In the heart of the hilly interior of Istria, a new creative residency dedicated to digital nomads has begun – Double Shot Digital Nomad Week. It is a week in which photography, storytelling, gastronomy, and local tradition intertwine in one of the most authentic parts of Croatia, in Central Istria, which in recent years has been increasingly positioning itself as a destination for remote work and extended stays. It is precisely here, where medieval towns kiss vineyards and olive groves, that digital nomads discover that accommodation in Central Istria can be much more than a temporary office – it becomes a stage for new stories and creative projects.

Double Shot Digital Nomad Week is the latest continuation of the multi-year cooperation between the Tourist Board of Central Istria, the Digital Nomad Association Croatia (DNA Croatia), and the Croatian National Tourist Board. This year's edition focuses on visual storytelling through the lens – from food photography to landscapes – but also on a deeper immersion into the local community. Through carefully designed workshops, fieldwork, and joint activities, participants get to know the region not only as a tourist destination but as a place where it is possible to live, work, and create throughout the year, with quality accommodation for digital nomads in Central Istria.

A creative residency that combines photography, stories, and everyday life

This year's Double Shot Digital Nomad Week residency is conceived as an intense week of fieldwork, during which four selected participants – young photographers and digital nomads from different countries – explore Central Istria through the lens and stories of local people. The program began on November 22, 2025, during a period when the landscape changes from autumn's warm tones to winter hues, but the region continues to live to the fullest thanks to events and a rich gastronomic offer. For the participants, this means a week filled with shooting, learning, but also socializing over local dishes, distillates, and spontaneous encounters with hosts.

Through workshops led by photographers from Amsterdam, participants get the opportunity to perfect various aspects of the photographic craft – from plate styling and working with interior light, to capturing the atmosphere of hilly landscapes, misty mornings, and narrow stone streets. The focus is on authentic stories: how local brandies and liqueurs are made, what lies behind a successful distillery, how recipes are passed down through generations, and how tradition and the modern way of life coexist in small Istrian communities. All of this is recorded through photographs, short texts, interviews, and posts on digital platforms, creating a mosaic of experiences of the entire region.

The program also includes thematic tours that connect creative work with enogastronomy and nature: participants visit artisanal distilleries in the municipalities of Karojba, Pazin, Sveti Lovreč, Tinjan, and Cerovlje, explore forest trails and country roads, meet producers and caterers, and get to know locations that are already recognized as ideal for long-term stays and accommodation in Central Istria. The focus is not only on visually attractive shots but also on understanding the local economy, seasonality, and the importance of sustainable tourism.

Four winners with different views on Central Istria

Double Shot Digital Nomad Week brings together four contest winners who bring diverse sensibilities, technical approaches, and travel experiences to Central Istria. What they have in common is that they deal with photography and work remotely, but each of them comes to the region with a different professional and cultural background, making the residency a rich ground for the exchange of ideas.

Hugo Smeenk from the Netherlands is the winner in the food photography category. He specializes in visual storytelling through gastronomy, so his work in Central Istria involves documenting local recipes, seasonal ingredients, and the way tradition is interpreted in modern cuisine. From truffles and homemade pasta to brandies and liqueurs from artisanal distilleries, every frame shapes the story of the region as a destination for hedonists, but also for digital nomads looking for an inspiring backdrop for work, with quality accommodation near Pazin and surrounding places.

Iwona Schneider from Germany, Nora Bohanon from the United States, and Alice Longhurst-Jones from the United Kingdom are the winners in the landscape photography category. Their focus is on landscapes – from rolling hills and forests to stone towns on heights and remote country roads. Each of them brings their own aesthetics: from minimalist shots in the fog to dramatic panoramic scenes and intimate details like old dry stone walls, bell towers, and vineyards. Through their works, Central Istria becomes a visual diary of a place that is quiet enough for focused work, yet lively enough to offer new motifs daily.

Working together, this quartet creates a multi-layered story about Central Istria as a destination that goes beyond the classic summer season. Their photos reflect what everyday life looks like outside the main tourist crowds: a morning arrival at a distillery, a conversation with a producer, a walk through a town where locals know each other, but also evenings where a table spontaneously turns into a coworking space. It is precisely this blend of work, socializing, and discovering new flavors that is key for digital nomads who seek both peace and community in accommodation in Central Istria.

Central Istria as a laboratory for digital nomads

Double Shot Digital Nomad Week builds on the continuity of activities that the Tourist Board of Central Istria has been conducting since 2021 through the "Live and Work in Central Istria" project. The strategy is clear: to develop a destination that attracts digital nomads outside the peak season, when it is possible to experience the region in its more authentic rhythm – with fewer crowds, but with enough content, events, and quality accommodation for long-term stays. In this context, Central Istria represents a kind of laboratory for a rural destination model adapted to remote work.

Back in 2022, the Digital Nomads-in-Residence (DN-I-R) program was implemented in Central Istria, where several digital nomads from different countries stayed in the region and participated in creating proposals on how to improve the offer for this target group. The program emphasized the importance of good internet infrastructure, nearby coworking spaces, diverse outdoor offers, and close contact with the local community. These insights later spilled over into a series of new initiatives and events designed to connect remote work, local culture, and gastronomy.

Along these lines, the Central Istria Gourmet Getaway 2023 was created, a program that combined workshops, shared meals, and thematic excursions throughout Central Istria over a month. Participants met producers of wine, olive oil, prosciutto, and other local delicacies, with an emphasis on how the region can become a "work home" for those who do not have to be tied to an office. Gourmet Getaway further solidified the region's position as a destination for gourmet-oriented digital nomads who seek peace for work, but also inspiration for leisure time, in accommodation in the interior of Istria.

In 2024, ViNomad Week followed, a week dedicated to the fusion of wine and remote work. Through this program, digital nomads got to know the vineyards of Central Istria, participated in workshops, tasted local wines, and simultaneously built their projects. ViNomad showed that Central Istria can offer a strong identity even outside classic tourist clichés, whereby accommodation in small Istrian places is experienced as a place for a longer stay, and not just a short weekend getaway. Double Shot Digital Nomad Week now upgrades that narrative, emphasizing the visual interpretation of the region and creating content that will reach an even wider global audience.

Connection with the Central Istria Spirits Days event

This year's Double Shot Digital Nomad Week coincides with the third edition of the Central Istria Spirits Days event – Days of Distillates in Central Istria. It is an event held over three weekends, from November 22 to December 7, 2025, in distilleries in the area of the municipalities of Karojba, Pazin, Sveti Lovreč, Tinjan, and Cerovlje. Visitors are offered free tastings of Istrian brandies, liqueurs, and other distillates, with the possibility of participating in the distillation process under expert guidance. The program takes place in the afternoon hours, from 1 PM to 7 PM, which opens up space precisely for digital nomads who can start the day working and use the afternoon to explore local flavors.

The most famous Istrian brandies presented at the event are biska (mistletoe brandy), medica (honey brandy), travarica (herb brandy), and ruta (rue brandy). These drinks are part of the local culture and are often offered as a sign of hospitality, but also as an integral part of the gastronomic offer in taverns and agrotourisms. For Double Shot Digital Nomad Week participants, this means an opportunity to work in an authentic ambiance – from filming the distillation process to portraits of producers – and at the same time get to know the destination from a perspective that can rarely be experienced in a classic tourist arrangement.

The Central Istria Spirits Days event further emphasizes the connection between tourism, agriculture, and small crafts in Central Istria. Distilleries in Karojba, Pazin, Sveti Lovreč, Tinjan, and Cerovlje offer not only products but also an experience – guided tastings, conversations about the history of recipes, stories about local plants and fruits used in production. In this context, accommodation in Central Istria becomes a starting point for exploring a whole range of small producers, local events, and hidden corners of the region.

Collaboration that expands the story of rural Croatia

Double Shot Digital Nomad Week is part of a broader partnership involving the Tourist Board of Central Istria, the Digital Nomad Association Croatia (DNA Croatia), and the Croatian National Tourist Board. Through joint projects, Croatia has in recent years been increasingly presenting itself as a country that offers digital nomads much more than a "summer postcard" – especially in lesser-known regions like the interior of Istria. By systematically supporting such programs, national and local institutions strive to show that tourism development can be smartly linked to encouraging longer-term stays, opening new collaborations, and expanding outside the main season.

DNA Croatia, as an association that brings together digital nomads and stakeholders in the tourism sector, participates intensively in program design, communication, and promotion, but also in connecting projects like Double Shot Digital Nomad Week with the international community of nomads and creators. The role of the Croatian National Tourist Board is important in ensuring support for projects across the country, including Central Istria, which allows such initiatives to develop sustainably and over the long term. The result is recognizable campaigns and content that position Croatia as an innovative destination for remote work.

The Tourist Board of Central Istria, on the other hand, ensures that projects are firmly rooted in the local community. Through cooperation with distilleries, caterers, producers, and organizers of other events like the "With Sausage in the EU" fair in Sveti Petar u Šumi, a network of partners is being built that makes the region attractive for longer stays. For digital nomads, this means that when they choose accommodation in small towns of Central Istria, they get not only a desk and a good Wi-Fi connection but also a ticket to a living ecosystem of local events.

Stories behind the scenes: Live and Work in Central Istria podcast

A special segment of the development of the offer for digital nomads in Central Istria is the "Live and Work in Central Istria" podcast, which continues to live even after individual programs end. In the weeks following Double Shot Digital Nomad Week, new episodes have been announced in which the experiences of residency participants, conversations with local producers, event organizers, and community members will intertwine. The podcast brings "behind the scenes" stories – from the first impressions of digital nomads upon arriving in the region to moments when they realize they could stay here longer than planned.

The episodes are designed to provide insight into the daily life of the region: what a digital nomad's day looks like attending remote meetings and then going to a distillate tasting; what it means to live in a town like Pazin, and explore surrounding villages on the weekend; how local events – from distillate festivals to fairs dedicated to cured meat products – create a sense of community. The podcast simultaneously serves as inspiration for those looking for a new destination for remote work and as a tool for promoting accommodation in Central Istria through the real stories of people who have already stayed here.

How to get involved and plan a stay in Central Istria

Digital nomads, creatives, and remote workers who want to find out more about the possibilities of staying in Central Istria, conditions for remote work, and current programs can find detailed information on the official Live and Work in Central Istria platform at https://liveandwork.central-istria.com/. Key information about the region, applications for programs and events, as well as practical advice on daily life – from transport connections to recommendations for coworking spaces and catering establishments – are consolidated there.

Planning an arrival in Central Istria often begins with choosing a location and type of stay: some nomads prefer apartments in smaller places surrounded by greenery, others look for accommodation near Pazin to be closer to shops, services, and transport hubs, while a third group chooses villages near wine roads and cycling trails. What they have in common is that, once they arrive, they discover how important it is to have a quality network of local partners, well-organized events, and a feeling that they are not just guests, but part of the community.

Double Shot Digital Nomad Week is therefore not just an isolated event, but part of a broader story about how a rural region builds its future through cooperation with digital nomads, creatives, and local stakeholders. Combined with events like Central Istria Spirits Days and projects that preceded them – Digital Nomads-in-Residence, Gourmet Getaway, and ViNomad Week – this program further consolidates Central Istria on the map of destinations offering a complete experience of work, rest, and authentic local life, alongside the increasingly important place occupied by quality, long-term sustainable accommodation for digital nomads in Central Istria.