With a dramatic history and one of the most spectacular coastlines in the world, Croatia ranks among Europe’s most beguiling destinations. Zagreb retains an air of Habsburg grandeur from its time in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but evidence from its more recent communist past is also plain to see.
The extraordinary karst landscape of the Plitvice Lakes makes for a memorable stop en route to the coast, where bone-white mountains rear dramatically above the Adriatic, an expanse of cobalt blue bordered by aromatic shrubs and dotted with more than 1,000 islands. Here you can rediscover the Mediterranean world of 50 years ago.
In addition to this stirring scenery, the long history of the region (Dalmatia was originally a Roman province) has endowed it with two of the most intriguing cities in Europe, Split and Dubrovnik, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Our itineraries are for your inspiration. Please contact a travel advisor to customize this itinerary to fit your needs.
Arrive in Zagreb and make your way to Esplanade Zagreb, a renovated 208-room hotel, once a stopping point for travelers on the Orient Express. In the afternoon your guide will meet you at the hotel and take you on a walking tour of Zagreb’s historic district. The city has long been a cultural and artistic confluence of Eastern and Western influences.
Meet your driver for travel to Plitvice Lakes National Park, where you will have a chance to explore this UNESCO World Heritage site. You evening will be at leisure.
Check out of the hotel and meet your driver in the lobby for travel to Split, where you will check in at Hotel Vestibul Palace, a modern boutique hotel integrated into the walls of a 1,700-year-old palace. Enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure.
Meet your guide in the hotel lobby for a walking tour of Diocletian's Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Highlights include Peristil Square, the Cathedral of St. Domnius (patron saint of Split), Diocletian’s mausoleum, the underground vaults and the waterfront.
Later, enjoy a private visit to the Ivan Meštrović Gallery, named for the most celebrated Croatian artist of the 20th century, with a museum curator who will guide you.
We also recommend a visit to Trogir, a short distance from Split. The island of Trogir is an architectural gem in the middle of Dalmatia, resplendent with medieval and Renaissance Venetian architecture. Every doorway and window is a piece of art.
Your guide and driver will meet you for
a private transfer and ferry ride to Stari
Grad.
Stari Grad translates as "Old
Town," and the name couldn’t be more apt. Your guide will take you
through the square to the home of the Renaissance poet and
philanthropist Petar Hektarović.
Afterward your guide
will take you to the other side of the island, to the town of Hvar, which has been a melting pot of cultures and influences, no
doubt influenced by its location and the fact that it has the most
sunny days in the year on the Adriatic coast.
Continue to your hotel for an evening at leisure.
Meet your driver in the hotel lobby for your transfer to Dubrovnik.
On the way, stop at the Pelješac peninsula, known for its vineyards and for the best oysters in Dalmatia, in the town of Ston. Tour an oyster farm there, followed by a private oyster tasting.
Continue to Dubrovnik, where your guide will meet you in your hotel lobby for a walking tour of the historic center of town.
This
afternoon take a short drive up the coast to Cavtat, which once was the Roman
town of Epidaurum and is one of the most charming towns on the coast.
If
time allows for a more scenic route and if the weather is calm, we recommend
taking the boat over the Adriatic to the Old Harbor in Dubrovnik.
Meet your driver
and transfer to the airport for you flight home.
Contact a travel advisor to book your custom itinerary. Fill out the form or call (630) 734-4610.
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