Croatia has had a barnstorming couple of summers, with everyone from Sunday Times readers to Lonely Planet scribes voting it their number-one, absolute favourite for a Mediterranean escape. But even if you’ve visited in the past year or two, it’s unlikely that you’ve done the place justice just yet.
Seen Dubrovnik? Then look to inland Istria, terra magica for the Romans, terra incognita for foreigners. Done Brac and the islands? Then you really ought to try the rugged wine country of the Peljesac, or sleepy Vis, which are only just waking up to tourism. There are pristine highlands where bears roam and griffon vultures soar; and there is continental Croatia, as picturesque as an eastern European folk tale.
Lately, strong balance sheets and competition from stylish, family-run guesthouses have emboldened the country’s resort hotels to rip away the spirit-sapping decor of socialist Yugoslavia. Croatia has banned the cement mixer from its shores and begun to get to grips with fancy French words such as boutique and gastronome.
Not everything is new, of course.
In a nation bequeathed the legacies of Romans, Venetians and Hapsburgs, many long-standing attractions remain: mazy medieval towns, a glittering constellation of islands washed by super-clean seas, sensational diving and the charmingly unfussy lifestyle that sees Croatians decant home-made plonk into old pop bottles, rustle up their rustic konoba cuisine and sing sentimental klapa after a few rakijas.
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