Stunning Coastal Croatia
Croatia is a stunning coastal country – sitting on the shores of the Adriatic Sea and comprising 78 islands, as well as many islets, reefs and cliffs. It’s truly a place of natural beauty and peaceful serenity. Something you may not know; it’s the home of the famous black spots on white dog breed – the Dalmatia
n. Another item which originated in this country is the necktie, or ‘cravat’. Another interesting thing is that Game of Throneswas partially filmed in Croatia, in the very medieval old town section of Dubrovnik. This walled city became ‘Kings Landing’ in the series.
But beyond dogs, movies and neckties, this country has so much more to offer. There are gorgeous views from steep cliff tops that look down on the azure turquoise of the Adriatic Sea, which becomes the Mediterranean Sea to the south. This is an old country, originally established as the Kingdom of Croatia 1100 years ago by King Tomislav. Croatia achieved its modern independence from Yugoslavia in 1991/92. It now shares borders with six other countries: Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, plus it shares a maritime border with Italy to the west.
Within Croatia, there is a range of industries, including manufacturing (paper and furniture), food processing, energy, machine engineering, metalworking and shipbuilding – to name a few. Refined petroleum production, such as fuels, oil and petroleum gases are amongst the top exports. With the food industry making up about 24% of the country’s economy – this includes crops such as sugar beets, wheat, corn, potatoes, barley, sunflowers, soybeans as well as tobacco. As well as wine, they also produce lavender and olive oil. What is interesting is that the major exports markets are to its neighbours, including Italy. Australia imports only a small amount of items from Croatia, which are mostly electrical transformers, gas turbines and some pharmaceuticals. They are usually generic drugs, such as paracetamol or antibiotics.
If you’re wondering who’s ‘famous’ has heralded from Croatia, one such person is Nikola Tesla. He was born in 1856 and was a renowned Serbian inventor and electrical engineer and was considered an important contributor to electricity, AC power transmission and induction motors. Now you’re probably thinking Tesla cars – was that his doing? Actually no, the name Tesla was given to the car, purely out of homage to Nikola.
Croatia coastline stretches nearly 1800 kilometres with pristine beaches and many islands to explore. About two-thirds of the islands are inhabited, leaving many others untampered and natural. Croatia also boasts many national parks as well as incredible waterfalls, such as the Plitvice Lakes waterfalls, which is also a National Park. The green turquoise waters. There are almost 90 cascades and waterfalls within the area. In order to protect the falls and the local environment, swimming has been prohibited since 2006, however, you can swim a few kilometres to the north.
Sailing along the coastline, especially the Dalmatian Coastline is another wonderful activity you can partake in, particularly with a little island hopping with so many idyllic options to select from. Summer is a popular time for this, as weather, sunshine and good winds prevail, although August can be quite crowded.
Croatia’s winemaking tradition goes more than two and a half millennia. This country is very much known for its wines – with the Crljenak Kaštelanski grape being particularly a grape of pride for local people. Though, if this particular grape doesn’t take your fancy, there are about 130 others you can choose from. Couple a splendid wine with splendid Croatian food, which is primarily a mix between Italian, Eastern European and local flavours. Naturally, seafood plays a large part, but they also have quite a few tasty meat dishes and hearty stews. Croatia also has a nightlife (especially in the summer) in some areas including Split, Dubrovnik and Zagreb, as well as some of the islands, which are often considered party destinations. There are many tasty Croatian dishes, including Peka (which is made of seafood or meat, cooked in an open fire with a dish and metal lid), Soparnik (a savoury thin pie), Brodet, (which is somewhat a thick soup made of thick meaty fish, shellfish and ell), Risotto (primarily based on seafood, plus also a black risotto version) and Burek (a pastry stuffed with almost anything) and then rolled into a long strip and wound into a circle.
As such an ancient area, where is a rich selection of early architecture, buildings, churches and museums. Many of the buildings are a pale grey or sandy in colour, with orange/yellow terracotta tiled roofs. To offset these colours are often some very pretty flowers, including the iris, which happens to be the national flower of this country. Whilst an iris can be many colours, the most common here are dark violet, light blue or blue-purple. Croatia is a diverse country with many cultures mingled so culture and history abound. Throughout the year there are a number of art, music and cultural festivals that tourists, visitors and locals alike can enjoy.
The summers (remember, it’s the northern hemisphere, so winter is December to February), the summers are hot and dry with many temps around 30 degrees. Winters are more wet and somewhat mild, dropping down to 5 to 10 degrees. There is also the occasional snowfall, and whilst you can ski in Croatia, it’s not like Japan, Canada or New Zealand which are ski destinations. It’s said the best time to visit is the summer period around June to September – unless of course you are wanting to do some skiing or snowboarding.
When visiting Croatia, as you’ll likely be spending a good amount of time outdoors, be sure to pack the essentials. In summer, that will include your swimsuit, sarong, sunscreen, hat, sunnies plus lightweight clothing, and a lightweight jacket or cardigan for the occasional cooler night. Naturally, bring a great camera, or ensure your phone (especially if the camera feature is good quality) has plenty of space on it to take lots of gorgeous pics. Don’t forget if travelling from Australia to have a European travel adaptor for recharging your devices. Croatia is part of the European Union (EU) so the euro works just fine here. Many of the typical tourist spots take cards, but many Croatians prefer cash – especially for the smaller or more local shops, stalls and vendors. You know the old saying, cash is king! Tipping in restaurants is fairly normal, though not enforced at all and is usually around 10%. If you had a spectacular experience, you might even go up to 15%. If it’s a coffee shop or something less formal, you’re not expected to tip, but you might round up and invite them to keep the change. A big or small tip – it’s always appreciated.
At Luxury Women’s Tours, we are all about providing a luxury and safe travel experience. We curate the best trips and bring together the best and most popular components to make your trip something incredibly special. Of course, part of the experience is sharing it with other like-minded ladies – in style and comfort. You may not know them before you start the journey, but often friendships after the trip continue – and in fact, some travel buddies return together on a later trip to share a new location. You do need a current passport with at least 6 months on it from the departure date, plus one thing we don’t do is pack your bags, but otherwise, we organise everything for you and with a travel coordinator on the trip, we ensure everything runs smoothly.
If you’d like to know about our upcoming Croatia tour, or any of our other fabulous travel destinations, just reach out to us here at Luxury Women’s Tours CONTACT US or email us direct at JAMIE@LUXURYWOMENSTOURS.COM.AU
Our guests travel in style, are comfortable and have the joy of experiencing superbly curated locations with other like-minded ladies. Come on – join us. : )
View our Croatia tour HERE!
