GAY TRAVEL IN CROATIA

Croatia has a double ‘personality’ with its thousand Adriatic islands adjacent to picturesque mountains
and lakes. But it’s also a survivor of the bloody Balkan wars where massacres and ethnic cleansing ravaged
the land in the 1990’s. Narrow-minded socialist thinking still expresses some sharp intolerance toward gays
and lesbians. But time, peace and prosperity have helped in the healing of war scars while new national
legislation has given first-time recognition of LGBT partnerships.



Occasionally in my research on LGBT life in distant countries I come across a web site
that’s
neatly organized, easy to use and very informative. They nearly render my own
storytelling unnecessary. Such as web site exists for gay Croatia; it’s called simply
Gay Croatia Tourist Info .

There are not many official LGBT venues in Croatia. Global Club in Zagreb is the only
danceclub for homosexuals in the country
. Except for Global Club and some saunas
in Zagreb
most places in Croatia are unofficial meeting-places. LGBT people in Croatia
generally meet each other outdoors in public places, which are known to be gay friendly
but don’t specifically count as being gay.

If you’re visiting Croatia during summer you’ll have the best chance to meet LGBT people by
visiting some of the beaches mentioned in our guide or by contacting some of the LGBT
organisations. In public places homosexuals tend to act “straight” and therefore hard
to “detect” while they’re much more relaxed on the gay-friendly beaches
. It’s usually
very easy to make contact with people in Croatia and when you get a Croatian friend you’ll
have a friend for life.

   


This past July and August, Hvar Island  became a gay-Mecca. Guests from the large European
gay week event  filled hotel Croatia and all other accommodations. “As long as they are paying
customers, it’s all good” say island inhabitants. Hvar Island will saw an invasion of gay tourists from
the entire Europe. Dalmatian Coast is included among this years 10 best new locations for gay
summer holidays.

Croatia – often called the Queen of the Mediterranean, the land of a thousand of islands,
beaches and opportunities. Or plainly, as we should say in Croatian – welcome to “Lijepa Nasa”
[”Our Beautiful”]. Croatia is an inexpensive, peaceful and guest-friendly country with easy
customs and some of the most untouched and unique landscapes in Europe. You are always
welcome, whatever the purpose of your visit may be. As a tourist in this country, you will always
be treated as a dear friend.

The number of visitors is increasing for each year and Croatia has the highest rate of new tourist
arrivals of all Mediterranean countries. The number of tourists raised by 5% in 2005. Croatia is a
popular destination for the international Jet Set and you shouldn’t be surprised if you see familiar
faces such as those of the members of European royal families or prominent personalities from the
world of business, sport and film. Croatia has been visited by Princess Caroline of Monaco and her
 husband Prince Ernst August of Hannover, King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium, Steven
Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw, Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie, the actress Vanessa
Redgrave and one of the richest persons in the world – the Sultan of Oman just to mention a few.

 

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