With so many fabulous options on offer, finding the best place can be a tricky task, but the European Parliament offered some suggestions to its followers on Twitter this weekend, with a selection of some of the best beaches in Europe to check out.
And there are no surprises to learn that the first beach recommended was from the beach heaven that is Central Dalmatia.
Podrace on the Makarska Riviera was the beach of choice this time, and an excellent one, just one of a range of outstanding beach options along the Makarska Riviera. Take a tour of the beach in the video below, and to learn more about the Makarska Riviera, click here.
Tourism in Central Dalmatia is booming, something which is repeated every month with the release of official tourism figures, and 2017 is set to be the best year on record. But it is not all sea and beach, and one story in particular is worthy of a little more attention.
Imotski.
Tucked away inland close to the Bosnian border, this historic town has as rich a history as many coastal settlements, as well as two of Dalmatia’s most inviting attractions – the Red and Blue Lakes – but its geography was held against the town, and those wanting to visit from the coast could not do so easily.
All that has changed in recent years with the opening of the stretch of motorway from Split to Ploce, and the opening of a tunnel from the coast near Makarska, which has slashed travel time to Imotski to just half an hour for the beach.
Tourists have been visiting in increasing numbers, and locals have been responding in kind. Just the pure statistics are enough to demonstrate the huge change. In 2007, there were just 6 holiday home, 2 with pools, and a total of 2,600 overnight stays were recorded. Last year, a staggering 130 holiday homes (124 with pools) were built, and 47,100 overnight stays enjoyed, a number which looks set to top 70,000 this year and 100,000 in 2018, which the number of houses with pools is now at 156.
No wonder the media is starting to refer to Imotski as the Croatian Tuscany. To find out more about Imotski, click here.
Travel is about new experiences, particularly food, and some of the most interesting tourist destinations have their own indigenous cuisine, which perhaps you might not indulge in back home, but when on holiday…
High on the list of unusual delicacies in Central Dalmatia is the edible dormouse, or ‘puh’ in Croatian. It is hunted and eaten in only three locations in Croatia, two of them in Central Dalmatia – in Dol on Hvar and Dol on Brac. The practice is to grill the dormouse whole, then pick the meat off the bones.
Several years ago, some enterprising locals from Dol on Hvar decided to celebrate this rather unique culinary tradition, and they founded a festival called Puhijada, which celebrated this and several other traditions of this fascinating inland village. It all starts on August 7 – see the full programme below and a video report of a previous Puhijada. For more information about Hvar, click here.
Puhijada – A Festival of Gastronomy, Culture, Sports and Entertainment
Dol, 7th – 12th August, 2017
PROGRAMME
7th to the 12th August The Dol Open Balote (Croatian Bowls) tournament on the Balote court in Dol, every afternoon
MONDAY 7th August at 21:00, in the St Anne’s Parish Church – Exhibition of paintings entitled , “Ča znodu dica“ (“What Children Know”) with musical accompaniment by the D-ante group.
TUESDAY 8th August at 21:00, in the Dom kulture – House of Culture “Vir” A lecture by dr. sc. Mladen Domazet – “Trebalo je samo izdržati- don Ivan Kuničić 1917. -1918.” (It just needed to be endured – don Ivan Kuničić from 1917 to 1918)
WEDNESDAY 9th August at 21:00, in the Dom kulture – House of Culture “Vir” – Presentation of the book “ Dobri naši zahodi“ (“Our Lovely Toilets”) by Damir Carić
THURSDAY 10th August at 21:00, at the Church of Our Lady of the Village – The premiere of the play “Kako se živilo pri” (“How we lived in the past”), from the book of the same name by Zorislav Posinković. Presented by the Petar Hektorović amateur theatre (junior group).
FRIDAY 11th August at 20:00, at the sports ground next to St Anne’s Church – The final tournaments of the “Dol Open” Balota (Croatian Bowls) competition. Afterwards a party organised by the football club N.K “Sloga” of Dol.
SATURDAY 12th August, – in the late afternoon – Puh – Doormouse free climbing, the clowns Bumba and Šarenka – 20:30 – a performance by the children’s kindergarten group “Sardelice” – 21:00 – the presentation of the 13th edition of “Tartajun”(the village magazine) – 21:30 – a performance by the Klapa group Priženca – 22:30 – a performance by the Bravo band from Split – Midnight – the band “Mjesni odbor” from Šolta entertains…
It was quite a party, and many summer memories were collected.
The 5th Ultra Europe Music Festival took place in mid-July once more, and Poljud Stadium was lit up for three nights of electronic music, as Split welcomed over 100,000 music fans from all over the world.
The popular music festival has decided to extend its interest in Central Dalmatia for a few more years, and the dates of Ultra Europe 2018 have already been announced for the Hajduk stadium – July 6-8 in Split, with more information to follow about the traditional follow-up parties on the islands.
Missing Ultra Europe after this summer’s fun? An official Ultra Memories Clip video has been released. To learn more about Split as a destination, click here.
Dalmatia is becoming more famous as a filming destination these days, with Game of Thrones and Mamma Mia just two of the blockbusters set in the region.
Others are taking notice too, and many fashion shoots take place in the pretty bays, coastal stone downs and hilltops of the islands and mainland. And the big car makers are taking an interest as well, especially Mercedes, which recently released a promo video of its new Mercedes E-Class All Terrain, which was shot all over the island of Hvar.
A great commercial for a stunning island. To learn more about Hvar, click here.
