BBC Discovers The Charm of “Slow Travel” On Croatian Railways

March the 13th, 2024 – The BBC has been uncovering the charms of slow travel on Croatian railways as part of its popular Great Continental Railway Journeys series.

Anyone who has travelled by train in Croatia will be well aware of the drawbacks of it. Improvements are being made and enormous sums of money are being poured into vastly modernising Croatia’s railway infrastructure, but it will be difficult to shake the long standing mental image of trains in this country for locals.

For a country so perfectly positioned within Europe, and with several countries in such close proximity, train journeys are a firm favourite for many visitors, however. Slow journeys aren’t a problem at all for some types of tourism however, as the BBC delves deeper into slow travel on Croatian railways as part of a hit BBC2 series.

As Likaclub.eu/Tena Brnad writes, of the five episodes of this popular BBC2 series, four were filmed in Croatia and are shown daily in the evening prime time hours in the UK. The content focuses on the historical and cultural heritage of this country, from the perspective of famous British host Michael Portillo.

The Croatian coastline is naturally the most represented part of the country in the show, as Portillo follows the sights and interesting places in the areas he travels through by rail. As such, authentic picturesque landscapes from Istria all the way down to the extreme south of Dalmatia and the City of Dubrovnik are mostly shown.

“The return of this travel series to the BBC testifies to the popularity of rail travel among the British, as well as the desire for “slow journeys” during which travellers can really get to know the country they’re visiting. That includes getting better acquainted with a country’s peculiarities, culture, gastronomy, history and nature,” commented Bisera Fabrio, Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) in London.

The first episode began with a drive to the Istrian city of Pula and an introduction to the various historical influences that remain a very firm part of the richness of Croatian heritage today. Michael Portillo himself highlighted the fascinating history imbued with the influences of the Roman Empire and tried his hand at a gladiatorial fight in the Pula amphitheatre, the only Roman arena with all of its four sides still preserved entirely.

He then continued his slow travel journey using Croatian railways to Vodnjan, where he admired the station built back in 1876. He then set off in search of various Istrian treasures, that is, to refresh himself in the olive groves and introduce viewers to the quality of award winning Istrian olive oil. Along with flavoursome Istrian prosciutto and locally produced cheese, he also convinced himself of the gourmet uniqueness of Croatian delicacies nationwide.

The richness of Croatian history, culture and gastronomy will be explored in the following episodes, on the way down to Dalmatia, more specifically to Šibenik, Split and all the way south to Dubrovnik.

The filming of the BBC series was realised in cooperation with the Croatian National Tourist Board and with the support of Croatian Railways.

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