Stradun, Dubrovnik
Pula
into the southern side of the Lopar peninsula is the appropriately named Paradise Beach, a broad sandy sweep about a mile long. Its sparklingly clear shallow waters make it a favourite with families. Guests wanting a bit more seclusion can take the 30-minute hike through woods on the northern side of Lopar to Sahara Beach, where clothing is optional. Prestige Holidays offers a week’s stay in the Hotel Imperial in Rab Town from £569, including flights, transfers and breakfast. V-shaped Zlatni Rat on the island of Brac conjures up the classic image of a white sandy beach, even if its surface is actually fine pebbles. The vivid blue-green waters lapping this spit of land by the harbour town of Bol draw clients like a magnet. Thomas
Cook has a seven-night break at the Bluesun Elaphusa, a five- minute walk from Zlatni Rat beach along a tree-shaded promenade. Prices start at £591, including breakfast and flights. Pine woods and olive groves
form a fragrant backdrop – and offer plenty of welcome shade – to Brela’s white pebbly beaches on the mainland south of Split. It’s an impressive setting, with Biokovo mountain in the background and views of Brac ahead. Balkan Holidays has a week at the four-star Bluesun Hotel Berulia set in a pine grove above the beach, where prices start at £872 including flights and breakfast.
l BEST FOR . . . CULTURE The Italian influence in Istria’s largest city Pula is unmistakable
66 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 22 January 2015
– in everything from its cuisine to the stately ruins of the 1st-century Roman amphitheatre. The arena, the sixth-largest in the world, hosts Pula’s film festival every summer as well as concerts, opera and dance performances. Thanks to the region’s long history of being under Venetian rule, Pula gives holidaymakers a heady taste of Italy. The quality of the region’s truffles, olive oil, pasta and pizzas holds its own against its Italian neighbour. In a glorious setting on Pula’s Punta Verudela peninsula is the four-star Park Plaza Histria, offered by Classic Collection Holidays. It has its own pebble beach as well as another beach within a five-minute walk. Three-night breaks cost from £405 including flights, private transfers and breakfast. Dubrovnik’s popularity endures
despite the cruise-ship crowds that descend on the city throughout most of the year. Guests find it hard to resist the allure of a walk along the medieval city walls that encircle the old town – a treat best enjoyed in the late afternoon once the cruise ships have sailed on. And the main pedestrianised thoroughfare, Stradun, is a shimmering marble wonder that takes on a different life in the evenings. Fresh seafood appears
on most menus, but look out for deliciously sweet oysters from Mali Ston. Kirker Holidays offers breaks at the three-star Stari Grad Hotel just off Stradun in Dubrovnik’s old town, which has a rooftop restaurant and bar. Three nights cost from £689 including flights, transfers and breakfast. Dubrovnik is an excellent base
for daytime visits to nearby Cavtat, a pretty little village on a peninsula south of the city. Hotel Supetar is in a prime position on the seafront promenade, where seven nights with breakfast through Cosmos Holidays costs from £445 including flights. In sight of
Dubrovnik’s old harbour is Lokrum, a peaceful island that guests can visit by boat.
It’s an enchanting place,
full of wooded trails, gardens and little rocky beaches – and instantly recognisable as one of the locations for the fantasy drama Game of Thrones.
l BEST FOR . . . PARTIES Croatia is rapidly earning a reputation as a home of summer dance music festivals, attracting the world’s top DJs to lively open-air events along the coast. The small fishing village of Tisno, north of Sibenik, has been hosting the Garden Festival since 2006. Although the 2015 edition will be the last one, four other
FAST FACT
Balkan Holidays has added three
seven-day Croatia Island Hopping
tours, from £380 including flights
Brac
Lokrum island
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