Like bygone days on Vis

By day, the marina empties as Vis’s spirit of “pomalo” returns. With our planned trip to the Blue Cave canceled because of choppy waters, we hire some mountain bikes and take to the road. After a lung-busting cycle up the hills above Vis Town, we find ourselves on a road that unfurls onto the island’s central plateau, a rolling arcadia of vineyards spread across undulating acres of yellow sand.

Up and down the crinkle-cut coastline we go: past Rukavac with its twin-bays; Srebrena with its huge, chalk-white pebbles; Stiniva with its horseshoe cove. The latter is a favorite of those Croatian tourist board advertisements, though when we arrive there’s not another soul to share it with.

Food and Wine on Vis

Throughout the island’s history, one common thread has been its reputation as a center of gastronomy. As long ago as the second century B.C., the Alexandrian scholar Athenaeus was extolling the region’s wine: “At Issa . . . wine is made which is superior to every other wine whatever.”

Winemaking using the local grape varieties — vugava for white, plavac for red — remains a thriving cottage industry today. But Vis also boasts the food to accompany it: This is often described as the culinary capital of the Adriatic.

In the evening, we go to one of its seafood standard-bearers. Jastozera, meaning “lobster,” is a beguilingly ramshackle joint where the diners sit on planks set over the sea. Nets and ropes hang from the ceiling, rowboats float in the illuminated water, and the rusted frame of a spinning wheel provides the base for our table. When our large-bellied Italian neighbors order thermidor, a waitress takes up a pole to hoist the restaurant’s eponymous specialty — big blue crustaceans with bolt-cutter pincers — out of the lobster cages that sit directly below us.

Life at Vis speed

We first came here during a Croatian island-hop in 2005, but little seems to have changed since that accidental discovery. Vis Town’s old facades — all white stone quarried on the distant island of Brac — still grace the waterfront. Elderly olive-skinned locals ornament the benches that line the promenade. In the cool of evening, families come out to swim from the wood-slat pontoons that protrude into the bay.

The apartment we return to after our hours by the sea is typical of this contented stasis. We stay in Kut, on the east edge of town in a room that verges right onto the sea, the wall beneath its shuttered windows lapped by the tide. Accommodation on Vis consists almost exclusively of sobes — self-contained apartments like this one, locally owned and rarely more than $100 a night. The one large hotel, Hotel Issa, a whitewashed carbuncle on the harbor’s western peninsula, is incongruous and unloved. With the island’s 1,000 rooms widely dispersed over an area similar in size to that of Manhattan, and with camping prohibited, there’s no overcrowding even in peak season.

“No one on Vis went out looking for tourism; the tourists found us,” explains Drazen Gazija, the owner of our sobe and a former president of the Vis tourist office. “Vis is the place to come if you want pomalo.” ‘“Pomalo” — the Dalmatian philosophy of doing things slowly, little by little — is a spirit that has seeped into the island’s very soil.

Taking it slow on the Croatian island of Vis

“The Mediterranean as it once was.”

As tourism slogans go, this one has always held a special allure for me. Launched by the Croatian tourist board to invigorate its ailing vacation industry after the breakup of Yugoslavia, it’s a motto that has graced billboards and glossy magazine ads for a decade. And this morning, I’ve stepped off the ferry onto an island that embodies the claim better than any other.

Lying 30 miles off the Croatian mainland, Vis is the remotest of the populated Dalmatians, the archipelago of 1,185 islands that pepper the eastern Adriatic like seeds scattered by the sirocco wind. Like many of its neighbors, it has always boasted the raw materials necessary to become a quintessential Mediterranean bolt-hole: miles of pebbled beaches, grape-and-olive agriculture and seafood by the netful. But it was a unique quirk of history that set it on course to fulfill the slogan’s halcyon promise. On the Mediterranean authenticity scale, Vis strikes an exquisite old-school note, the perfect balance between amenity and low-key local charm.

Makarska, Croatia: Secret Seaside

Most visitors to Dalmatia head straight for the islands, but the Makarska Rivijera on the mainland coast, between Split and Dubrovnik, is home to some of the country’s loveliest stretches of beach. Running from Brela in the north to Gradac in the south, the riviera is 38 miles long and centres on Makarska.

Makarska itself is built around a deep sheltered bay, and backed by the dramatic rocky heights of Mount Biokovo (5,770ft), which acts as a buffer from the harsher inland climate. Biokovo’s sea-facing slopes are criss-crossed by well-marked trails, so besides swimming in the deep turquoise Adriatic, it’s possible to get in some hiking or mountain biking too.

Where to find Europe’s top island holiday spot - without the tourists

SOUTHERN Europe is teeming with tourists at this time of the year. The Med is mayhem, the Riviera rife with crowds. Trains, planes, hotels, restaurants and monuments are packed as people from all over the world flock to soak up the sun in the south of France, Italy or the Greek ­Islands. Then there are places like Rasisce. Located on Korcula, one of 1185 islands in Croatia and ­reputedly the birthplace of Marco Polo, the tiny seaside village of Rasisce is a rare gem on which to stumble in bustling peak season southern Europe.

Croatia: The 4th Dubrovnik International Wine & Jazz Festival stars José Feliciano

Music legend José Feliciano will headline this year’s Dubrovnik International Wine and Jazz Festival taking place Sept. 25-28. Concerts will be held around historic Old Town sites such as the Rector’s Palace, in front of the Dubrovnik Cathedral and at the Sun Gardens Hotel. 

Pirates of Omis battle Venice on a spectacular night in Dalmatia

Croatia's varied tourism season continues as pirates take to the high seas to battle Venice in the annual re-enactment in Omis. Central Dalmatia's impressive summer of historical re-enactments continued on August 18, 2014, as the annual pirate battle in Omis packed the small coastal town, and tourists and locals were treated to an impressive - and loud - display of piracy in the harbour of Omis, an event witnessed by Digital Journal. Piracy was rife throughout the centuries on the Adriatic, no more so than in Omis, whose pirates were able to escape up the Cetina River with all its hiding points to store their loot. This important period of history is marked each year with a reenactment of battle between the Venetians and the pirates from the 13th century.

World's biggest tourism catalogue presented in Dubrovnik

The tourism catalogue "Irresistible Croatia", which has been nominated for the Guinness World Records, was presented on Monday in the southern Adriatic city of Dubrovnik where it made a stop on its tour of the country.

Croatian Beaches of the Best Quality

And on the fifth seasonal quality testing of the Adriatic sea, all the beaches in the Dubrovnik-Neretva county complied with the requirements of the Regulation on sea bathing water quality, according to the county Department of Environmental Protection and Nature.

Zadar to open new port

Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Equinox will be the first ship to call at the new port of Gaženica when she sails into Croatia on 11 July.

Relocated from the city of Zadar, the new passenger port in Gaženica has 12 berths – including seven for local traffic and five for international vessels – and can cater for cruise ships of various sizes. The longest quay is 375 metres in length and has a 13 m draft.

Explore the hidden gems and idyllic islands of Croatia - Best for Couples

Gone are the days when hotels in Croatia were functional rather than luxurious, and the newly refurbished Kalamota Island Resort is a great choice for a romantic break. Surrounded by palms, olive groves and orange trees, it is the only hotel on the peaceful, traffic-free island of Kalamota, a 25-minute boat ride from Dubrovnik. 

Mljet National Park

One of Croatia's southernmost islands, Mljet Island and its eponymous National Park are well worth the journey. An expanse of greenery, punctuated by glittering saltwater lakes, dense pine forests and shaded lagoons, Mljet is a paradise for lovers of the outdoors. 

The Garden Festival - The best music festivals this summer in Croatia

The Garden Festival
July 2 to 9, Tisno, Murter

This year's ninth Garden Festival definitely falls into the enduringly popular, and it seems that the team from Britain heavily endemic to the island of Murter. The mere longevity speaks volumes about the popularity and quality - those who were witnessed great parties on board and dance until the early morning hours. This year coming Axel Boman, UFO, Craig Richards, DJ Eddie Pytzek and many others, and the parties will be held this year and the right summer environment Barbarella Club Pirovac.

FOR festival - Summer festivals in Croatia

FOR festival
June 19 to 22, the island of Hvar

For the second year in a row, the different locations of the island of Hvar to host this particular intimate festival. A great atmosphere for no more than 2500 people makes this small music festival popular, and musicians coming very fresh. This year, come the young and currently very popular HAIM, Neneh Cherry, Mark Ronson, Klaxons, Darkside and many others.

The first edition of the Sibenik festival SUPERUHO

The first edition of the festival SuperUho oriented to the international music scene will take place from 03 to 05 August in Sibenik. Unlike a number of good quality, but the mass of summer festivals, the festival SuperUho modeled on his older brother Thirsty Ear will retain its distinctive intimate format of enjoying music. This is also corroborated by the locations where will SuperUho place - it's about intimate locations TEF pier and the town beach PUL, near Sibenik's old town.

Festival Preview: Soundwave Festival Croatia

The cat's well and truly out of the bag - Croatia is no longer the secretive, hidden gem of festival locations that it once was. The beauteous European country has for some time now been home to some of the best festivals the world has to offer, complete with paradisaic surroundings and all the sunshine you can handle. There's no wonder that it's become the go-to destination for those looking to combine the holiday and festival experience.

Documentary Film Festival to be Held in Makarska

The coastal town of Makarska will host the first edition of DokuMa Film Festival, an international festival of documentaries that will be held from 29 May to 1 June. 

Explore Croatia from its cities to its coast

Ask Ivan Boban, a 34-year-old Croatian who lives in Dubrovnik, why you should visit his country and he won't skip a beat. "Because of our crystal clear Adriatic Sea, our sunny skies, our coastal towns and islands, our beautiful beaches and walled cities, our wonderful national parks and our UNESCO world heritage sites," he says.

Thomson to reintroduce Croatia's Dalmatian Coast

Thomson is to reintroduce Croatia's Dalmatian Coast for summer 2015 after a gap of more than eight years and increase flight capacity to Dubrovnik. The last time the operator featured the region was for one season in 2006 and before that in 1991, when it was part of the former Yugoslavia, officially broken up in 1992.