Tag: Articles

Categories
Articles Croatia

Reasons you should be in Croatia right now

news_tripod_tape_265834_l.jpg

The Zagreb Film Festival runs all this week, October 21-27, featuring the best films of 2007 from Russia, Serbia, New Zealand, Israel, and of course, Croatia.

Like Cannes and Sundance, the festival features primarily art films and cerebral comedies, unlike Cannes and Sundance, the festival’s mascot is a Superman clone with pink briefs and cape.

The film festival takes place every October at the Student Centre in downtown Zagreb, this year with 11 feature films, 15 short films and 12 to 14 documentaries. Audience voters decide the Audience VIP award to one film and a jury of Croatian filmmakers decide the winners of the “Golden Pram” award, which comes with a cash prize, in each category.

Get there before Autumn Leaves

Autumn in Croatia got some good press recently attracted some attention now that Jelenje, on the interior of Croatia is attracting visitors with its colorful fall foliage and beautiful scenery. The region has become popular enough that the first travel guide for the region was published this year and a heritage museum highlighting the regions’ unique history and culture.

Upcoming books on the region include a specialized guidebook for cyclists and literature on the area’s extensive hiking and mountain climbing opportunities. The most popular outdoor recreation in the region is highlighted, including the Rjecina River and the mountain house on Hahlic.

As the seasonal travel that dominates Croatia’s summer spreads out to the rest of the year, Jelenje could become a prime fall destination for travelers from around the world. Autumn airfares are the best deals and if the weather cooperates, you can still spend a few days of your vacation in the sun on one of Croatia’s beaches or islands.

Categories
Articles Croatia

Are land mines still dangerous?

mines-1.jpg
During the Croatian War of Independence, nearly two million land mines were laid down in the countryside by both sides in an effort to shore up their territory. Armies used land mines extensively throughout the former Yugoslavia during the 1990’s to compensate for their lack of infantry. With land mines placed along undefended front lines, fewer men were needed to defend and control territory. That tactic, however, left Croatia with one of the worst mine problems in Europe.

Mines are no longer much of a problem today. There has not been an injury caused by a mine in over a year. Although they do limit the places you can explore on their own, most mined areas have been identified and blockaded from tourists. Meanwhile, a massive education program with signs marking dangerous areas has led to a sharp drop in injuries and casualties over the last several years. The proliferation of signs has caused a bit of a struggle between the Croatian Mine Action Center and Zdenko Mcic, the Croatian minister of tourism, ensues over where to place the 13,000 signs warning of mines. Mcic would like the signs limited to only the places in which mines are present because the signs hurt Croatia’s image, but the program’s success is hard to argue with. Mines killed 101 people from 1998-2006, but there has not been a casualty caused by a mine in Croatia since April 2006.

Continue reading “Are land mines still dangerous?”
Categories
Articles Croatia

10 Croatia “Fun Facts”

halloween_453713_l.jpg

Everyone loves little bits of trivia. You can commit them to memory for small-talk at parties, or use them to bring up your upcoming vacation among friends and coworkers. (“Your dog likes chasing tennis balls? That’s interesting because I’m going to Croatia and Croatian Goran Ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001 playing tennis.”) Here are 10 little and not-so little known facts about Croatia. Use them wisely.

1. Dubrovnik, (an independent state at the time) was the very first nation to formally recognize the United States as a nation when it declared independence from Great Britain.

2. The White House was built out of Croatian stone, from the island of Brac. This same stone had been used to build Diocletian’s Palace in Split.

Continue reading “10 Croatia “Fun Facts””
Categories
Articles Croatia

RyanAir pulls a fast one

ryanair_airport_plane_1096264_l.jpgThe blogs were abuzz last summer when RyanAir, the Irish no-frills, low-fare airline announced service to Istria from London’s Stansted Airport. This would not only allow travelers to get from the U.K. into northern Croatia for next to nothing, but it would also provide a link for Croatian businesses to establish relationships with London clients.

Recently however, RyanAir announced that it will be withdrawing its flights connecting Croatia with London at the end of October, and in fact canceling all flights out of Stansted Airport because of an increase in the travel tarif from 6 to 11 British pounds. Controversy comes with the fact that RyanAir received half a million pounds for five years of their flights and under the terms of the contract are not required to return any of it, despite only completing one year of the contract.

RyanAir’s year round flights to Pula three times a week was expected to extend the tourist season and bring in more money to Croatia’s economy. Losing flights like this would really pull the rug out from under Istria’s tourism industry, except that RyanAir’s typical clientele lack the purchasing power to drive any real upswing in the economy. Not only that, but the tourism infrastructure of Pula and Zadar are not equipped to host any more travelers than they already receive.

Most airlines serve Croatia during the high-traffic summer months and then send their fleet elsewhere sometime in the fall. Airlines experience 80-90% occupancy during the April through October busy season; winter brings about 70% occupancy to the flights.

RyanAir will be transferring its fleet to compete in the high-profit Spain market with British Airline Easy Jet.

The very hurt-sounding Nacional magazine has the full-story on RyanAir’s break-up with Croatia.

Categories
Articles Croatia

Croatia Camping

camping_tent_882064_tn.jpg

Croatia has been called “Europe’s number one camping destination,” but what motivates people to forego the comforts of home during their warm weather vacation?

To understand the appeal of camping in Croatia, you have to know something about the pleasure that can come from self-sufficiency; or at least, the illusion of self-sufficiency.

Croatia’s campgrounds are not outback shanties or wilderness survival huts. For the most part they are recreation centers with tetherball, tennis, beaches, barbecues and swimming. But it still feels like you’re honing your survival skills when you sleep outside, cook for yourself and live off the land in between trips to the campground grocery store.

Continue reading “Croatia Camping”
Categories
Croatia

Plitvice Lakes Photos

The beauty of Plitvice Lakes is hard to describe until you’ve been there. It’s like an adrenaline rush to your imagination. A “lushness” worthy of Eden. (Like “Fern Gully,” for any children of the 80’s out there.) Water pooling, rushing, sweeping down rock faces; a deluge of delight, gushing through lava tubes. I now give you my best attempt at inspiring you to make the trip to Plitvice. The real thing is ever so much better.

imgp1338.jpgimgp1326.jpgdsc02365.jpg

Continue reading “Plitvice Lakes Photos”
Categories
Articles Croatia

What’s this I hear about Tourist Tax?

image.jpeg

Croatia recently began to enforce a little known “tourist tax,” so it seems it’s time to un-turn the blind eye this Logue has adopted and start letting travelers know that they are under a legal obligation to register and pay a euro per day for the duration of their stay.

Croatia still loves its tourists. The economy depends largely on the dollars that drive down from Europe and fly in from all over the world each summer. But there is a business side to this love-affair and in an effort to protect travelers from foul play, excessive rates and subpar accommodations, the tourism bureau requires hotels and other establishments to report that they are housing someone each night.

The thinking goes that requiring hotels, hostels and private renters to register their guests will keep the tourist business from slipping to the opportunistic renters: non-professionals with an extra bunk bed somewhere in their house that they would be happy to let you sleep in for some extra money. It may seem like Croatia is trying to squeeze every last dollar from you on your trip, but remember it’s for your own good. Wink.

Continue reading “What’s this I hear about Tourist Tax?”
Categories
Articles Croatia

Empowering Croatian Vacations

female_women_skies_235790_tn.jpg

The folks over at smartertravel recently listed a fall Croatian vacation as one of ten “empowering trips for women” in a feature. Highlighting Croatia’s relaxed atmosphere and the red roofs that add charm to Dubrovnik’s coastline, the women-only trip hosted by Sights and Soul begins with in-depth cultural immersion and a lesson in the historical context of the area. Further educational and enriching activities—the kind that you’d talk about during a job interview—are scheduled, but eventually the trip does head out to several of Croatia’s islands where travelers can cut loose with some wine tasting and quality beach time.

Continue reading “Empowering Croatian Vacations”
Categories
Articles Croatia

Split Hotels

everystockphoto_188107_m.jpg

With high-end resorts neighboring cheap hostels, Split hotels don’t exactly fill the gap of mid-range accommodation for families traveling together or business travelers looking for the nicest hotel they can get their boss to sign off on.

Two recent additions to the hotel scene around Split, however, have started to change that. Le Meridian Hotel, opened last year, is part of the larger chain that stretches across all seven continents with a hotel in most every major city. Although the rooms are a little on the higher side of the price range, there are ways to get a cheaper deal its location outside of central Split keeps the prices down a little bit.

Hotel Park recently added a star to its wall with a renovation in 2000 that updated its 54 rooms and 3 suites to among the finest in Croatia. Winner of the prestigious “tourist flower,” the Park retains its authentic flavor while offering affordable luxury at 103 Euros a night.

Continue reading “Split Hotels”
Categories
Articles Croatia

Zagreb Car Rentals

cars_roofs_skyscrapes_235305_l.jpgWatch out for the Trams

Renting a car in Zagreb can be a confusing task. If arriving in Zagreb by train and hoping to rent a car, you may think that asking at the station’s information desk would be a good idea to get information about a car rental. You would be wrong.

There are a few different information desks in the Zagreb train station and when I arrived, bleary eyed from the overnight train ride from Germany, each one told me a different direction to go to rent a car. I chose to follow the directions that seemed simplest, and after walking a few blocks one way, then a few blocks back the other way, I finally found a car rental agency.

Car rentals in Zagreb are usually booked through the hotel you’re staying in and their offices are often part of the hotel building. If you’re walking the streets trying to find a place to rent a car, your best bet will be to head toward a Sheraton or Marriott. One corner of the building will probably be devoted to cars, the rest of the hotel encased in privacy glass.

Unlike American car rental agencies, you do not have to be 25 years old to rent a car in Zagreb. You do have to have had your driver’s license for at least two years and have a credit card to swipe as a deposit. Lucky for me I got a credit card when I was a wee lad of 18, and a driver’s license years before that, so I was all set.

Except that I had to wait for the car. At these hotel car rental agencies, very few of the cars are on hand. They’re kept somewhere hidden and when you walk in and request a car, they have to tap at their keyboards for a minute before they can tell you whether or not they’ve got what you’re looking for. This process allows time for all sorts of marketing research questions that may or may not influence the rate you are later offered. I chose to play the part of a poor (but automotively responsible) college student, who couldn’t afford to pay the higher prices at the other car rental places. This was mostly true (except for the responsibility part, as you will see shortly) and we agreed on a price. I’m not sure if trying to bargain with them would have gotten me anywhere. Like most things in Croatia, the initial asking price was so low I just accepted it. Still, before he quoted me a price, he buttered me up, telling me that he was going to give me a “special price on this trip.”

I proffered my Visa card, signed the contract and then began to wait. My car was somewhere WAY off-site, so I went out and walked around Zagreb and got the traditional Croatian breakfast of pita, a pastry filled with cheese, in the main square.

I was renting the car for a one-way drive from Zagreb to Split. The trip takes about 7 hours. I asked for five days. My trip, however, was nearly cut short after two blocks. It would have been a grand total of about 45 seconds in the car if not for good brakes, an audible scream and those four-leaf clovers I keep with me at all times.

Which brings us to the most useful advice I can give you about renting a car in Zagreb. When in Zagreb, know that streetcars and trams do not follow the rules of traffic that the rest of the world lives by. They pretty much follow the tracks. Even if those tracks cause the tram to approach from a direction that your eyes aren’t trained to scan before merging onto the street.

I pulled forward from the line, only to realize that I was in the path of an oncoming tram. Swerving and slamming on the brakes, I maneuvered the car so that the train went by about 6 inches from the front bumper. I looked over my shoulder toward the rental agency, but no one had seen the close call. I drove away before anyone could come out and take the keys from me, insurance forms secure in my sweaty palms.