Holidays Croatia... For an authentic Croatian travel experience: Delightful Vodice - a coastal town with something for everyone

First of all welcome to 2011 - we hope that your Christmas and New Year celebrations were as relaxing and enjoyable as ours! Which leads to us to feature this post on the seaside coastal town of Vodice, not only one of the biggest tourist destinations in Sibenik-Knin county, but on the whole Dalmatian coast. Aside from being a popular summer tourist destination, it is still a very quaint and charming town with a very interesting history.

During what is known as the off season (winter), a number of events are celebrated in Vodice over the Christmas and New Year period. On December 24 the parish church of Sv Kriz (St Cross) in the old city core is host to a very beautiful and traditional midnight Mass service. On December 25 you will see the families from Vodice outside for an evening walk gathering near the prominent town monument and enjoying the goodwill and good spirits enjoyed on Christmas day after a huge feast at home.

The annual Christmas by Sea concert takes place every December 28 and features most of the well-known traditional Dalmatian Klapa (typically all male singing groups, either a'cappella or accompanied by mandolin). They also provide many performances throughout the summer season to the delight of tourists. New Years' Eve is another big celebration, with a marquee being organised in the square of wells (the centre of the town) with performances by popular Croatian contemporary singers or bands.

Vodice is one of the best known tourist destinations on the Adriatic sea, often touted as the Croatian version of the French Riviera. It has a regular population of around 11,000 inhabitants however if has accommodation facilities to host 50,000 tourists each night. This is typically through the summer months from June through to the end of September (although the tourism season is recognised as being April to October), with the busiest period being July and August.

Not only is Vodice popular amongst European visitors largely from Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Italy and Russia as well as an ever-increasing number of visitors from Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, the Scandinavian countries and even the UK, it is also growing in popularity as a domestic summer destination, particularly dwellers from our capital city of Zagreb.

It is located 12km northeast of Sibenik and though is now a town in its own right is considered part of greater Sibenik. It is located on a large bay, in fact it has one of the longest beach front paths stretching from Srima (in the south) all the way to Tribunj (to the north west), and an abundance of swimming beaches along the way. Srima also happens to have among the best stretch of water for windsurfing on the entire Dalmatian coastline.

The Sibenik region is actually host to over 50 percent of Croatia's berths at the many marinas located on its 800 plus kilometres of coastline. Vodice's marina has around 500 berths.

Vodice is well connected to other centres by the Adriatic tourist road and there are numerous ferry lines, too. Split (to the south) and Zadar (to the north) airports are only around an hour's drive from Vodice. The islands of Zirje, Kaprije, Prvic and Murter are a stone's throw away, and are stops for the water taxi service between Vodice and Sibenik.

It is no wonder that Vodice is a popular tourist destination as a delightful seaside town with a host of water and adrenalin activities as well as day trips on offer, by boat or bus during the day and a plethora of eateries, bars and clubs by night. Traditional Dalmatian cuisine including delectably fresh seafood is available at most restaurants and the typical Dalmatian konobas (an old style tavern). Two of the largest nightlclubs are in the vicinity of Vodice - Hacienda, a large open air nightclub on the outskirts of Vodice and Aurora, a large nightclub complex in nearby Primosten, which attract the world's best DJs and local performers and are popular amongst hardened party revellers.

As well as being an attractive destination for adventurists and party goers, Vodice is also one out of hundreds of child friendly places with tourism facilities catering to the needs of families and holiday makers wanting to enjoy summer and the outdoors. Entire families including every age group can be seen promenading the main streets of Vodice enjoying themselves until late on a summer's night, whilst the National Parks Krka and Kornati Islands also in close proximity of Vodice, are teeming with tourists during the peak of summer eager to experience these natural heritage treasures.

Vodice, whose meaning is 'water sources' was founded in Roman times as Arausa (also with the same meaning) due to an abundance of natural underground springs surrounding the area which supplied the region. In fact, by the 19th Century Vodice, ('voda' meaning 'water' in Croatian) was the largest exporter of fresh drinking water and had one of the largest stone paved rivas, proportionately large in relation to the town size, at the time . Today the main square in the town centre, known as 'square of wells' (trg bunara), includes the preservation of the town's original water sources and wells.

Earliest mentions of 'Vodice' can be traced back to 1402 (prior to that the region was Arausa). Important and/or historical monuments in the Vodice region, many of which have hiking or bike paths surrounding them, relating to its history include:

- archeological site of the original Liburnian and Roman settlement Arausa dating as far back as 4th Century BC, located off the main road between modern day Vodice and Gaceleze, where remains of Liburnian necropolis and Roman water system can still be seen.

- Prizba, in the Srima hinterland; the remains of a 5th/6th Century basilica and also the discovery of Ilyrian graves.

- Rakitnica, not far from Okit off the road between Vodice and Gaceleze, is the site of an historical settlement, first settled around 1311. Fairly significant remnants of the original houses still exist, near where the church of St John the Baptist was built in 1455. Construction of Gradina, the fortress, commenced in 1509 by the order of Sibenik administration as a defense system against the Ottomans. The Turks captured Gradina in 1571 and it became an important base for them until their defeat by the Venetians. The remains of Gradina can still be seen.

- The Church of Sv Ilija (St Elias) the Prophet, originally built in 1298, but consecrated to St Elias in 1493, at the foot of Velika Mrdakovica.

- the tiny church of Sv Kriz (St Cross) built in 1402 on the site of the old graveyard, featuring a unique Romanesque-Gothic era baptismal pillar and font.

- The town's defense walls were built in the 15th Century and the Coric tower, in Vodice's medieval town centre surrounded by narrow streets, built from Brac limestone in 1646 - to protect the inhabitants from Turkish attacks during Ottoman rule. It is only one of two to remain.

- dominating the backdrop of the town of Vodice, and visible all the way from Sibenik, you will see Okit - a steep hill providing magnificent panoramic views, on which is built the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, originally constructed in 1660 (but believed to be the site of an even older chapel) with 14 stations of the Cross added in the early 20th Century. This original church was destroyed twice during the 20th Century in WWII and the more recent War of Independence. Architect Nikola Basic designed the recent construction.

- The baroque parish church of Sv Kriz (St Cross) was built in the town centre, a work of architect Ivan Skoko, in 1746 on the site of an old chapel, with a beautiful rosette feature. The bell tower commenced in 1752 by a Dubrovnik builder took 20 years to complete.

The early dwellers of Vodice were mainly farmers and fishermen, whereas nowadays the main source of income is tourism, which has increasingly become a tradition over the last 50 years. The warmth and hospitality of the people of Vodice has seen them naturally embrace tourism and the town is a regular recipient of tourism awards and prizes for a range of reasons: gastronomic offer, town aesthetic and range of tourism offer.

For more information contact:

info.HolidaysCroatia@gmail.com
http://holidaycroatia.blogspot.com/2011/01/delightful-vodice-coastal-town-with.html

We have available select accommodation in coastal locations in and around the Sibenik region. Visitors have already commenced booking since December.