05. - 15.04.2019. SOLD OUT
10. - 20.05.2019. SOLD OUT
07. - 17.06.2019.
30.08. - 09.09.2019.
27.09. - 07.10.2019.
DAY 1 Zagreb arrival
Arrival at Zagreb airport. Meet & greet followed by a private trans-fer to your hotel. Overnight in Zagreb.
DAY 2 Zagreb experience B,-,-
Breakfast at the hotel. Meeting with your tour leader that will ac-company you throughout the tour.
Zagreb walking tour with a licensed guide, including a visit to Lower and Upper Town. Zrinjevac Park together with a lot of buildings representing the typical architecture of Central Europe from the turn of the 20th century. The Building of The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the neighboring Art Pavilion are two of the finest examples. Continue along the Botanical Gardens and Marulic Square towards the Theater Square with three important landmarks of Za-greb: The Mimara Museum, the Croatian National Theatre and Zagreb University.
Coffee break with cake in a Kraš pastry shop , the Croatian manufacturer of confectionery famous for their chocolate created for true confectionary connoisseurs. A short funicular ride will bring you to Upper Town – totally different, enchanting Zagreb and the story returns back to 15th and 16th century. The Lotrscak Tower signalizes high noon to Zagreb citizens with a cannon shot every day. St. Catherine’s Square with a baroque church, St. Mark’s Square with the Houses of Parliament and Government and St. Mark’s Church with its picturesque roof, The Stone Gate, remnants of strong city walls – are impressive sights for your personal postcard of Zagreb.
Among the many interesting museums and galleries in Zagreb we chose for you the Meštrović Atelier, once also the artist’s home and working place – the curator herself will meet you and introduce you to the art of this great Croatian sculptor and tell you the story of this famous family.
In the afternoon you are free to enjoy the atmosphere of Zagreb‘s numerous cafes and to witness the culture of cof-fee in Croatia. Go to Tkalčićeva or Bogovićeva street or Flower Square and see how much Croatians love drinking cof-fee but more importantly, how we love socializing over a freshly brewed cup of coffee.
Dinner on your own in one of the many city’s restaurants. The gastro scene is pretty vivid, so choose any restaurant and you won’t be disappointed. Overnight at a hotel in Zagreb.
DAY 3 Zagreb - Kvarner Bay - Opatija / Crikvenica B,-,D
Breakfast at the hotel. Further journey by coach to the Adriatic coast. This day is fully dedicated to your relaxation and indulgence. Enjoy the luxury of your hotel, spend some time in the spa and wellness area, swimming in the pool or in the sea. Take a long stroll along the seaside promenade. Mix with the locals in one of the many cafes and track the story of coffee culture in Croatia. End your day with dinner at the hotel and a glass of wine on a
terrace with a spectacular view. Overnight.
DAY 4 Opatija / Crikvenica - Istria tour B,L,D
Breakfast at the hotel followed by a full day excursion to the Istria peninsula. If Croatia is said to be the land of wine and olive, then beautiful Istria proves that the best. Its producers of wine and olive oil are among the best in the world, proud owners of numerous gold medals won at the most prestigious world competitions.
On our way we will see small picturesque towns on hills, the impressive river Mirna valley and the Lim Fjord, as well as the beautiful city of Rovinj. But above all we will enjoy visiting beautiful ancient olive groves and vineyards, meeting the locals, hearing their stories , walking with them among the trees and tasting some of the best olive oil and wine in the world .
The pinnacle of our gourmet tour will be a meal at a restaurant in the Lim Fjord, one of the most beautiful natural resources of the Istrian peninsula, in the pristine nature reserve, well known for its fish and oyster farm (oysters, mussels, giltheads, sea basses.).
After visiting Rovinj, one of the most picturesque towns in the Mediterranean, we will drive back to the hotel.
Dinner at hotel. Overnight.
DAY 5 Plitvice lakes B,-,D
Breakfast buffet at the hotel followed by check out and departure towards Plitvice lakes. Plitvice Lakes National Park – one of the greatest natural wonders and phenomena in the world. Connected to each other by a series of foaming cascades and thundering waterfalls, the lakes are fed by many rivers and streams. Plitvice Lakes have been on UNESCO’s list of World Natural Heritage since 1979.
After a visit to this astonishing natural wonder, you will be accommodated in a small hotel close to Plitvice Lake - another possibility to enjoy local cuisine with all the ingredients produced on local farms.
DAY 6 Zadar / Lake Vrana B,-,D
Breakfast at the hotel, buffet style with all local products, the taste of cheese, butter and milk unparralled to those known previously. Check out and departure towards Zadar, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in Croatia. This ancient city managed to preserve impressive examples of Roman, Byzantine Romanesque and Venetian architecture despite its turbulent history. Be it the Venetian tower and wells on Pet Bunara Square, the columns of the Roman Forum which dates back to 1 BC, or the Church of St Donatus, the Byzantine-style rotunda of the 9th-century, the architectural monuments of Zadar are all beautiful, well preserved and in perfect accordance with all other buildings.
We will walk down Kalelarga, the main street packed with shops, cafes, fancy boutiques, bakeries, ice cream or pastry shops, pass by the green market, the vivid and colorful place where inhabitants of Zadar adore buying fish and meat, vegetables and fruits from local fishermen and local vendors. Among all these historical monuments worth inspecting, we chose to show you the exhibition “Gold and Silver of Zadar”, a permanent display of ecclesiastic art in the Benedictine Convent of St. Mary. This priceless treasure has been preserved by the Benedictine nuns throughout the years, and also some valuable items (lace embroidered with golden threads) were produced by the nuns´ hands. And you will see top quality products of nuns today –wine , liquor, lavander aromatic oil, book markers, lace etc . They live under the mot-to: ORA ET LABORA.
After this visit to the past, we will go to greet the Sun and listen to the Sea Organ, Zadar’s unique features.
There are few places in the world that connect you so powerfully to nature, the Sun and sea, like these in Zadar. Our next stop will be a museum. The museum of ancient glass, located in a perfect spot, overlooking the harbor, in a beautiful building, this museum is exciting, inspiring, and highly aestethic. You will enjoy the museum’s premium collection of Roman glassware, a cornucopia of goblets, jars and vials, delicate vessels used by Roman ladies to store perfumes, skin creams and essential oils. The replicas of this beautiful Roman glassware are sold in the refined museum shop.
Having visited the beautiful town of Zadar and having collected a thousand of impressions you are now ready to go to tonight’s retreat – Maškovića han. Driving by the beautiful Vrana Lake, the biggest freshwater lake in Croatia with an ornithological reserve where 110 bird species nest and are visited by 230 more species. Vrana was once owned by the Templars of the 12th century and mystical stories of hidden treasures are present still today. The newly rebuilt most western Ottoman monument in Europe – Maškovića han is a caravanserai, an Ottoman Inn just besides Lake Vrana. Enjoy your stay in this superb heritage hotel, enjoy your gourmet dinner in a beautiful setting and visit the hotel’s tiny museum.
DAY 7 Lake Vrana / Šibenik / Rogoznica B,-,D
Breakfast at beautiful Maškovića han. It is not easy to say goodbye to this charming place, but it is only day 7 of our Croatian tour and many beautiful things still await. After a short drive we will reach the Agricultural Cooperative in Ravni Kotari, in Zadar’s hinterland. The cooperative is located in the middle of an olive grove and vineyard. This is the biggest organic olive grove in Croatia, with 12 000 olive trees planted on 40 hectares. We will once more taste top quality olive oil and wine, dried figs, but also listen to the very interesting story behind this project.
Our next destination is the city of Šibenik, mostly known by the UNESCO –listed Saint James Cathedral. This unique example of European sacral architecture, entirely made of stone and adorned with a frieze of 72 heads carved in stone, is Croatia’s most significant architectural creation of the fifteenth and sixteenth century.
But the city is much more than that, with its pedestrian-only medieval old town and two magnificent hilltop fortresses, St Michael’s and Barone, charming cafes, lovely galleries, Michelin star restaurant – it is place to be. We will visit the Barone fortress hosting an excellent augmented reality exhibition.
Having visited Šibenik we will continue to the small place of Rogoznica. Here we will sleep in a luxury hotel belonging to Marina Frapa – equipped with one of the best restaurants in the Mediterranean. Enjoy your drink at the Captain’s Club, dine in a restaurant with a view of numerous boats swaying in a mild breeze.
Overnight.
DAY 8 Rogoznica / Split B,-,-
Breakfast at the marina hotel. Check out and drive to the City of Split. Walking tour of this iconic city with its seafront gem – the unique combination of ancient build-ings and a cosmopolitan, palm lined waterfront – the beloved Riva. The real heart of the historical center are the ‘unique city within a city’s fortifications of the former Roman palace built for the Emperor Diocletian. Diocletian’s Palace (UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979), was built between the late 3rd and the early 4th century A.D., the cathedral was built in the Middle Ages, reusing materials from the ancient mausoleum.
Romanesque churches, medieval fortifications, 15th century Gothic palaces and other palaces in Renaissance and Baroque styles make up the rest of the protected area.
We will visit the Cathedral but also the Diocletian Palace substructures - one of the best preserved ancient complexes of their kind in the world, with its echoing underground halls, scattered with sphinxes and slabs of red granite looted from Egypt. We will listen to “klapa” singers performing a cappella in the Vestibule and continue exploring Croatia’s coffee culture.
Free afternoon for shopping or further exploration of this magnificent city.
True relaxation and sorting out all our impressions and experiences will be at our ho-tel. Visit the hotel’s luxury spa & wellness, step into a sauna, jaccuzzi or go for a swim in the indoor or outdoor pool.
Overnight.
DAY 9 Split / Neretva valley / Dubrovnik B,L,-
Breakfast at the hotel and drive by coach to Dubrovnik. On our way there, we will make a stop in the beautiful valley of the river Neretva – this is areal hidden gem. It is one of the most fertile regions in south-eastern Europe, the landscape is completely different from the rest of Croatia. The valley is mostly known as the Valley of Tangerines because of its huge production of this citrus and more than 1,4 million tangerine trees that grow out across the land. These are joined by other citruses: lemons, grapefruits, kiwis. Apricot, peach and nectarine plantations are also common, as well as wine yards and fig groves. Apples and watermelons are among the best in the world and the same can be said for tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, cabbage vegetables and beans.
The landscape is breathtaking. Wetlands, marshes and lagoons make this river estuary unique. It is the only delta in Croatia, abundant with wildlife, king fishers, oyster catchers, egrets and herons, amongst others, that all live in the untouched nature. We'll take you for a ride on the narrow canals and backwaters of the Neretva in the traditional boat, surely the best way to enter this magical world.
The rich cultural and natural legacy can be leisurely browsed in the Vid Archeological Museum and in the Natural History Museum in Metković and we will visit both. The Narona archeological museum, first in-situ museum in Croatia, is built upon the Augusteum, a temple dedicated to the Roman Emperor August.
Eels and frogs are a local specialty, as well as game and seafood. We will bring you to a traditional restaurant to taste the genuine Neretva brodetto, a stew like no other. Not to mention prawns, local cheese and excellent local wines. It is the most authentic food experience in Croatia. Two hours drive along the beautiful Adriatic coast to Dubrovnik. Check in and relax at hotel.
Overnight.
Breakfast at the hotel.
Today’s day is dedicated to Dubrovnik, Croatia’s most popular city.
Guided half-day tour of the Old City included in UNESCO World Heritage Site list (since 1979). This ancient city surrounded by ramparts and fortresses abounds in architectural and cultural masterpieces carefully preserved for centuries. The architecture of Baroque and Renaissance are massively represented in impressive museum collections and preserved city palaced. A pleasant walk will take you to the Rector’s Palace and the Dominican Monastery both housing a rich collection of medieval paintings. Following the central city street – Stradun – you will visit the Franciscan Monastery and other intriguing sites.
On our way we‘ll stop in Dubrovačka kuća, the unique gallery that represents local artists, but also artisans of food delicacies. For a spectacular view we will bring you to the mountain of Srđ by cable car. This breathtaking view will forever be saved into your album of inner pictures. A glass of spar-kling wine is here to celebrate this special moment!
Afternoon at leisure.
Let your curiosity take the lead instead of visiting must-see places. You’ll never tire of this magical city and mingling with the locals for the sole purpose of enjoying life and doing nothing. Do not forget Croatia’s coffee culture. Sit down with the locals in one of the numerous Old Town’s cafes and drink your coffee slowly. For lunch or dinner choose one of the city’s popular restaurants.
Day 11 Dubrovnik departure B,-,-
Breakfast at hotel. Private transfer to the airport. Further instructions for those who extent the stay in Dubrovnik or take add-on tour.
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