Country Roads of Croatia - Small Group - From £5,195

Arrive in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital, where 19th-century park-lined boulevards of the Lower Town lead up to the historic Upper Town around Ban Jelačić Square and Dolac Market. Meet your Travel Director and your small group over dinner, sharing dishes and getting to know the people you’ll be travelling with across the country.

Start with an experience at Kolekcionart Gallery, meeting the curator and a local artist to hear how they collaborate on presenting contemporary art in Zagreb. Join your Local Expert to explore Zagreb’s compact centre on foot, starting with the Art Pavilion, the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the tree-lined paths of Zrinjevac Park. Ride the short funicular up to the Upper Town to see St. Mark’s Church and the Lotrščak Tower before descending through the Stone Gate towards the main square. The afternoon is at leisure to follow Zagreb’s cafe-lined streets, visit a small museum or return to Dolac Market, or join an Optional Experience into the countryside at Kumrovec.

Leave Zagreb and cross into Slovenia to visit the Postojna Cave system, one of Europe’s best-known karst landscapes. Travel by underground train and on foot through a sequence of vast chambers, where stalactites and stalagmites show how water shapes this limestone plateau over millions of years. Continue to the Adriatic and arrive to the Opatija Riviera. In the evening, walk the lungomare and choose a seafront restaurant for grilled fish or Kvarner prawns, or look for a simple konoba, a traditional Croatian tavern, tucked behind the villas.

Travel into Istria with your Local Expert, a region shaped by Roman, Venetian and Habsburg rule. In Pula, visit the 1st-century Pula Arena, one of the world’s largest surviving Roman amphitheatres, once hosting crowds of up to 20,000 for gladiatorial games. Walk the stone terraces and look out towards the harbour that kept this port connected to the wider empire. Continue to Rovinj, a former island town later linked to the mainland. Narrow cobbled lanes climb towards St. Euphemia’s Church, while working fishing boats still line the quays. Use the rest of the day to wander the peninsula, climb to the church square or follow the waterfront paths towards the beaches.

Leave Opatija and follow the Adriatic coast, with views of bays, islands and small harbour towns, before turning inland through the forests and karst scenery of the Lika region. On arrival at Plitvice, join a Local Expert in Plitviče Lakes National Park to learn about habitat conservation and the work taking place to protect this UNESCO-listed landscape. Later, meet women from the Tara community at your hotel to hear their stories and see the traditional handicrafts they create.

Leave Plitvice and travel back towards the Adriatic, arriving in Zadar, a city where Roman ruins, medieval churches and everyday markets share the same compact peninsula. Walk past the remains of the Roman forum and through the market, where stalls stack local cheese, smoked ham and seasonal fruit. Afterwards, use free time to listen to the Sea Organ on the promenade, step into St. Donatus Church or climb a bell tower for harbor views. Continue south to Trogir for an orientation with your Travel Director, taking in St. Lawrence’s Cathedral and the Cipiko Palace, before reaching Split. In the evening, perhaps choose a local konoba, where simple Dalmatian dishes offer a clear taste of everyday cooking in this part of Croatia.

Meet your Local Expert in Split where you’ll explore Diocletian’s Palace, the 4th-century fortified retirement complex that still forms the heart of the city. Walk through its cellars and Peristyle as you hear how an emperor from nearby Salona reshaped this harbour. You’ll visit St. Duje’s Cathedral, once his mausoleum, then continue to the Golden Gate at the northern edge of the old town. There’s time to find lunch in a palace courtyard or along the Riva. Board your ferry to Hvar and settle into one of Croatia’s best-known island harbours. Before dinner at the hotel, there may be time to walk the waterfront, taste local wine from the island’s vineyards or climb to the hilltop fortress for views across the Pakleni Islands.

A full day on Hvar gives room to explore the island at your own pace. Around Hvar Town’s main square, you’ll find cafes and bars for a morning coffee, bakeries serving burek and konobas offering grilled fish, black risotto and simple seafood lunches. Coastal paths lead to small swimming coves or boats out to the Pakleni Islands. Inland, visit the Franciscan monastery or browse shops for lavender, olive oil and local wine. Alternatively, join an Optional Experience to Stari Grad and Vrboska, including a visit to a wine cellar to taste island specialities.

Leave Hvar by ferry, crossing back past the central Dalmatian islands towards the Pelješac and Korčula channels. On arrival in Korčula Town, you’ll settle into a compact walled centre set on a small peninsula, with streets fanning out from St. Mark’s Cathedral. There is time to explore at your own pace: walk part of the walls or find a swim spot just beyond the Old Town. In the evening, come together for dinner at the hotel, with a chance to try Dalmatian dishes and local Korčula wines.

In Korčula Town, you’ll join a Local Expert for a walking tour inside the compact walled Old Town. You’ll see St. Mark’s Cathedral and the main square, then continue past the Town Museum, the Bishop’s Palace and the Town Hall, where Venetian coats of arms still show centuries of rule from across the Adriatic. You’ll also visit the ruins linked to Marco Polo’s birth house, hearing how this long-standing tradition grows around the island’s trading past. The rest of the day is free to walk the seafront walls, swim from nearby platforms, or find a konoba for grilled fish, brodet or a glass of local Pošip.

Leave Korčula and travel along the Pelješac Peninsula, an area known for vineyards and shellfish farms. Weather permitting, board a private boat across the bay to Mali Ston and begin with a glass of traditional brandy. At a local shellfish farm, meet an oyster farmer, learn how Ston Bay oysters and mussels are cultivated and taste fresh shellfish with a glass of local wine. Continue to Dubrovnik and join a Local Expert for a walking tour of the Old Town, passing Onofrio’s Fountain, St. Blaise’s Church, the cathedral and the Franciscan Monastery. Afterwards, time is free to turn into the side streets, walk a section of the city walls or take the cable car to Mount Srđ for views over the harbour and islands.

Enjoy a full day in Dubrovnik with the choice to explore independently or join an Optional Experience to Montenegro. If staying in the city, you’ll find quieter corners beyond the Old Town: walk or take a local bus to the Lapad peninsula for an easy coastal path, spend time on beaches such as Uvala Lapad or Sveti Jakov, or join a sea-kayaking trip along the coastline. In town, you might visit the Rector’s Palace or Franciscan pharmacy, or look for local sweets such as rožata in a small bakery. Alternatively, you can travel to Montenegro, following the Bay of Kotor to Kotor, a UNESCO-listed town.

Spend your final full day in Dubrovnik at your own pace. Return to the Old Town’s limestone streets, walk a section of the city walls or browse for local products such as olive oil, sweets or handmade textiles. Those looking to slow the pace can head for one of the city’s swimming spots or take a quieter route along the coastline outside the walls. In the evening, weather permitting, you’ll have the chance to join a short cruise across the Bay of Dubrovnik before sitting down to dinner together with your small group, marking the end of your journey through Croatia.

Transfer to Dubrovnik Airport after breakfast, saying goodbye to your Travel Director and small group, and bringing your journey through Croatia to a close.