Rajska plaža (Lopar)

Located in the northeastern part of Rab we have Lopar, and in Lopar we have the largest and most popular sandy beach on Rab: Rajska plaža (Paradise beach). Rajska plaža extends over a length of 2 kilometers, and has been awarded a “Blue Flag” for water cleanliness, quality, and environmental safety. This beach even made it on CNN’s “Top 100 Beaches in the World” list! Rajska plaza has a shallow sea of about 1 kilometer, making it great for children and for families. Due to its popularity, you can expect there to be plenty of facilities and activities on the island to enjoy. Rajska plaža has everything from beach volleyball to water slides, parasailing, and after beach parties. There are also plenty of cafes and restaurants to enjoy.

sahara (lopar)

Another beach located in Lopar worth a mention is Sahara beach, about a 30 minute walk from Rajska plaža on marked trails through nature. Sahara beach is a stunning sandy beach that is also one of the most popular nudists beach in the region. Accessible by car, Sahara is also a great place for adventuring, but not so great for activities. If you’re looking for something with water sports, Sahara is not the place for you. Here you can enjoy peace and quiet, and due to the lack of facilities, be sure to bring your own food and water. This sandy beach is surrounded by a few shrubs where you can find cover for when the sun gets too hot.

ciganka (lopar)

Also based in Lopar facing north we have Ciganka, which actually translates to the English word “gypsy”. One of the three clothing-optional sandy beaches in Lopar, Ciganka is known for its bizarre and unique sand pyramids and other natural formations on the beach. The color of the sea here is emerald green, and there is plenty of room for you to sunbathe on the rocky plateaus that surround the beach. You can reach Ciganka easily by foot or by car, and you’ll be sure to find parking in the nearby pine forest. A very isolated beach with a lack of facilities, make sure you prepare before your day here!

pudarica (barbat)

A beach made for the spectacular views of the Rab old town and even better sunsets, Pudarica beach is located in Barbat in the south of the island. One of the 5 best beaches on Rab island by far, it is characterized by its fine sand granules and its crystal clear sea, Pudarica is easily reached by car (free parking) or by boat. Equipped with fast food, cafes, and toilets, Pudarica beach also has one of the most famous nightclubs on the island: Santos Beach Club (see on map). One of the best parts of Pudarica beach is the “blue lagoon”, located just two bays over from the main beach – be sure to explore the many hidden beaches and bays here!

kandarola (frkanj)

One of the oldest known nudist beaches in the world, we introduce you to Kandarola. Located on the Frkanj peninsula just a short taxi boat ride from the port of the old town of Rab or a short drive from Palit, Kandarola hosted guests such as King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. This beach is one of the best beaches on Rab island and is well equipped with restaurants, beach bars, lounge chairs and umbrella rentals, clean toilets, and showers. Another perk? Kandarola also reserves part of the beach for dogs!

The post The 5 Best Beaches on Rab Island appeared first on Total Croatia.

When you think of cable cars in Croatia, your mind likely goes straight to the one in Dubrovnik, and then to the one which took forever to come to be (and still has its issues), in Zagreb. One takes you up Srdj, and the other up Sljeme. You likely don’t think of Rabac, but you’d be wrong not to!

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, local people in Rabac are quick to point out that they actually had a cable car almost half a century before Zagreb did.

“Ours was for mining. It was nine kilometres long and transported bauxite from the mines down there to the port. It was mostly used a very long time ago, back during the war in Abyssinia,” Rabac locals say, pointing to the Teleferik, a monument to their long industrial history.

“The first tourists to come to Rabac from abroad were Czechs. We even have a part of the forest called “Prohaska”, they also had a summer house here, and I also remember those very first German tourists,” stated Mladen Juričić Fritz (68), a well-known restaurateur from Rabac for Vecernji, before adding:

“I was eleven years old. It was the summer of 1967, and the tourists slept in my childhood bedroom! They were Germans, at that time, looking at their paying power, they were like spacemen for us locals. When they went home, they would take the whole family with whom they were spending the summer – to dinner! Those were the days. Back during that time, my house was the last one above the road, and today there are hundreds around it, there’s hardly any empty land left for building. There was no road then, only four cars in the village – three white sedans and the neighbour’s blue Opel Rekord. Many years later, I drove my wife Mira to the maternity ward to give birth in it,” revealed Fritz.

He also explained how the miners used to come on holiday to Rabac.

It’s cheerful today in Rabac both during the day and in the evening hours. This area’s strong points are certainly its high-category hotels. There’s even a hotel specially designed for children – Maro. There’s also great food in a number of restaurants. In winter there are maybe 1,500 people living in Rabac, and in summer – there are ten more tourists for every resident.

The post Rabac Had a Cable Car 50 Years Before Zagreb appeared first on Total Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Mladen Miletic writes, the story of another interesting investment for the increasingly popular Croatian continental tourism sector comes from Istria. It lies partly on the trail of Leopold Botteri and Siniša Šara, investors in residential villas and the San Canzian settlement.

In the very heart of the gorgeous Istrian peninsula, near the picturesque town of Tinjan, sits the almost untouched village of Banki. The Banko family have lived there for generations. Back at the beginning of the 20th century, Nono Giovanni and his parents often hosted business travellers who stopped there to rest on their way to the coast. The younger generation of the family has now, out of love for local tradition and sustainable development, invested in creating a modern holiday destination that, from this summer season on, will provide its visitors with the environment of truly authentic Istrian village life.

The Banki Green Istrian Village project covers an area spanning ​​three hectares and includes mobile homes with their own jacuzzi and glamping tents manufactured by Adria Home. There are also separate plots for caravans or tents, as well as a large swimming pool, a restaurant and wellness in the common complex.

Preparations for houses with their own heated pool within the Banki Green Istrian Village premises are now nearing completion, and they can be bought and used both for personal needs and for rent. The expected return on capital is 10 to 14 percent, and the rental is taken care of by Effectus Management & Consulting, which manages the Tinjan camp and has many years of experience under its belt from previous projects of a similar nature.

The Banko family, which has already been involved in the entrepreneurial, construction and transport business, invested around six million euros in the entire Banki Green Istrian Village project. This was done by combining their own capital and a loan from a commercial bank, and they expect a return on that investment in 10 to 12 years.

Local architect Slaven Cetina was hired to arrange the space, while Igor Poljanac was in charge of brand strategy and visual identity design. They currently employ 15 people, and for now – all of them are local.

plans for the expansion of the tinjan camp

Keeping the beautiful natural landscape untouched with distinctive elements reminiscent of dry stone walls and paths made of brick, their Banki Green Istrian Village aims to provide a contemporary holiday experience in harmony with nature. The biggest asset that the owners are counting on is peace and quiet, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, even though the village is close enough to the sea for people to enjoy the coast. Much like the nearby OPG (family farm), it’s located in the middle of an old forest full of native trees.

“We want people to come and recharge their batteries with us. We’ve combined greenery with the comfort of houses and attractive tents, as well as the possibility to enjoy wellness and local food. We’re surrounded by bike paths, jogging routes and beautiful walks through untouched nature.

We’re proud of the cooperation we’ve achieved with local food producers, which we plan to intensify, as well as the local materials we’ve tried to use in construction. Our ecological footprint is also important to us, so we have implemented an advanced system for purifying water for irrigation and sanitary needs”, describes the camp manager, Paola Bellini, with pride.

The Banki Green Istrian Village facility will be open this season until the end of November, with plans to expand in future seasons. Those expansion plans include the aforementioned cottages with their own pools, the construction of a shop selling solely local products, a children’s playground and the possibility of a family garden with fruits, vegetables and domestic animals.

The post Banki Green Istrian Village: Investment in Continental Tourism appeared first on Total Croatia.

As Morski/Jurica Gaspar writes, Norwegian legislators want to protect the country’s unique natural environment and stop damage to the marine ecosystem. In Croatia, on the other hand, the picture is quite different indeed. Dubrovnik, like some kind of industrial giant from Bangladesh, has the most polluted air in all of Croatia, and Hvar doesn’t look much better.

Back in 2013, according to data presented by Professor Marijana Pećarević from the Aquaculture Department of the University of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik was the most polluted city in all of Croatia in terms of sulfur oxides in the air. The limit value is 5 kilograms per hectare, and that year Dubrovnik had as much as 31 kilograms of sulfur oxide per hectare. The Croatian air therefore more polluted than Sisak and Slavonski Brod, which are often mentioned in this negative context. A couple of years ago, a cruiser was fined 35,000 euros for the soot it releases, and another was fined 215,000 kuna.

the connection between cancer and exhaust gases

The World Health Organisation presented data on the connection between cancer and exhaust gases from fuel. Recently, ships have been targeted by the organisation because they actually pollute the environment more than vehicles on land.

Previous studies have shown that a cruise ship with three thousand guests on average pollutes the air worse than 12,000 cars, but now it turns out that the situation is incomparably worse. The investigative team of Dispatches from Channel 4 secretly installed pollution measuring devices on one of the cruise ships and came to the result that one such passenger ship pollutes the air like a million cars.

croatian air is being heavily polluted by cruise ships – the stats:

Cruisers, for example, made 627 round trips in Croatia in 2022 and, according to expert estimates, emitted around 672 tons of sulfur oxides, which is 35 times more than the total annual emissions of all registered cars in this country alone. We know that there are around 1.7 million cars currently registered in Croatia. Judging by this scale, that means that just two cruisers emit more microscopic particles responsible for the onset of cancer, asthma, COPD and similar very serious healthcare issues than all of the cars in this country put together.

In Dubrovnik in the middle of summer alone, it often happens that seven cruise ships dock in the city in one single day. People like to reference the likes of Slavonski Brod when it comes to poor Croatian air, but it seems that town is being increasingly overshadowed.

The situation is similar in other Adriatic destinations over in Italy. Venice is now turning away cruise ships, while Croatia is building new ports for them and expanding old ones, as is the case in both Zadar and Split. When anchored in front of any destination in Croatia, particles floating and polluting the air are a severe health and environmental hazard, as well as extremely harmful to the forest, nature and the sea.

norway takes an aggressive stance

In contrast to Croatia and the increasingly polluted Croatian air, the Norwegian Government has taken a much more aggressive stance towards the ban on sailing fuel-powered ships in their iconic fjords. Starting in 2026, only ships powered by alternative fuels, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), will be allowed to visit the fjords. Due to the emission of much more harmful methane, LNG is now a completely different story, but the first step towards the banning of huge chimneys with black smoke has finally been made.

According to the Research Institute of Western Norway, cruise ships in Norway consume around 170 million litres of fuel per year. This represents about three percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the entire country. Most of that harmful fuel is burned out at sea. However, about 30 percent, or nearly 34 million litres, is burned while ships are docked in the port or visiting the fjords themselves.

how much incredible damage do cruisers in croatia do?

How much damage do Croatian cruisers do? Do they result in any benefits whatsoever? Research by Hrvoje Carić from the Institute of Tourism in Zagreb, the author of a paper on the cost and profit from cruise ship landings in Croatia, showed that Croatia suffers almost eight times more damage from tourist ships than it earns from them.

For example, on the figure of about 700 thousand passengers from cruise ships who spent an average day and a half in Croatia, the earnings were about 50 million euros. The cost was about seven times higher – standing at a staggering 350 million euros. This doesn’t even take into account the damage to the formerly clean Croatian air, the environment and human health, which are dozens of times greater and incalculably more expensive.

The post As Norway Cracks Down on Cruisers, Croatian Air is Polluted appeared first on Total Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, thousands of dissatisfied people from the Balearic islands recently protested against mass tourism. Activists and ecologists in the Canary Islands also warned that the local population is being forced to live in their cars, while large tourist operators are “swallowing up” everything. In addition, anti-tourist graffiti such as “My misery = your paradise” has been appearing on the walls of buildings.

As of April this year in Venice, one of the most visited cities in the world, entrance to the old town has come with a cost of five euros in order to at least to some extent stop the endless flow of countless tourists. What is Croatia doing about uncontrolled mass tourism? Back in April, the establishment of the Centre for Sustainable Tourism was initiated, but its implementation is still in its infancy.

This centre will enable the expansion of cooperation between the World Tourism Organisation (UN Tourism) and the appropriate Croatian ministry by establishing a research and development centre for sustainable tourism. The centre will be established as an independent legal entity in cooperation with the academic community, but exclusively public institutions.

Last year’s revenues from Croatian tourism amounted to an enormous 14.6 billion euros, almost one and a half billion more than the year before. While the figures are beyond impressive, they’re almost entirely thanks to harmful mass tourism. Thus far, Croatian experts have expressed their support for the establishment of the centre in principle, but they’ve clearly reserved more detailed assessments for a later time after concrete steps have actually been taken. They are divided on whether a scenario of large-scale Croatian anti-tourism protests by disgruntled locals await us, as has been the case in many other popular destinations.

“I don’t think croatian anti-tourism protests will end up happening…”

“I don’t think Croatian anti-tourism protests will end up happening. I believe that Croatian society has lost its protest character, and on the other hand, the locals mostly live from tourism. Why would they saw the branch they’re sitting on off? What’s the alternative for the local population when tourism contributes about 25 percent to the national GDP? In some coastal and island towns, where the concentration of tourists is even higher, almost every single family earns additional tourism income, and many make their entire living from tourism.

Certain cities that have actively joined the fight against excessive tourism, such as Venice, Barcelona, ​​Palma de Mallorca or Amsterdam, have more tourist traffic than the whole of Croatia. At the same time, their season lasts the whole year, which is mostly not the case here,” said Marko Perić, dean of the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management.

“Mass tourism is already happening in Croatia because we have a large number of guests with lower paying power,” believes Eduard Andrić, president of the Croatian Tourism and Services Union (STUH). “Sustainable tourism plans are mostly only on paper. We can single out some destinations in Istria that are in a position to provide quality tourism, but they’re rare,” he said.

Veljko Ostojić, director of the Croatian Tourism Association, believes that Croatia is country where the topic of sustainable tourism is “on the air” every day, especially after the adoption of the law on tourism and the awareness of “overbooking”. He believes that Croatian anti-tourism protests are not the solution.

the true cost of sustainable tourism

“The implementing acts that should accompany the law on tourism should be the operational and concrete beginning of a series of activities to stop the unwanted and insufficiently professionally planned development of certain destinations. Such issues resulted mostly in the construction of properties being used solely for short-term tourist rentals,” said Ostojić.

However, Croatia was created as a mass tourism destination, notes the director of the Tourism Institute, Damir Krešić. He added that now the country has to gradually transform itself and lean much more towards tourism with high added value. ‘

“The focus of the public shouldn’t be on the number of arrivals, but on the satisfaction of those tourists. Our problem is that sustainable tourism is very expensive. Until sustainable measures are implemented in practice, it will take some time. This is a problem not only of the negative attitude of the local population, but also of the infrastructure. At some point, we’re going to have to metaphorically remove that mass tourism plaster,” Krešić believes.

The post Are Croatian Anti-Tourism Protests Looming? appeared first on Total Croatia.

portic dog beach

This is among the very highly praised Croatian dog beaches and it is in a fantastic location – Peroj. You can read reviews by dog owners and browse images by clicking here. You can also access the address and directions.

pula dog beach

The City of Pula draws crowds from across the world each and every summer, and it isn’t without reason. Pula’s stunning architecture and historic backdrops provide endless entertainment for the curious, and dogs can also have a dip on the sparkling Adriatic should a cooling off period be required. Pula’s dog beach is one of the most well known Istrian dog beaches. The address, directions and reviews can be found here.

cuvi dog beach (rovinj)

Much like Pula, gorgeous Rovinj is absolutely always worth a visit. Your dog is likely to agree, too, when they see the beach they can swim at in Cuvi. Click here for more on one of the most popular Istrian dog beaches.

GIRANDELLA DOG BEACH (LABIn)

Labin is one of those smaller towns dotted around Istria that showcase what this peculiar and beautiful part of Croatia is really all about. The excellent dog beach and its accompanying facilities here also attract glowing reviews. I’m sure if your four-legged friend could read, write and access Google, they’d also leave one of their own. Click here for directions.

bi dog (fazana)

A visit to beautiful Fazana is always worth it. If you’re planning to take your furry friend with you and fancy a dip at one of the most alluring Istrian dog beaches, Fazanas’ popular Bi dog beach is the place for you both.

The post Our Five Favourite Istrian Dog Beaches appeared first on Total Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, one of the most influential tourist publications in the world, Conde Nast Traveler, singled out Šibenik and Kornati as two of the 27 best European destinations for enjoying a summer break in (relative) peace and quiet, as reported by tportal.

“Believe it or not, Croatia is still an option, even though 20 million tourists visited its beautiful medieval cities and extraordinary coastline in 2018 alone. And sometimes it seems as if all 20 million flock there in August, during which the most popular cities are packed to level at which they seem like they could burst,” writes Conde Nast Traveler, before adding:

“A one-day sailing trip around Kornati will bring you scenes of an uninhabited idyllic landscape left to vineyards, orchards and little else, so here – you will get some much-needed freshness.”

The respected Conde Nast Traveler then points out that the Kornati Islands are in the immediate vicinity of the ancient Dalmatian city known as King Krešimir’s town. “A large historical city with a lovely labyrinth of stone as white as chalk”, writes the publication, seeing it placed as a desirable destination on a list that also includes the likes of Bodrum, Zakynthos, the French lakes, Amsterdam, Papua New Guinea Guinea, and others.

We’d be among the first to agree with Conde Nast Traveler that beautiful Šibenik is worth a visit. Here are our ideas should you find yourself there this summer (or at any other time!).

The post Conde Nast Traveler Shines Spotlight on Šibenik & Kornati appeared first on Total Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/VL/Radmila Kovacevic writes, for its 180th birthday, Opatija tourism is getting a new high-end category, under a sound brand. On Thursday, the 5* Keight Hotel Opatija, Curio Collection by Hilton, is set to open boasting an impressive 54 rooms.

The investment of the leading Croatian cruise company, Katarina Line, exceeded a massive 20 million euros. The brand new Keight Hotel Opatija will be managed by Zagreb City Hotels, which successfully manages three Hilton hotels in Croatia: Canopy by Hilton Zagreb City Centre, DoubleTree by Hilton Zagreb and Hilton Garden Inn Zagreb.

The new Opatija hotel, with its beautiful, modern, elegant design of clean lines, is inspired by sailing, the sea and travelling. It’s a proverbial crown of sorts of the career of the owner of the wildly successful Katarina Line, Katarina Hauptfeld. At the same time, Keight Hotel Opatija also pays homage to Opatija’s rich tourist heritage.

“We are delighted to be working with Hilton and that we’re able to introduce the Curio Collection by Hilton brand to the Croatian market. The rich history of Opatija as the cradle of Croatian tourism makes it an ideal location for travellers throughout the year,” stated the director of the new hotel, Davor Kovčalija.

The first guests of the new Keight Hotel Opatija are set to arrive this very week. In addition to classic tourists, the hosts also expect business visitors. The rooms are adapted to the needs of businesspeople, and the hotel has, among other things, a multipurpose space for meetings spanning one hundred square metres. In addition to the pool on the hotel’s roof, guests will have full access to a 25-meter indoor pool, the largest in all of Opatija.

The post Keight Hotel Opatija: Hilton Comes to Charming Kvarner Town appeared first on Total Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Dragana Radusinovic writes, the concentration of both Croatian and foreign tourists who will visit and spend a night in Dubrovnik will grow by as much as 70 percent per square kilometre by 2030. That will make the city of southern Croatia by the most densely populated tourist destination.

dubrovnik overtakes venice

This data comes from an analysis called “The state of tourism 2024” by the well known McKinsey consulting firm. Dubrovnik overtakes Venice, New York, Amsterdam, Paris and Rome in terms of tourist concentration, and McKinsey analysts warn that it is crucial that popular destinations are ready for the growth of global tourism. Dubrovnik tourism issues are far from new, but it seems that things might get worse before they improve.

“Recent satellite data shows that 80 percent of travellers visit only 10 percent of the world’s tourist destinations,” they stated from McKinsey, estimating that the number of travellers and the frequency of their trips will only increase as time goes on.

For Dubrovnik in particular, McKinsey analysts point out in the study that it is an intensively seasonal destination with approximately 20 times more inbound airline seats available for sale during the peak season in July and August than in the off-season in January and February. The density of Dubrovnik holiday rentals can reach around 90 percent of accommodation per square kilometre in the summer.

As a popular destination for Mediterranean cruises, Dubrovnik falls into the highest risk quantile in four of McKinsey’s six categories, despite the fact that it has begun to take significant steps in the fight against overcrowding. The city recently banned new private charter licenses in its historic Old Town district to counter rising rental costs for locals, and cruise schedules are being reorganised to better distribute the flow of visitors.

As for the very many Dubrovnik tourism issues, the level of dependence of the local economy on visitors is key. Then come the sheer density in the concentration of tourists, the overload of the ancient infrastructure and the devastating impact on the environment are considered high risk. The actual visitor experience and the local cultural heritage are actually in the lower risk zone.

dubrovnik tourism issues are similar to those in cancun and marrakesh

McKinsey’s study classifies Dubrovnik, along with Mexico’s Cancun and Morocco’s Marrakesh, among the destinations that are the most seasonally overloaded. That refers to the combination of an extremely high concentration of visitors with very limited possibilities for adequately managing the tourist flow.

Seasonal overload is one of the four archetypes of tourist destinations according to McKinsey’s research. Destinations under increased stress, those currently receiving limited numbers of visitors but showing signs of strained infrastructure, are Los Angeles, Manila and Mumbai.

Actively managed destinations that receive many visitors include Amsterdam, Bangkok and Dubai, while other popular destinations with balanced capacity that receive relatively fewer visitors and have implemented sophisticated tourist flow management systems. These include Abu Dhabi, Lima and Singapore.

McKinsey’s study on the state of tourism in 2024 points out that after a 75 percent drop in 2020, travel is on the way to full recovery by the end of this (2024) year. Domestic travel is expected to grow 3 percent annually and reach 19 billion overnight stays by 2030. In that very same period, international travel is expected to rise to a new historical average of nine billion realised overnight stays.

eastern europe is on the up, but can it manage?

Travel spending is expected to follow a similar trajectory, with an estimated 8.6 trillion US dollars spent by travellers this year, representing roughly nine percent of this year’s global GDP.

McKinsey estimates that most of this spending will go on trips close to home, so the tourism sector should take care of the needs of those travellers who don’t actually come from international destinations. The largest segment of travel after domestic travel is intra-regional, as people tend to make short trips to visit nearby countries.

Although the established source markets continue to represent the anchor of global travel, Eastern Europe, India and Southeast Asia are becoming fast-growing sources of outbound tourism. That is one of the messages of the McKinsey study, according to which, along with permanent tourist favourites, there will be some new destinations on travel maps coming soon.

The post McKinsey Study Looks Into Dubrovnik Tourism Issues appeared first on Total Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, up to the current part of the year, more than 4.7 million arrivals have been realised across Croatia, which is 7 percent more compared to the same period last year. A marked increase in overnight stays (by 5 percent) has also been duly noticed. The most visited cities in the country thus far are Dubrovnik, Zagreb, Rovinj, Split and Poreč.

“The structure of guests hasn’t been changing dramatically, at least not the moment, however, we’ve felt a slight drop in demand for higher-priced properties, which means that guests have become more cautious.

An anomaly is occurring more and more frequently. Would-be tourists find a property they like on the various online platforms then try to call the owner directly. They do this in an attempt to achieve a slightly better price, because they know that the online platform takes a large slice of the proverbial cake in this business. Guests who make up the entire picture of Croatian tourism are currently in an economic situation where they’re still paying quite a bit of attention to the price,” said tourism consultant Đanino Sučić for Studio 4.

“We don’t know how things will be by the end of this summer season, Germany has entered a recession, or stagnation, and so we’re waiting to see how that will affect German tourists and how it will react on the Croatian market. Germany is a very important emission market for Croatian tourism and we have to be very careful with them as a result of that. German nationals are an indicator of how some other similar markets will perform next year,” said Sučić.

The post Croatian Tourism Faced With Curious Accommodation Anomaly appeared first on Total Croatia.