Take a look at what the press were saying about Croatia in 2007.
You can use the seaside city of Split as a jumping off point for the famed Dalmatian Islands, but why not stay for a while to take in its revived waterfront Riva, ancient palace and warm Mediterranean feel?
Susan Pigg, Toronto Star, 3rd November 2007
The article: Winds of change
Having hitchhiked through Yugoslavia as a teenager, I remembered green hills above a turquoise sea and huge mugs of beer. But how to get there by train? We looked at the map and then took to Google Earth and floated over the Adriatic. Twinkling beguilingly on the left was Venice. That was it, our solution: Waterloo to Venice by train, a spin round the motorway though Italy and Slovenia, five days exploring Istria, and then back to Venice for a 24-hour express city break before the train home. A bit of a rush, perhaps, but at least it was our rush, and we’d spend no more than five minutes each way queueing or filing through security checks.
Richard Trillo, The Independent, 8th September 2007
The article: An action-packed Adriatic adventure
Location, location, location! Spalmaris is a stylish oasis on the shore of one of Croatia’s most beautiful islands.
Chloe Gunn, The Times, 22nd August 2007
The article: Spalmaris Spa, Hotel Podstine, Hvar, Croatia
Located east of Italy across the Adriatic Sea, Croatia expects over 200,000 American visitors this year — nearly double the number that arrived in 2005. It also tied for the No. 2 hot destination this year in a survey by the U.S. Tour Operators. And no wonder. The water is clean and clear, the sun constant, the crowds easy to ditch (except in Dubrovnik), the Croatian kuna a mere 5.33 to the dollar. I usually snort at tourist-advertising slogans, but Croatia’s new one — “The Mediterranean as it once was” — is right on the money.
Sheila Norman-Culp, Associated Press (on NBCNews.com), 8th August 2007
The article: Island-hopping along Croatia’s Dalmatian coast
When I first arrived in Hvar Town, I almost wondered if the ferry from Split had taken a wrong turn and I’d ended up in EuroDisney. The small harbourfront town is almost too picturesque to be real; shiny cobbles, a central square dominated by elegant Venetian architecture lined with white-canopied cafes and a village of terracotta-roofed houses and tiny streets clustered up the hill behind.
Annabelle Thorpe, The Times, 25th July 2007
The article: Summer 2007: Hvar, Croatia
Croatia’s craggy, indented coastline stretches (or rather wiggles drunkenly), for 5,835km, if you include its islands. And with 1,185 islands, rocks and reefs, it’s no wonder that the Dalmatian coast is considered one of the most interesting and varied sailing grounds in the Mediterranean.
Lucy Gillmore, The Independent, 23rd July 2007
The article: All at sea on Croatia’s coast
…accommodation to suit all tastes, from the historic magic of the Pucic Palace to the sophisticated whites of Hotel Bellevue.
Catalina Stogdon, The Daily Telegraph, 16th July 2007
The article: Where to stay: Dubrovnik [Link no longer works]
Gin-and-tonic o’clock in Hvar, and the harbour-front promenade is teeming with giddily beautiful life. Perma-tanned blondes are tripping off yachts; groups of American backpackers in tiny shorts and loud accents are gathering in bars. Sailing chaps are hauling up ropes and selling boat trips for the next day. In the Riva hotel bar, elegantly clad waiters are gliding around with expertly mixed caipirinhas and dinky bowls of nibbles. Welcome to the new Croatia.
Annabelle Thorpe, The Observer, 15th July 2007
The article: Cool Croatia
Croatia’s Istrian Peninsula, in the northwest corner of the country, is an inviting mix of pungent truffles, Roman ruins, striking hill towns, and pastel coastal villages, with a breezy Italian culture (left over from centuries of Venetian rule).
Rick Steves, The Seattle Times, 13th July 2007
The article: Croatia offers nice Italian leftovers
Hvar Town is Croatia’s party place, just an hour by hydrofoil from its second city, Split, and increasingly attracting affluent island-hoppers who arrive on the floating gin palaces moored off the palm-dotted, bar-lined quayside in the picturesque Venetian port.
Tim Bryan, The Guardian, 7th July 2007
The article: Hvar’s got news for you
If you’ve never heard of Cres, it’s not surprising. Hardly anybody has. While the southern Croatian coast has been colonised by Hollywood yachts and roaring Italian speedboats, this long, skinny island in the unfashionable northern Adriatic languishes in obscurity. Good thing too.
Stephen Bleach, The Times, 27th May 2007
The article: Relaxing holidays away from the beach
The spring obsession in Istria is wild asparagus. Throughout the peninsula, which juts into the Adriatic
across from Venice — just a ferry ride away — people are walking through open fields and along roadsides, carrying the stout sticks they use to shove aside the brambles that hide the precious, knitting-needle-thin stalks.
Mark Bittman. The New York Times, 16th May 2007
The article: In Istria, Fresh From The Land And The Sea
One good way to appreciate hauntingly beautiful villages is to link them together in a mountain bike tour, traversing Istria one village each night. On a bicycle, one can cover the same roads the Romans, Hapsburgs and Napoleon used. There is an entire network of red-dirt paths through fallow hayfields and stands of scrub oak reminiscent of Southern California. Carry only a trail map, water and tire repair kits; it isn’t hard to find locals willing to transport luggage from hotel to hotel.
Nathaniel Vinton, The New York Times, 9th May 2007
The article: Coastal Croatia By Bicycle: Sun, Sea, Truffles
Truman Capote famously said of Venice that visiting the city was like eating a whole box of chocolate liqueurs all in one go. I feel a bit like that about Dubrovnik. Beyond doubt, Croatia’s “pearl of the Adriatic” is breathtakingly beautiful – a jewel encased by city walls and, beyond them, by the unbroken blue of the sea.
Linda Cookson, The New Zealand Herald, 28th April 2007
The article: Why Croatia’s Cavtat is a pearl in its own right
Take Vienna’s florid architecture , throw in Budapest ‘s bubbling cafe culture, and you get Zagreb, Croatia’s grand capital. A showcase of fin-de-siècle architecture capped by not one, but two hilltop medieval towns, Zagreb’s unexpected beauty is drawing sophisticated weekenders.
Gisella Williams, The New York Times, 22nd April 2007
The article: Who Needs Venice When Zagreb (or Bruges . . .) Beckons?
This throat-blessing ceremony happened on February 3 last year in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik. I was there for the feast day of the local patron saint, St Blaise, a great excuse for the people of this exquisite city on the Adriatic to come out on to the streets for some colour, spectacle and tradition, with marching bands, religious processions and a heady cocktail of piety and carnival spirit.
Tom Kelly, The Telegraph, 27th January 2007
The article: A party for the patron saint of sore throats
Alongside poster stars such as Dubrovnik, Hvar and Korcula lie timeless hideaways that Croatians keep for
themselves: the pristine lost worlds of Vis and Lastovo; the Elafiti islands, still “lovelier than gardens”, as they were when first discovered by Renaissance aristocrats; and Mljet, which bewitched Odysseus and Prince Charles alike. All are places of pinch-me perfection, where lunches are long and nightlife means sipping rakija by the harbour.
James Stewart, The Sunday Times, 14th January 2007
The article: Beach Holidays: Croatia vs Greece
Top 20 Beach Holidays: No. 13 – Baska Voda
…despite the intense competition in this area, the Blue Flag Baska Voda beach – which sits in the
lee of the pink-hued Biokovo mountains – is one of the undoubted hot spots.
Mark Hodson, The Sunday Times, 14th January 2007
The article: The Top 20 Beach Holidays
Top 10 Beach Bars: Blue Bar, Baska, Croatia
Apart from the backdrop of mountain peaks, this place is not about grand gestures. It’s a bamboo shack with simple wicker seating, the low buzz of chitchat, a flicker of candles at sunset and that cold white slipping down for about a pound a glass.
Nick Redman, The Sunday Times, 14th January 2007
The article: Shaken and Stirred
Croatia is a young and unpretentious country still finding its feet after the Yugoslavian conflicts of the nineties. When peace returned, tourists began flocking to the unspoiled beaches and islands on the Dalmatian coast, but few have ventured into the green hinterland of Slavonia.
Claire Bates, Daily Mail, 9th January 2007
The article: Croatian Comfort Factor