Every now and then Dubrovnik gets recognized by the most popular world magazines and websites. The latest one has been published at Forbes with a title 'Why Dubrovnik should be high on your travel list' and is a really good promotion of our beautiful city.

The author has been really surprised by Croatia, calling it a ''a place unlike any other'' but Dubrovnik enchanted her. 

- The dreamiest old city in Croatia is Dubrovnik, in the middle of the Dalmatian Coast. Known as the Pearl of the Adriatic, it’s a place that is medieval, mythical and occasionally magical – writes Forbes journalist and adds some facts about history, saying that 'atmosphere, passion and deliciousness explain why some 2 million tourists descended on Dubrovnik last year'.

Game of Thrones is also mentioned, of course, just like the crowds that can be avoided, according to the author by coming during the winter or exploring the City in the morning or the evening. The other solution is to just enjoy the busyness!

She also brings some restaurant recommendations and since Old City is quite small and can be soaked up in a few days the journalist promotes also Peljesac and Elaphiti Islands. For more details check out the original article.

According to data from the eVisitor and eCrew information systems, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) has announced that in the period from the 1st of January to the 9th of September 2016 Croatia recorded 13.63 million tourist arrivals and 80.24 million overnight stays.

''Since the beginning of this year we have already achieved over 80 million overnight stays thus we've surpassed last year's results achieved in all twelve months of 2015. These great results would not have been possible without cooperation between the public and private sectors, the innovativeness and commitment to work of all our workers in the tourism industry'', said the Croatian Minister of Tourism Anton Kliman, adding that this year's income from tourism would be above all expectations.

Ratomir Ivcic, the director of HTZ said that it was not at all easy to surpass last year's results in only nine months, ''This is an excellent result considering the fact that last year 80,02 overnight stays were achieved according to the tourist traffic data gathered from all tourist boards in Croatia. This result also indicates that tourists in Croatia stay longer and that eVisitor system has significantly contributed to more accurate register of tourist traffic''.

Even though the current weather conditions aren’t ideal for swimming in the Adriatic the latest findings show that the sea in the Dubrovnik region has excellent water quality.

The regular testing of the sea water quality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County by the Department of Environmental Protection and Nature has revealed that of the 115 beaches in the county 105 have excellent water quality.

The only beaches that didn’t reach the highest levels were the Portina beach in Ploce, Prapratno, Supavo, the water polo beach in Cavtat, the Banje, the Hotel Argentina and Mali Zaton, which all recorded good quality. Whilst the beaches in Srebreno, Kupari and Hotel Supertar in Cavtat all recorded satisfactory levels.

The current sea temperature in the Dubrovnik region is around 23 degrees.

Croatia is a country well known for its natural beauties and stunning coastline of ''a thousand islands'' which attracts more and more tourists each year especially those with ''deeper pockets'' such as yachtsmen.

In the last five-six years there has been a large number of gay men who like to sail the Adriatic and consider Croatia as a gay friendly destination.

Each year more and more young men as well as young women opt for Croatia as their holiday destination on the recommendation of those who already visited our country. They choose Croatia as a supreme holiday destination which offers them peace and quiet, beautiful natural scenery, excellent cuisine, friendly hosts and true freedom in expressing their mutual love while sailing.

''They are great guests who prefer solitude during the day, they like hidden coves to freely enjoy their time with a partner, whilst in the evening they choose top restaurants for enjoyment in our cuisine. They are very demanding guests, but within reasonable limits. No acting, just hedonism'', says an owner of a boat charter company in Croatia.

These guests usually plan their summer holidays in advance; they rent a boat or a yacht and already know which route they will sail in order to take advantage of all the benefits of the Adriatic such as hidden coves and nightlife spots.

''They are extremely tidy, a yacht or a boat is spotless after seven days of their stay. These types of guests like to drink alcohol in large quantities especially all kinds of quality vodka as well as expensive cognac. As far as wines are concerned, they always like to try local brands especially wines on islands they visit. But they always require top products. Everything is top about them even their trained and sculpted bodies!'', says with a smile a lady skipper from Split.

Even those who are not GOT fans know it – Dubrovnik is King's Landing and an important part of the Game of Thrones series. While on the break from watching the series, since season 6 has ended and 7 has just started filming, the real fans of GOT may want to visit the famous filming locations.

That's why website Mashable has made a list of 5 essential trips for Game of Thrones superfans, organized by house. Dubrovnik, as King's Landing, is representing house Lannister that is currently ruling the Seven Kingdoms.
- To truly capture the Lannister experience in Dubrovnik, one need only stride about its rocky passages and gaze intensely to sea, scheming how best to maintain your power. But when you need to recuperate from all that angst, explore Dubrovnik's world-class dining scene for a feast fit for a Lannister. If you're feeling really extravagant à la Tyrion, Restaurant 360° is a Michelin Star eatery that serves classic Mediterranean dishes. For the Cersei sympathiser, Croatian viticulture is an art certainly worth appreciating – writes Mashable.

When it comes to filming locations they mention Stradun and ''walk of shame'' stairs near St. Ignatius Church and Trsteno Arboretum but as we all know – there are many more filming locations worth a visit. We're sure the Game of Thrones superfans already have them on their schedule.

When you are preparing to travel somewhere or when you reach the destination the most important things in that moment are where to sleep, what to do and where to eat. If you are a vegetarian or vegan in Dubrovnik it can get tricky because in Croatia many people believe that a meal without meat isn't a real meal.

But it's not all lost. Since Dubrovnik is touristic city, everbody do their best to please their costumers. Vilda Magazine brings few tips and tricks for vegans and vegetarians in Dubrovnik.

First is to stay in a apartment or a good hotel. Of course, if you're used to preparing your own meals in your own taste the best thing you can do is to rent an apartment with a kitchen where you can prepare your own breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can go to the green market and get local products. It could save you money, since restaurants can be quite expensive, but if you don't feel like cooking on your vacation then the alternative is a good hotel where you can check what they offer before you come.

Vilda Magazine also suggests restaurant Nishta, which has a complete vegetarian and vegan menu and Marco Polo, a regular restaurant that serves vegan food. Also, there is Bio&Bio shop, which can make your stay even more easier.

The most important tip they bring, in our opinion, is to be nice and ask. Yes, many restaurants don't have vegan food, but if you explain them what you want they will do their best to fullfill your wishes. Just don't be shy!

Bored of the same old restaurants, with the same familiar menus and the same tired interiors...looking for a gastronomic adventure with a difference. We just might have the solution, a blind supper club. On the 18th of September at 7 o’clock this first ever blind supper club will be held.

Not so much a meal, more a dining experience, the concept of a blind supper club might not be one you are familiar with. So to bring you up to speed, firstly the location is different to what you might expect; it is like a private club and definitely not a restaurant. You could be dining on the roof of a building, in a vineyard or in a cave. It’s blind because the menu of what you will taste isn’t revealed until the very last moment, and sometimes not until you sit down. Although this concept is new to Dubrovnik it is certainly popular in the US and the UK.

It is called the Gypsy Table and it will bring together the top culinary talent in Croatia to prepare the best locally-sourced products available, served up in the most beautiful and unique locations in the country all for a great cause…charity. Each future event will have a Croatian charity as the beneficiary of a portion of the proceeds from the event. What makes this even more special, is that the location will remain a secret until shortly prior to the event.

This first ever Dubrovnik “Gypsy Table” is being organised by Croatian-American chef and adventure diner Richard Gruica aka Foodzilla and the head chef of the elite Dubrovnik eatery “Stara Loza” Damir Saric. Judging by this duos CV’s we can expect a night of creative cuisine.

“We wanted to explore the possibilities of a new gastronomic experience in Dubrovnik and a blind supper club ticks all the boxes,” explained Saric to The Dubrovnik Times. “Who knows where we will organise supper clubs, we have plenty of ideas but for now we don’t want to give too much away,” said the head chef. A Secret Location! A big part of attending a Gypsy Table dinner is the excitement of the unknown. Not only will the menu be a surprise, but the location as well. Guests will receive the information on the exact location up to 48 hours prior to the event. Maybe it’s a candlelit dinner in the courtyard of an ancient monastery or communal table atop a secluded hilltop. One thing for sure–it will be totally unique and an evening to remember.

The beneficiary for the dinner is the Žarkovica Aninal Shelter. The event will consist of an all-inclusive feast featuring amazing edible delights, craft beer, wonderful wines, hand crafted cocktails, music and much more. Tickets are 50 Euro per person or 90 Euro per pair. Tickets can be purchased directly at gypsytable.eventbrite.com or via gypsytable.com Tickets will not be sold to walks up and this will be strictly prohibited. 

And according to the team details of the next Gypsy Table Pop-Up will be announced at the conclusion of the first dinner, which will take part in the Dubrovnik Good Food Festival.

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Richard Gruica at 385919500081 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can more details at gypsytable.com

Ryanair is making the Dalmatian city of Zadar a mini-hub, the low cost airline already operates to thirteen European destinations from the city and has now announced a new destination for 2017.

From March Ryanair will add Glasgow to their Zadar operations, with seasonal flights which will run twice a week. Tickets are not yet available for purchase on the airline’s website.

Ryanair predicts that it will handle around 315,000 passengers on flights to Zadar this year. This is still no news as to whether Dubrovnik will become another Croatian destination for the budget airline.