Omis is the town of contrasts, both natural and historical. It was founded in ancient history, long before Croats came to this land and grew under steep slopes of Dinara mountain, bounded on the northwest side by the river Cetina, and from south and southeast by the sea. Omis is probably the most diverse Croatian town, and it should be seen as a painting, as a ballad, great entertainment, but also as a threat. It's full of old stories that abound coastal towns whose old historical cores seem to be deciding between life and death, between the full intensity of life, youthful joy, jams, song, rush of foreign tourists, and on the other hand under threatening, but a gentle stone - signs the transience and death.
Visitor here has so much to see. It is difficult to find more extraordinary city in the Adriatic. The center of Omis is made out of stone houses connected with streets and squares where the entire life of the city goes on, like the time has stopped . Above you monumental mountains, divided in half by the Cetina river and its impressive canyon, in front of you crystal clear sea. Big and shallow sandy beach located in the center of the town and just 5 kilometers to the interior, in the canyon of Cetina river you can find green paradise which seems to be hundreds of kilometers from the sea.
Omis Riviera in Croatia stretches for more than 30km. It is known for its numerous, beautiful sandy and pebble beaches and the privacy of the small hidden coves. Omis Riviera includes many picturesque places such as the Duce, Sumpetar, Omis, Nemira, Stanici, Ruskamen, Lokva Rogoznica,Medici , Mimice, Marusici and Pisak . For example, holiday village of Duce has one of the best sandy beach in Croatia. On the western part of the riviera you can also find holiday resorts Sumpetar and Nemira, Croatia which is in fact an suburb of the town of Omiš. For those that seek peace and tranquility, nature and beautiful beaches we can recommend the eastern part of the Omis Riviera, where one can find isolated beaches, located below old villages. There are even beaches 's that cannot be reached by car, but one must use old paths, and yet there are those located in old villages with newly built holiday houses and apartments gravel, in the harbors surrounded by open terraces of cafes and small seasonal restaurants.
If you would like to avoid very beautiful and popular sandy beaches of Duce and Omis which are crowded during the summer season and find your own private cove or small beach, consideration should be given to small beaches around the former fishing and farming villages Stanici,Ruskamen, Lokva Rogoznica, Pisak, Mimice, Marusici and Medici. In Medici one can find streams of hardly accessible series of small gravel beaches, only 10 meters wide, squeezed between the rocks and pine trees. These small beaches are preserved in their natural beauty, protected from northern winds, under the shades of stone boulders and pine trees, and lashed by unbelievably clean and blue sea. Local people call these beaches "love beaches" where young people sought romance and hid from view.
Medici, Marusici and Pisak are also abundant with both small “private” beaches and bigger beaches. Marusici is a small holiday resort, once a farmers village located above the main road, in the foot of Dinara mountain without a port and with the most beautiful cove on the entire area, called Borak, where there are two extraordinary pebble beaches. Further to the east, in the direction of Pisak, you can find several small beaches and two larger ones, Senjska raca and nice pebble beach located below ancient Pisak graveyard, located on the waterfront.
Pisak in Croatia is probably the most beautiful village of Omis Riviera, located by the sea, with an old port – a remnant of once very important fishing port. There in the village center, you can find two very beautiful pebble beaches, and several more further to the east, in the direction of Vruja. In Pisak, there are three restaurants and several coffee bars, located by the waterfront.
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The northern tip of the Pelješac peninsula where it joins to the mainland is situated around 50 minutes ride to the north-west of the town of Dubrovnik , and it normally takes around an hour and a half to drive the narrow route from the mainland to the far western tip where the village of Loviste is positioned . Peljesac is is well known locally for the seafood in the village of Mali Ston , along with the numerous vineyards along the southern seashore fronting the Adriatic , with the most well recognized variety being the Plavac Mali . Add to that two sand beaches , at Prapratno and Trstenica bay in the town of Orebić and other very nice pebble beaches on the southern shoreline , and the peninsula makes a great addition to a trip to either Dubrovnik , Korčula or Mljet .
Your initial stop ought to be Mali Ston , which for a village of its size possesses extraordinary name recognition because of its oyster beds as well as some excellent restaurants that provide fresh seafood harvested naturally in the neighboring bay : restaurant Kapetanova Kuća and restaurant Bota . Both of them are situated in family “castles” ( both of which tend to be more resembling a fort than to a castle ). Other than In private houses , accommodation in Mali Ston can be found in two small hotels : Hotel Astrea and Hotel Vila Koruna .
After tasting amazingly fresh shells and fresh fish , your next interest should be to check out the fortifications of Ston and Mali Ston . Ston was a significant fort of the Ragusan Republic and a large record of its position as a defensive outpost lives in the form of the stone wall structure that surrounds it . Ston’s wall is actually compared to The Great Wall of China and while it doesn’t quite measure up to its Asian counterpart , the walls are a great feat of medieval architecture . The outer wall measures over 5km and extends to Mali Ston ( ‘Little Ston’ ) just over the hill to the north . This massive line of fortification assisted eliminate unwanted visitors from relocating from the peninsula to the mainland and protected the precious salt pans , which are still in operation today and were important source of income to Dubrovnik’s economy . Constructed by the Dubrovnik Republic in the 1300s to protect the salt pans here ( which you will discover to your left as you drive past the walled village of Ston ) , the walls are reputedly the second longest sequence in the world . Regardless of whether this is a fact , but they make a fantastic stroll , with a wonderful view .
The two towers of the Ston Walls had been renewed lately in restoration directed by the Association of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiques which is responsible for Ston Walls . Today , there are only five kilometers of the Walls left as the rest was wrecked in the earthquakes during the 17th and 20th centuries . The walls were reinforced with around 40 towers and 5 forts constructed around Ston and Mali Ston towns at Peljesac Peninsula . Read more about Ston , its walls , saltworks and oysters . Through the restoration , Barabanata Tower has been transformed into art gallery while refurbishment of the Arcimun Tower transformed this tower to happenings venue with video wall and multimedia centre . The walls of Ston were open to the pubic two years ago after quite a few years of laborius work .
Near to Ston , you can find a pleasant cove with lovely sandy beach , called Prapratno . From Prapratno , there exists a ferry connection to the Sobra , on the island of Mljet . Once you leave Prapratno and continue your drive to the tip of the peninsula, you start to enter a possibly unusual beach front phenomenon: vineyards, and lots of them . The peninsula of Peljesac is crawling with them since this is the most famous Croatian wine region . We invite you to visit some of the local vineries, which you will find along the way , like : Vinifera / Frano Miloš vineyards in the village of Ponikve , Matuško vineyards in the village of Potomje , Vinarija Bartulović in the village of Prizdrina and Grgić vineyard overlooking the village of Trstenik , which is tied to Grgich Hills in Napa Valley . If you wish to experience even more narrow roads and even more beautiful scenery , we invite you to take a tour on the wine road is the wine road between Trstenik and Potomje . The road runs through the vineyards cascading down to the sea shore on the southern side of the peninsula , and goes to the 400m long Dingač tunnel connecting the villagers of Potomje to their vineyards on the other side of the hill .
Orebić is the main town on the western tail of the peninsula, with around 2000 inhabitants. It is located across the town of Korcula , separated by the 2 .5 km channel with lots of small inhabited islands – very nice archipelago . From Orebic , there are regular daily ferry connections to the town of Korcula . It takes about 15 minutes to get across the channel - definitely worth it , either to see Korčula's old town up close if you are staying on the peninsula , or to see the spectacular view of the old town from across the water in either Orebić or Viganj . In Orebić , Trstenica bay there is a nice sandy pebble beach lined with pine trees .
Few kilometers past Orebić the village of Viganj is located, with beautiful view looking towards the old town of Korčula . The main reason people visit Viganj are strong , cool western winds that blow in Korcula channel ( and especially in Viganj ) during the summer , which are perfect for windsurfing and kite-surfing – Viganj is one of most popular windsurfing in the entire Adriatic .
We invite you to visit the peninsula of Peljesac, and we are sure you will be astonished by the beauty and unspoiled nature of this astonishingly beautiful piece of Croatian coast. If you are looking for a peaceful holiday, far away from modern lifestyle, and rich with history and local grown foods and wines then we can definitely suggest Peljesac. If you need more information, accommodation or anything else, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.
The island of Korcula is 6th largest island in the Adriatic sea. It is situated in the southern part of the Croatia's Adriatic Coast, between main towns Split and Dubrovnik, with good boat connections to the mainland, which makes it increasingly popular tourist destination among all groups of tourists visiting Croatia - it has something to offer to people with various interests.
For those seeking for cultural sightseeing, we can definitely recommend a visit to Korcula old town, one of most beautiful and preserved old towns on the eastern coast of the Adriatic sea, allegedly the birth place of famous traveler and historian Marko Polo.
Lumbarda is a larger holiday village on the south-east tip of the island, maybe the best place for tourists on the island. Close to Korcula town (4 kms) and ferry port, it has lots of offer for visitors, including many family farms with localy grown food and wine, and with two of the best beaches on the island, Bilin Zal (pebble beach) and Vela Przina (large sandy beach). We can definitely recommend Lumbarda as number one place on the island for families with children. The place is rather small and peacefull, but with very good offer for visitors (there you can find almost anything you need during your stay, and town of Korcula which is the administrative, business and cultural center of the island is just few kilomethers to the west).
It is also worthvile visiting the town of Vela Luka (Eng. transl. Large Harbor), now only a shadow of once largest port on the eastern part of the Adriatic sea, used primarily for exports of wine and other agricultural products from the island of Korcula and other Central Dalmatian islands and coastal towns.
One should definitely visit Blato - the largest town on the island, situated in the interior of the island. The closest setlement on the sea shore to Blato is Prigradica, a small holiday village, with apartments and rooms available for rent.There you can find extraordinary insigt into the past of of the island, its inhabitants and their lifestyle. It is the oldest settlement on the island, and archaeological proof of the continuity of live on this are dates back through Roman, Illiryan and even prehistoric archaeological remains.
In the year of 1910., according to Austria-Hungarian census (Dalmatia was then a province of Austria-Hungarian empire), Blato was 6th most populated town in the entire Dalmatia, but due to grape phylloxera (a pest of grapevines) a massive exodus to countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, USA, Brasil, etc. occured, decimateing the population of the town and entire island. For example, just in year 1925, more then 1200 residents of town Blato left their island for good.
It is interesting to mention that world famous footballer Diego Maradona is of Korculan origin - his grandmother, Salvadora, is of Croatian descent, her maiden name is Cariolichi (Kariolic), her father Mateo Kariolic emigrated from Korcula in the end of the 19th century. Diego named his oldest daughter Dalma, after Dalmatia, an historinc province of Croatia in which the island of Korcula is situated.
Dalmatian economical emigration played a very important role in the colonization of South America and Oceania, ant there are many more interesting stories like this about "El mano del dios" Diego Maradona, which we will later present to you in a new article (for example Dalmatian Māori in New Zeland or Patagonian indian chiefs with Dalmatian surnames ).
Croatia, in comparison with other European countries, has a high level of conservation of nature and particularly highlights
preservation of ecosystems and habitats, the country is to a large biological and landscape diversity. Reduction
and the degree of diversity undermines the ecological balance, so you can say that the global threat
plant and animal species, and the man.
The greater our responsibility for what we leave to future generations and, therefore, sustainable development in economic,
environmental and sociokulturnom sense element becomes thoughtful action in most countries.
Sustainable, or considerate development within the predicted life prihvatnog capacity of the environment, therefore, the extent to which
ecological system can accept various human activities and exploitation of resources without permanent damage to the system and
quality of life of people.
Reducing pressure on the environment can be achieved by the synergy of social, political and market activity, and we
, in this case, an important joint involvement in the preservation and proper use of resources in tourism. Just
Therefore, sustainable tourism is ecotourism with a link that creates a new category of responsible travelers. Ecotourism
means responsible tourism for their orientation in a coordinated relationship between man and nature, but also because the
part of the profits from it is used for environmental protection.
In the Croatian tourism in recent years made great progress, but still need to invest in the development,
and especially in improving the quality of products and services, and promotion of well-preserved environment and recognition
Croatian as a tourist destination that, along with the existing protection measures, particularly the coastal belt, is developing high-quality
original tourist facilities.
Our country is rich in diverse natural and cultural values, but also interesting and oenological
and selection of food by region. Tourists recognize the difference between Dalmatia, Slavonia, Zagorje and
another of our kitchen. Native delicacies of our cuisine are known and in demand, especially in the catering
offer rural tourism. Therefore, in recent years in Croatia, except for rest and relaxation, more coming
for fun, enjoying the food and drink, and all those interested in more cultural sites and preserved natural environment.
Access to the principles of sustainable tourism development accords with the generally accepted principles from which it derives
a series of international conventions, such as the protection of biological diversity which is the Republic of Croatia joined the
in early 1997. year. Croatian Parliament therefore adopted a Declaration on the Protection of the environment in which,
among other things, states: "The Republic of Croatia in the world recognized as a country extremely rich and varied
natural values, such as the coast and islands, fertile soil, water and waterways, indigenous forests and numerous
unique and world-renowned beauty, decides to sustainable economic development based on opstojnoj
agriculture and forestry, marine and tourism industry and the economy based on environmentally admissible
technologies.
Consequently, alternative forms of tourism - such as rural tourism, ecotourism or nature of the Middle
- Experienced a boom. According to recent research, growing three times faster than classical
mass tourism and it is expected that their share of the tourism market in Europe in the next 20
years will be greater than 20 percent.
One response to new challenges and one of the ways to ostarivanje values on mijenjajućim
market preference is to invest in small-scale forms of tourism that are based on a single
natural and cultural heritage and promote them.
Croatia has an ideal position to best exploit these new opportunities. Many
future tourists, it is relatively "new" destinations, has an extremely varied landscape and rich
biodiversity, as well as many active cultural traditions. From the dense green flood plains
in Slavonia to the peaks of Velebit, the idyllic rural landscape of Istria to the dramatic
Dalmatian coast and islands all over the fragrant calm Adriatic - Croatia offers something for
everyone's taste.
Places such as Plitvice Lakes National Park have been benefited from the growing interest in
ecotourism and offer unique, but safe and accessible nature experience for hundreds of thousands of tourists
each year. It is encouraged and many small family farms to the development of local tourist
Product (rental accommodation, restaurants ...) that are based on natural resources.
But I do not have all the initiatives in ecotourism will be a large scale. Moreover, most of the activity is
a much smaller scale and localized, but even this segment is flourishing across Europe
due to the increased interest in ecotourism.
Accommodation Ruskamen, Croatia