Croatia’s most colourful summer attraction has taken flight once again. The country’s only tropical butterfly exhibition, "Walk with Butterflies," is welcoming visitors until September 1, giving them the chance to stroll among freely flying tropical species, including the striking Heliconius butterflies, which are making their debut this year. Famous for their vivid wing patterns and unusual ability to feed on toxic passionflower plants, these butterflies are as fascinating as they are beautiful. And if all goes to plan, some of them may soon be fluttering through a new winter habitat too, turning a seasonal experience into a year-round attraction.

A forgotten trail is about to get a second life-and this time it’s designed for walkers, cyclists, and even emergency crews. Croatia’s Dubrovačko Primorje plans to build a five-kilometre route linking Slano with the Ston municipal border, complete with rest areas, solar-powered charging points, bike repair stations, and full accessibility for people with disabilities. The €865,230 project, funded by the European Regional Development Fund, will also preserve the region’s historic dry-stone walls while improving access for firefighters during wildfires. It’s the kind of upgrade that makes tourism a little greener and proves that the best journeys sometimes begin on paths people had almost forgotten.

Sometimes the shortest distance between two countries is finally the one that gets reopened. After more than a decade, Zadar and Italy's Ancona are once again connected by a high-speed seasonal catamaran service, with Jadrolinija's Jelena making the crossing in under four hours. The route operates several times a week, giving tourists and locals a faster way to travel across the Adriatic while strengthening ties between the two coastal cities. If enough passengers come aboard, officials hope this seasonal link could eventually grow into a year-round connection.

Ordering a vape online might seem easy-keeping it out of teenagers' hands is proving much harder. Croatian customs have seized 970 illegal disposable e-cigarettes ordered online by minors and young adults, with officials warning that many came from unregulated suppliers in China and illegal EU warehouses. Health authorities say the unknown contents of these products are especially worrying, as hospitals are already reporting a rise in vaping-related emergencies among teenagers, including chest pain, vomiting, fainting, and seizure-like episodes. With around 50,000 illegal e-cigarettes confiscated over the past year, Croatia is finding that policing the online vape market is becoming almost as challenging as the market itself.

A park that has waited more than a century for a full makeover is finally getting one. Dubrovnik's historic Gradac Park is nearing the end of its first comprehensive restoration in over 100 years, with new walking paths, lighting, playgrounds, an open-air amphitheater, upgraded infrastructure, and thousands of newly planted trees transforming the landmark while preserving its historic character. The €4.41 million project also adds accessible public facilities, improved fire protection, and modern irrigation to help protect the park for decades to come. It's a reminder that sometimes the best renovations aren't about changing history-they're about giving it a much longer future.

More tourists aren't always the answer-sometimes the real challenge is what happens after they arrive. Croatia's prime minister says the country has essentially reached its tourism capacity, with annual totals hovering around 22 million visitors, and argues that future success will depend on keeping prices competitive rather than simply attracting bigger crowds. The first half of 2026 was strong, bringing 7.6 million visitors and 29.5 million overnight stays, but officials believe value for money will now matter more than record-breaking numbers. It's a reminder that in tourism, staying popular can be harder than becoming popular in the first place.

Dubrovnik is best known for its historic walls, but the city's next landmark could be built for music instead of defense. Local authorities have moved a step closer to constructing a new concert hall and congress center, with plans for a 450-seat main auditorium, a smaller performance space, and underground parking on a site developed in partnership with the University of Zagreb. The venue is designed to host concerts, conferences, cultural events, and academic programs, while an international architecture competition will shape its final design once funding is secured. Sometimes the future of a historic city isn't about preserving the past-it's about creating a new stage for it.

Croatia's healthcare system is getting bigger-and increasingly more private. New figures show the country had more than 80,800 healthcare workers and nearly 17,000 doctors by the end of 2025, while the number of healthcare providers continued to grow, driven largely by private medical facilities. The number of specialists also increased, although the nursing workforce became smaller even as more nurses earned higher qualifications. It’s an interesting shift: expanding healthcare today isn't just about adding more people-it’s also about changing who provides the care and how the system evolves.

A holiday doesn't feel much like a holiday if it ends on the side of the road. Dubrovnik has launched its 2026 "Drive Rested, Arrive Safely" campaign, encouraging tourists to take regular breaks and avoid driving while tired during the busy summer season. Police will hand out multilingual safety guides, set up roadside checkpoints, and display road safety messages on digital highway signs after last year's campaign helped cut crashes involving foreign drivers by 21% and fatal accidents by half. Sometimes the smartest travel tip isn't about where to stop-it's about knowing when to.

Sometimes the smartest investment a country can make is convincing its brightest minds to come home. Two Croatian scientists who built successful careers abroad have launched a new international summer school in Dubrovnik, bringing young researchers from across Europe together with leading experts for lectures, workshops, and collaboration. The initiative aims to strengthen Croatia's role in global science while turning Dubrovnik into a growing hub for research and innovation. After years of seeing talent leave, Croatia is betting that the next generation might find even more reasons to stay-or return.

A university diploma may no longer be the only ticket into Europe's tech workforce. Croatia has introduced rules allowing experienced foreign IT professionals without a degree to qualify for an EU Blue Card if an independent panel confirms their skills match the level of higher education. Officials say the move reflects the reality that many top tech specialists built their expertise on the job rather than in a classroom, while helping the country attract more talent. In an industry where experience often speaks louder than diplomas, the rules are finally starting to catch up.

Croatia knows that some of its best traditions are served fresh from the sea. This Saturday, the coastal village of Mlini will celebrate Fishermen's Night with grilled sardines, swordfish, tuna, seafood stews, traditional games and live Dalmatian klapa music in a festive waterfront setting. Organized by the local fishing club with support from the municipality and tourism authorities, the event highlights the country's deep maritime heritage while welcoming both locals and visitors. In Croatia, summer evenings are often at their best when the sea, food and music come together in the same place.

The internet can be a wonderful place-until it isn’t, especially for children. Dubrovnik will open Croatia’s sixth Safe Internet Center through a partnership between local authorities and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, offering education, prevention programs and expert support to help families tackle cyberbullying, harmful online content and digital abuse. Backed by a €345,000 investment, the project will run from September 2026 through August 2029, with funding shared by the city and Dubrovnik-Neretva County. It’s a reminder that creating safer online spaces takes more than parental controls-it takes people willing to step in before problems grow.

Finding a town where no one got divorced is becoming almost as rare as finding one where more babies are born than people die. New figures show Croatia is still facing serious demographic challenges, with deaths far outnumbering births and only six cities recording natural population growth in 2025. At the same time, the island town of Pag stood out for a different reason-it was the only Croatian city where not a single divorce was recorded last year, while 13 couples got married. It's an unusual statistic, but it also highlights how even the happiest local story can't hide the country's much bigger population challenge.

Graffiti can appear overnight, but Zagreb wants to make sure it doesn't stay for long. The city has already received 566 requests to remove graffiti this year and has cleaned 74 buildings, while covering the full cost of removal and applying anti-graffiti coatings to help prevent repeat damage. Property owners can also receive subsidies for surveillance cameras, and newly defaced buildings can now qualify for up to two rapid clean-ups at the city's expense. Sometimes keeping a city looking better isn't about harsher penalties-it's about making vandalism much easier to erase than to create.

Sometimes the safest traffic officer is the one watching from above. Police in Croatia's Dubrovnik region used a drone during a road safety operation in Srebreno and caught 41 traffic violations in a single day, with most involving drivers not wearing seat belts, along with phone use behind the wheel, missing motorcycle helmets, illegal parking, dangerous overtaking and even littering from a moving car. Officers say drones make it much easier to spot risky behaviour in places where traditional roadside monitoring is difficult. The goal, they insist, isn't to hand out more fines-it's to prevent the kind of mistakes that end in serious crashes.

Sometimes the kindest thing you can do for a wild animal is nothing at all. Croatia's Brijuni National Park is reminding summer visitors not to pick up or move young wild animals, as many are not abandoned but simply waiting while their parents forage nearby. Experts say people should only intervene if an animal is clearly injured or in immediate danger, and advise contacting wildlife specialists before taking any action. Sometimes giving nature a little space is the greatest act of care.

Europe's push to strengthen its domestic drone industry is gathering pace. Croatian manufacturer Orqa plans to increase its annual production capacity from about 290,000 to 500,000 units by the end of 2026, supported by new strategic partnerships and a broader expansion of its manufacturing operations. The company says its drones are built without Chinese components, with all design and production kept in-house to strengthen supply chains, reduce reliance on foreign suppliers and scale output more quickly. Sometimes the strongest competitive edge isn't just creating new technology-it's being able to produce it at scale.

A beach chair doesn't come with ownership of the beach. Croatian officials are reminding locals and tourists that the country's beaches and coastline are public property, meaning businesses renting out sunbeds and umbrellas cannot block access, occupy entire beaches or force people to leave areas outside their permitted zones. Authorities say anyone who is threatened, harassed or physically prevented from using a public beach should call the police, while illegal use of coastal land can bring fines of up to €33,000 for companies, €10,000 for sole traders and €6,000 for individuals. Sometimes the best thing to pack for a day at the beach isn't another towel-it's knowing your rights.

One of Croatia's oldest castles is preparing to welcome visitors again after years of restoration and earthquake repairs. Erdödy Castle in Jastrebarsko, a landmark with more than 500 years of history is expected to reopen in mid-2027 following a €25 million restoration that uncovered far more extensive structural damage than first believed. Once completed, the castle will house a library, gallery, music school facilities, community spaces and cultural events, giving one of Croatia's most historic landmarks a new life at the heart of the city. Sometimes the best way to preserve history is to give it a future.