More than 1,000 islands dotted about the sparkling Adriatic Sea, charming old cities, timeless landscapes, national parks and an easy pace. It's little wonder that the Croatian tourist board uses the slogan: "the Mediterranean as it once was". Travellers taking cheap flights to Croatia will discover that it has all the beauty, weather and relaxed way of life of other Mediterranean countries, but without the Eurozone priciness.
Zagreb, in the centre of Croatia, is the capital, a charming red-roofed and cobble-stoned city with two Old Towns. Along the Dalmatian Coast, Croatia's cities are strung out like pearls, each more beautiful than the last.
At the southern end of the country lies Dubrovnik, a charming, cultured and chocolate-box pretty city with a World-Heritage listed Old Town. Shelled during the Croatian War of Independence in the early 1990s, it was rebuilt perfectly.
Split, further north, is Croatia's second-largest city. The stand-out attraction here are the remains of an imperial palace built for Diocletian, the Roman Emperor, at the start of the 4th Century AD.
In Pula, the largest town on the Istrian peninsula in the north of Croatia, stands one of the best-preserved Roman amphitheatres in the world. It sported a red neck tie, briefly, in 2003, to pay tribute to the birthplace of the tie.
Off the coast, the islands are gems; Hvar, Korcula and Brac are the most popular.