DALMATIA

Why the off-season is special

Once the summer crowds have dispersed, time slows down and life becomes more easygoing – people stop to chat and sit for hours over morning coffee. As Croatian winter sets in, there are some glorious days of blue sky and sunshine, interspersed with gusty winds and dramatic cloud formations when the Adriatic becomes wild and grey and only the most hardened fishermen brave the sea.

In deep winter, behind the coast, the rugged Dinaric Alps are often snowcapped, adding an extra dimension of wonder. Popular attractions are blissfuly uncrowded, so you might walk the ramparts of Dubrovnik’s magnificent City Walls and the 14th-century Ston Walls (on nearby Peljesac peninsula) without another tourist in sight. Likewise, you can explore the Roman streets and monuments of Diocletian’s Palace in Split and the medieval hilltop Klis Fortress with few distractions, other than whistling wind or dazzling winter sunshine.

Dalmatia’s touristy restaurants are shut from November until Easter (as are most hotels), so what you have left are the places locals like – down-to-earth eateries serving time-honoured Dalmatian classics. Seasonal specialities include bakalar (dried cod, slow-cooked with garlic, potato, olive oil and white wine) and fritule (warm bite-sized doughnuts) during Advent, and sarma (cabbage leaves stuffed with minced meat and rice) at Christmas.

A few hardy folk still swim in the sea (around 15C) through winter, so if you’re brave and a little mad, you might take a dip in the Adriatic. In Split, locals favour Bacvice bay, which is south-facing and shallow, so tends to be warmer than other waters on sunny days.

Winter savings

Although many hotels are shut, several offer cosy winter retreats. In Dubrovnik, just outside the old town, Hotel Excelsior (00 385 20 300 300; adriaticluxuryhotels.com) comes complete with a spa and indoor pool. A double B&B in January costs from £149; in July that rises to £404. Alternatively, Van Bloemen

Apartments (vanbloemen.com) offer homely self-catering in the heart of the Old Town (double in January from £65); in July from £90).

In Split, grand dame Hotel Park (00 385 21 406 400; hotelpark-split.hr) offers superior double B&B in January £147 (in July £331) and overlooks Bacvice bay. Further along the coast, the Radisson Blu Hotel & Resort Split (00 385 21 303 030; radissonhotels.com) has standard double B&Bs in January from £110 (in July, the same rooms cost from £366) and does winter wellness packages.

Each year in October and March, Tjedan Restorana (Restaurant Week) sees dozens of restaurants offer set three-course menus at 50 per cent off regular prices.

British Airways (ba.com) flies to Dubrovnik twice weekly from Gatwick. Alternatively, Croatia Airlines (croatiaairlines.com) serves Zagreb from London Heathrow four times weekly, and Ryanair (ryanair.com) from Manchester twice weekly. From Zagreb, you have connecting flights to Dubrovnik and Split.

What to do

“At this time of year we focus mostly on culture and food, and stay away from water activities,” says Alan Mandić of Secret Dalmatia (secretdalmatia.com), a boutique tour operator. “Cooking classes are a favourite. With Jolanda (a professional chef from the island of Vis) in her apartment in Split, guests prepare traditional Dalmatian seafood with a creative twist. Winter is ideal, as we can get prime seafood, unlike in high season, when everything is reserved for restaurants.”

Outdoorsy types might go it alone hiking. “The easiest hike takes you from Dubrovnik, following a serpentine path, to the top of Mt Srđ (1,352ft), for great views onto the Old Town,” says Mare Ivanišin of Hiking Dubrovnik (hikingdubrovnik.com). “A more serious hike takes you to the highest local peak, Mount Snijeznica (4,048ft) in Konavle, starting from Mihanici or Kuna Konavoska. The terrain is rocky and the trail marked with red and white signs.” From the top, you have stunning panoramic views inland to the mountains of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, and west over the shimmering blue Adriatic.

More hedonistic pleasures include wine tasting – near Dubrovnik, try family-run Crvik (crvik-wine.com) in the Konavle Valley – and wellness breaks. In Split, the Radisson Blu’s vast Spalato Spa (spalatospa.com) has a 20-metre sea-view indoor pool, plus saunas, Jacuzzi, massage, and lush beauty treatments.

Dubrovnik and Split both host Advent Fairs through December, with kiosks vending mulled wine, and honour New Year with open-air concerts and midnight fireworks. Come February, Dubrovnik celebrates Carneval with masks, costumes and parades.

Join the locals

Morning coffee by the sea is a yearround pleasure. Never mind if there is snow on the mountains – wrap up well, don your shades, take a table at an open-air café, and enjoy the sunshine. In Split, in the shallow waters of Bacvice bay, you can also watch locals play picigin, an eccentric ball game, which requires a lot of leaping and splashing, as players pass a ball at high speed without letting it fall into the sea. They play every morning, regardless of the weather.

People from Dubrovnik love the rustic eateries of the Konavle Valley. Most work weekend-only through winter, and require advanced reservation. A favourite is Kameni Mlin (kameni-mlin.com) in an old stone mill in Cilipi, where everything on offer is home grown. Further into the valley, near Ljuta, Konavoski Dvori (esculaprestaurants.com) is set in woodland next to a river. Come midMarch, local gastronomes head for Peljesac peninsular, for the annual Ston Oyster Festival.

Last but not least, popular sporting events include the Hvar International New Year Regatta (Dec 27-31 2022) and the Split Marathon (splitmarathon. com) on Feb 26 2023).