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.