New hostel opens in Split

“Golly & Bossy” is the new design hostel that just recently welcomed first guests in Split.

Hostel is located in a neoclassical building that used to be a shopping mall in the center city. The venue has been completely renovated and it holds 28 rooms which are interestingly numbered with significant years from Split’s history. 

For more information visit: http://www.gollybossy.com/en/

Istra among 10 most interesting regions to visit in 2011

Blessed with a year-round mild climate, Istria packs a dazzling diversity of landscapes and experiences into a small triangular shape…’ writes Lonely Planet in their “Top ten regions in 2011” where they placed Istria on the high second place of the most recommended regions to visit next year.

Read the whole article:  http://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/travel-tips-and-articles/76174/

CNN recommends autumn sailing in Dalmatia to sailors

Describing Dalmatia as the Cote de Azur of the east and the hidden jewel of the Mediterranean, the American TV station CNN recently recommended it to sailors as an ideal destination in the autumn when there are no tourist crowds but it is still warm, in its monthly sailing program ‘Mainsail’.

‘For visitors in search of stable weather, after the summer crowds have gone and it is still warm... then the Dalmatian coast is at its best’ recommends CNN. ‘From the historically magnificent Split and glamorous Hvar to the picturesque island of Korčula and the fortified and unique Dubrovnik’, this is the route for a five day autumn cruise along the Dalmatian coast, which Mainsail recommends, including a visit to the island of Mljet.

Hollywood stars Sean Connery, Gwyneth Paltrow and Pierce Brosnan publicly express their love of the Dalmatian coast, while Clint Eastwood and Sharon Stone searched there for private islands, states CNN.

It points out that the Croatian coast is famous for its stone cities from the Middle Ages, Roman excavations, picturesque ports and the crystal clear sea, which attract numerous super-yachts during the summer months and a large number of foreign tourists.

Describing the destinations of the proposed cruise, CNN mentions among other things the richness of the Roman and Renaissance monuments in Split, the unavoidable Palace of Diocletian and a number of contemporary cultural events, recommending a visit to the film festival in the middle of September.

It mentions Hvar as a sanctuary for the jet-set, the Croatian Saint-Tropez, to whose popularity contributed stars such as Brad Pitt, Sharon Stone and Steven Spielberg. The club Carpe Diem is mentioned as a modern gathering place for celebrities that should not be missed.

Along with the beauty of Korčula it is mentioned that this is Marco Polo`s birth place, while a visit to the bishop`s treasury that holds a collection of sacral and Renaissance artwork from Croatia and Italy is highly recommended.

On the island of Mljet, docking is recommended in the Pomena bay, as is a visit to the National park, with its clear lakes, peaceful beaches and picturesque biking trails. The cruise ends under the walls of Dubrovnik, the ‘pearl of the Adriatic’, which is with its baroque churches, richly decorated palaces and tiled streets under the protection of UNESCO as part of the world heritage, and it is considered to be one of the most sophisticated historical cities in Europe, states CNN.

Together with pointing out the specific charm of Dubrovnik, sailors are encouraged to walk along the city walls or to visit the music festival organised by Julian Rachlin and friends as well as a visit to the theatre festival.


CNN
http://www.cnn.com/

Croatia Airlines to launch new Split – Hamburg service in 2011

Croatia Airlines from 16APR11 is launching NEW Split – Hamburg service with Airbus A319/320. Initially service operates 1 weekly but will increase to 2 from May 2011.

Schedule:

OU426 SPU0940 – 1150HAM 319 3 04MAY11-12OCT11
OU426 SPU1600 – 1810HAM 320 6 16APR11-22OCT11

OU427 HAM1240 – 1440SPU 319 3 04MAY11-12OCT11
OU427 HAM1900 – 2100SPU 320 6 16APR11-22OCT11

Article Source: AirlineRoute.net

Dubrovnik Sightseeing – View History in Modern Style

The city of Dubrovnik is located at the coast of Adriatic Sea. Its beaches attract large number of tourists from all over the world. Besides beaches and water activities, travelers also love Dubrovnik sightseeing. The city is one the most famous and attractive cities in Mediterranean and has been inscribed on UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites.

Dubrovnik sightseeing includes well preserved historical and cultural heritage. City is easily accessible by air from almost all major European cities and by ferries from Croatian cities, islands and towns. You can also enjoy your journey on ferry while traveling from Italy. You’d come across number of walls while exploring the city.

Sveti Vlaho (Saint Blaise) is the patron saint of the city. Hence you’d see lot of statues of Saint Blaise around the city. The city is home to many old buildings. Arboretum Trsteno is the oldest arboretum in the world and holds the peak position in the list of Dubrovnik Sightseeing. Visit Little Brother’s Church to see third oldest European pharmacy which is still operational.

Take short boat ride from Dubrovnik and reach Lacroma Island. You’d see a botanical garden and a monastery still survive from the ear of Mexican Emperor Maximilian. The Napoleonic fort still stands on the island to tell the history silently. Besides history, Lacroma Island is also includes a forest vegetation and natural reserve and a naturist beach. “Walls of Dubrovnik” is another attraction in Dubrovnik Sightseeing. The walls were made in 7th century in order to protect citizens of the city.

During Middle Ages, limestone was used to construct the wall. Present day city core was built around the area in 11th century. The walls has Dubrovnik has four gates namely Gate of Pila, Gate of Ploca and Gate of Buza. You’d find well equipped complex in Pila gates. There are multiple doors in the complex and other notable sites are Gothic arches, wooden drawbridge, and statue of Saint Blaise. In Gate of Ploca, you can visit freestanding Revelin Fortress connected by wooden drawbridge.

Dubrovnik sightseeing is incomplete without visiting the forts of the city. There are several forts in Dubrovnik however; beauty of Fort Bokar is unparalleled. The two story casemate fortress was the key point in Pila Gate’s defense. St. John’s Fortress is another popular fort in the city. On the ground floor you can see an aquarium with fishes inside from different parts of Adriatic Sea. As you go upstairs, ethnographic and maritime museum are there on the upper floors. Maritime museum features Second World War’s technique of navigation and sailing.

Festivals of the city are another attractions for excursionists apart from Dubrovnik sightseeing. Visit from July 10th to august 25th every year and be a part of the celebration of Dubrovnik summer festival that features rich performances of opera, theater, classical music and traditional dance.

Rich cultural life of Dubrovnik is evident from its theaters, cinemas and traditions. Another aspect of Dubrovnik sight seeing is people-watching while sipping coffee in the café on the Stradun.

Eva Longoria praises Croatia´s beauty on the Ellen DeGeneres show

The "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria has praised Croatia for its beauty and excellent Italian food, admitting that she did not know where the country was before her visit this summer.

During an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres show, Longoria mentioned the summer holidays she spent with her husband Tony Parker on the Adriatic coast.

Although Parker had been to Croatia several times before, last summer’s visit was Longoria’s first.

"I kept going, honey, where are we going, Russia?" Longoria told DeGeneres, admitting that she did not know where Croatia was before getting there.

The couple had a lot of fun on their holidays and Longoria said that Croatians are great at preparing Italian food, the daily Jutarnji List writes.

Article Source: CroatianTimes.com

Croatia Arilines to begin direct flights to Athens and Venice from Dubrovnik

Croatia Airlines will start offering direct flights from Dubrovnik to Athens and Venice with ticket sales starting November 1st.

There will be flights to Venice twice a week and three times a week to Athens, the daily newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija writes.

Dubrovnik airport also strengthened its ties with London at the end of the week, with British Airways offering flights during the winter. BA will offer London-Dubrovnik connections for four weeks this season.

Aricle source: CroatianTimes.com

Istria – Truffle days

No gourmet in the world can be called one if they have never in their life tried truffles, the gourmet jewel of Istria. Truffles, mushrooms that grow underground are a trademark of Istria, and the people of Istria show their appreciation of it by jelaously guarding the recipes of dishes with truffles. The opportunity to get to know the real wealth of the truffle in every possible gastro combination is presented at Truffle days, which are held accross Istria during the autumn.

The truffle is an unusual, tuberous growth that grows underground, with an unsightly shape and an intensive odor. This rare and expensive tuber that grows in the fertile Istrian soil is a real culinary delight. The Istrian white truffle is one of the most respected in the world.

The culinary value of the truffle was discovered by old Romans; during the five centuries long rule of Venice, Motovun forrest carried the name St. Mark’s forrest and only individuals were allowed to remove truffles from its soil. With tha changing of rulers and the arrival od Austro-Hungary, the truffle could only reach one destination – the Viennesse court. However, even up until today it has been considered an exclusive delicacy – a peak of gastromomy. It is not visible above ground and can only be found by
specially trained dogs or pigs.

Istria has two types of soil; intensive dark red on the coast and grey, greasy, clay-like in the central part. Truffles grow in this grey land and the epicentre is in the damp Motovun forrest, through which runs the River Mirna. The truffle zone extends northeast to the towns Buzet and Lupoglava and southeast along the River Raša on Labinština and south to Pazinština.

For more information visit:

The Tourist Board of Istria

Istria Gourment

Croatia – Destination of the famous

American TV network CNN was right to announce at the beginning of the year that Croatia would this summer be one of the most desirable destinations for famous stars of the world. In support of this announcement are definitely the photographs of Hollywood actress Eva Longoria dancing and one of the best tennis players of all time, John McEnroe at Stradun in Dubrovnik. The Croatian coast and islands are visited each year by more and more famous guests. Some of them did not hide their enthusiasm about Croatia, like Bill Gates, one of the richest people in the world who recommended Croatia as one of the ideal places for a holiday in Forbes magazine. The founder of Microsoft and his family visited Skradin, a town in central Dalmatia and the National Park Krka.

Eva Longoria and her husband, the famous NBA player Tony Parker and friends, amongst which were actors Amaury Nolasco and Jennifer Morrison, cruised the coast and visited Mali Lošinj, Zadar, Kornati, Šibenik, Skradin, Trogir, Split and Hvar, where they, judging by the photos published by the world’s media, had an amazing time. They also ended up in a club in Vodice called Hacienda, where they held the «DJ Cut Killer and Tony Parker Show». They also visited Dubrovnik, which is the place visited by most celebrities. Amongst them was also the famous American actor Morgan Freeman, the guest of honor at the Dubrovnik Film Meeting Festival, which has been organized in the past few years in collaboration with the Sarajevo Film Festival. In the past few years Gillian Anderson, Mickey Rourke, Steve Buscemi and Kevin Spacey were also among those who visited. Even at the beginning of the season, walking the streets of Dubrovnik were the world’s most famous flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia, the tv crime show star Dennis Franz and former German chancelor Gerharda Schroedera. The first days of summer were spent in Croatia by the Hollywood couple Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, who arrived in Dubrovnik from Rome.

This year’s Libertas film festival was marked by the new acting star Gabourey Sidibe, who was nominated for an Oscar for her first role in the movie Precious. At the opening of the festival there were many more famous faces to be seen, like the Czeck film director and Oscar winner Jiřij Menzel and one of the most productive film makers of Hollywood,Dantea Spinottija.

Dubrovnik was also host to a charity tennis match between Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanišević and one of the best tennis players of all time Johna McEnroea, who was accompanied by his wife Patty Smyth and their children. The second ranked tennis player, Novak Đoković was having a good time in Split, and also spending his summer in Croatia after seven years, was the French handball representatives, who has Croatian roots, Nikola Karabatić. He visited his relatives in Poljice, close to Trogir, visited Dubrovnik and went to a concert in Primošten.

Some of the musical greats didn’t only come to Croatia for a holiday but also for performaces, either individual of as part of the many summer festivals.Concerts in Zadar were held by Seal and the soul-jazz diva Natalie Cole.

Because of the Garden festival, one of the best European summer events, a samll fishing village Petrčane next to Zadar was visited by many stars of electronic music such as Hercules & Love Affairs, 2020 Soundsystem, Crazy P, Dave Bee-ar, Tristan Da Cunha, Horse Meat Disco, DJ Stu Patterson, Greg Wilson, Norman Jay i Henrik Schwarz. The Garden festival is highly ranked in the second position of the best summer festivals according to a leading European on-line magazine for electronic music Resident Advisor, while the British The Times last year included it amongst the twenty best European summer festivals, not just because of the choice of musicians but also because of the special location on the penninsula Pinija in Petrčani and the pine woods close to the sea.

Beautiful Croatian beaches, many hidden coves and excellent cuisine have already been discovered by stars such Steven Spielberga, Andre Agassi, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert De Niro, Clint Eastwood, Sharon Stone, Tom Cruise, Bono Vox, Beyonce and Jay Z and many others.

For more information visit The Croatian Tourist Board

Dubrovnik – Cable cart above the city

Dubrovnik, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, can after nineteen years again be seen through a bird’s eye view. The cable cart, which reaches the hill Srđ in under 4 minutes, in a cabin for 30 passengers, offers a beautiful and unforgettable view of Dubrovnik, has finally been renewed.

A former symbol of Dubrovnik’s tourism (built in 1969) has not been in function since the time of war in 1991., and now after about five million euros has been put in for its renewal, the cable cart is back to its former glory and well on its way to become a big tourist attraction once again.

The Tourist Board of Dubrovnik

Zagreb – City bus, a new tourist offer

Zagreb and its history can recently be experienced by its many visitors by riding a tour bus through the city streets. Instead of having the usual tour guide with a microphone,tourists can use the headphones provided, through which they can experience the tour of the city with the routes and specific landmarks explained in seven languages.

The open top bus offers a shorter and a longer route. The ride on the shorter ‘red route’ lasts one hour, through the Upper and Lower town, while the longer ‘green route’ lasts two hours and includes two of the famous Zagreb lakes, Bundek and Jarun.

The ride on the tour bus enables guests to get to know, through the one or two hour tour, the rich 900 year old history of the city and many interesting facts connected to it, for example: that the first written document mentioning Zagreb dates back to 1094., that Radio Zagreb, as the first radio station in this part of Europe first started broadcasting in 1926. and that the first motorised vehicle first drove through the streets of Zagreb in1901.


For more information visit The Tourist Board of Zagreb