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.
We
will begin the story about the islands with the
Brijuni islands. These fourteen islands
are situated along seven kilometers between
Pula and Rovinj. With a little help,
nature has created a small paradise here, true
harmony of flora and fauna, historical monuments
and modern hotels. Brijuni offer shade in
the rich evergreen vegetation, pheasants, deer
and doe that roam freely all over the island and
the peace and quiet of the holm oak and hundred-
year old olive groves.
The golden or green Krk is and isn't an
island. It is one, if we look at the idyllic
nature and peaceful oasis far away from the
everyday world but as far as traffic connections
are concerned, it isn't. Krk, which also
has a small airport, is divided from the
mainland by the sea but is connected to it by a
bridge.
If you are looking for your own special island,
you'll find it on Krk because the islands
Plavnik, Kormat, Galun, Prvic and Zec
are special tourist destinations offering nature
untouched by Man. If you are interested in
exciting town bustle and great hospitality, then
the island towns Baska, Malinska, Omisalj,
Njivice, Krk and Punat, which has the
largest marina on the Croatian Adriatic, are the
places you need to visit.
Cres and Losinj. One island or two? They
were once connected by a channel, which was dug
up by the Romans, but are now apart. The
northern part of Cres is hidden away in
the Rijeka bay and is exposed to strong
gusts of gale, so that sometimes its peaks are
white from the foam of the sea. The southern
part is protected from the gale so its climate
is extremely Mediterranean. In the town of
Cres, is the center of the island. You can
enter its nucleus through three doors and
history rears its head at every corner. There
are many monuments that testify to this. What
testifies about the people, their statuses and
professions are the family crests on the house
portals or the engraved tools: the blacksmith's
or carpenter's on the houses of craftsmen and a
fish on the houses of fishermen. The climate of
Losinj is pleasant, what's more it has
lots of woods, so it is both a holiday and
health resort.
Of the 1185 islands and cliffs scattered along
the Adriatic coast, consisting of hard, sharp
rocks and a fist full of soil, Susak is
one of the rare islands that nature created from
sand. There are 20 million meters of sand, which
gives a specific flavor to the wine produced on
Susak.
The next island of The Kvarner is Rab. In
1889, the local council proclaimed it a
bathing-place and health resort. The British
King, Edward VIII especially encouraged tourism
on Rab when he stayed there with his
great love, the American Wallis Simpson. They
say that he was the first to go swimming without
any clothes. This is how nudism was founded on
Rab. Rab is one of the islands richest in
forests with as many as three hundred springs of
water.
Pag is an island full of mythical olive
groves, rich in sea salt, famous for its lace,
cheese a world known delicacy, sheep's milk,
live oil andÉ what more do you need? Perhaps
this: a part of Pag with its specific
relief resembles the surface of the moon.
Moving along to the middle-Adriatic islands
like: Olib, Silba, Premuda, Vir, Dugi Otok,
Lovrada and Pasman, you notice immediately
that you have left the every day problems and
bounds of society far behind you. In front of
you lies untouched nature. These islands will
bewitch you, energize you and enrich you. They
will become your dream, the kind you dream of
with eyes wide open.
Silba is an island of ship owners and
captains and old captain's houses as well as a
harbor protected from the gushes of wind. Ist is
an island of fishermen and navigators and is
well known to navigators as a safe haven from
the storm.
The island Ugljan is the 'suburban area'
and a garden that lies in front of Zadar
and it got its name because of its richness in
oil. There are in fact more than 100.000 olive
trees on this island.
The
nearby Pasman island 'grew into'
Ugljan. They are actually twins, only
Pasman is a bit more peaceful. They are
equally beautiful and covered with silvery green
olive groves. These two pearls can be seen from
the coastal town of Biograd, the
geographical center of the Adriatic. Iz is the
island situated between Ugljan and Dugi Otok.
It is just as famous for what it does and
doesn't have. It has rich Mediterranean
vegetation. It doesn't have any cars.
Dugi Otok offers rest in preserved nature
of an area of 114 square kilometers. There are
fishermen there, farmers, beautiful secluded
beaches and tourist objects. The town of
Telascica is situated there, which is the
biggest natural harbor of all the Adriatic
islands, a nature park and a habitat for mouflon.
Its rich woodsy northwestern coast is full of
wide coves and a beautiful beach with a 41-meter
high lighthouse. It's interesting that while the
lighthouse was being built in 1949,around
100.000 yolks were added to the plaster, which
prevented the sun and the sea from ruining its
beauty.
According to the legend, Kornati
labyrinth of sea passages and islands were
created from the many rock cliffs that God had
left over after he had finished making the
World. He threw them into the sea, turned around
and concluded that no other repairs were
necessary. The infamous George Bernard Shaw said
of this group of the most indented islands of
the Adriatic and the Mediterranean that consist
of 140 islands, islets and reefs: 'The Gods
wanted to crown their work, so on the last day,
from their tears, the stars and their breath
they created Kornati. There are many
fisherman's villages which are periodically
inhabited on the islands and because they are
rich in fish they are often the destination of
sport fishermen. Kornati are especially
interesting for navigators and thatvs why there
are two nautical enters there: Zut and
Piskera.
Among the islands another picturesque one is
Murter which has an area of 18 square
kilometers. It is connected to the mainland by a
bridge only 12 meters long. This is an island of
fishermen, olive growers and ship builders with
the towns: Tisno, Hramina, Betina and Jezera.
The island Prvic is near the tourist
pearl Vodice, it's an oasis of
Mediterranean flora and fauna.
The island Zlarin is southwest of
Sibenik. In the 15 th century it was famous
for coral and sponge harvesting and there is a
museum that exhibits this.
West of Zlarin is the island of
Obonjan, known as Otok Mladosti (The
island of Youth).
Not far is the island Kaprije, which got
its name from the Mediterranean, plant caper
(kapar) whose buds serve as spices. Many yachts
visit Kaprije because of the many coves
and beautiful beaches.
Zirje is the farthest away inhabited island of
the Sibenik archipelago with great
fishing-grounds and many coves for navigators.
Krapanj is the smallest and lowest
inhabited island of the archipelago of an area
of only 0,36 kilometers and only seven meters
high but the most inhabited island.
'Across from' Split, a city harmonious in
structure with cultural and historical values,
with an airport and a harbor lies the island
Brac, the highest and by size the third
largest island in the Adriatic. It is covered
with pine woods, vineyards and olive groves and
the world famous stone from Brac has been
used in the construction of many important
buildings (e.g. The White House in Washington
DC).The beautiful beach Zlatni rat is
located in Bol, which is the biggest
tourist town on the southern part of the island.
The beach is located on a cape covered in
pebbles which moves, depending on the wind and
waves from one side to another. You'll have to
admit that this is the only beach that you've
heard of that changes its from day to day. There
are many bathing-places and resorts on Brac:
Postire, Milna, Supetar...
South of Brac is Hvar, the longest island
of the Adriatic. This is an island of vineyards,
olive groves and lavender. The island is
surrounded by crystal cobalt sea, many springs
of water and the largest number of sunny hours.
The many stone houses along both coasts, which
are connected by small bridges, achieve the
harmonious unity of Stari Grad on Hvar,
the fisherman museum is in Vrbovska which
is unique on the Adriatic... Hvar is, no
doubt , an exceptional island, a pleasant winter
and summer resort, with a mild climate and
exuberant subtropical vegetation.
Pakleni otoci are an especially
interesting group of islands with pebbly,
sandyand mostly nudist beaches and a rocky sea
bottom, perfect for spear fishing. It is also a
well-known place for navigators.
Opposite Split is the island Solta
with poor vegetation, a steep and well -
indented coast with Maslenica - the main
harbor and anchorage for small boats.
Far from the mainland and its worries is the
island Vis, rich in palm trees, known for
its fishermen, sailors, beautiful nature and
diverse tourist offer.
Southwest is the island Bisevo, of an
area of 6 square kilometers. There are many
caves in 'chiseled' into the steep coasts, among
which 'Modra spilja' stands out with an
above-sea level and below-sea level entrance.
When the sea is calm the light rays that shine
in the cave ibreak n such a way against the cave
walls that the objects and people inside it are
covered in blue and those in the water a silvery
color.
The
Vis archipelago includes the islands
Svetac (Sveti Andrija), Jabuka, Brusnik
and the islands of Palagruza.
Although it's formally known as a peninsula,
Peljesac is indeed like an island, separated
from Korcula by a narrow channel.
Ston and Mali Ston are picturesque towns
that were after Dubrovnik in the
Dubrovnik republic the most important towns.
Oysters and wines: Postup and Dingac from the
Mali Ston bay are famous all over these
parts.
They say that Korcula is an island with
the most legends and monuments and along with
Lokrum and Mljet the Croatian island most
covered with forests. Towards the end of the 13
th century near Korcula there was a naval battle
between Venice and Genoa. Marco Polo, the famous
traveler and travel book writer who was believed
to have been born on Korcula was on the
side of the Venetians. This is an island with
many known towns: Korcula, Lumbarda and
Vela Luka, the knight dance 'moreska'
from the end of the 15 th century, famous
stone-cutters, sailors and ship builders.
Far away out in the open sea is the island
Lastovo of an area of 50 square kilometers,
with an indented pebble coast with sandy beaches
and a few islands on the west and east coast.
The houses on Lastovo are built one above
the other one: each one is entitled to its own
share in the sun, air and the view.
Alongside Peljesac is the woodsy island
of Mljet of an area of 100 square
kilometers. Because of its thick alpine and
stone pine, Karst caves, two picturesque lakes
connected by the sea, many sandy and pebble
beaches, many fishing-grounds rich in fish and
lobsters, the western part of the island has
been proclaimed a national park.
Not many people can determine the color of the
Adriatic sea. Sometimes it's dark blue,
sometimes greenish-blue. The fact is that the
sea, depending on the time of day and the angle
of the sun's rays overflows into a thousands
nuances. However, it is always beautiful and
unique. Out of the 1185 islands and cliffs, one
is definitely your cup of tea. Come and choose
it.
BLUE FLAG / general info
The Blue Flag is a project for preserving the
sea and coast which has been carried out in
Europe for fifteen years now, and includes
beaches and marinas, and from the year 2000 has
extended throughout world.
This project has also been carried out in
Croatia from the year 1997, when the Association
of the friends of nature Our Lovely was
nominated by the Foudation for Environmental
Education in Europe a national coordinator and
carrier of this project in the Republic of
Croatia.
The Blue Flag symbolizes preserved, safe and
pleasant environment for fun, relaxation and
recreation, but it also includes an elaborated
system of managing the resources, and
sustainable development in tourism.
Beaches and marinas, which carry the Blue Flag,
offer quality services, have a clean seacoast,
and are tidy and adequately equipped. The Blue
Flag is not only a symbol of quality and
ecological perseverance, but it also represents
top quality tourism.
This prestigious symbol is awarded only to those
beaches and marinas which meet all
the requirements which are set according to
individual criteria, but have in common the fact
that they always take care of the quality of the
sea and the coast, education and inform the
public about environmental protection, managing
the resources, and the safety and quality of
services.
The Blue Flag is awarded for the period of one
year, and is raised at the beginning of June.
For each year it is necessary to fill the
questionnaire about the criteria in order to
have the license extended.
In Croatia, this project was started in 1997 and
in the very next year only Punat marina met the
necessary requirements. During the year 1999 13
beaches and marinas were awarded the Blue Flag,
and in the year 2006 121 beaches and marinas had
this prestigious proof of cleanness and quality.
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