The sea shines like a watercolor painting. The beaches are as white as powdered sugar. If you're on vacation in southern Europe on the east coast of the Adriatic, in Croatia, it's sooo easy to go into raptures.
Good to know: You don't need high heels in Croatia - quite the opposite: comfortable shoes are the order of the day. This makes it much easier to walk through the cobbled, fairytale-like streets of the old town. Clothing should also be practical - after all, after an extensive stroll through the city with a visit to the fortress and basilica, for example in the small town of Poreč (also known as the "thousand-year-old city" because of its buildings), you want to jump into the Croatian Adriatic Sea to cool off.
Croatia: Holidays in the Istria and Dalmatia regions
Local knowledge is important when planning your vacation in Croatia. The Istria region is located around Poreč in the north of the country. Here you will find lovely landscapes that are very similar to Tuscany, idyllic coasts and picturesque coastal towns, as well as oak forests and vineyards known for their truffles. Dalmatia, on the other hand, comprises the east coast of the Adriatic Sea - an endlessly long sunny coastline with many small dreamy bays.
Vacations in Croatia with family-friendly prices
"Our country is full of life and beauty - 356 days a year. What makes it special is that it offers a great variety in a relatively small area," promises Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin. Not bad either: the prices. There are more and more luxury hotels that attract the well-heeled. But you can still get a coffee for one euro, a main course for six euros and a liter of petrol for around 1.30 euros. So a vacation in Croatia is ideal for families.
On the trail of Winnetou
So today we take the car from the small coastal town of Rovinj (also known as the town of romance) and drive around 50 minutes inland - to Hum, the smallest town in the world. Here, 23 inhabitants greet every visitor with a beaming smile. The only restaurant on the square has a stone terrace with a great view of the pine-scented forests. We eat air-dried Istrian sausage on bread and "rozata" (pancakes) - down-to-earth and delicious. Then we get back in the car and head west to Rabac, the much-praised pearl of Kvarner Bay. On the way, we stop at Plitvice Lakes National Park. One of Croatia's greatest sights, the country's most spectacular nature park - and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. "Winnetou's treasure in the silver lake" - we learn that it was here...
It's a dream to drive further down the coastal road: Because here the lush green hills merge seamlessly into a paradisiacal white fine pebble beach. Only a handful of holidaymakers are sharing the bay today. So we finally dive into the crystal-clear sea, swim, let ourselves drift - Croatia is a vacation on the sunny side of life.