This private guided tour of Croatia is an excellent way to experience and get to know the best of Croatia – the country built on the legacy of ancient Romans. Discover its iconic cultural and natural heritage, activate your senses and be captivated by the stunning turquoise Adriatic, its 1,200 dreamy evergreen islands, delicious gastronomy and charming local customs.

Day 1

Arriving to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Welcome at the airport and transfer to the hotel in the city center. After your check in, we invite you for a welcome drink with your tour guide. Overnight stay in Zagreb.

Day 2

After breakfast you will meet with your guide and start with a charming “walking and talking” tour of Zagreb. The city tour will give you an insight into two different cities: the modern, urban and vibrant capital and the historic and cultural Zagreb that grew side by side with its counterpart Vienna.

You will take a ride by Zagreb’s funicular which is the shortest cable car in the world having only 66 meters in length and connecting downtown Zagreb with the Upper (old) Town. After the ride to the Upper Town you will enjoy the historic walk through its alleys, palaces and monuments. You will also visit the famous Museum of Broken Relationships that is one of a kind and unique in the world being dedicated to failed love relationships. Its exhibits consist of personal objects left over from former lovers.

From the Upper Town we go downtown passing by the Zagreb’s Cathedral and walking through Croatia’s biggest Farmers Market Dolac. Unlike most markets, Dolac is a permanent installation open seven days a week and located in the very heart of Zagreb, right next to the main square, thus adding to the Zagreb’s vibrant and pulsating atmosphere. It is a market where Croatia’s diversity meets at one place and there you will find yourself in an infinite pool of colors, scents and gastronomic temptations.

Dolac will be a true experience where all of your senses will magically be activated and you will be able to breathe in the real life of Zagreb’s citizens.

After the Dolac experience we continue our walk and you will get into the verve of its vibrant streets and squares. The city tour ends with lunch in one of Zagreb’s traditional restaurants where you will have a chance to try some of local specialties.

Following the lunch, you will have free evening and overnight stay in Zagreb.

Day 3

AAfter breakfast we continue our tour and head towards the Istria region where continental Croatia meets the Adriatic sea. It is the heart-shaped peninsula surrounded by three (two) countries: Croatia , Slovenia, and Italy. However, throughout its past it has been best known as the region of the royal mushroom – the truffle.

On our way to Istria we shall stop and have a coffee with a nice sea view at the town of Opatija, the town with the oldest history of tourism, over 170 years. Developed during the Austrian – Hungarian Empire with its 12 kilometer coastal Promenade, Opatija was well known as the “Austrian Nice”. Nowadays it is a very popular health and wellness destination that takes its pride in long tradition and vast cultural heritage.

After having coffee in Opatija we continue towards Istria where we are going to have lunch at one of the most scenic towns of the region, the hilltop medieval town of Motovun. Its location overlooking the vast Motovun forest rich in truffles and hillside vineyards makes it one of the most beautiful medieval towns of the Mediterranean..

After exploring the old medieval fortification of Motovun, you will need to prepare your palate for the true taste explosion because you are going to have true Istrian truffle lunch and try some of their best delicacies.

After lunch we continue our drive along the beautiful Istrian landscape towards the town of Rovinj. It is very colorful and photogenic Istrian coastal town whose charm lays in its narrow stone paved alleyways and squares full of medieval, gothic, renaissance and baroque buildings and terraces. Walking down the old alleys is a very special experience – you will feel like as if time has stopped and you have returned to an ancient era.

Free evening and overnight stay in the Rovinj old town.

Day 4

After breakfast, we shall be leaving Rovinj and set off to the city of Pula where we will visit the famous Roman Amphitheater. After Pula we proceed towards the Plitvice Lakes National Park which is one of the most known UNESCO World Heritage sites in Croatia. Situated in the mountainous karst area of the central Croatia, the Plitvice region represents an important north-south road connection linking the Croatian inland with the coastal region. It is also one of the oldest national parks in Southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia. You will be able to see 16 green and blue colored lakes arranged in cascades and connected to each other by a series of beautiful waterfalls surrounded by captivating forests and vegetation. It shows a unique harmony of natural beauty.

The tour of the National Park will take approximately 3 hours and afterwards you are going to have a traditional lunch in one of the local restaurants.

After the lunch, check in and overnight stay in the hotel in the Plitvice area.

Day 5

In the morning we are to continue with our tour and shall be heading towards Dalmatia, the southern Adriatic coast, our destination being the city of Split. On our way to Split we shall stop twice, in two of the second largest Dalmatian cities; Zadar and Šibenik.

Firstly we shall stopover in Zadar, the town famous for the world’s unique installation of the Sea Organs. We shall take a walk along the Zadar’s waterfront listening to unique sounds of the Sea Organ and there you will see another great installation called the Greeting to the Sun.

Our second stopover will be in the town of Šibenik – the oldest native Croatian town on the shores of the Adriatic. Unlike other cities along the Adriatic coast founded by Greeks, Illyrians and Romans, Šibenik was founded by Croats and it was the seat of the Croatian King Krešimir. There we shall visit a well known St James Cathedral located in the very heart of the old city. It is an important architectural monument of the Renaissance period that was added on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Afterwards we are continuing towards the city of Split and have a lunch stopover at a family household in an inland village called Ruda. There you will have the opportunity to see and experience the local way of living. It is a genuine inland village on the water spring Ruda running through a canyon and surrounded by mountainous landscape. You will try the local homemade cooking nowadays rare to experience and quite different from what restaurants can offer: local smoked ham (pršut) with homemade cheese, popular Dalmatian Peka as well as some of the local specialties like frog legs or river crabs, depending upon the season.

After lunch we are heading to Split, hotel check in and overnight stay in the Split old town.

Day 6

We start with the morning city tour of Split. The stroll through charming corners of the old city core as well as a famous “ancient walk” through the historical complex of Split with the best preserved ancient home palace in the world – Diocletian’s palace. Spanning more than 30,000 square meters, this extraordinary complex of beautiful white limestone was built between the late 3rd and the early 4th century AD, as a retirement home for the Roman emperor Diocletian. The ruins of Diocletian’s Palace can be found throughout the city. The complex consists of some of the most valuable surviving buildings of the Roman era and ranks among the most magnificent architectural pieces on the Adriatic coast.

At the end of the city tour you will have the opportunity of “living like locals” for a moment and experience the famous Split’s pastime – drinking coffee at the promenade and observing the city’s vibrant motion.

Afterwards we are heading towards the town of Trogir. It will be a 40 minute drive from Split. Historic City of Trogir has also found its place on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is a picturesque coastal town surrounded by the sea from all its sides. The town where every stone is a monument, where orthogonal street plan of this island settlement dates back to the Hellenistic period. It encompasses beautiful Romanesque churches and outstanding Renaissance and Baroque buildings from the Venetian period. It is truly a remarkable example of urban continuity throughout its historical development.

Expected to return to Split in the late afternoon, free evening and overnight stay in Split.

Day 7

After breakfast we are continuing our trip towards the very south of the Adriatic coast – to the Pearl of the Adriatic – famous Dubrovnik. We will be driving along the coastal road giving you a chance to capture beautiful landscapes and incredible views of the Adriatic archipelago.

Our first stopover will be on the Pelješac Peninsula which is also called Croatian Empire of Wine. It is a well known region for its fine vineyards dating back to ancient times. Nowadays, Pelješac gained worldwide fame for its excellent sorts of wine; “Dingač” and “Postup”.

Our first destination will be a well known vinery of the Miloš family. There we shall take a jeep safari through the slopes of Miloš’s vineyards and afterwards enjoy a popular wine tasting at Miloš’s wine-cellar. After the wine tasting we shall be heading to the Medieval town of Ston where you will see the longest stone wall in Europe (5.5 km), salt cultivation and oyster beds farming. Did you know that Croats claim that their oysters are the most delicious in the world? You will have the opportunity to try them firsthand and experience a local tradition by tasting fresh oysters opened right in front of you at one of the farms.

Following the tour we shall have a traditional seafood lunch in one of the local restaurants and after that we shall continue our trip and reach Dubrovnik in the late afternoon.

Check into a hotel, free evening and overnight stay in Dubrovnik.

Day 8

Morning tour of the Dubrovnik old town and the city walls. You will walk through the streets, fortresses and squares of more than a thousand-year old history which made Dubrovnik a cultural center of Europe. Dubrovnik was the seat of the independent Dubrovnik Republic that mastered the art of seafaring. During its past it established its own fleet at the South Adriatic that could be compared at that times to the one owned by Venice in the north.

History is present in the entire old city which is a museum itself hence the fact that it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List for over 30 years. All houses, palaces and monuments have a unique value. The old city is encompassed by medieval walls and fortresses which have been preserved in their original form and opened for visitors as Dubrovnik’s major attraction.

However, Dubrovnik reached its world glory for the second time quite recently. It happened by being the prime filming location of the globally popular series called Game of Thrones in which Dubrovnik took the main lead by providing a shooting site for the famous Kings Landing. You will be able to see and compare the popular scenes with real life sites.

After the tour you will have free afternoon for exploring and enjoying Dubrovnik. Overnight stay in Dubrovnik.

Day 9

Departure day. Departure from the Dubrovnik airport with complimentary transfer to the airport.