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Interview With Ivana Grzetic - Former Miss Universe Croatia -
By Susanne Pacher, Fri Dec 9th
In one of my searches on the Internet about interesting travelwebsites I found a site on sea kayaking in the Adriatic. Icontacted the webmaster to do a mutual link exchange and uponfurther investigation, I asked Ivana, one of the founders of thewebsite, to actually do an interview with me. As you will see,she is an expert on Croatia and a pretty interesting individualherself. Ivana Grzetic was born and raised in Dubrovnik in a "crazy aboutthe sea" family of scuba divers and sea kayakers. She is agraduate of ACMT (American College of Management and Technology)in Dubrovnik. As Miss Universe Croatia 1998 and a fashion model, Ivanatraveled all over the world, including Hawaii, California, HongKong, China, South Korea and Europe. She now looks forward tosharing her knowledge and love of the Dubrovnik region and thesea with international visitors. (Article continued below)
In 2003, Ivana Grzetic and Edi Brkic founded Adriatic SeaKayaking. Their mission is to offer Dubrovnik visitors anopportunity to experience and explore the Dalmatian coast,Elafiti islands, the Mediterranean waters, and the region'shistory and culture in a safe, healthy, active way. Adriatic SeaKayaking offers top quality active excursions that celebrate theregion's natural beauty and cultural heritage with minimalnegative environmental impact. 1. Please tell us a bit about Croatia, its location, itslandscapes, cities and history. Croatia is situated in the middle of Europe, between Italy,Hungary, Slovenia and Bosnia. Although this country has only 4,7million inhabitants, it has three completely different regions:costal, continental and mountain. Perhaps the most attractiveone is costal, Mediterranean Croatia - the land of islands.Namely, in this part of Croatia there are 1185 islands! The most attractive town in Croatia is Dubrovnik (50,000inhabitants), situated at the southern part of Croatian coast.Surrounded with majestic almost 2km long City Walls, this townis a part of World Heritage. Among many attractions there are:Rector's Palace-once a seat of Dubrovnik's Government,Franciscan Monastery with 3rd oldest pharmacy in Europe andlovely Romanesque -Gothic cloister, baroque Cathedral, St.Blaze's Church, 2nd oldest Synagogue in Europe, Jesuit churchwith small version of 'Spanish Steps'. Dubrovnik has the most amazing history: for almost 5 centuriesit was an independent republic (1358-1808), which had its owngovernment and the Rector- who was the head of the Republic.During that period Dubrovnik was one of the richest towns andone of the most powerful commercial centers in Europe. 2. Please tell us about the transport connections to Croatia.How does one get to Croatia? Croatia has 3 international airports: Zagreb, Split andDubrovnik. Zagreb is well connected with most European countriesyear round. During the season (April - October) there are directcharter flights from UK, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Italy,Germany, France, Spain and many other European countries toDubrovnik and Split. Dubrovnik has direct ferry lines with Bari and Ortona in Italy,while Split and Zadar are well connected with Ancona and Pescara(Italy). Highway construction between Zagreb-Dubrovnik is inprocess, and at the moment we have a highway from Zagreb toSibenik (80 km north of Split). There is a local road fromSibenik to Split and Dubrovnik (Dubrovnik is 220km southern fromSplit) 3. Please comment on the accommodation options in Croatia (eg.hotels, motels, apartment rentals, bed and breakfasts, camping,etc.) Croatia offers a variety of accommodation options: camps,private rooms, private apartments, hostels and hotels. There aremany good campsites on the coast. However, wild camping is notallowed, especially on the islands. Private accommodation isgaining in popularity and can be booked over the Internet.Booking private accommodation, you usually book only overnightsince most of private accommodation owners do not offerbreakfast and other meals. Hotels have very good standards.Those mainly offer breakfast included, although you can findsome that offer all-inclusive programs. 4. What are the major tourist areas in Croatia? What type ofactivities are there for travellers? The main tourist area in Croatia is its costal part, which couldbe divided into 2 main regions: Istria-at the northern part,with towns: Rovinj, Umag, Porec and Dalmatia at the southernpart of Croatian coast, with towns: Dubrovnik, Split, Sibenik,Zadar, Makarska and islands: Brac, Hvar, Korcula, Mljet, Pag.Two largest towns along the Croatian coast are Split and Rijeka.Both have a population under 300,000. The island of Pag is agreat party place, ideal for young people. Istrian and Dalmatiantowns offer a range of opportunities for tourists: from culturalsightseeing to fine dining, nightlife, and day activities: seakayaking, diving, sailing. In Dubrovnik region, apart from seakayaking, diving and sailing, there are very interestinghorseback riding, jeep safari and wine tasting tours. 3. What is the weather like in Croatia? What times of year arebest to go to Croatia? Croatia is a country of three different climates: continental-onthe north, mountain - in middle of Croatia and Mediterranean inits costal part. At the costal part of Croatia summers are long,dry and hot while winters are mild and humid, with lots of rain.The best period to come to Croatia is a period from early Aprilto mid-October. If you are coming for the sea, June, July,August and September are best. However, during July and AugustCroatia gets very crowded. 4. You are located in the city of Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik was alsoaffected by the Balkan wars in the early 1990s. Please commenton this difficult time and also give us a description of thiscity today. During its history, Dubrovnik never had real war on itsterritory, until 1991. The major weapon of the DubrovnikRepublic was its skillful diplomacy. Namely, Dubrovnik wasnegotiating and very often buying its freedom. The cost wassometimes really high, but it was always worth of it. When the war in Croatia started, nobody really believed thatDubrovnik - a city enlisted in World Heritage, would be reallyattacked. The period between 1991 and 1992 was the hardest timeof Dubrovnik's history. The city was bombarded from the air,from land and from sea. The main street in Dubrovnik - Stradunwas burning. There was no water and electricity; the shelves inthe supermarkets were completely empty. One could buy only breadat that time. It seemed like there was no way out... Reconstruction took place immediately after the war. Today onecould never imagine what was going on in Dubrovnik in earlynineties. The city is full of tourists and this year LonelyPlanet proclaimed it as one of the most popular destinations inthe world. 5. Your company provides sea kayaking tours, from day-longoutings to week-long tours. Please tell us more about what yourcompany does and what makes your tours unique. Adria Avanture is the only sea kayaking company from Dubrovnik.We offer a wide range of sea kayaking tours: Half day tours: with daily departures from Dubrovnik to theislands of Lokrum and Kolocep. These tours do not require anyprevious paddling experience. Multy Day Tours: Short Break Tourand One week Kayaking cater to ones who are looking foradventure and escape from every day stress. We also offer some very interesting teambuilding programs. At Adria Avanture we emphasize on very personal service. Ourguides are here at home and they know every rock, every hiddenbay on your route, local people and interesting stories of theplaces you visit. We support the Croatian slogan: "Help us keepthe Adriatic clean". We leave the environment as it is. All wetake with us are the photos and the memories. This is why localpeople are friendly to kayakers. 6. How did you come up with this business idea, how long haveyou been in business and where do your clients come from? Whattime of year do you offer these tours? I was born in a 'crazy about the sea' family of scuba divers andkayakers. My parents transmited to me a love for nature and thesea. As a fashion model, I spent some time in Greece, where Isaw organized sea kayaking tours. This inspired me and in 2003,together with my boyfriend I founded Adria Avanture. We organizesea kayaking excursions from May to October. Majority of ourclients come from UK, Ireland, Sweden, Norway and USA. Thank you, Ivana, for sharing your expert insight into thebeautiful, up and coming region of Croatia with us.
About the author:Susanne Pacher is the publisher ofhttp://www.travelandtransitions.com. It deals with travel toforeign countries and is chock full of advice, tips, real lifetravel experiences, interviews with travellers, insights,cross-cultural issues, and many other features. Participate inour travel story contesthttp://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm and win greatprizes, a fabulous cruise to the Amazon. Life is a Journey -Explore New Horizons. | 