Sun, sea and salsa: the ultimate party + chill groove at Rovinj CSSF 2023

Every year, the annual ‘peace, love and salsa’ (or sun, sea and salsa) orgy that is the Croatian Summer Salsa Festival (CSSF) sends thousands of international dance revellers back to their respective homes blissfully refreshed, rejuvenated and already craving more. Some have even either made plans for a permanent lodging there, or even already bought one!

Run by Vladimir Semenic, founder and CEO of Salsa Adria Productions, along his team of festival organisers and promoters since August 2005, this festival has rapidly grown from an initially smaller and more intimate long weekend event mostly attended by Europeans to a huge, week-long+ international festival with more of a congress vibe, thanks to the presence of many of the salsa world’s top artists, teachers, performers, DJs and musicians. Indeed, this year there were quite a few who travelled from as far as Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico and Los Angeles!

So what it is about this particular dance festival that makes it so captivating? And what were the highlights of this year’s (2023) festival and tips for next year’s event?

Location, location, location (and connection, connection, connection)!

Well, first of all, the answer is location, location, location. CSSF is set in the beautiful, picture-postcard-perfect city of Rovinj, Croatia – a rocky peninsula on the Istrian coast, surrounded by manmade and natural harbours, relaxing pebbly beaches, lush green mountains studded with beautiful flowers and fruit trees and serene islands, all presided over by the Baroque hilltop church of St Euphemia, which affords endlessly spectacular views, particularly during the stunning nightly sunsets. As many say, “No matter how many times I’ve seen it, I will never get tired of this view!”

Another big draw of Rovinj is the opportunity to meet and connect with salsa friends from all over the world, as well as to make new ones. For many, this is one of the biggest highlights of the festival, and the reason they return year after year to add further unforgettable memories. As each edition brings as many newbies as regulars, there are always fresh encounters and connections to be made – both on and off the dance floor – as well as a chance to deepen and extend existing friendships.

Pics: clockwise from top: with Ulrike Silberkuhl at Riva Bistro; with Bernadette Anderson at the Grande Pool Party at Villas Rubin Resort; with Melanie RDC Mambo at Atlas restaurant in the old town; at the beach with the London salsa massive at CSSF 2016 (credit: Han Sean)

Rovinj also boasts many excellent fresh seafood restaurants with wonderful views of the harbour – great for those more intimate meet-ups with friends before dancing until the wee hours at the Adris Old Tobacco Factory nightclub. There are also hundreds of cafes, bars, gelaterias and shops in the squares, along the harbours and on the charming, narrow cobbled streets of the old town. Most have surprisingly affordable prices.

This year, I was pleased to discover a few new restaurants that came heavily recommended by Rovinj regulars and enthusiastic TripAdvisor reviews – particularly Riva Bistro (tip: don’t miss the spicy squid starter – a huge, tasty salad that is nearly a meal on its own – and if you like truffles, the truffle pasta is excellent [they even have GF pasta options, a huge plus in my book!]); Scuba (superb tuna tartare and octopus); Atlas (excellent fresh-grilled fish at reasonable prices); and Konoba Lampo, great for drinks on its lantern-lit terrrace directly overlooking the sea.

Of course, no first-time visit (or even regular) to Rovinj would be complete without a visit to Maestral, if not for the food (I’ve found it excellent, but you do have to wait a long time for it since it is nearly always packed), then for its exquisite sunset views of the harbour. The fact it is near the Adris and Delfin pier makes it a perfect place to staunch your hunger and relax with friends after or before dancing.

Party, party, party!

CSSF is one long, multi-event/location party, with opportunities to continue the dance exhilaration elsewhere after the main event(s) – so for those with the stamina, you can effectively dance 24/7 the entire week! In addition to the main salsa event, there are also two Summer Sensual Days events for lovers of bachata, sensual bachata, kizomba, urbankiz, semba and other African flavours, one a four-day event in the nearby town of Opatija and another week-long pre-CSSF event in Rovinj. So you can extend your dance holiday as much or as little as you like, and according to your favourite dance flavours.  

As the event programme states, “Because there can never be too many parties in Rovinj”, the official weekend party nights are preceded by two official pre-parties, one on Monday 12 June at the Adris this year, another at the Steel nightclub on Tuesday 13 June, concluding with an official event afterparty on Monday 19 June (also at Steel). There were also ‘unofficial’ afterparties after sunrise at the pier in the old town’s Main Square, and daily dancing in the sunset hours at Mulini Beach.  

Of course the main event – the all-night dance parties at the Adris Old Tobacco Factory featuring a fantastic line-up of top international Cuban and salsa/mambo/bachata/kizomba DJs – never fail to wow, as they are all awesome dance nights. I knew the Saturday Gala Party night would be packed so I turned up a little later (eg 4am), but the dance floor was still very busy even then.

I had many amazing dances at each party night, both with dancers I already knew as well as a few ‘lucky dips’ with those I didn’t. I can’t say I danced with any of the performers or instructors during the nightly ‘Artist Hours’ – I didn’t do any workshops or ‘MPower’ yoga/flexibility sessions either (only available to full-pass holders), but I heard the Cali-style one taught by Santee Hernandez was amazing – if I’d known about that beforehand, I would have loved to dance a fierce Cali-style salsa or boogaloo with him!  

There were also daily dance pool parties (2pm–7pm, from Monday 12 June to Saturday 17 June) at the seaside Villas Rubin Resort, with one huge floor, both under a marquee and in a big open-air plaza, devoted to salsa (Cuban and salsa/mambo) and another open-air floor to sensual (bachata and kizomba, typically), with shuttle buses (for a €5 fee) transporting dancers from the Delfin pier to the entrance to the resort.

Unfortunately – being that this was during the hottest hours of the day – the pool itself was not accessible to non-residents until the Grande Pool Party on Sunday 18 June (next time I might opt to stay at the resort itself just for the pool and the seaside – and of course the drinks!), but at least the excellent cocktails (Sex on the Beach, anyone?) from the resort bar helped keep those party juices flowing, as you can see in the videos here and here. There’s always loads of animations thrown in for fun, too, although sometimes there are a bit too many of these.

This year – especially for those who bought the full week-long (from 12–19 June) pass – there were two concerts, the first being salsa dura maestros Tromboranga on Tuesday 13 June and the second the Cuban reggaeton and timba group Los 4, who gave a rousing show at the Grande Fiesta in the main square of the old town on Friday 16 June, which also featured dance shows from international performers – I was particularly impressed by the solo male dancer in the IShadow Group by Yuta Higa from Japan and the energy of the all-female Cachevere Dance Group from the Netherlands. Although this is usually one of my favourite events of CSSF, it was a bit too crowded for my energy levels at the time with over 3,000 dancers dancing in the open-air square.

As one of my favourite memories from previous Rovinj CSSF visits (this year was actually my 5th or 6th visit, though with a gap of about 7 years) is the legendary boat parties, with three hours of dancing on the boat and an opportunity to jump off the top deck for a cooling swim in the sea. This year, in addition to the usual Monday salsa boat party, there were several additional boat parties available throughout the week. I ended up joining three of them by turning up at the pier early and buying discounted tickets from those who couldn’t make it. Each boat party had a different vibe or flavour, but I particularly enjoyed the ‘White Delight’ boat party on Friday with DJs Rumbero and Sergi – I danced fairly non-stop for the whole cruise, which was amazing.

Thinking I might miss the Monday salsa boat cruise, I booked in advance for the ‘Romantic’ cruise on Saturday afternoon, which I thought would be salsa romantica but was mostly bachata music – as bachata’s not really my thing, I just chilled mostly and enjoyed the cruise and jump off the top deck into the cooling waves, but I also took some pics and videos of others dancing. Although I still had fun and enjoyed chatting to friends, I was disappointed the Monday salsa boat party was mostly club music, with probably only three salsa tracks in total – if I’d known, I might have opted for the Cuban party boat at sunset instead. Anyway, I certainly got my party boat fix for the year!

Extras

Even when the city seems nearly completely taken over by salseros/as and bachateros/as, there are still plenty of places offering opportunities for quiet reflection, secluded sunbathing or more intimate encounters with others and, of course, the gorgeous nature. Explore the Zlatni Park Forest and the Golden Bay/Cape area behind Hotel Lone, or head to nearby Mulini Beach for some sunset dance party action or just chill out with a swim in the cooling Adriatic sea (tip: Don’t forget to wear sea shoes, as stepping on sea urchins can ruin your holiday! Avoid the sunbeds as these are astronomical). Cuvi Beach is a little further away, but you can also get a massage to soothe those aching muscles!

And along with the multiple crazy CSSF boat parties organised on a daily basis during the festival, you can also organise your own sunset or sunrise dolphin- and whale-watching trips, or take a leisurely boat cruise to explore the many islands. You can also easily organise a day trip from Rovinj to the exceptionally beautiful Plitvice Lakes National Park, which features crystal-clear turquoise lakes and waterfalls, and offers abundant outdoor adventure activities (hiking, kayaking, ziplining, cycling, horseback riding, deer and cave viewing, etc [see here for ideas]).

So, whether you’re an all-out extroverted dance party animal or a more introverted, reflective type craving blissful seaside relaxation in the sun – or preferably a bit of both! – this city and festival is guaranteed to satisfy your innermost desires.

If you’re keen to book next year, you might want to bear these points / tips in mind:

• This festival is a great way to roll a dance marathon into a proper holiday – but it DOES NOT COME CHEAP. Even if you are being relatively conservative, it will still likely cost you £1,000 /€1,200 for the full week. So it is wise to BOOK AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE – INCLUDING YOUR AIRFARES / TRANSPORT AND ACCOMMODATION – see below for 2024 dates.
• As there is no direct flight to Rovinj (the nearest airport is Pula, about 40 minutes away; there is a bus from Rovinj to Pula for only €6, but it is not always reliable), you can likely find more sustainable or comfortable travel arrangements if you plan in advance – for example, EasyJet pilot Amir Faragalla told me there’s a coach that goes direct from Ljubljana to Rovinj. If you fly to Venice or Trieste, you can likely use a GoOpti transfer to get there. And join one of the online CSSF travel chat forums via Facebook/Messenger to connect with others for cheaper shared transfers, as solo taxi trips can be outrageously expensive.
• You can find reasonable accommodation in the old town – mostly large bed-sitting rooms or apartments with cooking facilities, etc – on Booking.com (I booked the Svalbe Rooms and Suites for 3 nights at €267.30), which was in a reasonably easy-to-find/get to location in the old town), or alternatively stay at a local hotel or the Villas Rubin resort, which does provide a free shuttle service to/from the city. If you are staying in a place with cooking facilities, there are two supermarkets, one by the bus station and the other on the way to/from Delfin pier.
• Wherever you stay, be prepared to do a fair bit of walking on the cobbled streets, which are well-worn and can be quite slippy.