KEN BENNETT takes a look at Croatia's turbulent history and discovers what makes it a stimulating holiday destination

LOOK, I am going to be very honest, I would really rather keep Croatia to myself.

Now it may seem selfish, but once you have holidayed in this stunningly beautiful country, I promise you'll be loath to share its secrets with anyone.

First-time visitors will marvel at Croatia's cleanliness..

Acres of pristine, dirt-free limestone streets and walkways - resembling snaking silver rivers - defy you to even think of dropping a sweet or food wrapper.

Then there is eating. Elegant restaurants and diners, with plump fish, prawns and mussels.

Lashings of pasta, rich sauces, barbecued lamb and ice cream that must rate among the scrummiest in the world. If you enjoy a drink, you'll taste local wines made from grapes bursting with all the vitality and sunshine this country has to offer.

Of course, there are the locals too. Whatever age, they are smart, coolly dressed in latest casual fashions and stylish footwear.

Absorbing the views from a quayside at Split, the country's second largest town, I get the overwhelming feeling Croatia is a destination just aching to happen.

All thoughts of the recent conflict that brought the thriving tourist industry to a complete halt have been sidelined and the country is already being tipped to take centre stage as a holiday destination.

Ancient history is on every corner. Almost every house in the centre of town lovingly treasures its own piece of the mosaic.

Solid oak doors, carved with elaborate figures, map out the story of a Croatia in medieval times. Faces and crests of noble families are etched in haughty relief from buildings.

Spread upwards and outwards before me was the vast palace of the last pagan Roman Emperor Diocletian.

This is no typical shadowy, empty ruin filled with ghosts, but the largest private residence in antiquity with 3,000 people still living and working in its labyrinth of apartments and passageways behind its noble walls.

The vast area of more than a quarter of a million square feet is filled with vast reception rooms, temples, baths and a barracks large enough to billet an entire army.

And don't miss a guided tour around the semi-underground chambers that are part of its foundations. They are thronged with stalls selling handmade jewellery and intriguing paintings by local artists.

Split itself is a highly civilised, easily walkable town. Much of its activity is centred around the riva - the promenade - filled with a jostle of yachts, powerboats and hydrofoils that can ferry you to tiny ports along a coastline dotted with unspoilt beaches and 1,185 islands.

If there is a downside, the fabric of some of the hotels, built years ago in the rather intimidating, old Soviet bloc style, need urgent upgrades.

But at Zadar, my next port of call, I can report cobwebs of the country's previous associations have been wiped away by enterprising hotel chains.

My hotel room, with sea views from a lounge, was filled with the latest hi-tech lighting and furniture.

Zadar is the centre of the region's national parks and the idyllic, mild climate and transparent sea makes it the most attractive area for watersports.

And locals say this dream location offers comparisons with Dubrovnik and Venice, a nearby neighbour. But there I go again: giving Croatia's secrets away!