AMERICAN PUBLIC TELEVISION PRESENTS...

THE SPLENDORS OF THE WORLD IN THE LIFELIKE REALITY OF HIGH-DEFINITION TELEVISION.

STUNNING COASTAL SCENERY, DREAMY MARBLE TOWNS, ROMAN RUINS, HUNDREDS OF ISLANDS, AND A UNIQUE CULTURAL ADVENTURE-- THIS OFF-THE-BEATEN-TRACK PARADISE WILL BOWL YOU OVER.

NEXT UP, CROATIA'S DALMATIAN COAST ON "SMART TRAVELS."

MAJOR CORPORATE SUPPORT FOR "SMART TRAVELS" IS PROVIDED BY EXPEDIA.COM, A TRAVEL WEBSITE THAT OFFERS TRAVELERS A VARIETY OF WAYS TO CREATE THE TRIP THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, INCLUDING FLIGHTS, HOTELS, AND VACATION PACKAGES.

EXPEDIA.COM: DON'T JUST TRAVEL.

TRAVEL RIGHT.

CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Announcer: "SMART TRAVELS" IS A GRAND TOUR OF THE OLD WORLD-- THE PEOPLE, PLACES, SIGHTS, AND DISTINCTLY EUROPEAN FLAVORS.

OUR HOST IS TRAVEL WRITER AND COLUMNIST RUDY MAXA, PUBLIC RADIO'S ORIGINAL SAVVY TRAVELER.

NOW, TIPS, TRIPS, AND SECRET PLACES ON "SMART TRAVELS."

[BIRDS CALLING] Maxa: LIMPID, CALM WATERS... ROCK-BOUND COVES, AND SHIMMERING STONE CITIES-- CROATIA'S DALMATIAN COAST IS EUROPE'S LESS-TRAVELED RIVIERA.

[MAN SINGING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE] Maxa: ANCIENT STONE TOWNS, RENAISSANCE PALACES, AND ROMANTIC FORTRESSES DOT THE LANDSCAPE.

ROCKY ISLANDS-- SOME INHABITED, OTHERS WILD SANCTUARIES-- BECKON ACROSS THE PLACID SEA.

FRESH SEAFOOD AND LOCAL WINE ENLIVEN THE CUISINE.

ALL THAT AND A SUNNY CLIMATE MAKE DALMATIA A PRIME MEDITERRANEAN DESTINATION.

DALMATIA IS THE COASTAL REGION OF CROATIA, WITH A HISTORY OF ITS OWN.

THIS BEAUTIFUL AND STRATEGIC REGION HAS BEEN FOUGHT OVER FOR CENTURIES BY THE ROMANS, VENETIANS, HUNGARIANS, TURKS, AND FRENCH.

DALMATIA'S MORE POWERFUL NEIGHBORS TOOK WHAT THEY WANTED AND KEPT THE POPULACE IN POVERTY.

YET THROUGH THEIR INGENUITY AND INDEPENDENT SPIRIT, THE COASTAL PEOPLE MANAGED TO FLOURISH IN THE 15th AND 16th CENTURIES, BOASTING A HUGE MERCHANT FLEET.

IN THE EARLY 1990s, A DEVASTATING CIVIL WAR ROCKED THE REGION.

TODAY, ONLY THE MISMATCHED ROOF TILES RECALL THAT WAR, AND TOURISM HAS RETURNED FULL FORCE.

TOUGH, RESILIENT, POETIC, AND PROUD, DALAMATIA TODAY IS THRIVING, AND THE VISITOR WILL FIND MODERN FACILITIES, GREAT FOOD, AND WARM, WELCOMING PEOPLE.

THERE'S SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS AND EXOTIC ABOUT THE DALMATIAN COAST.

YOU TRULY FEEL AS THOUGH YOU HAVE STUMBLED BACK IN TIME AMID ALL THE TURRETS, TOWERS, AND ANCIENT RUINS.

ADD TO THAT THE SUN, THE SURF, THE SOLITUDE, AND YOU HAVING THE MAKINGS OF A PERFECT HOLIDAY.

OUR JOURNEY IN DALMATIA BEGINS IN DUBROVNIK.

THEN WE ISLAND-HOP TO KORCULA BY WAY OF STON.

BACK ON THE MAINLAND, WE VISIT SPLIT, TROGIR, AND FINALLY THE ISLAND OF HVAR.

DUBROVNIK.

NAMED A WORLD HERITAGE SITE FOR ITS BEAUTY AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE, THIS WALLED MEDIEVAL GEM ONCE REIGNED AS THE MOST POWERFUL CITY IN THE SOUTHERN ADRIATIC.

THE MOST DRAMATIC AND ROMANTIC WAY TO KNOW DUBROVNIK IS TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE CITY WALLS...

TAKING IN VIEWS OF THE TOWN, THE TILE ROOFS, AND THE CLEAR BLUE SEA.

THE GREEKS, ROMANS, AND SLAVIC PEOPLE ALL POPULATED THIS COAST.

DUBROVNIK PASSED HANDS MANY TIMES, BUT IN THE 15th AND 16th CENTURIES, THE CITY REMAINED FAIRLY INDEPENDENT THROUGH THE PAYMENT OF TRIBUTES AND SHREWD ALLIANCES.

KNOWN AS THE CITY-STATE RAGUSA, DUBROVNIK COMMANDED THE THIRD-LARGEST MERCHANT FLEET IN THE WORLD.

BUILT BETWEEN THE 13th AND 15th CENTURIES, THE CITY WALLS STRETCH FOR ONE AND A HALF MILES AND ARE AS HIGH AS 80 FEET IN SOME PLACES.

THE LIMESTONE MAIN STREET, STRADUN, POLISHED BY CENTURIES OF PASSERSBY, MARCHES STRAIGHT THROUGH STARI GRAD, DUBROVNIK'S BEAUTIFULLY PRESERVED OLD QUARTER.

THE CITY ENFORCES STRICT RULES ABOUT UPKEEP OF HOMES, AND SIGNAGE FOR SHOPS IS LIMITED TO A DISCREET NAME ON THE LANTERN ABOVE THE DOOR.

AT THE FAR END OF THE STRADUN, A GATE LEADS TO THE PICTURESQUE HARBOR.

HERE, WOMEN SELL TRADITIONAL HANDICRAFTS, AND SHIPS COME AND GO INTO THE WALLED INLET.

IN THE 16th CENTURY, DUBROVNIK'S SEA TRADE REACHED ITS ZENITH, AND BOATS REGULARLY SAILED FROM HERE TO THE FAR CORNERS OF THE GLOBE.

TODAY, ENORMOUS CRUISE SHIPS OFTEN LOOM IN THE HARBOR, AND THE STREETS SUDDENLY OVERFLOW WITH TOURISTS AT MIDDAY.

[BELL TOLLING] [PEOPLE CHANTING] ROMAN CATHOLICISM IS THE RELIGION OF THE CROAT; THE SERBS BELONG TO THE EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH.

NEIGHBORING SERBIA DIFFERS CULTURALLY AS WELL-- INFLUENCED BY THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE, WHEREAS THE WEST DOMINATED IN DALMATIA.

CATHOLICISM FLOURISHED HERE, AS POPES PROMOTED THE BUILDING OF MONASTERIES AND CHURCHES.

IN DUBROVNIK'S 14th-CENTURY FRANCISCAN MONASTERY, YOU CAN WANDER THROUGH LOVELY CLOISTERS WHERE ANIMAL AND HUMAN HEADS ADORN THE DUAL COLUMNS.

PRESERVED WITHIN THE MONASTERY IS THE PHARMACY, ESTABLISHED IN 1391, AND ONE OF THE OLDEST IN EUROPE.

THE MONKS CONCOCTED CURES FROM PLANT ROOTS AND BARK AND EXTRACTED POISON FROM SNAKES FOR ANTI-VENOM.

MOST OF DUBROVNIK'S HOTELS ARE LOCATED OUTSIDE OF THE OLD TOWN.

AT THE NEWLY RENOVATED GRAND PALACE HOTEL, EVERY ROOM COMMANDS A STUNNING VIEW OF THE SEA.

HERE, SWIMMING POOLS NEARLY MERGE WITH THE TURQUOISE WATER, AND THERE'S AN OPEN-AIR RESTAURANT WHERE YOU CAN GAZE OUT AND PLAN YOUR ROUTE TO THE ISLANDS.

IF YOU CRAVE A BEACH BREAK, YOU CAN GRAB A WATER TAXI TO THE WOODED ISLAND OF LOKRUM, JUST 10 MINUTES AWAY.

IN FACT, FOR THE BEST BEACHES, IT'S A GOOD TIP TO GET OUT OF THE MAJOR TOWNS AND TAKE WATER TAXIS TO NEARBY ISLANDS.

WATER TAXIS FERRY PEOPLE TO AND FROM THE ISLAND AND TAKE ABOUT 10 MINUTES.

YOU CAN ALSO SIGN UP FOR CRUISES TO VARIOUS ISLANDS FOR PICNICS OR NATURE WALKS.

THE SHORE OF THE ISLAND IS ROCKY, WITH BUILT-IN LADDERS TO HELP SWIMMERS DOWN.

A SIDE BENEFIT OF THE TRIP IS THE CHANCE TO SEE DUBROVNIK FROM THE WATER, AS HAVE SO MANY CENTURIES OF INVADERS, TRADERS, AND PIRATES.

THE DALMATIAN COAST CAN BE EXPLORED ENTIRELY BY BOAT.

FERRIES RUN TO ALL THE MAJOR TOWNS AND CITIES.

OR YOU CAN RENT A SAILBOAT OR YACHT AND DESIGN YOUR OWN ITINERARY.

WITH MORE THAN 1,100 ISLANDS AND COUNTLESS PRIVATE COVES, THIS GORGEOUS ARCHIPELAGO IS A BOATER'S PARADISE.

[MAN SINGING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE] CROATIA TODAY EVOKES GREECE A COUPLE OF DECADES AGO-- A VAST NUMBER OF ISLANDS SET IN THE CLEANEST WATER OF THE MEDITERRANEAN, UNSPOILED AND INEXPENSIVE.

WITH A BOAT, THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS-- UNCROWDED WATERS, WELL-EQUIPPED MARINAS, AND COUNTLESS PRIVATE ISLES YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN FOR AN AFTERNOON.

FOR THE MOMENT, CROATIA MANAGES TO BALANCE TOURISM WITH UNSPOILED BEAUTY.

A GREAT EXCURSION FROM DUBROVNIK TAKES IN THE QUIET TOWNS AND WINE OF THE PELJESAC PENINSULA.

THEN WE ISLAND-HOP TO STUNNING KORCULA.

LITTLE MORE THAN AN HOUR'S DRIVE FROM DUBROVNIK, I CAME UPON A WALLED TOWN THAT ONCE PROVIDED THE RAGUSA REPUBLIC WITH RICHES.

IN 1333, WHEN THE WALL ABOVE STON WAS COMPLETED, IT WAS THE WORLD'S SECOND-LARGEST FORTIFICATION, AFTER THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA.

THE REPUBLIC OF RAGUSA BUILT WALLS AROUND THE TOWN OF STON TO PROTECT THE SALTWORKS, A SERIES OF SHALLOW POOLS IN THE BAY, WHERE SALT IS STILL COLLECTED TODAY.

ALL THE RESIDENTS OF THIS TINY TOWN WERE REQUIRED TO HARVEST SALT BY HAND.

TWO WITNESSES HAD TO OBSERVE ANY SALE OF SALT TO PREVENT FRAUD.

NEXT DOOR TO STON, THE LITTLE FISHING VILLAGE MALI STON OFFERS THE BEST SEAFOOD IN CROATIA.

OYSTER AND MUSSEL BEDS DOT THE BAY AT MALI STON.

THE PICTURESQUE WALLED TOWN FORMED ANOTHER IMPORTANT FORTIFICATION ALONG THE RAGUSA REPUBLIC'S NORTHERN DEFENSES.

TODAY, THE TOWN RESTAURANTS SERVE UP ALL KINDS OF FISH, MUSSELS, AND CROATIA'S BEST OYSTERS.

SEAFOOD IS THE COASTAL STAPLE IN DALMATIA.

EVEN ITALY IMPORTS CROATIAN FISH.

THEY SAY THE SEAFOOD IS BETTER ALONG THE ROCKY COASTLINE ON THIS SIDE OF THE ADRIATIC.

MALI STON IS QUINTESSENTIAL CROATIA-- A GENTLE FISHING VILLAGE LOST IN TIME.

THE PELJESAC PENINSULA ALSO PRODUCES SOME OF CROATIA'S FINEST WINES.

THE GRAPES IN THE OVERGROWN VINEYARDS HERE RIPEN AND SWEETEN IN THE SUN REFLECTING OFF THE SEA.

AT THE GRGICH WINERY, EAST MEETS WEST.

OWNER MIKE GRGICH WAS BORN IN CROATIA, BUT HE TOOK HIS WINEMAKING SKILLS TO CALIFORNIA TO PRODUCE WORLD-CLASS ZINFANDEL AND CHARDONNAY.

AFTER CROATIA GAINED ITS INDEPENDENCE, GRGICH RETURNED TO START A SMALL WINERY.

GRGICH CLAIMED THE PLAVAC MALI GRAPE GROWN HERE IS A COUSIN OF THE CALIFORNIAN ZINFANDEL.

THE ESTATE PRODUCES A RED PLAVAC MALI AND A WHITE POSIP WINE.

THAT'S VERY GOOD.

Maxa, voice-over: THE PELJESAC PENINSULA OFFERS SANDY BEACHES AND PLEASANT TOWNS, BUT THE REAL GEM LIES ACROSS THE WATER FROM THE TOWN OF OREBIC.

THE CAR FERRY AT OREBIC CARRIES PASSENGERS ABOUT TWO MILES TO THE ISLAND OF KORCULA AND THE STUNNING TOWN FOR WHICH IT'S NAMED.

PERHAPS THE MOST ROMANTIC OF ALL THE CROATIAN WALLED BEAUTIES, KORCULA MAKES A SPECTACULAR FIRST IMPRESSION.

[MAN SINGING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE] THE TOWN TOOK ITS PRESENT FORM FROM THE 13th TO 15th CENTURIES.

THE STREETS CURVE TO FORM A LEAF-LIKE GRID TO MINIMIZE THE EFFECTS OF A STRONG NORTHEAST WIND AND TO MAXIMIZE COOL BREEZES FROM THE WEST.

GREY STONE HOUSES, RED TILE ROOFS, FORTRESS WALLS, AND A SPLASH OF GREEN PALM TREES-- KORCULA TOWN MAKES AN IDYLLIC ISLAND RETREAT.

KORCULA CLAIMS ADVENTURER MARCO POLO AS ITS NATIVE SON.

MANY EXPERTS AGREE MARCO POLO CAME FROM CROATIA, BUT FROM WHICH TOWN, NO ONE IS CERTAIN.

YET IT WAS SURELY IN THESE WATERS OFF OF KORCULA IN 1298 THAT A BATTLE RAGED BETWEEN VENICE AND GENOA AND MARCO POLO WAS CAPTURED.

LATER, IN A GENOA PRISON, HE RECOUNTED HIS TRAVELS TO A FELLOW INMATE, WHO WROTE THEM DOWN.

FOR SWIMMING, TOURING, STOPPING AT TOWNS OR MONASTERIES, A BOAT TRIP FROM THE ISLAND MAKES FOR A GREAT ADVENTURE.

ON MY TRIP, I HIT A SUDDEN SQUALL AND CAUGHT KORCULA LOOKING QUITE DRAMATIC.

THE VENETIAN INFLUENCE IN KORCULA IS MANIFESTED IN LACY ARCHITECTURE.

FROM THE TENTH CENTURY, VENICE CONTROLLED MUCH OF DALMATIA FOR SOME 800 YEARS.

KORCULA'S MAIN CATHEDRAL, ST. MARKS, FEATURES EXPERT CARVINGS IN ITS PALE LIMESTONE, SOME BY 15th-CENTURY ARTISANS FROM ITALY.

LIMESTONE QUARRIES ON THE ISLAND PROVIDED DUBROVNIK WITH STONE, AND MASTER CARVERS FROM THE REPUBLIC TAUGHT KORCULA ARTISANS THEIR CRAFT.

WITH A CAR, YOU CAN EXPLORE OTHER TOWNS AND BEACHES ON THE ISLAND.

YOU CAN EVEN SEARCH THE INTERNET OR TRAVEL AGENCIES FOR VACATION HOMES TO RENT IN A PRIVATE COVE ALONG THIS GORGEOUS COASTLINE.

BACK ON THE MAINLAND, WE TOUR THE ANCIENT CITY OF SPILT AND ITS NEIGHBOR, LITTLE TROGIR, THEN HOP A FERRY TO ONE LAST ISLAND, HVAR.

CROATIA'S SECOND-LARGEST CITY, SPLIT, BEGAN AS A ROMAN PALACE, AND TODAY A JUMBLE OF CENTURIES EXISTS WITHIN ITS GLORIOUS SHELL.

SPLIT SPRANG FROM A ROMAN EMPEROR'S DESIRE TO RETIRE TO THE PEACEFUL, SECLUDED DALMATIAN PARADISE WHERE HE WAS BORN.

THE YEAR WAS 295, AND AFTER YEARS OF TRYING TO WHIP THE EMPIRE IN SHAPE AND RUTHLESSLY PERSECUTING CHRISTIANS, THE EMPEROR DIOCLETIAN OPTED OUT.

HE BUILT A COLOSSAL PALACE-- MORE THAN A MILLION SQUARE FEET OF APARTMENTS, TEMPLES, BARRACKS, AND BATHS.

THE LARGEST PRIVATE RESIDENCE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD, DIOCLETIAN'S RETREAT SURVIVES IN REMARKABLY GOOD SHAPE.

THE PERISTYLE, OR OPEN SQUARE, WITH ITS GRANITE COLUMNS, ONCE SERVED AS THE PUBLIC MEETING PLACE AND GRAND ENTRANCEWAY TO THE IMPERIAL QUARTERS.

DIOCLETIAN SPARED NO EXPENSE, IMPORTING WHAT EVEN TO HIM WERE ANCIENT BLACK GRANITE SPHINXES FROM EGYPT THAT DATE ALL THE WAY BACK FROM THE 15th CENTURY B.C.

THE MAUSOLEUM OF DIOCLETIAN LATER BECAME A CHRISTIAN CHURCH, ST. DOMINUS.

THE PRINCIPAL STRUCTURE AND THE DOME, WHICH WAS ONCE COVERED IN GOLD, DATE FROM DIOCLETIAN'S DAY.

BAROQUE CHAPELS, THIRD-CENTURY CORINTHIAN COLUMNS, AND 13th-CENTURY WALNUT AND OAK DOORS MAKE FOR A DAZZLING HODGEPODGE OF STYLES.

TO GET A SENSE OF THE VASTNESS OF THE PALACE, TAKE A TRIP BELOW TO THE UNADORNED UNDERGROUND, WHERE THE LAYOUT OF THE ROOMS MIRRORS THE PALACE ROOMS THAT ONCE STOOD ABOVE.

JUST OUTSIDE THE CITY CENTER, THE EVOCATIVE SPLIT ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM TAKES US BACK TO DIOCLETIAN'S ROOTS.

HERE, IN A LOVELY COURTYARD, YOU CAN WANDER AMONG SARCOPHAGI FROM THE ANCIENT TOWN OF SALONA, WHERE DIOCLETIAN WAS BORN.

ENCHANTING MOSAICS AND EERILY LIFELIKE TOMB SCULPTURES ARE JUMBLED TOGETHER IN A WAY THAT MAKES YOU FEEL YOU ARE DISCOVERING THEM FOR THE FIRST TIME.

THE CITY OF SALONA, OR SOLIN, WAS LOCATED 4 MILES NORTHEAST OF SPLIT.

A GREAT ROMAN CITY IN THE FIRST AND SECOND CENTURIES A.D., SALONA WAS THE CAPITAL OF DALMATIA.

IN DIOCLETIAN'S TIME, THE CITY HAD A POPULATION OF 60,000 AND MANY SPLENDID BUILDINGS.

THE TOMBS OFTEN DEPICT COUPLES, AND THE REALISTIC PORTRAITS DEMONSTRATE GREAT SCULPTURAL COMMAND.

THE MOST REMARKABLE PIECE IN THE COLLECTION: A GLOWING TOMB ILLUSTRATING THE GREEK STORY OF PHAEDRA, WHO FALLS IN LOVE WITH HER STEPSON AND THEN KILLS HERSELF.

THE TOMB WAS BURIED WITH THE RELIEF SIDE PROTECTED BY A BUILDING, THUS THE REMARKABLE PRESERVATION.

IN 1635, A GROUP OF CROATIAN MERCENARIES ARRIVED IN PARIS TO LEND AID TO KING LOUIS XIII.

THE FRENCH WERE IMMEDIATELY STRUCK BY THE SOLDIER'S SILK SCARVES THAT THEY HAD TIED LOOSELY AROUND THEIR NECKS.

THE FASHION CAUGHT FIRE.

THE FRENCH CALLED THE SCARF "LA CROAT," WHICH LATER TURNED INTO "LA CRAVATE," AND THUS THE MODERN NECKTIE WAS BORN.

CROATIAN TIES ARE MADE OF SILK AND HANDCRAFTED.

THE DESIGNS REFLECT THE MINGLING OF EAST AND WEST-- A TOUCH OF THE EXOTIC MINGLED WITH A CLASSIC DESIGN.

THIS TIE IS DESIGNED WITH TRADITIONAL CROATIAN DESIGN.

THIS IS, UH, FIRST CROATIAN ALPHABET-- GLAGOLITIC.

THESE ARE ACTUAL OLD-FASHIONED LETTERS ON HERE?

YES.

BUT IT'S NOT TODAY'S CROATIAN ALPHABET?

NO?

NO, IT'S DEAD LETTERS.

I THINK IT SAYS, "BUY THIS TIE" IN ANCIENT CROATIAN.

"BUY THIS TIE.

BUY THIS TIE."

I'M SURE.

Maxa, voice-over: FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AND MORE MODERN IN SPLIT, THE MESTROVIC GALLERY HOUSES A COLLECTION OF SCULPTURE BY IVAN MESTROVIC.

THE ARTIST WAS BORN ON THE COAST IN 1883.

AN ILLITERATE SHEPARD BOY, MESTROVIC BEGAN ATTRACTING ATTENTION WITH HIS WOOD CARVINGS AND WAS SOON APPRENTICED TO A STONE CARVER IN SPLIT.

HIS WORK WENT ON TO RECEIVE INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM.

MESTROVIC'S SCULPTURES ARE INFLUENCED BY GREEK CLASSICAL ART AND INSPIRED BY RELIGION AND CROATIAN NATIONALISM.

HIS FLUID LINES AND SWOONING BODIES ARE SENSUAL, POIGNANT, AND POWERFUL.

NESTLED ON A SMALL ISLAND, THE LITTLE TOWN OF TROGIR IS A CAR-FREE OPEN-AIR MUSEUM WITH SPLENDID 13th-TO-15th CENTURY BUILDINGS.

AN HOUR'S DRIVE NORTH OF SPLIT, ROMANTIC TROGIR MAKES A NICE DAY TRIP.

THE NARROW STREETS OF THE TOWN REVERBERATE WITH HISTORY.

FIRST, THE GREEKS SETTLED HERE, AND THEN THE ROMANS ESTABLISHED AN IMPORTANT PORT.

IN THE 10th CENTURY, VENICE AND HUNGARY WARRED FOR POSSESSION OF THE DALMATIAN COAST, AND TROGIR SIDED WITH THE HUNGARIANS IN EXCHANGE FOR A DEGREE OF INDEPENDENCE.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE FLOURISHED.

IN THE 15th CENTURY, VENICE FINALLY TOOK OVER THE TOWN AND ADDED ITS OWN DISTINCTIVE STYLE.

HERE, AS ELSEWHERE IN CROATIAN TOWNS, ECONOMIC AND COMFORTABLE ACCOMMODATIONS CAN BE HAD BY RENTING LOCAL APARTMENTS.

TRAVEL AGENTS AND THE INTERNET ARE GREAT RESOURCES.

TROGIR'S GLORIOUSLY FADED STONE STREETS ARE SOME OF THE NARROWEST AND MOST EVOCATIVE IN CROATIA.

THE TOWN WAS ALSO NAMED A WORLD HERITAGE SITE.

A LONG DAY TRIP FROM SPLIT OR AN IDEAL GETAWAY FOR A FEW DAYS, OUR LAST ISLAND STOP AWAITS.

I'VE DOCKED AT ANOTHER SPECTACULAR ISLAND, CALLED HVAR.

PIRATES USED TO CRUISE THESE WATERS UNTIL THE VENETIANS DROVE THEM OUT IN THE 13th CENTURY.

THEN THE TOWN FLOURISHED.

[PEOPLE SINGING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE] THE VENETIAN LEGACY OF FINE CARVING AND RENAISSANCE PALACES GRACES HVAR TOWN, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TOWN ON THE ISLAND.

IN THE 15th CENTURY, HVAR GREW QUITE WEALTHY, AS ALL VENETIAN BOATS STOPPED HERE EN ROUTE TO AND FROM VENICE.

TODAY, THE ISLAND TOWN ATTRACTS WEALTHY EUROPEAN VACATIONERS.

A PLEASANT AFTERNOON CAN BE HAD STROLLING ALONG THE WATERFRONT AND SHOPPING FOR LAVENDER PRODUCTS.

LAVENDER GROWS IN PROFUSION ON THE HILLSIDES, AND YOU CAN PURCHASE THE PERFUMED HERB IN MANY FORMS.

OH, THAT'S LOVELY.

LOVELY, AND THIS IS...

LAVENDER OIL.

LAVENDER OIL.

Maxa, voice-over: A LONG SEASIDE WALKWAY HUGS THE SHORE AND MEANDERS PAST ROCKY COVES AND SMALL BEACHES.

AT THE END OF THE PROMENADE, A 15th-CENTURY FRANCISCAN MONASTERY STANDS WATCH OVER A SLEEPY COVE.

HERE, TOO, WATER TAXIS FERRY PEOPLE TO ISLANDS FOR SWIMMING OR EXPLORING.

SOME VACATION RENTALS ON THE ISLAND INCLUDE A BOAT FOR GUESTS.

SWEET VIEWS CAN BE HAD FROM THE FORTRESS SPANJOL, A FORTIFIED MEDIEVAL CASTLE BUILT TO DEFEND AGAINST ATTACKS FROM ALL THE INVADERS WHO COVETED THESE SHORES.

CROATIA CAPTIVATES.

WITH ITS TRANSLUCENT WATERS, SECLUDED ISLANDS, AND WALLED TOWNS, NO WONDER PEOPLE HAVE BATTLED FOR THIS LAND FOR CENTURIES.

COUNTLESS TRAVELERS WHO HAVE VENTURED HERE FOR A QUICK STOP HAVE FOUND THEMSELVES ABANDONING THEIR PLANS AND STAYING LONGER IN THIS ENCHANTED LAND.

HERE, ON AN ISLAND FORGOTTEN BY TIME, THERE IS NOTHING BETTER TO DO THAN ENJOY FRESH LOCAL SEAFOOD AND WINE AND WATCH THE SUN SET ON THE MEDITERRANEAN.

FROM PARADISE FOUND, I'M RUDY MAXA ON THE DALMATIAN COAST.

Announcer: ALL VIDEOS AND DVDs OF "SMART TRAVELS" ARE $24.95 EACH PLUS SHIPPING.

CALL 800-866-7425 FOR THE TWO-EPISODE DVD OR VIDEO ON ROME DAY TRIPS AND THE DALMATIAN COAST.

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TO ORDER, CALL THIS TOLL-FREE NUMBER OR VISIT US ON THE WEB.

CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CAPTIONED BY THE NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE --www.ncicap.org-- MAJOR CORPORATE SUPPORT FOR "SMART TRAVELS" IS PROVIDED BY EXPEDIA.COM, A TRAVEL WEBSITE THAT OFFERS TRAVELERS A VARIETY OF WAYS TO CREATE THE TRIP THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, INCLUDING FLIGHTS, HOTELS, AND VACATION PACKAGES.

EXPEDIA.COM: DON'T JUST TRAVEL.

TRAVEL RIGHT.

TRANSATLANTIC AND EUROPEAN FLIGHTS PROVIDED IN PART BY bmi, AN AWARD-WINNING FULL-SERVICE AIRLINE BASED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.

WITH MORE THAN 2,000 FLIGHTS A WEEK TO OVER 35 DESTINATIONS, bmi FLIES MORE THAN 9 MILLION PASSENGERS A YEAR.