin Laguna, right next to the ancient Croatian city of Nin, in the Zadar County. The salt pans date back to the Roman era. Venice purchased the pans and closed it down in 1550 to maintain its monopoly in salt production and trade on the Adriatic. It was re-established four centuries later, in 1955.Numerous tourists visit the salt pans during the summer and buy interesting souvenirs made from salt. The salt is produced in an entirely natural way, with the sea water perspiring from the pools because of the sun and wind, and natural sea salt crystallising. Nin salt has a high concentration of Iodine because of the algae in the sea water, which gives it a special place on the market. It is also sold as scented bath salt, enriched with natural oils (lavender, rosemary, rose, lemon, sage), thus combining several characteristics of the Mediterranean.
Source: Croatia.hr

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In close proximity to Motovun, the luxury suites "Dvori od Skrapi" are located, host to visitors of the Istrian inland. The suite-complex features stone rustic villas intended for those who want to enjoy their solitude and luxury, as well as the typically Istrian tourist activities and offering, but without the crowds of well known tourist destinations. The luxury resort, 20 km away from Porec, 30 km away from Rovinj and 60 km away from Trieste, comprises four houses, each named after an Istrian culinary specialty: Sparug, Skute, Fritaj and Terana. "Dvori od skrapi" is open year-round. It offers its guests an interior design that respects the tradition but is also top-quality. The limit to the rich offering is set only by the visitors' imagination: a rich culinary offering, pools, organized trips around Istria… The hotel is in close proximity to the ancient Istrian town of Motovun, mentioned by the British Guardian and Observer as home to the Motovun film festival and an exceptionally beautiful town.
Source: Croatia.hr

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It is a well-known fact that Croatia is a country of top-quality athletes, documented by the many medals they have won around the world, thus becoming a role-model for many children. Thanks to the initiative of the Valamar tourist group, the manager of facilities in Porec, Pula, on the Island of Krk, in Rabac and Dubrovnik, their idols are now a bit closer to them. In July and August, famous athletes such as Franjo Arapovi, Slavko Goluza, Domagoj Duvnjak, Vlado Sola, Sanja Jovanovi and Petra and Dario Kliba will show the little ones the secrets of basketball, handball, swimming and sailing. The program includes everyday training, lunch and dinner with the athletes, and a photograph taken with them. Also the children will be able to enjoy a rich animation program. This is also an opportunity for the parents to spend their vacation according to their wishes. The training will be held until the end of August. Swimmer Sanja Jovanovi will be holding swimming lessons from August 10th to August 17th in the Valamar Club Dubrovnik, and Petra and Dario Kilba will be holding sailing lessons in the Valamar Club Tamaris from August 23rd to August 30th. The program is intended for children form the ages of seven to 15, and is open for both visitors and locals.
Source: Croatia.hr

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Though it opened its doors at the beginning of June, hotel Valamar Lacroma Resort, a true conference centre judging by its facilities and offering, is already solidly booked for the autumn conference season. It already was host to the Libertas Film Festival, and by the end of the year, this hotel located on the Dubrovnik peninsula of Lapad will be host to a series of events, including the 39th annual congress of the European Association for Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy and the general assembly of the European Association of Tourism and Hotel-Management Schools, each gathering around a 1,000 participants. Also taking place in the hotel is The European Conference of the International Society of Transport Aircraft trading (ISTAT), and the MICE Europe congress, gathering participants interested in making business in the MICE industry (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions & Exhibitions). The four-star Valamar Lacroma Resort is the biggest conference and spa hotel in Dubrovnik. It features 400 rooms and suites, the wellness centre Ragusa Spa, spread over almost 400 square meters, and a rich hospitality offering. The biggest conference hall is "Elafiti", with the accommodation capacity of 1,110 people. There is also a separate business centre, with seven more halls and offices for rent. The first summer season of the hotel is dynamic. Apart from hosting the Libertas Film Festival, it has been host to the many visitors that have chosen to stay in it while vacationing in Dubrovnik.
Source: Croatia.hr

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A rich conference autumn expects the Istrian tourist destination Rovinj. The town will host the weekend media Festival from September 18th to September 20th, only a few days after it celebrates its Town Day on the occasion of the holiday of the town's patron saint St Eufemija. The regional media festival is organized in Rovinj for the second time, gathering the most important media and communications infrastructure experts in the region. The event will be host to some of the most renowned world and regional experts in the field of communications. A couple of days later, from September 22nd to September 26th, Rovinj will host the Licensing Factory New Europe, a fair of the industry focusing on the use of characters from books, paintings, comics, animated and feature films for products such as schoolbags, T-shirts, mugs, ice-cream and others. This conference held in Rovinj is among many similar ones held in the USA, Great Britain, the UAE, Japan and Germany. Dance enthusiasts will be most pleased to hear that Rovinj will host the Argentinean Tango Festival from October 8th to October 11th, a three-day workshop for courses in tango on all levels.
Source: Croatia.hr

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In the second half of August and beginning of September, the City of Varazdin will host two extremely interesting cultural events. Though extremely different in content, and most probably the audience, both traditional events will turn this beautiful baroque city, north-western of Zagreb, into a place of enjoyment for art enthusiasts: the 11th annual Spancirfest festival and the 39th annual Varazdin Baroque Evenings. Over the last ten years, the City of Varazdin Tourist Board has, with the help of the citizens of Varazdin, created the most important urban festival in the area. This year's Spancirfest will be held from August 21st to August 30th on the most beautiful open stage of them all: the streets and squares of the Varazdin historical city centre. During the festival, concerts will be held on a stage beneath the walls of the Stari grad (old part of the city), on the Stanci Square, the city boulevard, streets and other locations. The festival will also feature Vindiland, an entertainment park for the young, the Pan street festival with street performers from 16 countries from all over the world, children's plays from 10 am to 6 pm, plays for adults at 9pm, the Kreativfest festival with workshops on the Sloboda Square (Square of Freediom), traditional arts and crafts, a culinary square and many other events and surprises. You can find a detailed program of this year's Spancirfest at www.spancirfest.com, and in the official festival bulletin, to be published in August. The 39th annual Varazdin Baroque Evenings, to be held from September 18th to September 28th, are completely different in their artistic expression, representing another face of the city. This year's partner of this ten day festival of classical baroque music attracting increasingly more visitors each year is the Czech Republic. Concerts will be held in churches, music institutions, salons and facilities near the beautiful Castle Trakosan. Varazdin, a city ideally positioned with regard to Austria, Hungary and the Croatian Capital Zagreb, boasts an amazing historical and artistic heritage, with the most preserved and rich baroque urban centre.
Source: Croatia.hr

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Since July of this year, Croatian tourism can add one more luxury tourist resort to its offering, the Radisson Blu Resort, located in Orasac, around 10 km north of the City of Dubrovnik. The hotel features 201 hotel rooms and 207 residential suites and many different facilities. The resort was designed by architects Branimir Medi and Pero Puljiz. The interior design is the work of the London company Hirsch Bedner Associates, and the hospitality facilities are the design of Henry Chebanne of Blue Sky Hospitality, the world's leading company in this segment, with over 100 design projects realized in over 25 countries all over the world. Interestingly, the entire resort has been built out of domestic materials ­ stone from Dubrovnik and Brac and travertine, and the walls are decorated exclusively with works of Croatian artists. The horticultural development of the resort contributes greatly to its beauty, with the hundred year-old olives and rich Mediterranean greenery perfectly fitting into it. The entire area, including several restaurants, bars and traditional taverns, has been conceptualised as a little town in itself. Greatly contributing to this atmosphere is the market that is part of the resort, with its bakery, fishery, butcher's, wine-store and patisserie, where visitors can try, buy or prepare fresh products themselves. For those who can not imagine their vacation without sports, the resort features many sports facilities and a rich wellness offering. Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Dubrovnik Resort also features contemporarily equipped multifunctional areas ­ a large conference hall and several smaller business meeting halls.
Source: Croatia.hr

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On August 1st, the first Croatian luxury golf&spa resort, Kempinski Hotel Adriatic, will open its doors in Savudrija, making Kempinski the very first international luxury hotel chain to enter the Istrian market. The hotel features 186 rooms, 19 of which are luxury suites. 2 presidential suites are located on the top floor of the hotel. The hotel offering also includes three restaurants and four bars. The Greco-Roman Spa centre is spread over 3,000 square meters, with an inside and two heated outside pools, a jacuzzi and numerous beauty treatment areas, two of which are for couples. The wellness area also includes various aromatherapy saunas, a steam bath, a Roman caldarium, laconium, tepidarium and frigidarium, a kneipp track, a floating tank, a waterbed relaxation area and numerous others facilities. For active vacation enthusiasts, the hotel features a gym with contemporary Technogym equipment, a personal trainer and four tennis courts. Children can enjoy the Kempi Kids Club located in a special villa with its own play-area, children's pool and many other facilities specialized for children. In the midst of greenery, flowers, rosemary bushes and olive trees, there is also a private chapel, an ideal place for exchanging love vows. Kempinski Hotel Adriatic is the ideal hotel for holding business meetings and conferences, promotions and other events. Besides one large and two smaller conference halls within the hotel, there is an entire conference centre in a special building right next to the sea. The specialty of the Kempinski Golf Adriatic offering is its competitive 18-hole golf court, the first of its kind in Istria, 6,360 m long. The golf club features, apart from the main court, two practice courts, numerous other facilities and an amazing view of the Adriatic Sea.
Source: Croatia.hr

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