Croatia has had a barnstorming couple of summers, with everyone from Sunday Times readers to Lonely Planet scribes voting it their number-one, absolute favourite for a Mediterranean escape. But even if you've visited in the past year or two, it's unlikely that you've done the place justice just yet.
Seen Dubrovnik? Then look to inland Istria, terra magica for the Romans, terra incognita for foreigners. Done Brac and the islands? Then you really ought to try the rugged wine country of the Peljesac, or sleepy Vis, which are only just waking up to tourism. There are pristine highlands where bears roam and griffon vultures soar; and there is continental Croatia, as picturesque as an eastern European folk tale.
Lately, strong balance sheets and competition from stylish, family-run guesthouses have emboldened the country's resort hotels to rip away the spirit-sapping decor of socialist Yugoslavia. Croatia has banned the cement mixer from its shores and begun to get to grips with fancy French words such as boutique and gastronome.
Not everything is new, of course. In a nation bequeathed the legacies of Romans, Venetians and Hapsburgs, many long-standing attractions remain: mazy medieval towns, a glittering constellation of islands washed by super-clean seas, sensational diving and the charmingly unfussy lifestyle that sees Croatians decant home-made plonk into old pop bottles, rustle up their rustic konoba cuisine and sing sentimental klapa after a few rakijas.
All package prices are per person, based on two sharing, and include flights from London. Contact the operator for details of regional or Irish departures
CROATIA FOR FAMILIES
FLAVOURED with equal pinches of the Balkans and the Med, Croatia's cultural stew is as rich as its heavenly brodet fish supper. For children, it promises an adventure familiar and exotic in equal parts.
They get hot summer days as seductive as in any holiday daydream, packed full of seaside fun. They get unfussy menus of charcoal-grilled steaks and fresh fish or rustic-style pizza and pasta. But they also thrive on the strange summer festivals staged in every resort and village, whether it's the gentle bonhomie of a fishermen's gathering or the wide-eyed spectacle of a boisterous medieval pageant. And just like it says on the adverts, Croatiais the Med as it used to be, an idyll of yesteryear safety where young ones can be let off the leash.
RESORT BEACHES
Once you've got them used to the idea of fine shingle or smooth pebbles, kids and the Croatian coast are made for each other. It's got the cleanest shallows in the Med, and even the most popular family resorts tick along at the hazy, lazy pace of bygone childhood summers - though nowadays they also offer adrenaline-pumping watersports to keep the PlayStation generation on its toes.
Go independent: the Romans had to swat aside Illyrian tribes, and Josip Broz, aka Tito, had to commandeer a presidential island. These days, Istria's west coast is easier to discover - simply base yourself in Rovinj, the region's pin-up resort, and prepare to discover an old curiosity shop of medieval mummies, Byzantine mosaics and jaw-dropping antiquities that really help history come alive for kids.
Rovinj is a little piece of Venice wafted east - perhaps because Venice used to own the place. And since it's your holiday too, stay at the romantic Hotel Angelo D'Oro (00 385-52 840502, www.rovinj.at), where antiques and oil paintings are as standard as air-con. The restaurant is marvellous, as is breakfast on the terrace. A suite for four costs £297, B&B, per night in peak season; doubles are £150, plus £37.50 for a child (3-11) sharing.
Giddy with holiday fever, Edward VIII removed the royal trunks when he visited Rab with Mrs Simpson. The lushest of the Kvarner Gulf islands still stimulates all the senses, whether on sandy strands or in the medieval town, with its mellow ivory-stone buildings. The friendly, family-run Istra (51 724134; £21pp, B&B, in high season) is well placed for both, with an old-fashioned sense of hospitality and no time for modern fads such as satellite television or DVD players in its bright rooms. Your teenagers will thank you for the harbour location - taxi boats shuttle to a beach where club beats bang till dawn.
Go packaged: villagey Brela is a cut above the sizzling fleshpots of the Makarska Riviera, and proud owner of a beach that Forbes magazine ranked Europe's finest. It is worth paying a little extra to wake up to views of the fabled strand at the renovated Marina Hotel, just above the shore. It encompasses tennis courts, mini-golf, a games room, a kids' club, a gym and a spa; should your demanding pipsqueaks tire of the usual beach pursuits, river-rafting, horse riding and cave-based nightclubs are close at hand. The versatile Croatia specialist Bond Tours (01372 745300, www.bondtours.com) has a week's half-board in mid-July, including that all-important seaside balcony, for £639 (£519 per child under 12).
Alternatively, idle on an island. Perhaps Brac, where the fishing village of Bol was sinking quietly into its dotage until everyone suddenly twigged that it had one of the most beautiful beaches in Croatia, not to mention a cliffhanging medieval hermitage and caves carved with dragons to explore. For antiquities and boutiques, head for Split, a mere catamaran hop from the island.
The family-friendly Riu Bonaca Hotel shouts fun, fun, fun, with sport and craft programmes, entertainment and discos to keep all ages happy. An all-inclusive week for two adults and two children costs £3,403 in mid-July, with Balkan Holidays (0845 130 1114, www.balkanholidays.co.uk).
REMOTE BEACHES
Croatia probably has more miles of pristine seashore than anywhere else in the Mediterranean. For families, though, it's important to choose the right spot - even children can get bored with playing around on the beach after a while. If you know where to look, there are gentle villages and crowd-free strands within day-trip distance of the star destinations.
Go independent: Medea, misty-eyed with love for the fleece-filching Argonaut Jason, hacked off her brother's limbs to create the islands of Cres and Losinj. But don't let that put you off. These outposts of the Kvarner Gulf are perfect rustic idylls, complete with bottlenosed dolphins offshore and rare griffon vultures wheeling overhead.
Snuggled in fragrant woods, the four-star Villa Favorita (00 385 51 520640, www.villafavorita.hr) keeps everyone happy. It was once a Hapsburg holiday home, and its little luxuries (including a health spa) hold lots of appeal for adults. And if the kids get bored with the private beach, an amiable resort with watersports is a short stroll away. Plush doubles cost £104; it's £26 for a child's bed in the room. Fly to Pula and catch the ferry to Mali Losinj.
Go packaged: a pocket-sized Dubrovnik, Korcula town is as romantic an example of the medieval Med as you'll find, and an excellent base for discovering the secret coves of the rugged Peljesac peninsula. If you get bored with sitting on a beach, hang out with the surf bums at Viganj or paddle a canoe on Mljet.
Water babies can splash about outside the front door of Villa Adriatic in sleepy Lumbarda, home to the best sandy beaches on the island and just five miles from town.
It is a stone tower topped by a terrace with glossy-brochure views, and sleeps four in two bedrooms. Croatian Affair (020 7385 7111, www.croatianaffair.com) offers the villa for £569pp (£554 per child aged 2-11), including car hire and flights.
Then there is Dubrovnik itself, a time-warp city of clear stone and crisp light. It's so bewitching and sophisticated that everyone forgets it offers lots for little ones, too. They can march on the medieval walls, pet the sharks in the aquarium or hunt ghosts on the haunted islet of Lokrum, just offshore.
For the beach, though, you need to grab one of the regular ferries to car-free Lopud, a tiny treasure island scattered with ruins for your intrepid Jim Hawkins to discover. Here, Tapestry (020 8235 7800, www.tapestryholidays.com) has the hobbity hideaway Mala Kuca, an adorable stone cottage for four that's small in stature but big on beach-shack charm. Its terrace is ideal for fish suppers. A week's self-catering costs £739pp in July or August (£939pp for two weeks).
BEYOND THE BEACH
The Romans liked Croatia's coast so much, they didn't bother exploring any further. Your offspring may also get wriggly without a fix of salt water - but choose carefully and you can have the best of both worlds. In inland Istria, beaches are never far away, while the stupendous gorges of Paklenica are an easy drive from the central Dalmatian coast. Or look for a two-centre deal, combining time by the sea with a week among the folk tales that fill Zagreb's back garden.
Go independent: when life got too hot in the Caribbean, the corsair Captain Morgan is said to have dropped his hook in the Limski Kanal. He has given his name to Captain Morgan's Villa, a rustic-chic bolt hole that sleeps eight. It is within easy striking range of Istria's careworn hilltop villages - arty Groznjan, famous Motovun and Hum, the smallest city in the world. The only problem you'll have is leaving your digs - especially the idyllic walled garden and pool. A week in July or August costs £2,250 for the whole property, excluding flights, through Vintage (0845 344 0460, www.vintagetravel.co.uk).
Alternatively, bury yourself deep in the Istrian countryside for a few days. Dol (00 385 52 684625), a working farm near Pazin, marks time according to the age-old rhythms of agricultural Croatia. Basic ensuite rooms for two cost £23, horse riding is extra, and waterfalls for the wee ones are free. Dinner (optional) is prepared from whatever's freshest. Fly to Pula.
Both the national anthem and the nation's poets salute continental Croatia as the wellspring of the country's soul. Its scenery comes straight from the pages of a folksy fairy tale. Kids love the Zagorje, with its enchanting thermal pools, its castles and its appetite for gingerbread love hearts. Adults get to explore the wine country of the Medjimurje, near baroque Varazdin, and shop for naïve-art souvenirs in the artists' village of Hlebine.
Bed down at the newly renovated Regent Esplanade in Zagreb, a belle-époque beauty fit to stage any Agatha Christie whodunnit. The epitome of class, the hotel lays on baby-sitters so you can have a night on the tiles. Croatia for Travellers (020 7226 4460, www.croatiafortravellers.co.uk) has a week's B&B in a double room from £578pp, including car hire.
Go packaged: in the 1960s, the river cataracts of the plunging Korana, Mreznica and Zrmanja valleys starred in the best bits of the German Winnetou westerns. Hidden Croatia (0871 208 0075, www.hiddencroatia.com) has a Land of Waterfalls itinerary here, in the Unesco-listed Plitvice Lakes National Park.
Led by Croatian guides, you dip a paddle in pristine canyons, push your pedals around lovely lakes or just lounge by your shingle-roofed two-bedroom cottage, lulled by the music of cascading water. An eight-day programme, suitable for anyone over 10, costs £625 (£565 for under-14s sharing the parents' room), including two meals a day, all equipment and transfers from Zagreb.
Divided between pleasant resorts on the island of Hvar and the Makarska Riviera, the two-week Adriatic adventure offered by Activities Abroad (01670 789991, www.activitiesabroad.com) ticks most children's holiday to-do list. They'll take scuba lessons, kayak around the walls of Dubrovnik, even leap from a waterfall into a river canyon. For ages eight and up, it is led by local guides. Mum and dad can opt for relaxation by the pool. The basic high-season price is £1,125 (£950 for under-12s), which includes transfers, half-board accommodation in modest hotels and transport to the activities.
If that sounds too hectic, how about ghosting across the sea in search of bottlenose dolphins, then plopping over the side of your yacht to snorkel in a pristine bay? Croatia's unspoilt coastline is a siren call to sailors, and Sunsail (0870 777 0313, www.sunsail.com) offers both skippered and bareboat charters. According to George Bernard Shaw, the Kornati National Park archipelago was crafted from God's tears, stars and breath: a week there, on a four-berth vessel, costs £ 999pp in high season (£700 per child for under-12s). Non-sailors will need a skipper (£80 per day).
CROATIA FOR ADULTS
The Dalmatians call it fjaka - a deliciously indolent mood of pure contentment that has no equivalent under the damp grey skies of northern Europe. Without offspring to entertain, you can almost stick a pin in the map to indulge yours.
Boutique is the buzz word in this newly independent country that has vowed to preserve what it's got. For the first time in living memory, island populations are increasing, as granny's cottage is refashioned into a rustic-chic retreat. Chefs have cottoned on to the new mood of indulgence, too, bringing a gourmet touch to the simple goodness of Croatian cuisine.
Free from the straitjacket of school holidays, you can pick and choose when you go. Visit for the summer festivals by all means, but don't forget September and early October, when the sea is at its warmest and the pace of life shifts down from top gear to idle.
RESORT BEACHES
Three thousand years of tourists have adored the Adriatic's east coast, leaving behind architectural hand-me-downs that Croatia uses for everyday wear. You can opt to do nothing more than top up your tan here, but even the resort beaches come with culture.
Go independent: during the Renaissance, Hvar town was the golden child of the Venetian east Adriatic. Today, it is the chicest resort on Croatia's sunniest island.
Until the Palace Hotel has its makeover in 2007, stay at the luxury Meneghello complex (00 385 21 717270, www.palmizana.hr), just offshore on the islet of St Klement. Porthole windows add quirky character to its cheerful split-level villas, all with terraces screened from prying eyes by clambering cacti and fragrant pines. They sleep up to six and are only moments from the best beach in the region. There's also a top-notch restaurant, if the five-minute boat hop into town is too long for you. With Adriatic Holidays (01865 516577, www.adriaticholidaysonline.com), a week in mid-June starts at £751, B&B, including transfers from Hvar, but not flights. Fly to Split, then get the ferry/catamaran to Hvar town.
In the stampede to the islands, everyone overlooks the south Dalmatian mainland, with its spread of Unesco-listed heritage sites: Emperor Diocletian's retirement home in sassy Split; enchanting Trogir; the Renaissance cathedral in Sibenik; and the burbling water wonderland of Krka. All these are within easy reach of the lush village of Okrug Gornji, spreading behind "Copacabana" beach.
Croatia Gems (0871 855 1031, www.croatiagems.com) offers two villas here: Villa Kairos, which sleeps eight in two luxury apartments full of streamlined dark-wood furniture, with a terrace made for sundowners; and Pebble Beach, sleeping 10, and more modestly accoutred, but with jaw-dropping views from its seashore spa bath. Prices for a week in June are £1,150 and £1,875 respectively, excluding flights to Split.
Go packaged: for all the guidebook gush about Opatija, the favourite resort of Hapsburg grandees, its little sister Lovran is the place where James Joyce procrastinated over coffee, and Isadora Duncan found inspiration in fluttering palm leaves. You can almost smell the moustache wax in Villa Astra, a classy neogothic mansion with a modern wellness centre and yoga space - small wonder a Russian mafioso begged to buy it at any price. If you can tear yourself away from lazy days at the poolside, day trips abound: to Pula for antiquities; or to Cres for rustic charm by the cartload. Holiday Options (0870 420 8372, www.holidayoptions.co.uk) has a week for two in June for £1,029pp, B&B, including transfers.
Girdled by medieval walls, Korcula is the ideal small town. Day-trippers swoon over its romantic looks, but those who dawdle discover its secrets. Tapestry Holidays (020 8235 7800, www.tapestryholidays.com) is the sole operator with beds in the old town: its Jasnas House apartment has nice boutiquey touches and three bedrooms with views to the harbour. Just across the bay is Croatia's wine country, the Peljesac peninsula, while Mljet, a pine-clad nature park, is an easy day trip away. The price is £729pp per week (£969pp for two weeks), including transfers from Dubrovnik.
REMOTE BEACHES
Croatia has 1,185 islands on which to seek your own private piece of heaven. Once on them, stress melts like ice cream: mass-market tourism is no more than a rumour, and nightlife generally means the evening korzo, followed by fresh seafood beside a harbour whitewashed with moonlight. Catch them while you can.
Go independent: if your priority is to forget the hurly-burly of home, the Kornati Islands are the last word in escapism. Put yourself in the hands of local travel agents Kornatturist (00 385-22 435854, www.kornatturist.hr) or Atlas (20 442222, www.atlas.hr) and play Robinson Crusoe in a two-bedroom fisherman's cottage. A week in June starts at £340 for the property, including boat transfers. Fly to Zadar, then take a bus to Murter town.
Or commandeer a lighthouse. Adriatica.net (020 7183 0437, www.adriatica.net) offers simple apartments for four on mythic Palagruza - Croatia's outermost speck, and the final home of Odysseus's pal Diomedes. A week starts at £557 for the property, plus £258 for a speedboat transfer. Fly to Dubrovnik or Split, then take a bus or ferry to Korcula.
Vis was settled by both the Greeks and the Romans, who left behind the ruins of ancient Issa and vines that cultivate a sensational local plonk. Stay in Komiza, as picture-postcard pretty as Croatia gets. The one-bedroom studio apartments at Villa Nonna marry contemporary style to the local antique charm. Each has a kitchen, satellite TV and a tiny, sun-drenched balcony for your morning coffee. A week in June costs £659pp through My Croatia (0118 961 1554, www.mycroatia.co.uk), excluding flights. Fly to Split, then take the ferry to Vis.
Never mind the Balearics, how about Pag? In July and August, Zagreb's superclubs decamp to Croatia's answer to Ibiza for dusk-till-dawn dancing on Zrce beach. The owner of the Kalypso club has created Boskinac (00 385 53 663500, www.boskinac.com), set in a verdant valley close (but not too close) to the pumping, thumping beach bars. Effortlessly classy, it is elegant yet friendly, and its top-notch restaurant is the island's finest. Double rooms cost £102 in the clubbing season; fly to Zadar, then take a ferry to Pag.
BEYOND THE COAST
Croatia begs you to stop being so lazy and explore. Successive empire-builders have left a cultural legacy as rich as anything in the Mediterranean, and the interior is a minor Eden of pristine highlands. And then there's Istria. The heart-shaped locket at the Adriatic's throat is full of tumbledown agritourism properties in medieval hill towns - the best-kept foodie secret in Europe.
Go independent: Istria is Tuscany without the crowds, all hill towns, frescoed chapels and rude, rustic good health. It's also a slow-food stronghold, whose truffles and wines kept the Roman Empress Livia fighting fit until she was 82.
My Croatia (0118 961 1554, www.mycroatia.co.uk) offers tasters of both on its seven-day, self-guided Gourmet Istria tour; £1,085pp, including meals (with notes) at the finest rustic-gourmet addresses and trips to markets with top-notch chefs, as well as lots of time to lose yourself in the region's timeless landscapes (a hire car is provided). Accommodation is country-manor style; wine flows for free. Flights (to Pula) are not included.
Cocooned in hush at the end of a dirt track, the restored farmhouse Stancija Negricani (00 385 52 391084, www.stancijanegricani.com) is what happens when agritourism's charm meets a hotel's little luxuries. The easy-going owners, who encourage you to raid the fridge at will, have created a nine-room hotel-home of rough beams and stone walls, furnished after a rummage through granny's attic. A restaurant rustles up seasonal Istrian home cooking, and there's a pool for lazy, languid days when only cicadas disturb the peace - some guests never get any further. Doubles start at £52 in summer; fly to Pula.
Go packaged: it was Byron's "pearl of the Adriatic"; paradise on earth for George Bernard Shaw. Dubrovnik is at its fizziest during its summer arts festival, and the Pucic Palace offers elegant five-star rooms and a location in the thick of the action. Hotel Stari Grad is nowhere near as glam, but you'll spend most of your time outside, feasting on both views and breakfast on the finest rooftop terrace in town. The Croatia specialist Bond Tours (01372 745300, www.bondtours.com) offers both hotels: a week's B&B in peak season starts at £1,709 and £759 respectively.
For one week only in October, Dr Ffiona Gilmore Eaves will be poring over the cultural gems between Dubrovnik and Split in the company of 20 or so history buffs. Her tour costs £1,895, which covers four-star accommodation, transport and museum entry, through Martin Randall (020 8742 3355 www.martinrandall.com).
Or you can dig even deeper with the Croatian prehistory expert Dr Preston Miracle, unearthing the neolithic, Bronze Age and early Christian relics - as well as the too-good-to-miss Roman sites - that lie between Pula and Dubrovnik. A week in September costs £1,650, all-inclusive, through Andante Travels (01722 713800, www.andantetravels.co.uk).
Headwater (01606 720199, www.headwater.com) offers a Contrasts of Croatia itinerary that explores the bits most tourists never see. Taking mule tracks and forest paths on seven-mile day hikes, you'll visit the Plitvice lakes, traverse the Velebit mountains (home to both griffon vultures and Croatia's "good fairy") and tackle the sublime limestone gorges of Paklenica. The 11-day trip costs £1,199pp in June, including guide, meals and three-star accommodation. James Stewart is the author of the Cadogan Guide to Croatia, to be published in April at £12.99
THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO GETTING THERE AND AROUND
GETTING THERE
The first direct no-frills flights linking the UK and Croatia start on March 27, when Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com) launches services between Luton and Zagreb; from £64 return. From May 1, it will also fly to Split; from £76. In summer, Croatia Airlines (020 8563 0022, www.croatiaairlines.hr) flies from Heathrow to Rijeka, Split and Zagreb; from Gatwick and Manchester to Pula, Split and Dubrovnik; and from Nottingham to Split. Prices start at £110. Or try British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com), from Gatwick and Manchester to Dubrovnik, and from Gatwick to Split; or Flyglobespan (0870 556 1522, www.flyglobespan.com), from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Pula.
For the Istrian peninsula, consider flying Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) to Trieste, then taking a bus to Pula (four times daily) or Rovinj (twice daily); or head to Ljubljana, in neighbouring Slovenia, with EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) - there are two trains to Zagreb per day.
Holiday Options (0870 420 8372, www.holidayoptions.co.uk) offers seat-only fares on its charter flights from Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol and Norwich to Dubrovnik, Pula and Split; from £129. Or try Charter Flight Centre (020 7854 8434, www.charterflightcentre. co.uk) or Just the Flight (0870 758 9589, www.justtheflight.co.uk).
GETTING AROUND
Ferries are bargain-priced for foot passengers, with journeys as enjoyable as the destination. In summer, there are frequent sailings to the islands from Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar, Rijeka and Pula.
Foot-passenger fares cost £2-£4; expect to pay £19-£28 for a car. Unless you're sailing in the last week of July or the first two of August, it's a safe bet for those with a car to buy a ticket at the quay and take the next sailing, but popular routes can be congested in peak season. For timetables, visit www.jadrolinija.hr; book through Viamare (020 7431 4560, www.viamare.com).
A week's inclusive car hire starts at £149 with Opodo (0871 277 0091, www.opodo.co.uk). Or try Hertz (0870 844 8844, www.hertz.co.uk) or Holiday Autos (0870 400 0010, www.holidayautos.co.uk).
FURTHER INFORMATION
Call the Croatian National Tourist Office on 020 8563 7979 or visit www.croatia.hr