Nowadays, the mere mention of Croatia conjures up images of pristine landscapes and sparkling seas, fortified towns furnished with outdoor cafés, heaving with carefree yachties, recently blown in from the last picture-perfect port.

The destination has become one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations and Insight Vacations has wonderful escorted tours taking in this beautiful country.

The sun-drenched coast has long served as an exotic playground for Europe's crowned heads. Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson famously skinny-dipped here in the 1930’s. In fact, most of Europe's greatest empires including the Romans, Venetians, Ottoman Turks and Habsburgs, have all left their calling-card in the form of architecture, language, art, and food. It’s only taken 3,000 years, but the word is finally out.

 Sightseeing

The superb walled city of Dubrovnik, its medieval bastions rising vertically from the sea, is known as the ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’. Everyone from George Bernard Shaw to the King of Jordan have been beguiled by its cobbled streets and old world charm.

See the Rector’s Palace, Onofrio’s fountain and the Franciscan and Dominican monasteries. A little up the coast is Korcula, a mini-fortress encased in honey-coloured walls, which rivals Dubrovnik as top jewel in Croatia’s star-studded crown. The UNESCO protected city of Split is a town within town, a maze of cobbled alleys and marbled flagged courtyards – the remnants of a Roman Emperor’s palace.

Today’s cafés, bars, and shop-keepers ply their trade from the same facades carved some 1700 years ago. Away from the coast you’ll find primeval national parks like the Plitvice Lakes, which hosts striking azure waterways, cascading falls and thick woodland sheltering abundant wildlife. All this leads us to the fascinating capital city of Zagreb. Explore the mazes of the upper and lower town, the majestic cathedral, the Archbishop’s Palace, St. Marks Church and the Opera House for a varied overview of the busy city.

 Shopping

Shop till you drop in Croatia. Look for Croata kravata (Croatian cravats, scarfs and ties), embroidered table linens and aprons decorated with traditional designs and Maraschino (cherry) liqueur of the Zadar region. Pag island lace once decorated the clothes of Empresses and Princesses throughout Europe. Domestic olive oil and wine makes a great souvenir and can be found in the local markets on the Dalmatian Islands. You’ll also see fruit-flavoured brandies known as rakija, - two of the most popular are Travarica concocted from grapes and flavoured with herbs, and Sljivovica, made from plums.

Entertainment

While Croatians are fanatical sports lovers, art lovers will not be disappointed. Croatia has over 200 museums and galleries, more than sufficient to satisfy the most ardent art aficionado.

Every town seems to have a summer festival, all sizzling with open-air pop and classical concerts, street theatre, parades and general madness. Zagreb is the country’s cultural heart where opera, concert, ballet, and theatre performances are presented regularly, yet on the island of Korcula, the locals like nothing more than a good old sword dance to while away the hours.

Specialties

Dining in Croatia can be an experience all to itself and there is a varied and distinctive range of cuisine on offer. The Adriatic coast excels in seafood: regional dishes include scampi, prstaci (shellfish), and Dalmatian brodet (mixed fish stewed with rice).

Inland look for specialties such as manistra od bobica (beans and fresh maize soup) or struki (baked cheese dumpling). Traditional dishes from the area around Zagreb include purica z mlincima (turkey with pasta noodles), and strukli (ravioli-like pasta dough balls with a cheese filling). Croatian beer (pivo) is of a high quality and of the light lager variety.

Top 5 Things to Do In Croatia

1. Check out Dubrovnik at night, when the old town takes on a whole new ambience. The buildings glow in the spotlights, the streets are almost empty and the ramparts are positively rampant with romance.

2. Sneak out early on a Sunday when the church bells are calling for mass and the smartly dressed locals head into church. It’s also market day in most villages, which hum to the rhythm of Dalmatian music.

3. Croatia boasts the world’s best sunsets (Alfred Hitchcock was a huge fan) So you’d be psycho to pass up a dinner cruise on a fisherman’s boat while the sun takes its nightly bow.

4. If you want to truly experience the Dalmatian cuisine, a dinner in a traditional ‘konoba’ – a stone daylight basement – is a great choice.

5. See if you can find the little hole in the Dubrovnik city walls that leads out to the white Buza rocks, and the beach bar overlooking the azure waters. The drinks may be pricey but the view is priceless!

Experience all these incredible signature highlights with Insight Vacations  on their a brand new Country Roads of Croatia tour in 2014. Priced from R34 800 per person sharing spend 14 days exploring Zagreb, Optija, Plitvice Lakes, Split, Brac, Korcula and Dubrovnik. This escorted tour includes all accommodation with breakfast daily, many included meals, airport transfers, free Wi-Fi, ferry crossings, baggage handling, tipping and more.

To book contact your local ASATA travel agent or Insight Vacations on (011) 280 8400 or visit www.insightvacations.com for more information.

Insight Vacations is a part of a joint initiative with The TreadRight Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation established by The Travel Corporation to encourage sustainable tourism within our own family of brands and in the places we visit. To date, TreadRight has donated more than US$2 million to sustainable tourism projects around the world. To find out more about our work with TreadRight visit: www.treadright.org

For media releated questions please contact:

Amanda Hardy @amanda.hardy@travcorp.net

Public Relations - Travcorp SA

Group of Companies: Trafalgar, Insight Vacations,

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