New hot destination for Australians—CroatiaNew hot destination for Australians—Croatia

The company, which was called Russia & Beyond when it was launched 22 years ago, was the Australian representative for Viking River Cruises until Viking opened its own office in Sydney in 2008.

Over the years Russia & Beyond covered many new destinations and the old name was no longer appropriate.

Peter Smith, gm business growth for Beyond Travel, said Australians are increasingly attracted to cruising around the beautiful Adriatic coast.

‘So this year we created a new brand, Cruise Croatia, with a dedicated 2017 brochure,’ Smith said. Cruise Croatia also has its own website (www.cruise-croatia.com.au).

Beyond Travel represents a collection of sleek motor yachts, no bigger than 49 mtrs, some with ensuite cabins that are fully air-conditioned.

They are mostly owned and crewed by the captain and family members and the most popular voyage, between Split and Dubrovnik, takes eight days. Other popular eight-day voyages are Dubrovnik to Dubrovnik and Split to Split.

‘Unlike big cruise ships, our small vessels can berth everywhere along the route,’ Smith said.

Since launching Cruise Croatia in April, he said ‘well north of 1,000 passengers' have booked.

He said Cruise Croatia will package the new service Emirates launched last month between Dubai and Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, about an hour’s drive to Split.