Adrenaline Inland Dalmatia, Ideal for Volvo Stunt Advertising

As the new Volvo truck commercial featuring Jean Claude Van Damme goes viral (more than 60 million views already - probably more than this article will get...), it is a reminder of Volvo truck commercials of the past, including the spectacular highlining performance from Faith Dickey on the motorway near Vrgorac last year. Inland Dalmatia at its most daring...

The motorway had not yet been opened, so Faith did not have to worry about other traffic, but traffic was the least of her worries in this quite incredible video.

Things have changed since she made the attempt, however, and the Vrgorac section of the motorway opened earlier this week, linking the port of Ploce with inland Dalmatia. Hold on to your seats and watch Faith in action. Needless to say, you should not try this at home. Or on a motorway.

New Section of Motorway To the Coast at Ploce Opens

Great news for tourists coming to Central Dalmatia from the south for the 2014 season - the latest stretch of the Zagreb - Dubrovnik motorway is now open. 

The coastal port of Ploce and border town of Metkovic are now connected to the network after the mountainous and complicated section near Vrgorac was finally completed. This will now relieve peak season traffic congestion along the coastal road, and considerably speed up transit times between Dubrovnik and Split.

Further construction of the motorway to Dubrovnik is on hold, however, until a solution for the Neum Corridor (the 23km stretch of Bosnian territory which intersects Croatia) is found. 

The Christmas Fair on the Split Riva

(all photos by Jakov Prkic)

The stunning December weather has been the icing on the cake for what has been a very successful 2013 for Split tourism. Some hardy souls are jumping around in the Adriatic playing picigin, but the saner part of the population has plenty to enjoy outdoors without getting too cold.

One great addition to the recent Split events calendar has been the introduction of the Christmas fair on Riva, which has really brought the waterfront to life. The various small blue and white cottages, offering drinks, food and souvenirs, have been doing a brisk trade since they opened a few weeks ago.

From morning coffee to early evening entertainment, music later on or a very late night drink, the fair has been an excellent addition to the December atmosphere in Split. And to think that people are flying to snow-covered Egypt in search of late season sun and fun... 

Central Dalmatia Tourist Board Releases New Promotional Video

The Central Dalmatia Tourist Board is delighted to release its latest promotional video, showing off the incredible beauty and diversity of this fantastic region.

The question is simple: What is Central Dalmatia? The answer? Well to get to that, sit back and relax and take a tour of what awaits you in 2014...

A Christmas Fair to Bring Festive Cheer on Split Riva

With the Christmas festive season soon upon us, the Split Tourist Board has announced that last year's very successful Christmas Fair will be repeated once more this year.

The popular Riva promenade in front of Diocletian's Palace will assume a festive look from November 30, as some 30 white cottages will be erected and remain there until January 10 next year, filled with food, drink music and souvenirs.

The fair will be opened by Split mayor Ivo Baldasar on November 30.

Split Cruise Tourism Breaks 200,000 Passengers for 2013

The 2013 tourist season in Central Dalmatia has been an unqualified success, with significant increases in flights, visiting tourists and overnight stays, and all the signs are that 2014 is going to be another great year.

One area where there has been a major increase is in cruise tourism, which has played its part in helping to prolong the season in Split.

The final large cruise ship off the season, the 1,000 passenger Splendour of the Seas, arrived in Split on November 17, and its passengers were among the more than 200,000 cruise passengers who visited the Dalmatian capital in 2013. This number is well below the million visitors to Dubrovnik, which shows the growth potential of cruise tourism, a growth in Split which will be further facilitated by work in the harbour of Split, which will allow for docking of ships up to 300 metres in length.

Picigin, the First Beach Sport to Become Cultural Heritage

Cental Dalmatia may be popular because of its excellent beaches, but it also has an astonishing amount of cultural heritage to be explored. But until now, beach and cultural heritage have not mixed.

Meet picigin, the world's first beach sport to achieve cultural heritage status. The Ministry of Culture has included picigin on its list of protected cultural goods, as a non-material heritage.

Tourists visiting Split will have seen the strange spectacle of fully grown adults throwing themselves full stretch in the shallow waters of Bacvice in desperate attempts to keep a small ball in the air. The game picigin started at Bacvice almost 100 years ago, and now has its own world championships, held each year in Split.

To get a flavour of the sport, check out the video below, and don't be afraid to ask to join in a game next time you are at Bacvice.