In spite of the hype, Croatia’s pleasures are way more never-ending than fashionable. Along its 1778km shore, a glistening sea winds around rocky coves, lapping at pine-fringed beaches. Istrian ports bustle with fishermen while youngsters dive into the sparkling water. In Dalmatia, towns throb with nightlife among ancient Roman ruins. Yachts glide up the coast, flick stars quietly prepare to buy one of Croatia’s 1185 islands and no Mediterranean cruise is completed without a stop in Dubrovnik. The inside landscape is as beguiling, although less visited. Soak in a thermal spa at Istarske Toplice in Istria. Hike thru spotless forests watered by mountain streams in the west. Let the waterfalls of Plitvice dampen your face.
And then there’s the culture. The country that endured Roman, Venetian, Italian and Austro-Hungarian rule has a unique and a little schizoid identity. You will find a powerful EU flavor in the baroque design of Zagreb, and Italian attention to the good life percolates up from the coast, infiltrating Croatian food and style. During vacations and holidays the nations’s Slavic soul appears, as colourfully costumed dancers whisk about to conventional people tunes.