Discover Coastal Croatia

Fly from London to Split, and transfer to the 4-star Hotel Cvita for a welcome drink on arrival, and a three-night stay. Croatia’s ‘second city’, Split is an intermingling of ancient and modern, with its back against Croatia’s coastal mountains, its toes in the waters of the Adriatic, and its ‘Riva’ promenade studded with palms and glitzy bars.

This morning, a guided walking tour of Split includes the magnificent Diocletian’s Palace, an enormous ensemble which is more like a fortified Old Town, thronged with shops, markets, and al fresco cafés, and claiming the world’s oldest Cathedral, St Domnius, built 295-305AD. After lunch at a local restaurant, the tour continues just around the bay on the little island of Trogir, linked by a bridge to the mainland, to explore the UNESCO World Heritage town, where medieval monuments include the Romanesque portal of St Lawrence Cathedral and the 15th-century Kamerlengo Fortress on the waterfront, a governor’s palace in Venetian times.
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Travel by road to Lozovac, the entry point to Krka National Park, it’s forestry and lush greenery spread around 73km of the Krka River, its topography attracting 200 species of birds. The park is famed for its secluded monasteries and for its splendid waterfalls. A guided tour takes you to the Stradinski Buk, a series of 17 waterfalls, flanked by traditional watermills.
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Sit back and enjoy the scenery today as you travel by road from Split, crossing the Peljesac Bridge enroute to Orebic, where we take the ferry to Korcula Island, the reputed birthplace of Marco Polo. Your afternoon is at leisure to enjoy the hotel facilities or explore the island, cloaked in woodlands and vineyards, and known for its local white wine. Two nights at the 4-star Marko Polo Hotel by Aminess (Sep/Oct), a short stroll from a beach, or 4-star Aminess Liburna Hotel (May/Jun), at the water’s edge.
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Covering a little promontory, Korcula town is often described as Dubrovnik in miniature, its 13th-century houses topped with bright tiles, built in a fishbone layout to deflect sea winds, encircled by defensive walls and towers, and focused on the 15th-16th century St. Mark’s cathedral. A walking tour of the town is followed by a boat trip to the unspoilt, uncrowded island of Mljet, to stroll by the salt lakes of its National Park, and sail on one of the lakes to see the Benedictine monastery on St. Mary’s Isle. Legend has it that Mljet’s air of peace and calm so captivated Odysseus that he stayed for seven years. We return to Korcula for a leisurely evening.
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Sail back to the mainland and drive to Ston, on the stunningly scenic Peljesac Peninsula. The medieval town is known for its salt pans, oysters, and 15th-century city walls, studded with towers. Enjoy an oyster and wine tasting before continuing to Dubrovnik, ‘the Pearl of the Adriatic’, for two nights at the 4-star Grand Hotel Park, close to Lapad Beach, in the city’s modern suburbs.
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A morning tour of Dubrovnik’s historic heart shows you landmark monuments, including Renaissance and Gothic palaces, Orlando’s Column, Onofrio’s Fountain, and the Baroque church of St Blaise, the city’s patron saint. Some places may seem familiar as they formed the filming locations for scenes in Star Wars and Game of Thrones. After free time for lunch, we sail from the ancient Old Town harbour to the nature reserve of Lokrum Island, where a shaded ‘Path of Paradise’ wanders through forests of Holm Oak and Manna Ash, among 400 species of flora; and monuments include monastery cloisters, the stone pool of Charlotte’s Well, and the 19th-century fortress on the islands highest peak. Return to the hotel to freshen-up before a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.
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Transfer to the airport for your return flight.
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