Some 2,000km of crystal clear coastline fringed by 1,200 mainly uninhabited islands is enticing a record number of visitors to Croatia. The independent traveller can count on cheaply available accommodation, superb seafood, a lively bar scene and - unless it's a busy island in high season - lots of space. Inland, surrounded by national parks, traditional villages and rare wildlife, stands the culturally vibrant, classically Habsburg capital of Zagreb...