Americans Flock To Croatia

Visitors from the USA are expected to flock to Croatia in record numbers this summer as a survey by U.S. Tour Operators revealed the country was tied at second for hottest places to visit this year. Only two years ago 200,000 Americans visited the beautiful country bordering the Adriatic Sea, and this year the Croatians are expecting double that number. So, what do the canny Americans know that us Brits don't?

Most obvious are the financial considerations. With the dollar taking a hammering in the international money markets Americans are finding it increasingly expensive, to the point of prohibitive, to visit their traditional European stomping grounds of the Italy, Greece and the French Riviera. Searching for cheaper alternatives has led Americans to Croatia, eager to establish itself as a top European destination. Outstanding quality food and drink at incredible value combined with the clean water, less-than-crowded beaches and friendly, helpful approach of the locals immediately makes the Croatian Tourist slogan of: "The Mediterranean as it once was" ring true. It also helps their ambition to be big on the European tourist map.

Picking up the pieces from the horrendous four-year conflict that saw the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the mid-1990s, Croatia emerged with a spectacular 1,100-mile coast and almost 2,000 islands. Add the imposing and historic city of Dubrovnik to the mix and you already have the basic ingredients for an enticing country. Inland is found one of the country's biggest tourist attractions: Plitvice Lakes National Park. A series of waterfalls joins 16 beautiful turquoise coloured lakes between the Mala Kapela and Pljesevica Mountains. This gorgeous natural attraction, mixed with the coastal hotspots, the friendly locals and the amazing value all make Croatia one of Europe's great undiscovered destinations. It is easy to see why the Americans are flocking here in their hundreds of thousands; it is the antithesis of their crowded, busy and expensive culture.

To make the most of a trip to Croatia, especially those planning on island hopping or travelling up the stunning coast will find that car hire is not essential as the country is well-served by buses and ferries. However, those who prefer to drive, like most things in the country, will find incredibly cheap car hire in Croatia. Most major airlines operate directly to Split which is centrally located on the Adriatic coastline, and also has one of the highest concentration of car rental offices in Croatia.

Robinson Tourism - Adriatic Sea

The Southern Side of the Pasman Island Overlooking the Kornati Archipelago pt.1

Pašman is an island in the Zadar archipelago. A picturesque Pasman Channel, with dozens of small islands dotted about it, separates the island from Zadar and Biograd. A number of small fishing ports with lots of greenery and sand beaches are situated along its beautiful sunny shore. The sea current changes course every six hours and thus put the surrounding sea among the cleanest in the Adriatic.

Mediterranean climate bore a reach plant and animal world, various kinds of officinal and aromatic herbs and a sea bed filed with all kinds of shells and fish that can be found in the Adriatic Sea. The majority of inhabitants in typical island settlements, such as Zdrelac, Banj, Dobropoljana, Nevidane, Mrljane, Barotul, Mali Pasman, Pasman, Kraj, Uginic and Tkon, are fishermen and farmers by tradition, but recently they also took up tourist trade and developed a rich variety of tourist facilities – rooms and apartments for renting, summer cottages, boarding houses, camps, restaurants and taverns which offer sea-fruits and home-grown food. http://www.sea-islands.blogspot.com

Our famous Dalmatian cuisine and warm atmosphere in cosy Mediterranean ambient of island’s restaurants – Dalmatian taverns called “konoba” – guarantee taking a supreme pleasure in home-grown food and sea specialities (Dalmatian smoked ham, cheese, lamb, shellfish, freshly caught fish, crabs, Dalmatian wines and aperitifs).

Thanks to its position on the most indented part of the Croatian Adriatic, this area provides excellent opportunities for nautical tourism and navigation. People have inhabited the island of Pasman since ancient times. One can still see the remains of Illyrian settlements and hill-forts, archaeological finds dating from Ancient Roman times, mosaics, the stone statue of St. Michael from the 12th century in Neviđane, and plenty of other historical monuments. St. Kuzma and Damjan Benedictine monastery near Tkon was built in the 12th century on the foundations of an early Christian church and represented an important Glagolitic centre.

The monastery is decorated with a Gothic crucifix dating from the beginning of the 15th century, a Renaissance cloister, a dining room and a museum with an especially valuable painting of Madonna with baby Jesus and John the Baptist.

Organizing sport activities, such as tournaments between local people and the tourists, has become a tradition on the island. Five-a-side soccer tournaments in Nevidane and Pasman, basketball in Dobropoljana, and the traditional regatta are major sport and social events. Night racing through torches in Pasman, in which both tourists and local people take part, is a special attraction.

Ecologically preserved landscape, vineyards, fields and olive-groves right next to sandy and pebble beaches are the right choice for those who prefer a vacation away from noise and crowded places.