National Geographic Adventure: Croatia tops list of "Next year's must see places"

[Ace Rimmer]

WASHINGTON, Nov 1 (Hina) - National Geographic Adventure has proclaimed Croatia as the first among the top 10 'adventure nations', i.e. "next year's must-see places".
According to the first annual semi-scientific survey the monthly journal conducted among its staffers and writers, Croatia is at the top of "this A-list of next year's must-see places".

Croatia is first-ranked with an explanation "So hot in 2005 that it was hard to book a flight. For next year, Kornati National Park tops our list".

Croatia is followed by Argentina. "There's still no better adventure travel value in the world than Patagonia at devalued peso prices," reads the explanation on the list.

Mongolia with its Gobi and glistening Lake Hoesvsgoel is third-ranked. It is followed by Botswana.

India, South Africa, Thailand, China, Ecuador, Mozambique are ranked from the fifth to the tenth place.

National Geographic Adventure published on Monday a 10-page report on Croatia.

"With some 1,200 islands scattered across the Adriatic Sea, Croatia is best seen by boat. And though most visitors will probably choose to avoid a five-week, 400-mile (644-kilometer) expedition like ours, it's very possible to catch the highlights in a few days." Jon Bowermaster, a reporter of the monthly, wrote in the article.

Photographs of Croatia were made by Peter McBride.

"Today tourism is booming. Europeans, who long flocked to the former Yugoslavia's walled cities and pebbled beaches, are back in force and have dragged the rest of the world with them. Last summer some five million tourists visited Croatia's coast. Ultrahip, centuries-old towns like Hvar, Korcula, and Dubrovnik are packed with the young, restless, and rich, encouraging nicknames like the New Riviera," Bowermaster wrote, among other things.

"With Croatia back on the tourism map, a whole new range of travel options has sprung up, from cultural and culinary tours among the walled cities of the coast to climbing adventures on limestone sea cliffs, to specialized, clothing-free "naturist" excursions (some eastern European traditions die hard)."

The author particularly points out islands, primarily Kornati and Mljet, as the places which tourists must see.

(Hina) (http://www.hina.hr/nws-bin/genews.cgi?TOP=hot&NID=ehot/zanimljivosti/HB011636.4ye)

[Ace Rimmer]

We are back, and we hit it big time.
First it was lonely planet, worlds largest travel guide, with Top Destinations for 2005 (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/columns/)
followed by French Tour operators,
and now National Geographic Adventure (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/)for 2006 must see ;)

[Slavic Enforcer]

Croatia rules! :cool:

[Probably maybe]

I never been in Croatina. :(


"India, South Africa, Thailand, China, Ecuador, Mozambique " - seems like exotic places are most popular.

[Felix the Cat]

Dubrovnik was popular with Western tourists back in Communist days

[Ace Rimmer]

Dubrovnik was popular with Western tourists back in Communist days

So is now more than ever.

[Sinclair]

Dubrovnik is a city that's less car-oriented than even many Western European cities, isn't it?

[Atlas]

Great place, I've been there just before the war. Seems to be good to visit now as well.

[Ace Rimmer]

Dubrovnik is a city that's less car-oriented than even many Western European cities, isn't it?

In old city there are no cars or traffic at all,
but outside the walls, of course it's car oriented, just regular normal busy day car-traffic,
not as big as in Western cities of course, Dubrovnik is small city after all.

[Sinclair]

In old city there are no cars or traffic at all,
but outside the walls, of course it's car oriented, just regular normal busy day car-traffic,
not as big as in Western cities of course, Dubrovnik is small city after all.

I've been reading Jim Kunstler's stuff lately, and he thinks that one of the reasons people go to places like Disneyland or those Olde Tyme Pioneere Village operations is that there are no cars. They don't consciously recognise it, he says, but it's still there.

So a place where cars didn't rule the streets would probably be quite attractive to some.

[Ace Rimmer]

I find the concept of no traffic and no parked cars streets most appealing and attractive.
It amazed me one day when by accident all cars in my street were absent.
The surprisingly appealing look and harmony atmosphere of my otherwise ugly and dirty street was quite shocking experience.

I say ban cars and rely on bicycle and strong public transportation only.

[Sinclair]

I would recommend reading Kunstler's books, starting with "The Geography of Nowhere". Brilliant stuff. A car shouldn't be necessary for anybody who lives in a city.

How suburbanised is Croatia?

[Ace Rimmer]

I would recommend reading Kunstler's books, starting with "The Geography of Nowhere". Brilliant stuff. A car shouldn't be necessary for anybody who lives in a city.

Thanks and I agree.

How suburbanised is Croatia?

This is relatively new concept in Croatia, unfamiliar until the 90's and fall of communism, rapidly developing in last 5 years or so.
Where do you live?

[Sinclair]

This is relatively new concept in Croatia, unfamiliar until the 90's and fall of communism, rapidly developing in last 5 years or so.
Where do you live?

Toronto. I'm in the actual city (Well, technically, where my family lives used to be East York, I think, but now it's Toronto proper) which means that I have access to a good public transit system. Bus, subway, and streetcar.

Suburbanisation in Canada is probably not as bad as in the US, but I've seen the depressing sight of, over the years, being in the car to relatives in Guelph (My uncle and his wife, who have now moved back to Holland), seeing the growth of suburban developments every year. Now shoddily made houses that require an hour plus and back every day to get to the city are covering what was once good farm land.

Which is going to prove to be a really dumb decision, given that when gasoline becomes more expensive, and living in the suburbs becomes less and less practical, it's also going to become much harder to move in food from far away. We're going to NEED places to grow crops nearby. But we've been paving it over. And mechanised agriculture, pesticides made from fossil fuels, etc are also going to be increasingly unsustainable.

The consequences of oil "peaking" will be pretty big: A good coverage of this is the documentary "The End of Suburbia", in which Kunstler appears as a talking head. Europe will probably suffer less than the US, since Europe is denser, has less suburbanisation, and has better rail systems. Canada will probably fall somewhere in the middle.