Destination Croatia
Croatia is understandably becoming the must visit Mediterranean destination. With a coastline un-ravished by development ,an average of 2760 hours of sunshine a year and refreshingly good value for money it is not hard to see why. In addition to the landscape steeped in history Croatia has an island for every taste from the sophisticated nightlife of Hvar to the complete isolation of the Kornati islands national park.
Its liberal sprinkling of wonders of the ancient world, including the roman emperors palace in Split; a world heritage site, castles, amphitheatres, venetian cities and the spectacular natural landscape means there is plenty to see along the way.
Diving, windsurfing, fishing, walking, dinghy sailing, bike hire, Jetskiing are all readily available for those who want a more active holiday.
Croatia Stats
Geographical position: Croatia extends from the furthest eastern edges of the Alps in the north-west to the Pannonian lowlands and the banks of the Danube in the east; its central region is covered by the Dinara mountain range, and its southern parts extend to the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Surface: the mainland covers 56,542 km 2 , and the surface of the territorial sea is 31,067 km 2 .
Population: 4,437,460 inhabitants; composition of population: the majority of the population are Croats; national minorities are Serbs, Slovenes, Hungarians, Bosnians, Italians, Czechs and others.
System of government: multi-party parliamentary republic.
Capital: Zagreb (779,145 inhabitants), the economic, traffic, cultural and academic centre of the country.
Coastline: 5,835 km of which 4,058 km comprise a coastline of islands, solitary rocks and reefs. Number of islands, solitary rocks and reefs: 1,185; the largest islands are Krk and Cres; there are 50 inhabited islands.
Highest peak: Dinara: 1,831 m above sea level.
Climate
The climate at the Adriatic is typically a Mediterranean one, with mild rainy winters, and hot and dry summers. The air temperature changes depending on the area. Thus, summer temperatures in July will be about 34°C in the northern part, while in the southern part they will rise even to 38°C. In the winter, the coldest temperatures are noticed in the northern Adriatic (up to -16°C), while they will not have exceeded 6°C in the southern part.
Winds At the Adriatic Sea, the bora, sirocco and north-western wind blow most often.
Bora Bora (Cro.: bura) is a dry, cold downward wind blowing in bursts from the north-northeast to the east-northeast direction. The direction in which the wind blows is mostly influenced by the configuration of the shore. The strength of bora is explained by the existence of warm air over the surface of the sea, and a cold layer of air above mountain ranges in the littoral, which cause a strong streaming due to equating of the pressure. Cold air tends to fill the void which occurs due to the rising of the warm (lighter) air from the sea surface. Bora blows mostly in the winter. In the summer, it usually lasts for a day or several hours, while, in the winter, it can blow as long as 14 days.
Sirocco Sirocco (Cro.: jugo, siroko or silok) is a warm and moist wind which blows from the direction east-southeast to south-southwest. Its consequences are high waves and rain. Sirocco is a characteristic wind for the southern Adriatic, where it blows longer and stronger than in the northern part. In the summer, it usually blows as long as 3 days, and in the winter even as long as 3 weeks. The signs of the oncoming sirocco are the calm at the sea, weak changeable winds, dimness of the horizon, the increase of the temperature and moisture, and the gradual decrease of the pressure. Waves from the direction of the southeast become bigger.
Landward Breeze The landward breeze (Cro.: maestral, maestral, smorac) is a daily, thermic wind blowing from the direction of the northwest, and it occurs as the consequence of the difference in the speed of warming up of the land and the sea. It is present from the spring to the autumn, and, during the day, it often changes the direction of blowing. The landward breeze is more present in the southern Adriatic than in the northern Adriatic, and it starts to blow earlier there.
Stiff Breeze The stiff breeze (Cro.: burin) is a wind blowing contrary to the landward breeze. It blows during the night from the direction of the north, north-east in the northern Adriatic, and in the southern Adriatic, from the east or south-east. It is the strongest before the dawn, and after that it stops soon.
Currency: kuna (1 kuna = 100 lipa). Foreign currency can be exchanged in banks, exchange offices, post offices, travel agencies, hotels, camps, marinas; cheques can be cashed in banks.
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