Split
The second largest city in Croatia is a good springboard from which to sail, but you don’t need more then two days here. There are plenty of market stalls and bustling cafes – the food here is tip-top – along with some sights. The most important is Diocletian’s palace.
Dubrovnik
Closed in by walls and forts, the ‘jewel of the Adriatic’ deserves its nickname. Despite being pounded by the Serbs in 1991, it’s the country’s best preserved city. Wind your way around the city walls which run uninterrupted for 1940m. There are plenty of sights to check out along the way, including the Rector’s Palace, Sponza Palace, the Franciscan Monastery and Museum, St Claire’s Convent, the Maritime Museum and the Icon Museum.
Hvar
Loved for its climate – an average of eight glorious hours of rays each day make it one of Europe’s sunniest spots – Hvar has become a fashionable destination for a variety of tourists. Backpackers, celebrities and old European men in neon yellow Speedos all flock to this island, which is easily worth a week of your time.
Korcula
A typical medieval walled city with round defence towers and a bevy of red-roofed houses, Korcula town is where illustrious traveller Marco Polo is said to have been born. If you can, try to catch a Moreska show – a world famous folk dance that used to be performed all over the Mediterranean, but these days is only seen here.
Brac
Brac is only a couple of hours’ sail from Split. Its great peak, Vidova Gora (778m), is the highest of all the islands, but the mountain’s real claim to fame is its splendid stone, which was ferried to the US to be used to build the White House.
Visit TNT’s Croatia Travel Guide.
