On the Croatian coastline

Croatia is home to many wonderful but unknown towns. Travelers visiting only Dubrovnik miss the heart of this Balkan country. Conquered and ruled by Greeks, Romans, Saracens, Croatians, Venetians and Austrians before finally gaining independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the country of Croatia is a treasure of castles, churches, walled cities and other vestiges of a long, complex history.

Travel within Croatia is not complicated ? the easiest way is on the country’s efficient ferries that regularly visit every major coastal town and island. Renting a car is also easy and not too pricey, and Croatian drivers are generally courteous and careful.

We traveled the coast of Croatia in our boat, Avanti, with our faithful dog, Roka, for 4 months, visiting the coast and some of the more than 1,000 Croatian islands that make this part of the Adriatic Sea a boater’s paradise.

A short ferry ride north of Dubrovnik lies Split, the largest coastal town on the Adriatic. The Roman emperor Diocletian retired and built a huge retirement palace in Split, covering several city blocks. It remains in pristine condition, still occupied by thousands of residents and shops.

We were confused by a neon sign reading “305-2005” on the Emperor’s tomb, located within the palace walls. Then we realized the structure had been built in AD 305 and was celebrating its 1,700th birthday last year. The lively, well-preserved palace is the same age as many of the dilapidated ruins in Rome, reinforcing the lesson we learned many times in Croatia: The best remains of Roman civilization are often outside Italy.

Trogir, just up the road from Split, is a 2,300-year-old walled town reminiscent of Dubrovnik, famous for its walls and stone portals, ten Romanesque Gothic churches, narrow, pedestrian-only streets and a stunning golden-doored cathedral.

Directly west of Split, past the popular islands of Korcula and Hvar and halfway to Italy, is the tiny island of Vis, a former military reserve closed to the public until 10 years ago. Marshall Tito had his headquarters during World War II in a cave on its highest mountain.

On our way to the cave on our rented Vespa, we stopped for lunch in a tiny village with one small restaurant.

The owners, a smiling middle-aged couple, roasted our lamb in their outdoor wood fireplace while the grandmother, dressed in black, watched us suspiciously from the next table. The couple sat down beside us to eat their own lunch, shoving a Croatian fashion magazine at us, and giggling with pride when we reached the article with photos of Princess Caroline of Monaco, dining at this very restaurant.

North of Split and Vis are the amazing Kornati Islands, 147 islands scattered like pebbles in an area 20 miles long and 5 miles across. Old stone walls still crisscross the barren hills, and limestone outcrops swirl in dramatic patterns, reflecting the forces of nature that built the islands from a former sea floor.

The coves are deserted except for tiny seasonal restaurants serving visiting boaters. Due to national park fishing restrictions, the snorkeling here is better than anywhere else in Europe ? though still not exactly the Great Barrier Reef.

Farther north, we were blown by a fierce wind to Opatija, a resort town on the “Croatian Riviera” much favored by the Austro-Hungarian emperors in the 19th century, and still radiating a turn-of-the-century decadence. The town remains packed with Austrian tourists who, locals claim, believe it still belongs to Austria.

Opatija marks the southeastern edge of the Istrian Peninsula, an area ruled by Italy for centuries and still heavily influenced by its Italian past. The most impressive sight on the peninsula is the well-preserved Roman coliseum at Pula, located on a scenic bay.

At the northern end of the Istrian Peninsula, Croatia ends and Slovenia begins. The coastal area of Slovenia is so narrow that the Italian city of Trieste can be seen from the Adriatic off the Croatia coast. Venice lies only 70 miles across the water.

Getting to Croatia is not difficult. Ferries leave regularly from Venice to various Croatian ports, and to and from Split from the Italian port cities of Bari and Ancona.

Croatia is a treasure of castles, churches, walled cities and other vestiges of a long, complex history. As the author George Bernard Shaw once wrote, “On the last day of creation, God desired to crown his work, and thus created the Kornati Islands out of tears, stars and breath.”