Croatia is truly a land of islands because it has more than a thousand of them and each one is different. Many of them are inhabited but each and every one is exceptional, with its own story and destiny. To have a weak spot is human and the connoisseurs of Croatian islands have thousands of them. To be more precise 1185 of them. That's how many islands, islets and cliffs are located in front of 1777 kilometers of the Adriatic coast. The first trip to the Adriatic coast and its islands is a journey into the unknown. Every other trip will be a journey to the already familiar beauty of this country, always different but equally breathtaking, starting with Brijuni Islands (National Park) to Lastovo at south of Croatia.
Historical facts Croatia is indeed unique, not only for its crystal clear, clean blue sea, but also for a thousand years of different cultures that have replaced each other and sometimes assimilated in these areas. The Adriatic Sea is not only a deep gulf in the Mediterranean cut into the Continent of Europe thereby creating most economical trade route between Europe and the East, it is also the cradle of ancient civilizations. There is much material evidence about that which is finally beginning to come to light, from the depths of Adriatic caves and from the deep blue sea. The east coast of the Adriatic Sea was inhabited as early as the beginning of the early Stone Age, and there is proof that most of the accessible islands were also inhabited (archaeological findings in caves near the islands of Hvar and Palagruza, etc.) Take a tour with our yachts and see born town of Marco Polo , Korcula and many other destinations in Adriatic Sea. If you are looking for fun,pleasure visit Hvar city,one the oldest cities in Europe with first theatar in world.....
Nautical Tourism Yachting
Nautical tourism certainly represents one of the most attractive forms of the overall tourism offer of the Republic of Croatia. We can rightfully say that Croatia, the land of a thousand islands and a beautiful, indented coastline is a "haven for boaters". All of the significant segments of nautical tourism have been brought together under the Croatian Association of Nautical Tourism, which was established as a professional organization under the Croatian Chamber of Commerce. This association includes four groups: the Croatian Marinas Group, the Croatian Charter Vessels Group, the Croatian Diving Tourism Group and the Cruising and Motor Sailboat Excursions Group. Considering that nautical tourism represents one of the most attractive aspects of the tourism offer of our country, the Croatian Association of Nautical Tourism is a center for obtaining useful and necessary information for boaters, a place where the profession presents its questions which are then resolved through the Association, and which aims to advance the tourism offer to the delight and satisfaction of boaters and guests who have selected our coast, islands and sea for their vacation.
Croatia is home to 50 marinas, all gathered together under the Croatian Marinas Group, with a capacity of over 13,200 sea berths and 4,500 dry berths. The marinas are constantly working to upgrade and enrich their services, and to adapt to the modern needs and wants of nautical guests. Many nautical tourism ports have further enriched their services: from top quality traditional cuisine, water and electricity, health care clinics, charter company services, to the use of apartments, and electronic monitoring and security services to protect the property and equipment of guests. Adriatic Croatian International Club, better known among boaters as the ACI Club, is the leading nautical tourism company in Croatia, representing a unique chain of 21 marinas stretching from Dubrovnik in the south to Umag in the northern Adriatic Sea. In its 20 years of operation, the ACI Marinas have aimed to develop and popularize sailing, and have achieved a recognizable level of high quality service. Visitors to the modernly equipped Croatian marinas can receive the usual reception service in addition to technical services. Restaurants, snack-bars, shops, laundromats and other facilities have also been added to make the guests' stay more pleasant. Efforts to harmonize the development of nautical tourism in Croatia with the need for environmental protection have been rewarded with the numerous Blue Flags granted to our marinas. This prestigious international recognition awarded by the European Foundation for Environmental Education symbolizes a preserved, safe and pleasant environment, which is accompanied by exceptional tourism promotion.
Charter companies have been united under the Croatian Charter Vessels Group. The world's largest vessel rental companies also offer their vessels on the Adriatic Sea, through domestic charter companies. In order to rent a vessel, guests must possess a valid recreational craft license, and must also have a radio certificate (can be obtained in all Port Authorities). Upon renting the vessel, it is necessary to fill out and certify the crew list. All changes to the crew while sailing must be reported to the Port Authority.
Croatian cuisine is heterogeneous, and is therefore known as "the cuisine of regions". The coastal region bears the influences of the Greek, Roman and Illyrian, as well as of the later Mediterranean cuisine Italian and French. Visit hidden Taverns on Islands with a yachts and discover new uniqe tastes of Croatian cuisine...
The cuisine of Dalmatia and the islands follows the trend of modern nutritional norms. The brief thermal preparation of foodstuffs (mainly boiling or grilling) and plenty of fish, olive oil, vegetables and self-sown herbs found near the sea is why this cuisine is considered to be very healthy. Dalmatian wines, like olive oil and salted olives, have been highly esteemed since ancient times, which the present names of some of the indigenous grape sorts reveal (Grk : Greek, from the island of Korcula; Prc from the island of Hvar). Famous wines include Dingac and Postup from the Peljesac Peninsula; Babic from Primosten; Vugava and Plancic from the island of Hvar... then there are Posip and Grk from Korcula; Marastina from the island of Lastovo; Malmsey from Dubrovnik, etc., and also Prosecco (a sweet dessert wine), the very strong grape (loza) and herbal brandies (travarica, grapes with medicinal herbs) and liqueurs (Maraschino, Vlahov). Although even today every area has its own way of preparing certain dishes, the cuisine of the islands represents a separate world, their distinguishing features having been discovered only recently, such as the cuisine of the islands of Hvar, Korcula, Brac (vitalac, a dish made from lamb offal wrapped in lamb gut and spike-roasted), Vis (spike-roasted pilchards, as during the Ancient Greek period; flat cake with pilchards from Komiza and Vis, related to the modern-day pizza). Fresh sea fish (dog's tooth, gilthead, sea-bass, grouper, mackerel, pilchards) grilled, boiled or marinated; then there are molluscs (squid, cuttlefish, octopus), crustaceans (shrimps, lobsters) and shellfish (mussels, oysters, date-shells) boiled in a fish stew or as a risotto. Of the meat dishes, prosciutto is unarguably unrivalled - pork leg smoked and dried in the bora (from Drnis), served with dry, mostly sheep’s cheese (famous sorts of cheese are those from Pag and Dubrovnik) and salted green and black olives, capers and pickled onions. Lamb is also very highly valued, especially boiled or baked on an open fire (Franjevacka begovica from Visovac, or lopiz from the island of Iz); also, dried mutton (kastradina), roast beef, Dalmatian stew (pasticada) with gnocchi, offered by many restaurants. Lightly boiled vegetables are also favourite dishes (Swiss chard with potatoes, tomato sauce) often a mixture of cultivated and self-sown vegetables, spiced with olive oil and wine vinegar, or served with meat (manestra - pasta with minced meat; arambasici - stuffed vine leaves). Regions with an abundance of fresh water are famous for their frog, eel and river crab dishes (the Neretva valley, Trilj and the Cetina basin). Typical Dalmatian desserts win the heart with their simplicity. The most usual ingredients include Mediterranean fruit, dried figs and raisins, almonds, honey, eggs (rafioli, mandulat, smokvenjak, the gingerbread biscuits from the island of Hvar - rozata).
Source of Informations : HTZ - Hrvatska Turisticka Zajednica
Need more informations about Croatia ? Visit : Croatia Land of thousand Islands - Find facts about Croatia, explore our culture and history, enjoy our cuisine and more ...
Arriving to Croatia
Travel documents:
Passport or some other identification document recognized by international agreement proving the identity and citizenship of its holder. Information: Croatian embassies and consulates abroad or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia (Tel.: 01 459 8018); e-mail: stranci@mvp.hr URL: www.mvp.hr
Drivers are recommended to have the international “Green Card” issued by the insurance company. A vessel arriving by land shall be reported orally at the border crossing, and afterwards at the Harbor Master’s Office (or branch office) following the same procedure of registration as vessels arriving by sea. The maximum allowed size of a hauled vehicle in Croatia is 18 m long and 2.55 m wide. In cases of excess width a special permit shall be required and escort is obligatory. Information available at the Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development of the Republic of Croatia: www.mmtpr.hr
Customs regulations
- The customs regulations of the Republic of Croatia are harmonized with the standards of EU member states.
- There is no limit to the import and export of foreign currency. The limit for the export of local currency is 15,000.00 kn.
- Valuable professional and technical equipment must be declared on entering the country.
- People traveling with pets (dogs and cats) must have an International Certificate issued by an official veterinarian demonstrating that rabies vaccinations are up to date- given at least 15 days earlier, but not more than 6 months earlier. (The Veterinarian service in Croatia is covered by a network of veterinary clinics. Information: www.veterinarstvo.hr)
- Foreign citizens who spend more than 500 kuna are entitled to a VAT refund by handing to the customs authorities on departure from Croatia the filled in and stamped appropriate form “Tax cheque”. Information: Customs authority of the Republic of Croatia (Tel: 01 6102 333); www.carina.hr
Important Contact Numbers and Informations
International country code for Croatia: 385
Ambulance - 94, Fire brigade- 93, Police- 92
Road Assistance 987; e-mail:987@hak.hr (if calling from abroad or by cell phone dial +385 1 987)
General information 981 Information on local and long-distance telephone numbers 988 International phone directory 902 Weather forecast and road conditions 060 520 520
Croatian Auto Club (HAK) 01 4640 800; Internet: www.hak.hr; e-mail: info@hak.hr
Information on gas rates and list of gas stations: - www.ina.hr - www.omvistrabenz.hr
Mobile Phone Networks In Croatia Croatia has 3 commercial systems of mobile phone networks: Cronet 098, VIP 091, Tele2 095
Information: T- mobile;www.t-mobile.hr; 098 1555 Touristinfo (Information for tourists) VIPnet; www.vipnet.hr; 091 / 7799 Information for tourists Tele2 www.tele2.hr ; 095
Croatian Angels - number for tourist information for all Croatia: 062 999 999. For calls from abroad dial: +385 62 999 999 Service is available in Croatian, English, German and Italian from March 25 to October 15.
Radio news in foreign languages during the tourist season
On several channels, the Croatian Radio broadcasts programs in foreign languages for tourists in the Republic of Croatia. Croatian Radio First Channel daily broadcasts a 5-10 minute program in English. On the Second Channel of the Croatian Radio along with regular news in Croatian, HAK will broadcast reports on road condition in English, German and Italian and information for boaters several times a day. Also on the Second Channel of the Croatian Radio, every hour on the hour, news and reports on road conditions are broadcast in alteration directly from studios of: Third Program of the Bavarian Radio, Third Program of the Austrian Radio, RAI Uno, British Virgin Radio. Throughout the day information for boaters are broadcast in English and Croatian.
Environment protection
Protection of biodiversity is in accordance with the valid EU regulations. As regards bathing, the sea in the Croatian Adriatic is of high quality according to the EU criteria. In case of an accident or pollution of the sea, please notify the National Rescue Coordination Center on telephone number 9155 (toll-free phone), which is included in the network of international institutions of the same level. In case of an extraordinary environment pollution on land, please notify the National Center for Notification, telephone number 01/ 481 4911
Additional environment information telephone number: tel: 01/ 610 6111 or 378 4820 www.mzopu.hr
Prevention of fire:: - Make sure you have taken all the necessary measures to prevent fire! - Do not throw burning or inflammable objects into the environment! - If you notice a fire, please notify other persons in your surroundings; immediately call telephone number 93 or 985; until the fire brigade arrives, try to extinguish the fire, but do not bring yourself or others in danger! - Observe the signs forbidding making of fires! - Make sure your parked vehicles do not close the fire-fighting approaches and driveways!
