Forget Italy: Head east to Croatia and Istria

Italians are sick of tourists.No, really — they are tired of American summer visitors who travel en masse to their boot-shaped country and disrupt their lives with our enthusiasm. Selfies have been banned in Portofino, Venice has banned large cruise ships and will now charge day-trippers for entry, Amalfi has banned tourists buses, Rome won’t let you sit on the Spanish steps… and Cinque Terre has imposed fines of $2,800 for the blasphemous act of wearing flip flops.

Last year, in Florence, locals took to graffiti to tells visitors “Tourists go home!” — because, as we known, subtlety just confuses people. It’s gotten so bad, the BBC even published an article called, “Is Italy Breaking Up With You?” (Answer: kind of). To make matters worse, earlier this year, even before tourism season started, thousands of tourists overran a small Italian town, and later, the US government issued a travel warning for the country citing fears of terrorism. So what’s an Italophile to do? Head east, my friends, to Istria, the Croatian peninsula that was once a part of the Italian empire for over 600 years, and still holds eerily similar charms — vineyards, truffles, Italian and Roman ruins — with one exception: Istrians not only welcome visitors, they are doing everything they can to attract them.And, as of the past year, several luxury hotels have opened on the coast of the Adriatic — including several luxury offerings on former Croatian dictator Josep Brod Tito’s (formerly) private Brijuni Islands (which includes the remnant animals of his former private zoo).On my last birthday, I decided to visit an old friend, Zrinka Marinovic, who runs Tailored Croatia, and specializes in luxury tours of Croatia.As Zrinka lives and works as a luxury travel advisor in the country and is therefore the master, I let her plan my trip sight unseen — and it was a game changer.I landed in Zagreb, a miniature Vienna which is walkable and architecturally (and culturally...