Makarska has a rich cultural and historical heritage. A special attraction is the Malacological Museum (in the Franciscan monastery) with an interesting and unique collection from the Adriatic and other seas in the world. It is considered one of the most beautiful and richest malacological museums in the world. Athletes and recreation enthusiasts may use numerous playgrounds, facilities and equipment for all kinds of sports on the ground and in the sea. The tennis camp has nine clay courts, one colour set court and two lighted indoor clay courts. This modern tennis centre, situated close to the famous beach of Makarska, is often the venue of important tennis tournaments. Makarska is also a health resort, with the well-known recreational and health centre Biokovka, which offers various therapeutic services.

Very pleasant are walks along the port and public beaches , and mountain lovers may go by one of the mountain trails to the peaks of Biokovo, which offer a nice view on the surroundings, fresh air and quietness. Biokovo Mountain has very interesting geomorphological forms and endemic plant species. High game (moufflons and chamois) is amply represented here. Cultural and entertainment programs are an integral part of the life of Makarska, especially during the tourist season. The traditional Makarska Cultural Summer takes place in July and August, offering a rich drama and concert program, performances of Dalmatian harmony-singing groups, art exhibitions, recitals and folk music performances. The most popular events are the Fishermen's Night and the Night of Kalelarga (night of the town). MAKARSKA, a town, port and tourist centre in a large cove, enclosed by Cape Osejava in the south-east, and the Sveti Petar (St. Peter) Peninsula, at the foot of Biokovo, in the north-west. The climate is Mediterranean; the strong bora occurs in the winter months. Economy is based on farming, viniculture, growing and processing of olives, food processing, processing of synthetic materials, seafaring, fishing and tourism. Makarska is the tourist centre of the riviera of the same name. The town developed in the form of an amphitheatre, on the coast and at the foot of Biokovo. It consists of the old town core of Mediterranean type and the new part with hotels ,apartments, pensions, restaurants, shops etc. To the north-west is a nice park and a forest of pine, which encloses a 1,500-m long beach in Donja Luka. Farther of Donja Luka are numerous sand coves, separated by small limestone crests. Makarska is located on the main road (M2, E65).

The first tourist facility in Baska Voda was opened by the Sikavica brothers in the thirties; it was Hotel Slavija, which was in 1936 awarded with a medal from London. After the Second World War, new hotels we-re built, tourism got much incentive and has rece-ntly become the major economic sector in Baska Voda. Today, apart from the sea and the sun, bathing and pleasant walks, historical monuments and a museum, Baska Voda offers attractive cultural and entertainment programs. Very interesting are religious feasts - especially the Good Friday procession (which proceeds through all villages in the municipality, 15 km), St. Nicholas' Day (patron of Baska Voda, 6th of December). The festival of harmony-singing groups of the Makarska littoral is held on St. Lawrence's Day (10th of August). Visitor opportunities include various sports and recreational activities (tennis, football, handball, table tennis, miniature golf, fishing, hiking, etc.). Entertainment opportunities in the evening and night hours include various programs in bars, discotheques and on summer terraces. A number of restaurants and inns offer local specialities. Attractive excursions are also organized. Interesting are walks in the region under Biokovo Mountain, to the hamlets of Bast and Topici, famous for home-made cheese, prosciutto and home-made bread ("ispod peke").

Easy trails are those leading to Promajna and the fishermen's hamlet of Bratus , a fine example of profane architecture. BASKA VODA, a town and harbour on the Makarska littoral, 9.5 km northwest of Makarska . Economy is based on farming, fishing and tourism. Chief crops include olives, vines, sour cherries and figs. Forests and pebble beaches favoured an intensive development of tourism. The sea depth along the pier in the harbour reaches 7-11 m. Baska Voda is located on the main road, so-called Adriatic Highway (M2, E65) Split - Dubrovnik. The area was populated as early as antique times. On a plateau called Gradina, traces of a habitation and a late antique Byzantine fortification, perhaps Biston, have been found. On the southern side of the plateau, part of the fortification walls has been preserved, while several stelae from the 2nd to the 4th centuries have been found (now kept at the Archaeological Museum in Split). The late Baroque church of St. Lawrence was most probably built on an ancient locality. The parish church of St. Nicholas was built at the beginning of the 20th century; in 1991 a bell tower and the parsonage were added (Ante Rozic). The church features stained-glass windows by Josip Botteri-Dini and the paintings of the Way of the Cross by Josip Biffel (1989).

Crystalclear and warm sea, well preserved natural enviroment and magnificant geographical position, in the heart of Dalmatia on the Adriatic coast, make Promajna ideal tourist destination . Confirmation of this statement could be found in traces of life dated more than three thousand years ago. In 1840 well known medical expert from Venice A. A Frari wrote that Baska Voda was the place"... where everything exudes life and vigour so much as to make a daying man rise on his feet again."

Today Baska Voda , Promajna, Bratus , Krvavica , Topici and Bast present kaleidoscope of hospitality, tradition and modern life. Comfortable accommodation , good restaurants, long white pebbly beaches, museums, entertainment are at your disposal and you can also enjoy interesting excursions starting right here in Promajna. Long tradition in tourism industry guarantees that you will wish your holiday here never ends. Have a safe journey and pleasent stay in our and Your Promajna.

Krvavica is situated in the central part of Croatian coast, on Makarska Riviera, in the unique combination of mountain Biokovo, green pine woods, white pebble beaches and crystal clear sea. The beach stretches towards Makarska with numerous small bays hidden from curious eyes, whose peace and silence are disturbed only by whispering of the sea, cry of the seagull and the crickets song.

There is a grocery store in Krvavica, tourist biro, three restaurants, two cafés, bowling ground, diving club, marina with 150 berths, dry docks, crane for ships up to 8 tons.

Krvavica is connected with Bratus and Promajna with local walking track (promenade) and large number of tourists use this track for recreation. The promenade along the sea stretches for 4 km towards Makarska and 6 km towards Baska Voda and Brela. Very good apartments and pansion in Krvavica is offered.

Bratus is situated on Makarska Riviera (coast) in the central part of Croatian Coast after Makarska in direction to Dubrovnik. Bratus is recognized as dalmatian village and fisherman's village. This village offers unique combination of beautiful mountain Biokovo, white pebble beaches and cristal blue sea. The pearl of rural architecture is more like a dream then reality. Its peace is disturbed only by the sounds of the waves, sea gullls and crickets.

Domestic people in last time are offer apartments and pansions. There is a restaurant in Bratus which offers traditional Dalmatian food, then coffee bars shops, tourist office and small port.

Podgora is a small town in the Split-Dalmatia county. Today, Podgora is a modern tourist destination, with favorable climate, the pebbly beaches and cozy bays with the sea which is relatively warm very early in the year. Podgora has always been a holiday adventure, ready to meet your every fancy. Almost a century long tourism tradition is therefore not felt in Podgora as a burden brought about by modern times. It is merely a civilizational continuance of the natural surroundings, the coastline and the sea, engaged in perpetual intertwinning.

Whether you have decided to spend your holidays in one of Podgora s well-known hotels or in private accommodation, you are sure to find hospitality and interesting architectural properities, mixed with irresistible Mediterranean charm and rich experience in the trade. Mild climate throughout the entire year offers possibilities of winter tourism. The summer sun and the isolated beaches are ideal for making friends with sea. The hamlets below the mountain tell tales of the tranquility of centuries past, while sports and recreation facilities allow you to be in and keep fit.

Apart from enjoying the traditional local hospitality every day, you must be sure to taste some of the local specialities in the shade of a regular or a wineshop fish restaurant. Whatever your expectations of a holiday might be, Podgora is the right choice. A safe harbour of your desires.

DRASNICE, a village in the Makarska littoral, 3 km southeast of Podgora. The coastal belt is partly covered by pine forests and small pebble beaches stretch along the coast. Chief occupations include farming, viticulture, olive growing (in the flysh Drasnice field) and fishing. Yachts and boats may dock along the 25-m long pier. The village lies on the main road (M2, E65).

Close to the sea is the cemetery with mediaeval tombstones, as well as a Baroque church from 1745 (destroyed in an earthquake in 1794; restored and again demolished in 1961). The church floor features mediaeval tombstones. Above the village is the Gothic church of St. Stephen, housing a Roman inscription from the 2nd century and an inscription from 1446 mentioning Duke Stephen.

Drvenik is a littoral tourist village of the Makarska riviera , about 30 km distant from Makarska . Situated between the steep cliffs of the mountain Biokovo and the coast with beautiful beaches . The village is divided in two parts, situated in two valleys denominated Donja Vala and Gornja Vala. Nowadays Drvenik is a well-known tourist village oriented entirely toward development of tourist industry. Drvenik has about 480 inhabitants and it has available ca. 1600 beds in domestic industry, holiday flats and villas,apartments ,hotels and pensions . Drvenik is an important traffic center while there is a car ferry landing of the ferry connecting the island of Hvar with the coast. The rich gastronomic offer of Dalmatian taverns and the beautiful beaches in the shade of pines attract an increasing number of tourists to Drvenik inviting them to spend ther holidays there.

The history of Drvenik dates far back into the past. On the knoll to the north of the village are the remains of the tower with defense walls dating from the 17th century. A Gothic church of St. George in Gornji Drvenik under the mount Plano. Its oldest part dates probably from the 15th century. It was several times rebuilt and later on restructured in the baroque style. The old gravestones in the form of standing tombstones were incorporated in its walls. In 1887 the church was expanded to satisfy the demands of the growing population. On the church front there is an eight-petal rose window, and on the top there is an omamented distaff-shaped church-tower with two bells. Inside the church there is a big marble altar with the statue of St. George on it. After an earthquake in 1962, all inhabitants of Gornji Drvenik moved to the coast, and a new church of Our Lady of the Carmelites was built in 1967. The church is situated on the hill above the road between the two valleys of Drvenik.

Zaostrog is tourist settlement on the Makarska coastline, about 35 km from Makarska . Today Zaostrog, as a tourist settlement of the southern Makarska coast, is completely oriented to the development of tourism. Zaostrog is settled permanently by some 350 inhabitants, mostly employed in hotel and restaurant services and tourism. The town has around 750 beds available in private residences, villas, and boarding houses, with a further 600 places at the Auto Camp "Viter". Located in an evergreen valley and surrounded by the foothills of the Biokovo Range, with spectacular beaches, and with a rich historical and cultural tradition, in the immediate vicinity of numerous attractive destinations for excursions, Zaostrog is an attractive place for a pleasant vacation. It was mentioned for the first time in 1494, but this area was inhabited in the ancient past, as is shown by a granite handle quem from the late Stone Age, discovered at Viter, the hill about Zaostrog, in 1953. Zaostrog was also settled by the ancient Illyrians, as is confirmed by the numerous cemeteries of burial mounds.

A rich cultural life existed at Zaostrog in the period of Roman rule, as can be seen from the numerous classical monuments, particularly the stone ones: a relief of dancers and flute players in Illyrian attire, a relief showing the deity Mithras, and two tombstones. After the arrival of the Croats in the 7th century, the settlement received the Slavic name Ostrog, mentioned around 950 AD by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenetus as one of the four fortified cities of the "Pagania" of the NeretvanPrincedom (Mokron, Berulia, Ostrok, Labinetza). Medieval Ostrog (meaning "fortress") was located at a high point below Mali Viter, and later a new settlement called Zaostrog developed below the hill of Sapasnik on the north of the Zaostrog plain and to the northwest of the town cited by Porphy rogenetus. In the 15th century, the feudal lords of Zaostrog were Croatian noblemen, the Vlatkovic-Jurjevic brothers, who had a fortified castle at Viter, as is shown by the ruins, the remains of ancient fortifications, particularly a stone threshold with a relief of a hand. In the 17th century, the inhabitants of Zaostrog began to settle on the coastline, and finally everyone moved from the upper settlement to the area along the sea after an earthquake in 1962. The old town of Zaostrog contains three churches: the early Gothic Church of St.Barbara with a cemetery in the Roman section, the church of St.Roccus from the 17th century, and the newer church of St. Barbara from 1872. There are a further three small chapels: St.Anthony in the village (1893), the church of Our Lady at Kucina (1911), and St.Elias at Prosik (1894). The largest and most important cultural monument in this area, and even beyond, is the Franciscan monastery of St.Mary.

The monastery is considered to havebeen founded in the 14th century. It was established by monks of the order of "hermits of St. Augustine", called Augustinians, who abandoned the monastery after the fall of Bosnia in 1463 and retreated to the islands. Franciscans from the Province of Bosnia Srebrena settled in the abandoned monastery in 1468, and are still present today. The Franciscans succeeded in improving the monastery, even under the difficult conditions of Turkish rule, to the extent that in 1640 it was proclaimed one of the most beautiful monasteries of this large province, according to the evaluation of a visitation team from Rome. One of the most important cultural monuments that illuminates the cultural level of the monastery at that time is a stone inscription written in the Croatian lanuage and a special script ("Bosancica") from 1589, located above the main entrance to the church. The monastery at Zaostrog was at that point an internationally famous pilgrimage site that was included in a list of Marian sites throughout the world. The monastery also had an important role in education. During the more than 500 years of its existence, a school for the education of future priests was located in it.

Even during the period of the Turkish rule, an elementary and liberal arts school existed in 1640, later followed by a classical secondary school, and philosophy and religious faculties. The monastery possesses a rich library with around 20.000 books and an archival department. Among the many famous names of Croatian culture and history who lived and worked in the monastery at Zaostrog was Father Andrija Kacic Miosic, the Croatian poet, writer and philosopher, born at Brist in 1704 and died at Zaostrog in 1760, and Father Ivan Despot (1886), a Croatian writer and poet. A.K. Miosic-"Old Man Milovan", as he called himself, was educated in the Zaostrog monastery, took orders there, further created his literary works there, died, and was buried at the monastery. The monastery at Zaostrog is often called "Kacic's monastery". The monastery also contains a picture gallery featuring one of the most famous living Croatian painters, Mladen Veza, born in Brist in 1916. The monastery museum also contains an ethnology collection, of rustic furniture and tools, as well as various examples of Croatian folk attire. The collection is registered as a cultural monument under state protection. The monastery garden has been turned into a botanical garden containing more than 250 plants, particulary featuring: seven types of mimosa, five types of palms and maples, four types of eucalyptus, a Chinese jujube tree, Chinese currants, etc.

Podaca is a tourist locality situated in the south part of the Makarska riviera at the foot Of Mt Biokovo, about 35 km distanc from Makarska .The locality is divided in three hamlets:Kapec,Viskovica vala and Ravanje. Nowadays, Podaca as a part of the Makarska littoral is completely oriented towards tourism . There are about 660 inhabitants living at Podaca mainly engaged in toursm. The locality has available about 1100 beds in private rooms , apartments and suits, ca. 300 beds in the tourist village Morenia and about 600 accommodation units at the camping site "Uvala borova" (The pine bay).

Beautiful beaches in the peacefulness of the pinewood and the gastronomic offer of Dalmatian folk – cuisine as well as the vicinity of attractive daytrip destinations make Podaca a very desirable place for vacation. Podaca has developed upon the rocky slopes of Biokovo,in a position suitable for defence,and its history reaches far into the Stone Age which is documented by archeological finds, such as a stone grain mortar preserved in the Franciscan monastery at Zaostrog . There are many burial mounds at the foot of Biokovo as a testimony of times when this area was inhabited by the Illyrians (2000 BC – Ist-century). At the times of the Roman Empire this area was governed by Narona, which is documented by many archeological finds, such as a broken um with a silver coin of the Roman emperor Severio (193.-211.AD) found in this region.

A testimony of those times is also a wall fragment next to which was also found a medieval stone capital very similar to the capitals of our early Croatian churches. When the Croats during the great movement of the peoples setted in the Makarska littoral (the 6th-8th-centuries) they had inhabited also this region, but high above in the slopes of the mountain for easier defence and also in order to make good use of the Biokovo pastures. In this region the Croats had constantly fought battles against the Venetians and the Croatian maritime power reached its peak during the era of the Kacic clan from Omis, and their fall (in 1280) was also the end of the Croatian maritime power. At Gornja Podaca, dating from the 11th and 12th-centures, there is the early Croatian church of St. John with the tombs of the Kacic family, which was a votive foundation of the Kacic family. St. John's church in the Cemetery at Podaca was built in the pre-Romanesque times in the 11th and 12th centuries and it is considered to be one of the most important pre-Romanesque churches in Dalmatia. In 1492., not far from St.John's church, there was built St. Stephen's church which was demolished in the 18th century to cede the place to the present church which was built in 1762. Surrounding the church is the cemetery with a medieval Bosnian standing tomb-stone.

Under its present name Podaca is first mentioned in 1571. The village grew on the slopes of Biokovo, close to St.John theBaptist's church. This area dominates still today over the present locality and its name is Gornja Podaca (Upper Podaca). At the entrance to the village there is a well preserved Tover which was built for defence from the Turkish attacks. After an earthquake in 1962., almost entire population moved to the coastal area where a new church was built to Our Lady of Annunciation.

Brist is one of the southernmost localities of the Makarska riviera, about 40 km distant from Makarska. It is situated between the sea and the mountain Biokovo. Over the several last decades Brist, as also the majority of places on our coast has been oriented entirely toward tourism. There are presently about 445 inhabitants living in Brist mainly engaged in tourist industry. The locality itself has available about 550 beds in holiday flats, small boarding houses and villas. It is the very place if you are looking forward to a holiday in a peaceful and quiet environment with beautiful gravel beaches, enjoying the authentic Dalmatian atmosphere, in close vicinity of the lagest tourist centers. Nowadays it extends along the very coast, but in the past it was situated in higher regions of the mountain as may be seen from the remains of many cultural and historical monuments. The graves from the Bronze and Iron Ages show evidence of the Brist history. The name Brist comes fro elm family (Ulmaceae) and dates from 1571., but this settlement is much older and to confirm it there is the medieval standing tombstone in the form of a case, which may be seen in the old village, above the present settlement. The tombstone is beautifully ornamented and the local people have named it "Turkish tomb".

In the old village, which was abandoned at the end of the 19th century, there is a baroque church of St. Margaret. It is thought that the church was built in the 15th century. There is still preserved the apse with a Gothic vault, incorporated in the dilapidated baroque church. In the apse there are sepulchral slabs of the Kacic family.Surrounding the church of St. Margaret there are the remains of the old village, stone houses, and in one of them with loopholes was born according to oral tradition one of the most notable Croatian poets, Andrija Kacic Miosic (1704.-1760.), the author of the work "The pleasant conversations of Croatian folk", the most read work of the Croatian literature, which until today was publoshed in over 60 editions. In front of the house which is thought to be the house of the old man Milovan, as Kacic used to call himself in his poems, there has been constructed a small wall with a memorial plaque. In present Brist, at the outer eastern wall of the St. Margaret church, there is also a memorial to Fra A.K. Miosic. Close to St. Margaret Church at Brist on 30th September 1960., there has been erected a bronze monument to Fra Andrija Kacic Miosic, the work of the great Croatian sculptor, Ivan Mestrovic (1883.-1962.). Church of St.Margaret in Brist was built in 1870., but it contains well preserved much older works, brought over probably from the old church of St. Margaret in the old village. One of its three marble altars adorns the painting of St.Margaret from the 18th century. In the church there is also the painting of St. Anthony from 1940., the work of modern Croatian painter Gabriel Jurkic (1886.-1974.). At Brist there is also a small church of St. Anthony close to the coast dating from 1807., where may be seen a big painting of Our Lady with St.Anthony and St.John, most likely a Venetian work from the16th or 17th century. Near the church of St. Anthony at the very coast, there is row of houses Miosic and Diana, dating from the 18th century in the category of protected cultural monuments.

In addition to the alredy mentioned protected cultural monuments (old church of St.Margaret, a native house of Fra A.K. Miosic, a standing tombstone in the old village, a row of baroque houses on the shore), a cultural monument is also the elementary school building in Brist at Slakovac, built in 1878., although the elementary school education in Brist dates from 1863. The elementary school occuoies the sama buildind still today. Brist is greatly proud of Fra A.K. Miosic. Apart from him, Brist has also given to the present day Croatian culture another two important authors. A poet, play wright and esseyist Srecko Dijana was born in Brist on March 6, 1906. and died in Split. One of the greatest living Croatian painters Mladen Veza was born in Brist on 7.2.1916. and presently he lives and works in Zagreb. The most frequently occurring motif in his paintings is his native Brist.

Gradac is the southernmost touristic locality of the Makarska riviera about 40 kilometers distant from Makarska, situated halfway between Split and Dubrovnik. Nowadays, Gradac is a modern touristic destination. The first hotel was inaugurated in 1919., but a more important touristic activity began after the 60-ties. The guests coming to Gradac these days have available considerable accommodation facilities of which private accommodation provides about 1600 beds in smaller hotels and boarding houses, and in bigger hotels there are 1500 beds available. Along with the rich gastronomic offer, there are also sports and recreation facilities such as tennis courts, water sports, diving club, bycicle tours, walks along the beautiful beachese . There are also many cruising tours and excursions for visiting the surrounding countryside: the Korcula and Hvar islands, the Peljesac Peninsula , Dubrovnik, the sanctuary of Medjugorje, etc. Thanks to the unique combination of the Mt.Biokovo and the most beautiful beaches of the Adriatic, the vicinity of the most important touristic destinations, Gradac is an attractive place for a pleasant vacation, and the guests visiting it regularly come back again.
The Gradac area was inhabited even in prehistoric times. An evidence of this are the numerous stone piles dating back to the Bronze and Early Iron Ages. In Roman times, the Gradac area was most probably the seat of the Roman civitas Biston, which as a coastal center belonged to the colony of Narona, an important Roman stronghold on the nowadays Croatian territory. At the locality of Gradina was found a cornice fragment of the monumental building from the 2nd - 3nd century, as well as the Roman coin pieces. Near the Laguna hotel were found many tombs, hence it is thought that on this location there was once a Roman necropolis. On the territory of the todays Gradac there was also situated a medieval town of Lapcan or Labinac, which was mentioned by the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, mid 10th century, under the name of Labineca.

Under the present name Gradac is mentioned for the first time in 1649. It was named after the stronghhold which was situated on the elevation above the present-day churchof St. Michael, and which was built probably during the Kandyan war (1645.-1669.). According to the drawing made by the Venetian military engineer and cartographer Giuseppe Santini, representing the naval and continental battles between the Venetians and Ottomans at Gradac in the year 1666., the tower is shown in flames. In the abandoned hamlet of Cista above Gradac, the seat of the then Fragostin's district there may be still found the remnants of the old tower from the 16th century. Surrounding it, there are still the remnants of rows of abandoned houses with typical architectonic features of tha region. One of the oldest existing edifices in the territory of Gradac is the chapel of St.Pasquale on the Mt Plana, with a barrel shaped vault, and a saddle roof. Next to the old parish church of St. Antonio there is a local cemetery and the new parish church of St. Michael built in 1852., precisely in the zone of Gradina, the ancient Roman locality. In the church, there are three marble altars with statues. The most interesting among them is the old wooden statue of St. Rocco. Yin the church there is also the old baptismal stone font, originating probably from the old church.