The area of Croatia can be divided into three major natural and geographic parts: The Pannonian and Peri-Pannonian area comprises the lowland and hilly parts of eastern and northwestern Croatia; mountains higher than 500 m are rare and of an insular character. Most of this area is being used for farming and livestock breading. Slavonija and Baranja in the east are the most suiotable for growing cereals; the humid valleys and the hills are richly afforested while the northwestern part, which gravitates to Zagreb, is industrially the most developed.

The hilly and mountainous area, which separates Pannonian Croatia from its coastal part, is less developed. Its future development will be based on its transit importance, the growth of the already existing wood and timber industry, and the still underexploited potential for the production of healthy food, and winter and rural tourism.

The Adriatic Area includes the narrow coastal belt separated from the hinterland by high mountains. This is predominantly a karst area with very dry summers. The few streams mainly follow narrow gorges in breaking their way through to the sea. The Croatian coastal area may further be divided into the northern (Istria and Kvarner) and southern part (Dalmatia). It also lends itself to a longitudinal division into the islands, the coast proper and the immediate hinterland. The Croatian Adriatic coast is one of the most indented in the world: it has 1185 islands and islets with a total coastline of 4,058 km, the total length of the mainland coast being 1777 km.
The largest island is Krk; other large islands include Cres, Brac, Hvar, Pag and Korcula. The largest peninsulas are Istria and Peljesac, and the largest bay is Kvarner Bay.

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic sea got its name from an ancient port of the same name. The Adriatic spans from the Balkan to the Apennine peninsula.The part belonging to the Republic of Croatia is the eastcoast which extends all the way from Prevlaka in the south to cape Savudrija in the west,including all islands, islets and cliffs along the coast,and the archipelago of Palagruza (the number of islands, islets and cliffs is more than 1700).This is a unique area in Europe forcruising with motor boats, speedboats, or sailboats, but also for enjoying the underwater world.


Land of Islands

Croatia is truly a land of islands because it has more than a thousand of them and each one is different. Many of them are inhabited but each and every one is exceptional, with its own story and destiny. To have a weak spot is human and the connoisseurs of Croatian islands have thousands of them. To be more precise 1185 of them. That's how many islands, islets and cliffs are located in front of 1777 kilometers of the Adriatic coast. The first trip to the Adriatic coast and its islands is a journey into the unknown. Every other trip will be a journey to the already familiar beauty of this country, always different but equally breathtaking.

Historical facts

Croatia is indeed unique, not only for its crystal clear, clean blue sea, but also for a thousand years of different cultures that have replaced each other and sometimes assimilated in these areas. The Adriatic Sea is not only a deep gulf in the Mediterranean cut into the Continent of Europe thereby creating most economical trade route between Europe and the East, it is also the cradle of ancient civilizations. There is much material evidence about that which is finally beginning to come to light, from the depths of Adriatic caves and from the deep blue sea. The east coast of the Adriatic Sea was inhabited as early as the beginning of the early Stone Age, and there is proof that most of the accessible islands were also inhabited (archaeological findings in caves near the islands of Hvar and Palagruza, etc.). Thanks to the favourable geographical characteristics of our coast, with its numerous bays, inlets and coves, the coastal belt has ever been a significant mercantile and nautical route.
Archaeological findings prove that in the 6th century BC the ancient Greeks had commerce with the Illyrians by means of the sea, and that they founded their colonies there (Pharos, today’s Starigrad, on the islands of Hvar and Issa – or Vis). Later on, the Romans arrived, and they not only built palaces and summer residences but they also spent a considerable amount of time on the sea, and there are many underwater findings located between Pula and Cavtat which show this to be true. Such findings are mainly amphorae, which were at the time commonly used for storing everything from wine to wheat, oils and perfumes. Wherever you choose to go diving, you will find the remains of Antique ships and their cargoes. One of the most precious findings from that time are remains of pythos or dolias, large pottery vessels which were built into ships and used to transport bulk cargo (wheat, etc). One such site is near Cavtat, while another is near Murter. A new era dawned with the arrival of the Slavs, a period characterized by constant struggle for supremacy and by defence against diverse enemies. Dubrovnik, eminent in its position as a republic, played a leading role in culture and trade. A 17th-century shipwreck bears witness to those times - a galley which sailed from

Venice carrying muran glass, window glass, and other valuable objects, and was fitted with cannons. But during a storm it sank near the island of Olipe, off the coast of Dubrovnik. In the 18th century, Napoleon ruled for a short period of time, after which he was replaced by the Austrian monarchy. During the next hundred years, Italy and Austria fought each other for supremacy of the east coast, culminating in the battle of Vis in 1866. The Austrian fleet, led by Admiral Tegetthoff, who commanded the battleship Erzherzog Ferdinand Max, was opposed by Admiral Persano, commander of the Italian fleet. In the battle, Persano, on his flag ship on his flag ship the battleship Re d’Italia, was roundly trounced by Tegetthoff, and the Italian fleet withdrew in defeat. Testimony to those glorious times can be found not only on the mainland, but also under the sea in the shape of shipwrecks and remains of the detritus of great ships. The period of Austro- Hungarian rule commenced thereafter. Ports were built and fortified, trade and shipbuilding flourished. During the two World Wars, the Adriatic was one of the more important areas of battle, and there are many shipwrecks dating from those periods. Near Pula, for example, which at the time was a strategically vital naval harbour, twenty shipwrecks have been located, including a number of submarines, destroyers, and torpedo-boats The Adriatic Sea has always been an important maritime route between East and West, which can still be seen today because of the numerous relics, which remind us that the past should never be forgotten, but rather used as a lesson for the future.



There are numerous monuments along the Adriatic coast many of which excel in their beauty and artistic value and deserve to be enlisted as UNESCO world cultural heritage sites. UNESCO has righteously recognized their grandeur, beauty and importance and we invite you to get to know them during your visit to Croatia. If you come to Poreč, Split, Trogir, Šibenik or Dubrovnik you can discover their beauty for yourself, even if you are not especially taken by art history. Be sure to visit the Arena in Pula, the church of St. Donat in Zadar or the bell towers on the island of Rab. Out of 8 National Parks, 7 are situated directly or very near the sea, and the eighth National Park, Plitvice Lakes, lies less than 200 km away from the sea. The Island group Brijuni, situated outside the West coast of Istria consist of 2 larger and 12 smaller islands, and another island National Park, Kornati, is the most indented island group on the whole Mediterranean. National Park Mljet is famous for its two lakes, Big lake and Small lake, National Parks North Velebit, Paklenica, and Risnjak are attractive for mountaineers, speleologists, botanists and alpinists, and the National Park Krka lies on the most beautiful Croatian karst river Krka. Croatia has altogether 10 Nature Parks, 5 of which lie on the coast. Nature Park Biokovo is situated on the same called mountain above Makarska riviera and is very popular among botanists, bicyclists and climbers. Nature Park Telašćica, situated on the entrance to National Park Kornati, is a bay with a high vertical cliff with a salt lake on its top. Nature Park Velebit near Zadar riviera attracts many speleologists and those who seek an active holiday. Near Zadar there is also the biggest Croatian lake – Vranjsko Lake. Mountain Učka Nature Park is situated above Opatija and it has very favorable microclimate