Orebic, which claims to have Dalmatia’s best sandy beaches, and board the car ferry for Korcula island, just 15mins away.
Medieval Korcula town is a real find, with shaded alleyways spreading seawards from the 15th-century Land Gate. Here the colourful Moreska sword dance is staged twice weekly throughout the summer.
On the quayside, the three-star 20-room Hotel Korcula dates from 1911 and is the only hotel in the old town. But there are 2,000 tourist beds in the vicinity. In all, the island has 15 hotels.
Wine shops sell Korcula’s absolutely top-quality Grk and Posip varieties, which are Dalmatia’s best, and the local cake shop stocks Korcula’s home-made almond and Amaretto specialities as well as fine local herbal brandy.
Local olive oil is another good buy but supply is now limited as the olive groves are still recovering from a serious fire last year.
Korcula Tourist Board director Stanka Kraljevic said: “Before the war, 70% of our visitors were British. They opened and closed our season and respected the island. We want them back.”
CROATIA’S scenic Adriatic coast is ideal flydrive territory. Fly into Split and out of Dubrovnik and you can take in the 135-mile Adriatic Highway that connects the two areas.
With supplementary trips and island visits, it is easy to triple that distance.
Specialist operators can supply an open-jaw air ticket and tailor-make arrangements. Holiday Options chairman Jonathan Oakes said: “Croatia has a lot of potential for flydrives. We don’t do a great deal yet but it just needs marketing.”
Croatia Airlines UK regional director Dalibor Pavicic echoes this opinion. “We already have a working relationship with Avis that we could easily develop into a flydrive partnership.”
Just over an hour’s drive from Split Airport brings you to Brela, the most northerly in a string of resorts either side of the small and pretty town of Makarska. These make up the 30-mile stretch of the Makarska Riviera.
Brela is a delight, buried among the pine forests at the water’s edge. From its shore, the island of Brac shimmers on the horizon and beyond this you can make out the elongated shape of the island of Hvar. Brela was one of five Croatian resorts to receive the European Blue Flag award this year and deservedly so. Its pristine, pebble beach stretches for four miles, flanked by a winding promenade.
Next stop along the Riviera route is Makarska, squeezed between barren Biokovo mountain and the sea.
The largest town for miles, it is home to 13,000 people and the focus of tourism to the area.
Head on south and you encounter Tucepi, where olive trees grow behind the beach, peaceful Podgora, where nothing stirs in the heat of the day and its even quieter neighbour Caklje.
From Podgora, the scenic coast road continues southeast, crosses the flat Neretva estuary and traverses a slither of Bosnia-Herzegovina (there are no border controls) through the bustling town of Neum.
Turn along the 40 miles of the thin Peljesac peninsula to Orebic, which claims to have Dalmatia’s best sandy beaches, and board the car ferry for Korcula island, just 15mins away.
Medieval Korcula town is a real find, with shaded alleyways spreading seawards from the 15th-century Land Gate. Here the colourful Moreska sword dance is staged twice weekly throughout the summer.
On the quayside, the three-star 20-room Hotel Korcula dates from 1911 and is the only hotel in the old town. But there are 2,000 tourist beds in the vicinity. In all, the island has 15 hotels.
Wine shops sell Korcula’s absolutely top-quality Grk and Posip varieties, which are Dalmatia’s best, and the local cake shop stocks Korcula’s home-made almond and Amaretto specialities as well as fine local herbal brandy.
Local olive oil is another good buy but supply is now limited as the olive groves are still recovering from a serious fire last year.
Korcula Tourist Board director Stanka Kraljevic said: “Before the war, 70% of our visitors were British. They opened and closed our season and respected the island. We want them back.”