March 18, 2022 - The Croatia Airlines 2022 summer flight schedule has been presented with several lines added from Split, Zagreb, and Dubrovnik!

Croatia Airlines presented this year's summer flight schedule from March to the end of October - and it has been significantly strengthened compared to last year, reports Croatian Aviation.

According to a statement, the Croatian national carrier has decided to expand its network of international destinations, renew some international routes that were not flown during the pandemic, and intensify flights on existing routes in international and domestic traffic.

This summer, Croatia Airlines plans to connect Croatia with 21 international destinations, 22 European airports, and fly on 41 international routes. In total, over 16,000 flights and approximately 1,766,000 seats are planned.

Split
Croatia's busiest airport in 2021 has 18 European destinations with Croatian Airlines, which means six new destinations compared to the 2021 summer flight schedule. In addition, five new seasonal lines will be introduced in the first half of June:

Split - Amsterdam (Tuesday)

Split - Bucharest (Wednesdays and Fridays)

Split - Dublin (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays)

Split - Milan (Thursdays and Sundays)

Split - Stockholm (Fridays and Sundays)

In addition to announcing new seasonal routes, Croatia Airlines has also announced a promotional campaign (lasting until March 28) for these flights, offering a 30% discount. You can read more about the promotional campaign at www.croatiaairlines.hr.

With the new five lines, you will be able to fly from Split to the following European destinations:

Athens

Vienna

Berlin

Düsseldorf

Frankfurt

Copenhagen

London (Heathrow and Gatwick)

Lyon

Munich

Paris

Prague

Rome

Zurich

Zagreb

In the 2022 summer flight schedule, regular international flights from Zagreb to 15 European destinations are planned, which is one additional European destination compared to last year. Namely, passengers will be able to fly to:

Amsterdam

Athens

Barcelona - renewed seasonal line (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays)

Vienna

Brussels

Dublin

Frankfurt

Copenhagen

London

Munich

Paris

Rome (via Split)

Sarajevo

Skopje

Zurich

Dubrovnik
Croatia Airlines plans to directly connect Croatia's southernmost airport with direct international flights from six European destinations:

Athens

Frankfurt

Munich

Paris

Rome

Zurich.

This season, the national airline is reintroducing Rijeka - Munich flights, and the novelty is the year-round international flights between Osijek - Munich from May 2 this year.

In addition to flights to European airports, Croatia Airlines also plans flights between 7 Croatian airports (Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Osijek, Zadar, Pula, and Brac). 

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

March 17, 2022 - Join the momentum of the Croatian remote work revolution and win yourself a luxury 5-star Sun Gardens Dubrovnik workation. 

The English language is constantly evolving. 

Words that are my everyday currency in 2022 - blog, social media, digital nomads, Instagrammable - simply did not exist 20 years ago. And listening to my kids chatting to their friends, I sometimes wonder if I am still a native speaker of English anymore. 

Last year, among the many new English words that I learned was one which I now realise is going to be absolutely huge, and it represents a seismic change in the future of work. 

Workation. 

I have seen it also spelled as Worcation, and even Workcation. A combination of two aspects of daily life which have been distinctly separate until now - work and vacation. But now, with the location independence offered by the remote work revolution, a concept which is becoming increasingly mainstream. 

Instead of driving to the office in your home town in the States each day, and coming home to the usual day-to-day existence at home, now the opportunities are endless.  You can be just as productive via your laptop during the working day, then have a coffee on the riva in Split, or a cocktail on Stradun in Dubrovnik to unwind after another productive day. 

The Croatian digital nomad story is still very nascent, but it is becoming acknowledged as one of the most dynamic in the world. Only the second country in Europe to offer a digital nomad visa/permit (which came into effect on January 1, 2021), Croatia has been very active in promoting this sector, and nowhere more so than Dubrovnik. 

Host of the first-ever digital nomad conference in Croatia back in October, 2020, as well as the pioneering and award-winning Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence program in April, 2021, Dubrovnik is continuing its push as an innovative remote work destination with the recently-announced Work. Place. Cuture. conference, a collaboration between the City of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads, and Total Croatia News - the conference which brings work from anywhere to absolutely everywhere. Join remote professionals and destinations from around the world as they inspire a global workforce who have greater location flexibility than ever before, and the destinations which are reinventing to support them through policy, infrastructure and community (more on the official website).

Public-private partnership has been key to Dubrovnik's success so far, and the buy-in from the private sector is demonstrated by the very exciting offer from award-winning 5-star resort, Sun Gardens Dubrovnik - in partnership with the Dubrovnik Tourist Board and Saltwater Nomads - which is offering a fantastic Win a Workation offer. 

The winning team will enjoy a 1-week stay (between 1 and 9 May 2022) at the 5 Star Sun Gardens Dubrovnik and have the chance to partake of a specialty workshop – strategy planning, team building, wellbeing and leadership are among the options available. The all-star team will also present at the Work. Place. Culture. Conference on 5-7 May 2022.

The winning team will stay in 2 x 2 bedroom residences. Each bedroom has a kingsize bed and ensuite with shared living area.

Enjoy free access to the sports centre – with gym and facilities, and free access to group trainings such as functional training or pilates.

Laze by one of the pools overlooking the Adriatic sea, or access the spa centre – with indoor swimming pool, gym, saunas, jacuzzi, relaxation area (massages and treatments additional).

Are you part of a team working remotely for the past couple of years, whose only contact with your colleagues has been through Zoom? Why not come together, relax, reconnect and reinvigorate in Paradise?

If your team would like to apply to win this Sun Gardens Dubrovnik workation and an unforgettable 9 days in the Pearl of the Adriatic, you can apply here. Applications are open until April 8.

Check out the magical Old Town and Sun Gardens Dubrovnik video teaser above - why would you take a workation anywhere else?

To learn more about the destination, check out the Total Croatia Dubrovnik in a Page guide, and also visit the official Sun Gardens Dubrovnik website.  

For more news and features about digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

March 17, 2022 - Works on reconstructing Hotel Gruž into a home for the elderly and infirm, the first retirement home in Dubrovnik in 51 years, are progressing well.

"Amid the corona crisis and the lack of workforce, a smaller delay is justified, which will not affect the key dates we have set for the home's opening, which is the fall of this year. Furthermore, after the completion of this construction process, we are about to announce a tender for equipping the entire space, so I hope that in the next month and a half to two months, we will announce the tender and start arranging the building itself," said Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Franković for Lokalni.hr.

The Home for the Elderly and the Infirm in Gruž will be managed by the future retirement home under the General Hospital, for which a building permit has recently been obtained.

"Unified administration, unified institution, and therefore lower costs. What our goal is, of course, is that both homes enter the network of homes, which would mean a much better price than the commercial price that these homes would have if they were not part of the homes network," said Mayor Franković and thanked the director of Hotel Gruž d.d. Vido Raič and project manager Vedran Kosović on their dedicated work.

Project manager Vedran Kosović from IGH points out that most of the reinforced concrete structures have been completed, only a small part of the construction in the northeastern part remains.

"The roof's construction is also finished, and the installation of tiles is in progress. Rough works on the terrace have been completed. Only the completion of the northeastern part of the building and the excavation for the engine room towards Andrije Hebranga Street remain. We will finish that in 15-20 days, and then the focus is on the facade and the completion of the interior works," said Kosović.

The upgrade and conversion of the building, which is underway, will provide functional and comfortable space divided into five floors, designed to accommodate 48 retirees in 32 accommodation units. Six hundred ninety square meters of the existing building were retained, and about 620 square meters of additional space were upgraded.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

March 15, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Austrian Airlines Croatia flights will operate 23 times per week from the beginning of the summer flight schedule. 

Austrian national airline and Lufthansa Group member Austrian Airlines will renew seasonal routes from Vienna to Split and Dubrovnik from the end of March, and to Zadar in early April. There will also be an increase in the number of weekly operations at Zagreb International Airport, reports Croatian Aviation.

Namely, Austrian Airlines is reintroducing seasonal routes from its main hub in Vienna to Split and Dubrovnik at the beginning of the summer flight schedule, which begins on March 27 this year. In the first days of April, traffic will resume between Vienna and Zadar Airport.

The first flight between Vienna and Split has been announced for Sunday, March 27. At the beginning of the summer flight schedule, Austrian will operate between the two cities 6 times a week, every day except Tuesdays. Already in the second half of April, there will be an increase in the number of flights on a daily basis.

In the first seven rotations to Split, Embraer 195 aircraft will operate, as well as the largest aircraft from the A320 family, the A321. Currently, there are 2,000 seats in that period.

There will be a similar flight schedule at the beginning of the season to Dubrovnik Airport. Five flights a week have been announced, starting on March 27, every day except Tuesdays and Thursdays, but there will also be an increase in the number of rotations by the Easter holiday.

1,872 seats are available on the first 7 flights between Dubrovnik and Vienna, and A320 and E195 aircraft will operate on the route.

Austrian will introduce a line to Zadar a little later than Split and Dubrovnik. The first flight has been announced for Saturday, April 9, and three flights a week have been announced at the start of the season, every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Prior to the pandemic, the Austrian airline operated twice a day to Zagreb, but this route has not yet returned to its 2019 capacity. Apparently, this will not happen at the beginning of this summer season either, although there will be an increase in weekly rotations.

Namely, from Sunday, March 27, Austrian will operate between Vienna and Zagreb eight times a week, every day except Wednesday, with two flights a day announced on Fridays and Sundays.

From Sunday, March 27, to Sunday, March 3, Austrian will offer 2,160 seats to and from Zagreb. Namely, as the airline retired all DashQ400 aircraft in June last year, Embraer 195 aircraft with a capacity of 120 seats will fly to Zagreb, so the previously mentioned smaller number of flights was compensated by increasing capacity or changing the type of aircraft on the route.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

March 14th, 2022 - Fans of retro technology have the opportunity to try out old computers and consoles in Dubrovnik until the end of the month

Last Saturday, Rijeka’s Peek&Poke Computer Museum opened a visiting exhibition in Dubrovnik, more precisely at the Youth Center, where all those interested can discover about twenty vintage computers, gaming consoles, calculators and mechanical calculators.

The opening of the exhibition attracted curious people of all generations who were delighted by the display, writes Novi list. The exhibition will remain open until March 27th.

’We’re thankful for the invitation of the Dubrovnik Association of Technical Culture, who invited us to Dubrovnik and helped organise the exhibition. We’re glad to have the opportunity to exhibit what is only a small part of our museum collection in Dubrovnik. We will certainly continue our cooperation with our Dubrovnik colleagues’, said Josip Knežević from Peek & Poke after the exhibition opening.

Until the end of the month, lovers of retro technology in Dubrovnik will have the opportunity to try out the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, Schneider, along with the consoles Atari, Nintendo, Playstation, and others.

Secretary of the Association for Technical Culture Tomo Sjekavica said his personal favourites were the Spectrum and the Commodore.

‘I’m especially glad that for the second time in Dubrovnik we were able to open the visiting exhibition of the Rijeka Computer Museum Peek&Poke, where you can see old computers and calculators dating from the 1930s onwards. As a computer expert and programmer myself, I’m very glad that we’re collaborating with the Peek&Poke Museum from Rijeka and I believe that there will be more opportunities in the future for some new joint projects’, said Sjekavica.

The Peek & Poke Museum in Rijeka is known as the only Croatian museum of vintage computers. Established in 2007, it has been attracting both locals and tourists from all over the world ever since.

The museum offers an overview of the technical development of computers and the computer industry from its beginnings to the present day, with a part of the museum used for various educational programmes.

Among the exhibited computer ‘pioneers’, there are exhibits from all five continents and an enviable collection of calculators to discover, including a pocket calculator made in Croatia and known all around the world as Digitron.

March 14, 2022 - The Dubrovnik digital nomad story continues, as the Work. Place. Culture. Conference is announced, bringing work from anywhere to absolutely everywhere. 

Good things are happening in the Pearl of the Adriatic. 

A new initiative to reposition the iconic Croatian city, known also to millions as Kings Landing, is already paying handsome dividends. 

A media poster child for overtourism back in 2017, Dubrovnik is now attracting headlines for very different reasons. Dubrovnik's decision to explore the remote work path has propelled itself into an increasingly popular digital nomad destination. In partnership with Saltwater Nomads and Total Croatia News, the City of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik Tourist Board hosted Croatia's first-ever digital nomad conference back in October 2020, Dubrovnik for Digital Nomads, a conference which achieved considerable global attention, including a mention in the Washington Post. 

This was followed in April 2021 with the Dubrovnik Digital Nomads in Residence programme, the first of its kind in the world, in which the destination and its community co-created a future strategy for digital nomad tourism, in partnership with 10 resident nomads who contributed their expertise as guests of the city for 4 weeks. Read more in Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence: Meet the Creators, Download Case Study. 

DNIR has already won two international awards, as well as considerable global acclaim, and Dubrovnik is continuing its innovative path in the sector with the announcement of a major conference from May 5-7, 2022 - Work. Place. Culture. From the official conference website:

Welcome – to the conference which brings work from anywhere to absolutely everywhere. Join remote professionals and destinations from around the world as they inspire a global workforce who have greater location flexibility than ever before, and the destinations which are reinventing to support them through policy, infrastructure and community.

Work. Place. Culture. is designed for destinations, companies and service providers in the remote work space:

Destinations

• looking to attract remote workers and digital nomads.
• connect and collaborate with regions and “nomad trails”
• share success stories and further build your profile to a global audience in an event blending destinations + decision-makers.

Companies

• creating/updating remote/hybrid work policy, looking for expertise and global best practice for talent attraction, retention, productivity and wellbeing.
• with a remote work policy – promote your business to attract global talent and build profile as leading RW companies.employees:
• learn about advocacy and support for remote work, travel and work from home (wfh).

Service Providers

• Tools: remote collaboration, hiring, consulting, legal & tax
• Teams:off-sites, team building, wellbeing, coaching, etc.
• Digital Nomads: vanlife, retreats, communities, sustainability. 

Set against the backdrop of gorgeous Dubrovnik in early season, the conference will additionally offer fantastic experiences such as NetWALLking along Dubrovnik's historic UNESCO walls, sea kayaking, and plenty of treats for Game of Thrones lovers. Tickets include conference day lunch and dinners. Early Bird tickets are available until April 4 and can be booked via the official website. 

A full list of speakers will be announced shortly, and they will include 3 of the top 10 remote work voices on LinkedIn, who will all be coming in person. You can download the programme here.

It promises to be an information-packed event, set in delightful Dubrovnik, and an outstanding networking opportunity for destinations, companies and service providers. But there is more...

We will shortly be launching the first official workation pilot by the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, with Win a Workation launching on 15 March, for a team of four to enjoy a 5-star experience at Sun Gardens and present at the conference.

And for those of you planning to attend this conference, there are many reasons why you should stay a little longer in Croatia. Nomadbase will be having their conference in Primosten from May 9-15, and the award-winning Zagreb Digital Nomad Week returns in June to the Croatian capital - more details will be released on both the Win a Workation and Zagreb Digital Nomad Week later this week. 

Work. Place. Culture. is a collaboration between the City of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads and TCN, with support from the Digital Nomad Association Croatia and Dubrovacka Bastina. Zagreb Digital Nomad Week is a partnership between Zagreb Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads, and TCN. 

To learn more about magnificent Dubrovnik, check out the Total Croatia Dubrovnik in a Page guide, in partnership with Sun Gardens Dubrovnik.  

For more news and features on digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

March 14, 2022 -  The latest flight news to Croatia as KLM flights to Split and Dubrovnik resume from March 27, and two daily flights to Zagreb Airport continue. 

Dutch national airline KLM Dutch Airlines reintroduces regular seasonal lines to Split and Dubrovnik with the start of the summer flight schedule, which comes into force at the end of this month, reports Croatian Aviation.

While KLM will re-introduce regular flights from Amsterdam to Split and Dubrovnik from Sunday, March 27, the Dutch airline continues to operate twice a day to Zagreb Airport.

The first flight to Split Airport in this year's summer flight schedule has been announced for Sunday, March 27. Initially, two flights a week have been announced, every Saturday and Sunday. Before the Easter holiday, the airline is planning a number of operations, and from the end of April, KLM should operate daily between Split and Amsterdam. In the peak summer season, up to three daily flights between Amsterdam and Split of this airline are expected.

KLM will also resume traffic to Dubrovnik on the first day of the summer flight schedule, on the Amsterdam line that was reintroduced last season. Two flights a week have been announced, also on Saturdays and Sundays, and there should be an increase in weekly operations at the end of April. As was announced earlier, KLM should work up to twice a day between Dubrovnik and Amsterdam this summer.

Despite the increase in the number of operations to coastal airports last year and this year, KLM plans to continue with two daily flights to Zagreb but using mainly the Embraer fleet, which has a significantly lower capacity compared to Boeing. The Embraer and B737-700 fleets are planned on the lines to Croatia in March and April.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

ZAGREB, 10 March 2022- The European Commission's Smart Tourism Destinations initiative has selected Dubrovnik among 50 destinations that will be given the opportunity to participate in a series of activities aimed at improving sustainable tourism practices, the City of Dubrovnik City said on Thursday.

Dubrovnik was selected after applying to the EU Destination Managers call as part of the Smart Tourism Destinations initiative and meeting the set criteria of previous experience, motivation and expectations as well as technical capacities.

Dubrovnik applied using its experience and know-how through the implementation of the Altereco and Respect the City projects.

"Dubrovnik's selection to be a stakeholder in this project is yet another tangible support in transforming the destination into a promoter and leader of sustainable and responsible tourism. The selected stakeholders will be able to participate in various workshops led by reputable experts from various fields related to smart tourism, to share experiences with other destinations, to learn from one another, as well as becoming or improving as a smart tourism destination," the city said.

The Smart Tourism Destinations initiative of the European Commission provides support to EU cities to facilitate access to tourism and hospitality products and services through technological innovations. Their mission is to transfer know-how in applying innovative digital solutions that can help tourist cities and destinations to be more sustainable and accessible as well as improve destination experiences where cities entirely use their cultural heritage and creativity.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March 9th, 2022 - Young artists are reshaping the urban landscape in Croatian tourist hotspots, taking over empty business spaces and delivering them from winter ennui

In 2020, Culture Hub Croatia (CHC) launched a project named Voids (Croatian: Praznine) as a reaction to the issues created by mass tourism on the Croatian coast. Empty spaces in the historic centre of Split, typically used for tourism-related business activities in summer, were handed over to artists and citizens to use in the off-season. Spaces to work, to study, to connect - something they’ve been sorely lacking thus far.

‘We used this experiment not only to test the concept, but also to build our community. In July 2021, we opened Prostor (Space) in Split, a space which now features the same elements tested during the Voids project: open studio, workspace, gallery, event space... and we continue to apply the same principle of space adoption giving everyone the opportunity to suggest activities through a public invitation that we publish once a year’, said the CHC.

CHC Facebook

Voids are back in Split this year, with several artists who grew familiar with the city as they participated in the project in 2020 and 2021 invited to design art interventions.

Ledia Kostandini (Albania), Driton Selmani (Kosovo), Tin Dožić (Croatia), Lana Stojićević (Croatia) and Verica Kovacevska (Northern Macedonia) will be putting up site-specific installations around town to turn the public space in Split into a space of artistic expression and dialogue. The interventions are envisaged as a medium that will encourage the citizens of Split to think about their environment and its potential in relation to the past and future.

Every week from February 28th to April 3rd, a different artist will display their work, reports Vizkultura. Following Tin Dožić who kicked off this year’s programme with a sound installation, Ledia Kostandini has unveiled several site-specific installations entitled Blowing in the Wind.

‘The starting point of my work was my first visit to Split in 2020, when I noticed pieces of clothing hung up to dry in the wind in the city centre. They occasionally resembled flags indicating an existence of lives being lived behind those walls. Intrigued, I began to follow these traces, just as if I were following the tiny heartbeats of the city, pulses that show that there is real life in this monumental place, not just the tourist one’, said the artist whose work will remain displayed around town until March 13th.

This time around, Voids are also headed for Dubrovnik as the most visited tourist destination in Croatia. From March 5th to the 20th, several artists from Croatia and the region will be using business spaces that sit empty in winter as their open studios.

‘Through the Adopt the Space scheme, the citizens and civil society organisations will be included in the participatory process and will get the opportunity to propose their own activities in the selected spaces during two weeks. In this way, tourist spaces become community spaces, shaped by the people themselves, in the quest of re-appropriation of the historical core and bringing back the sense of community’, states the CHC.

March 9, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as 19 easyJet summer lines to Pula, Split, and Dubrovnik begin at the end of the month! 

At the beginning of the summer flight schedule, British airline easyJet is introducing regular flights to Pula, Split and Dubrovnik airports. In the last week of March, easyJet will operate 44 return flights to three Croatian airports, reports Croatian Aviation.

easyJet will be a regular guest at the airports in Pula, Rijeka, Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik this summer. 

Pula lines
easyJet is announcing a total of 9 scheduled flights to Pula Airport this summer, from London, Amsterdam, Basel, Berlin, Bristol, Geneva, Glasgow, Luton and Paris. All lines, except those to and from London, will start operating in May and June.

As of March 28, a regular line between Pula and London (Gatwick Airport) will be introduced, which will run 3 times a week, every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. 624 seats are available on this line for the first two rotations.

Rijeka and Zadar lines
Rijeka Airport will have two easyJet lines this summer, to London and Berlin, but they will start operating in May and June, respectively.

A total of 5 lines have been announced for Zadar, to Amsterdam, Basel, Berlin, London and Milan, but like Rijeka, some lines will start operating in May and some in June.

Split lines
For this summer season, 14 regular lines to Split Airport have been announced, and ten lines will start operating this month:

Amsterdam, from 28.03., five times a week,

Basel, from 27.03., daily,

Berlin, from 27.03., four times a week,

Bristol, from 27.03. four times a week,

Geneva, from 27.03., four times a week,

Glasgow, from 27.03., twice a week,

London, from 27.03., six times a week,

Manchester, from 29.03., three times a week,

Naples, from 28.03., four times a week,

Paris, from 29.03., twice a week.

In March alone, easyJet will operate a total of 29 return flights to Split Airport, and thus offer 4,524 seats in the last week of this month alone.

Lines to Luton, Lyon, Milan and Orly will start in May and June, and the number of weekly rotations on all lines will increase from week to week.

Dubrovnik lines
Dubrovnik Airport is a long-term easyJet destination in Croatia, and 8 international routes will depart from Dubrovnik in March for:

Amsterdam, from 27.03., twice a week,

Berlin, from 30.03., twice a week,

Bristol, from 27.03., three times a week,

Edinburgh, from 29.03., twice a week,

Geneva, from 29.03., twice a week,

London, from 27.03., five times a week,

Manchester, from 30.03., twice a week,

Naples, from March 29, three times a week.

easyJet will run 13 return flights to Dubrovnik in the last 5 days of March, with 2,028 seats on sale. Lines to Lyon, Nantes, Orly and Basel will start in May and June.

44 easyJet return flights from March 27 to 31 are a hint of a good summer season in which this well-known low-cost airline will significantly increase its market share compared to the previous two seasons. 

In the peak summer season, easyJet will operate on 42 scheduled international routes from five Croatian airports, but a detailed analysis of the schedule for May, June and July will be known in the weeks ahead, given that operational changes are certainly possible.

Airlines from the A320 family, type A319, A320 and A321NEO, which have a capacity of 156 to 235 seats at easyJet, have been announced on the routes.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.