It’s time for you to experience the weirdest Croatian experiences that you would never think of. We assure you that they are overwhelming, wonderful and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Keep your mind open, read our little list and experience a different side of Croatia!
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Town of Hum Celebration of the Election of the Mayor
Each year on the Day of Hum, men of the parish elect their prefect in the traditional way. They cherish their folklore by engraving election votes on wooden sticks. The town prefect is responsible for the parish, settling disputes in the town and deciding penalties for disorderly conduct. The election is followed by a wine & dine festival, which includes traditional dishes made by locals, as well as the homemade wine and brandy, commonly known as medica.
Spy Peacocks on the Island of Lokrum
The island of Lokrum is located 15 minutes from Dubrovnik. Lokrum was once home to Maximilian of Hapsburg, who enriched the horticulture of the island by bringing various animals and plants that he found on his travels around the world. Thanks to him, today you’ll have an opportunity to spy on peacocks brought to Croatia directly from the Canary islands! In these years, those exquisite birds made a home here on Lokrum. Hop on that ferry to visit Lokrum, relax on the beach and collect memories.
Dinner in the Sky above Zagreb
If you’re a fan of odd dinners and you’re ready for a new adventure, we recommend you this unusual event in the heart of the Croatia – Zagreb. The event will be held in front of the Westin Zagreb hotel, where the chosen 22 guests (per meal) will be lifted approximately 50 meters above the land. To be precise, you’ll be having a dinner in the sky. Top chefs from Croatia will be in charge of bringing you the most incredible meals each day, together with the most beautiful view of the city you’ve ever seen. The chef will not only prepare the meal, but he/she will join guests in the dining experience, discussing the food, menu and maybe even the purpose of life. We assure you, that the foodie in you will love the face-to-face relationship with the chef that you can rarely experience in normal restaurants.
Fly-boarding in Kaštela
So, you’re surely wondering now how does it feel to attach a water jet-pack on your body just to fly above the Adriatic sea. Well, we assure you it is an amazing experience even if you’re not ready for it. In that one second when jet-pack is turned on everything becomes clearer – the adventure has begun! Fly-boarding allows you to hover above the water, test your balance and even your nerves. Take a trip to the Dalmatian coast, come to Kaštela that is located north-west of the city of Split and have a time of your life.
Watch a donkey race at Sali (Zadar County)
If you’re an animal lover and you’re fond of unusual events, you should visit Sali, an amazing site on Dugi Otok island. Saljske užance is a traditional cultural festival of this area. Although activities start on Friday with the Fisherman Night, definitely the most interesting event of this festive is donkey race held on the early Sunday morning. Enjoy traditional fish stew, grilled tuna and anchovies, Donkey music performances, along with Dalmatian a cappella singing – called klapsko pjevanje, bag races and tug-of-war. A traditional name for this unique series of donkey races is Trke Tovarov. Maybe you’ll love it, maybe you won’t. Either way, you must be aware that this race is a part of Dalmatian folklore that’s held in Croatia for over 55 years.
Sea Organ in Zadar
If you ever wander in Zadar, you should definitely visit its seaside where unique sounds fill up the air. This city of a long history and tradition is now best known for its unusual seaside audio installation known as the Sea Organ. Opened for public in 2005, they have enriched the coastline of Zadar with its usage of a series of various pipes embedded in a rock. When the waves hit the coast, they create different tones, and you’ll surely feel like you’re in heaven.
This oddly beautiful tunes will make an extraordinary experience even if you’re just your wandering, sipping coffee or just relaxing on the bench of Zadar’s seaside. We must highlight that the Croatian architect Nikola Bašić, the founder of the Sea Organs, won the European Prize for Urban Public Space in 2006 for his remarkable work.
Swimming with horses on the island of Murter
If you ever cross around Murter, be sure to go on an extraordinary adventure – horseback riding lessons through the pleasant landscapes of this island. And that’s not all, if you really want to take horseback riding to another level, you should go and ride them through the water, precisely go for a swim on a back of this gorgeous animal. We bet you’re asking yourself at this moment what are you still waiting for! So, go get that experience whether you are a beginner or an experienced rider, go and enjoy the sea in a way you never have before.
Sleep in a 5-Star Lighthouse
We all know that for an amazing adventurous holiday you don’t need much – but when it comes to sleeping and chill-axing, we’re all looking for the most comfortable place to rest our tired heads. Recently, Croatian accommodation has been enriched by a new way of overnight offer. You’re surely wondering what have they made up now – so we won’t drag on anymore. There are 45 extant lighthouses in Croatia from which there are dozen that have been converted into villas to accommodate overnight guests. The most special one is the one on the island of Vir. Opened in the summer of 2012 after an extensive renovation, Villa Lanterna that is older than 130 years has been transformed into a tastefully modern 5-star, 4-bedroom property, located in a tranquil spot beside a pine forest and a lovely beach, but conveniently situated just 5 miles from the town of Vir. It is a one-time opportunity to sleep in such historical and romantic place.
Saintly mummies
When you’re in Istria and if you’re going north of the city of Pula, you will stumble upon a sleepy little hamlet of Vodnjan. Here, the main attraction definitely is the spooky “thing” inside the town’s Baroque church, St. Blaise. Ask your tour guide to escort you to a room behind the church’s main altar, where lies the very dried but frighteningly intact remains of 6 long-dead Catholic saints, brought here from Italy in the time of war, nearly 2 centuries ago. Among them is St. Nicolosa Bursa, whose 500-year-old mummy is claimed to be the best preserved in Europe, and is furthermore reputed to work miracles against a various number of diseases. The church is also home to a reliquary with more than 350 glass-protected holy artifacts, including a thorn of Jesus’ crown and the undecayed tongue of St. Mary of Egypt.
Taste the Wine in an Under-Airport Cave
Under the Dubrovnik’s international airport lies a timeless and other-worldly cave filled with stalactites, stalagmites and traces of human activity from the Bronze and Iron ages. For the last couple of years, the nearly 100,000-square-foot cave has been transformed to something much more modern: a naturally-chilled wine cellar, with a selection of the most appreciated wines from Croatia’s nearby Konavle region. Đurović Cave, as it’s officially known, is therefore now also called Skycellar, and is accessible by a 130-foot tunnel that starts with an entrance near the airport’s main office. After touring the magnificent cave, guests can sample the Skycellar wines and when they decide which one is the greatest, they can proceed their tour around Dubrovnik.
