IMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY. MAP: JOHN PLUMER


Croatia ZAGREB Zagorje Pula


Opatije CROATIA N


Kvarner Bay


Plitvice Lakes National Park


100 kms Zadar


ZAGORJE If Zagreb is almost like a country town


pretending to be a capital city, then its hinterland, the Zagorje, is its cottage garden. Tis inland region nestled against the Slovenian border is a slice of 19th-century Europe preserved in aspic, smelling of summer kitchens and newly mown hay. It's a landscape of tiny vineyards, vegetable gardens, orchards and cornfields. Tere are also jumbled hills, woodlands and rivers, sometimes overlooked by crumbling castles, plus villages with no vowels in their name and barely any traffic on their roads.


OPATIJA Finally, there's more traditional,


seaside holidaymaking to be done on Zagreb's nearest stretch of coast. Beyond ferry port Rovinj is the Kvarner Bay resort of Opatija, 90 minutes from the capital, set on a curving coastline that climbs steeply into forested mountains. In the late 19th century, the aristocracy


decamped here en masse as soon as it got chilly in Vienna. Today, Opatija is still the Nice of the Croatian Riviera, a place of old money, with great fish restaurants and private casinos. Te seafront is one long promenade, with a botanical garden, a bandstand and tea rooms. Te Viennese, who were partial to a bit of cake, used to have it sent here by train, and it's still a place to have a sachertorte with a sea view. Some of Opatija’s glorious villas are still


in private hands, but one or two are the dowager duchesses of the hotel world, with high ceilings, faded damask, echoing corridors and the aura of the Orient Express. Staying here is a bit like stepping into the location for a period movie where the cast and characters have just left. And it has that in common with Dubrovnik. Although in many other respects it belongs to a very different world.


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Jauntee’s Best of the Adriatic itinerary includes Rovinj and the Kvarner Bay, with excursions into the Istrian peninsular with its villages and vineyards. It then moves south to the Plitvice Lakes to walk and taste the wild trout, before heading for the sea again at Split. The last part of this 10-day trip is spent on the island of Korcula and in Dubrovnik. From $2,895, not including flights, jauntee.com


Adriatic Travel’s Croatian Rhapsody is a nine-day tour that starts in Zagreb, heads out to Opatija, down to Plitvice, and then hits the coast at Split before traveling down to Dubrovnik. The itinerary places heavy emphasis on wine and gastronomy, as well as cultural visits. From $1,305, not including flights. adriatictours.com


Star Clipper’s Croatia and Montenegro cruise is an eight-day, sail-assisted amble along the Croatian coast and through its maze of islands, starting and finishing in Venice. The grace of these modernized tall ships perfectly suits the setting. From $4,710, not including flights. starclippers.com


Split


Dubrovnik


Maiden with the Seagull statue at Kvarner Bay. Left: Veliki Tabor Castle, Zagorje


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