Kvarner Islands, Croatia
Since the war ended in 1995, visitors to Croatia have greatly increased, but there's a corner that's as yet almost completely undiscovered. Have you been to the Kvarner Islands? Tell us!
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Price
Hotel Zvonimir costs £94 per room per night. Hotel Apoksiomen costs £76 per room per night
We went with:
A free information pack is available from the Croatian National Tourist Office, tel: 020 8563 7979. For more tour operators and information, search the web.
Sample costs
Return flight from Heathrow to Rijeka cost £160 including taxes with Croatia Airlines
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All prices are approximate, and correct at time of original broadcast. Always double-check prices with individual organisations. Please note that the BBC is neither responsible for, nor endorses the external sites shown on this page.
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen headed for the Kvarner Islands in Croatia.
Krk Island
The Kvarner Islands in the northern Adriatic are a new discovery, for the British at least. For the first time, UK tour operators are offering holidays in the Kvarner Islands and you can now fly direct to Krk Island, hire a car and explore for yourself.
Laurence described the island as feeling familiar in a Mediterranean way, but having a particular sense of flavour, which he put down to its history. The ancient Greeks inhabited the islands before the Romans, and after them, the dominant cultural force came from Venice. Then the Austro-Hungarians went over there, followed by the Italians, and eventually, after the Second World War II, Tito brought communism. Each civilisation left its own imprint on the cultural strata that cuts through the islands.
Baska Bay
Baska Bay is a busy family resort with a 2km (1.24 miles) long, eco-labelled 'Blue Flag' beach which has some of the cleanest waters in the Mediterranean. The larger hotels have been smartly modernised with great Croatian efficiency, embellished with pools and health spas. The water is refreshingly clear, the smooth pebbled beach isn't overcrowded, and there are views of lush, inviting green hills on every horizon.
The more adventurous will find 70km (43.5 miles) of designated walking trails. Or you can take just a short stroll from the beach to the tiny church of Santa Lucia. The earliest known reference to Croatia and its ruler King Zvonimir was found there - the ?Birth Certificate? of the Croatian nation.
Losinj
Numerous ferries ply between the islands. Laurence admired the landscape, which he found reminiscent of Scandinavia or the Scottish islands, but with the benefit of sunshine. Losinj's clean atmosphere earned it the title of 'Climatic Health Resort' more than 110 years ago. In the 1880s and 1890s, parts of Croatia became peppered with very ornate villas. The mansions at Chilkat were conceived as retreats, in contrast to the party palaces on the mainland.
Chilkat's architecture is Austro-Hungarian but in the main town and harbour of Mali Losinj, the buildings look more Italianate, influenced by the Venetians who ruled the islands for nearly four centuries. Hotel Apoksiomen is a good example of the current changes occurring in the area. It's a semi-smart hotel from about 1900 that, having slept through most of the 20th century, has now been re-awakened with a 'boutique' designer touch. The Croatians have banned the building of large hotel complexes in an attempt to preserve their culture and to improve the quality of tourism there, not just the quantity.
The clean water that draws visitors to these islands also attracts bottlenose dolphins. The Adriatic Dolphin Project in Veli Losinj is run by the only resident Briton on the island, Peter Mackleworth.
Boat trip: £20 per person for two hours
Verdict
Laurence was impressed with this corner of Croatia, which has a feeling of an undiscovered charm and old world sophistication that's just waiting to be reawoken.
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Have you done this trip, or been to this area of Croatia? Where would you recommend visiting? Have your say...
Travel facts
Best time to go
June to September for the weather. July and August can be particularly busy, September may be quieter and is less expensive.
bbc.co.uk/weather
Approx flight time
Around 2 hours flight time from London
Time difference
1 hour ahead
Visa (with UK passport)
Not required
Embassy of Croatia
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Health risks
Polio, Tetanus, Hepatitis A recommended, Dipheria, Hepatitis B, BCG, tick-born encephalitis and Typhoid recommended
MASTA
bbc.co.uk/health
Currency
Croatian kuna
Check out the latest rates: use our currency converter
Language
Croatian, Serbian, Italian, Slovene
bbc.co.uk/languages
Further Reading
Croatia Tourist Board In Your Pocket Lonely Planet