VISITING CROATIA
By Roman Martin
Croatia is situated on the right side of the Adriatic Sea, opposite Italy. But unlike the Italian coast, it is quite diverse. It has more than 1,000 islands, making and it one of the world’s most rugged coastlines. In addition to the Mediterranean coastal part of Croatia, there is a continental area as well, and there are about 4.5 million inhabitants. Although it’s a small country, there are many wonderful areas to photograph. And when you add in all the wonderful gourmet destinations, Photo Workshop Adventures has so many great reasons for visiting Croatia.
Highlights
Croatia has been on the list of PWA destinations since the very beginning and for good reason. There are so many incredible places to see that it’s impossible to list them all. There are many highlights, like the Plitvice Lakes National Park, which is unique in the world. Also there is the Istria Peninsula with its charming hills, forts, vineyards and truffles that make you feel like you’re in Tuscany. The cities include the capital, Zagreb, as well as the famous walled city of Dubrovnik. And there is Split with its Diocletian’s palace, plus Pula and its Roman amphitheater – one of the most preserved in the world. The list keeps going on for amazing places in Croatia.
Hotels
The picture above was taken from the point where our preferred D-resort hotel is situated. It’s a beautiful hotel in an amazing location. Our Hotels in Croatia tour are carefully selected to meet our high standards, like the famous Esplanade Hotel in Zagreb. Dating back to 1925, the Esplanade Zagreb Hotel is probably the most famous building in Zagreb.
We can’t list every beautiful locations, otherwise this post would became too long. So we’ll devote this post to basic information, and in future posts we will provide more detailed information about specific areas in Croatia.
For now, we will cover areas that are on the schedule for PWA destinations, choosing and ranking the best that Croatia has to offer.
Dubrovnik and Beyond
Most people know that Dubrovnik is one of the most attractive European destinations. Indeed, no trip to Croatia is complete without Dubrovnik. But aside from Dubrovnik, there is a long list of beautiful sites that only require a maximum of one or two hours drive away from the city. There is the beautiful island of Korcula, where Marco Polo lived part of his life. Additionally, the beautiful Peljesac Peninsula is in this area, and is one of the most famous wine regions in the world. And just few hours away from Dubrovnik is the country of Montenegro. Since 2017, Montenegro has been included in DUBROVNIK & MONTENEGRO six-day adventure.
Dubrovnik gives us amazing sunsets, beautiful landscapes, and exercise. The famous walls that surround the city are the perfect location for photography, both on the walls and within them.
Other Places
We have a specially designed 9-day Croatia tour combination. It includes Zagreb, plus the famous Plitvice Lakes and Krka River. Then Sibenik town, the Kornati National Park, Split (the second-largest city in Croatia) and Dubrovnik finish off the tour. In Split, you can see the beautiful and perfectly preserved palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian, and Dubrovnik is a story to itself.
Every year, this PWA tour becomes more popular. When combined with the DUBROVNIK & MONTENEGRO six-days adventure, it turns into a unique 15-day Croatia experience. But beware if you do that tour, because you will probably run out of data storage space! Each of these destinations will leave you breathless, regardless of the weather conditions.
What else in Croatia
And finally, we must mention the Istria peninsula, which is an amazing combination of the continent and the Mediterranean. We are fascinated by its nature, vineyards, medieval fortresses, and natural coastline. This peninsula includes beautiful cities like Rovigno, which is very photogenic and one of the most photographed cities in the world. In Rovigno, there are even traffic signs with a camera symbol pointing to the best locations from which to take pictures of this beautiful city on a small peninsula. Very picturesque!
Of course, we have to mention that food in Istria is more than fantastic. It’s a unique mixture between Tuscany, Italy, and Croatia. In Istria, a lot of food is flavored with truffles because the region is one of the best locations for truffles in the world. There are great connections to Italy, and that’s not only in the food. The population in some cities also speaks Italian, and street names in some cities are written in both Italian and Croatian.
In future posts, we will share more about these locations and experiences. There is so much to see in Croatia that it deserves a detailed review including photographs, gastronomy and hotels. If you are interested in exploring Croatia with us, please visit our CROATIA PHOTO ADVENTURES.
May all who come as guests… leave as friends®