One of my favorite places in Split, that opened this summer, is Bepa. It is basically a seafood fast food. It is based on local seafood tradition but one can also get a quality pršut sandwich or, like at this very moment, to have an interesting pumpkin dish or two. Unusual but quite interesting and quite…
Category: Dalmatia
Veli Rat Lighthouse
Veli Rat lighthouse is one of the most iconic places on all of the Croatian coast. Dugi Otok island is (to me) the most beautiful of all of our islands but it lacks press coverage, good accommodation options and more historic towns to have travelers visiting. Of course, the peak season is crazy but that…
Sv. Jure of Biokovo
Makarska and its riviera are rarely on my radar. We have no guests ever going there and I find other areas far more interesting. However, it is quite a lovely seaside town with nice beaches located just bellow the impressive Biokovo mountain. Biokovo is a unique mountain. There aren’t many mountains in the world that…
Aerodrom Vis
This past summer I spent quite a bit of time on Vis and what to do but to explore and enjoy this spectacular island. One of my favorite discoveries was Aerodrom. It is gostionica or some sort of inn but now that term is rarely used as it is now almost archaic. Now you have wine…
In search of an elusive olm
The olm (Proteus anguinus) was always one of the animals I wanted to see. It lives only in this part of the world but it is rarely seen by people as it lives underground. It can only be found in the karst caves starting from Soča near Trieste all the way to Hercegovina. It rarely gets…
Okljucna village and Kraljicina spilja cave
I have been reading about Kraljicina spilja cave (Queen’s cave translated to English) for a while now but never had the time to visit. It is the largest cave of Vis island and it is located on a fairly inaccessible part of the western coast close to Okljucna village. Yesterday we had some extra time…
Beaches of Vis Island – Sandy Smokova beach
Vis is generally known as one of the most beautiful islands of Croatia. Culture, history, food, beaches…all that makes Vis Island a very special destination. There are several very popular beaches on the island (Srebrna, Stončica, Grandovac, Stiniva…to name just a few) but some are only accessible by a boat as the coast of Vis is…
Restaurant Apolon, Stari Grad, Hvar Island
Recently, we have been invited to inspect Hotel Apolon in Stari Grad on Hvar Island. It was a pleasant surprise over a year ago when I first visited but, what intrigued me even more, was the restaurant that everyone was raving about. So, we used the opportunity to visit and taste some of their favorites. There…
Underwater archaeology in Croatia (with Secret Dalmatia)
Over a year ago, I was talking to my good friend Mato Ilkić, an archaeologist with Zadar University and authority on antique coins and underwater archaeology, how there is so much to discover and not enough funds. With our economy in gutter, archaeology gets only peanuts… There are excavations of course, but very limited. It…
Buhač or amazing Dalmatian chrysanthemum
Now this is one amazing flower! Buhač is its the name in Croatian or, in English, Dalmatian chrysanthemum If you want to test a local on his/her knowledge on Dalmatia and looking for a good question, just ask them what Buhač is and if they an recognize it in the wild. So what is so special about…
Kraljeva peć, Dugopolje – King’s Cave
Few weeks ago I heard about the King’s cave near Dugopolje from Mr. Tonči Radja and I immediately accepted the invitation to go there and visit. There are thousands of caves and pits in Dalmatia alone but it is hard to find them. Really hard. Even a cave of this proportion! Kraljeva peć or King’s…
Hercules of Brac – in search of ancient quarries
Few weeks back, a friend of mine organized a group to go to Brac Island and learn more on the Roman quarries of Brac. The group was led by an authority on Roman quarries, Dr. Mate Parica who is THE person to go to if interested in ancient quarries. Not only that he has seen the…
Dalmatian pyramid
No, this is not a new discovery in line with “Bosnian pyramids”. This is just a possible explanation of a mysterious pyramid first drawn on a 1570 map that was based on an older map by Šibenik native Martin Kolunic Rota who one of the most significant graphic artists of the second half of the…
Villa Ruza Restaurant – Kolocep Island, Dubrovnik
Villa Ruža has been on the list of top Dubrovnik area restaurants for some time now. It is located on the island of Koločep and not easy to get to unless you are chartering a boat or having a private motor boat transfer to the island. But, it is a stunning place worth visiting and…
Spring is coming – Zrmanja and Dobarnica rivers
We have been blessed with very warm winter this year with temperatures rarely (or never) dropping bellow 5 Celsius. We also had rain. A LOT of rain. Ans even that seems like an understatement … In fact, we had so much rain that most of the rivers and springs were at their all time maximum…