Croatian Adriatic

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Summary: A history of the Dalmatian Coast
Review: The Adriatic coast of Croatia, known as Dalmatia, is made up of quaint fishing villages, 1000 islands, incredible beauty, and several thousand years of history. The area has been under the control of the Turks, the Italians, the Romans, the Greeks, the Venetians, Austria-Hungary, the Illyrians, and others, making for a pot-pourri of traditions. It's hard not to trip over history in these tiny villages (and a few big cities, like Split), which are home to spectacular architecture and churches, and artwork that could be in great museums.

This book is not a tourist guide, per se -- there are no tips on transportation, restaurants, and hotels. But if you are interested in history, it's an invaluable reference for your trip to Croatia. Even the smallest villages have entries. You won't find this information in the villages themselves.

Larger cities and islands in the book have maps highlighting the major attractions - city walls, churches, gates, museums, etc. The information on Split, Dubrovnik, Trogir, et al, is much better than what you get from the tourist office, and more complete than the standard guides (Lonely Plant, Rough Guide.) There is also information on a few towns in Bosnia that can easily be reached from the coast.

I bought this book in order to take a cycling tour of the islands, and I was pleased to see that my German tour guide was also using it. In fact, it's in the window of most bookstores in the larger towns, available in Croatian, German, French, and (only occasionally) English. So buy it before you go!