Day-by-day programme of this 13-day itinerary across Dalmatia and the national parks.
Day 1 â Arrival in Zagreb
Landing in Zagreb, Croatia's continental capital: a Central-European city of Austro-Hungarian palaces, colourful markets and a lively cafe culture. A first taste in the old centre.
- âïļ Zagreb â Aeroporto Franjo Tudjman di Zagabria (ZAG)
- ð Gornji Grad (Upper Town) â The upper town (Gornji Grad) is Zagreb's medieval core: you climb on foot or by the historic funicular, among cobbled lanes, the Lotrscak Tower and the famous St Mark's Church with its tiled roof depicting the coats of arms of the city and the kingdom. From the terrace the view runs over the red roofs. You then head down to the central square and the market.
- ð Dolac Market â Dolac Market, with its unmistakable red umbrellas, is the 'belly of Zagreb': stalls of fruit, vegetables, cheeses and flowers a few steps from the central Ban Jelacic square. It is the right place to soak up daily life and stock up on local produce. All around, cafes and konobe to dine in. You walk back to the hotel: tomorrow the magic of the Plitvice lakes awaits.
- ðĻ Zonar Zagreb by Maistra City Vibes â Centro (Gornji Grad / Donji Grad), Zagreb
Day 2 â The Plitvice Lakes
You leave Zagreb and head to Plitvice Lakes National Park, a UNESCO site: sixteen turquoise lakes linked by waterfalls, explored on wooden boardwalks.
- âïļ Zagreb â Plitvice â Parco Nazionale dei Laghi di Plitvice (Ingresso 1)
- ð Veliki Slap â Plitvice is a sequence of sixteen emerald and turquoise lakes cascading into one another through dozens of waterfalls, all set in dense forest. You walk for hours on wooden boardwalks suspended over the clear water, among fish and reflections, up to Veliki Slap, the 78-metre great waterfall. Electric boats and shuttle trains help cover the distances. It is one of the most beautiful places in Europe. At day's end you reach your lodging nearby.
- ðĻ Natura Plitvice Lakes â Zona Parco di Plitvice (Rastovaca / Mukinje)
Day 3 â Zadar, the city of sunset
You descend to the Dalmatian coast at Zadar, an ancient Venetian city on the Adriatic, famous for its sound-and-light monuments and for the most beautiful sunset in the world.
- âïļ Plitvice â Zadar â Centro storico di Zara (Zadar)
- ð Roman Forum of Zadar â The heart of Zadar is a layering of eras: the Roman Forum with its columns, the pre-Romanesque circular church of St Donatus (9th century) and the cathedral of St Anastasia. You stroll along marble-paved lanes reminiscent of Venice, of which Zadar was long a possession. Towards the waterfront await the city's two most famous monuments.
- ð Sea Organ â On the tip of the peninsula, two ingenious works by architect Nikola Basic: the Sea Organ, a staircase that the motion of the waves turns into music through hidden pipes, and the Greeting to the Sun, a great disc of solar panels that lights up at night in plays of light. Here you wait for the sunset that Alfred Hitchcock called 'the most beautiful in the world'. You dine in the centre and sleep in Zadar.
- ðĻ Art Hotel Kalelarga â Centro storico o zona Borik, Zadar
Day 4 â Krka and Sibenik
A day of nature and art: the waterfalls of Krka National Park and St James's Cathedral in Sibenik, a Renaissance masterpiece and UNESCO site.
- âïļ Zadar â Krka â Parco Nazionale di Krka (Skradin)
- ð Skradinski Buk â Krka is more intimate and wild than Plitvice: its jewel is Skradinski buk, a scenic, wide and thundering stepped waterfall, surrounded by boardwalks, old water mills and lush vegetation. You once could swim at the foot of the falls; today it is forbidden but the spectacle remains unforgettable. In the afternoon you reach nearby Sibenik.
- ð Cathedral of St James â Sibenik, the only large Dalmatian city founded by Croats rather than Romans or Venetians, holds St James's Cathedral, a UNESCO site: built entirely of interlocking stone without mortar, it is famous for the frieze of 71 carved heads adorning its apse. The town climbs steeply among lanes and fortresses overlooking the sea. You sleep here or in Split. Tomorrow Trogir and Split.
- ðĻ Hotel Jadran â Centro storico, Sibenik
Day 5 â Trogir and Split
Two unmissable stops: tiny Trogir, a UNESCO island-city, and great Split, where a whole quarter lives inside the palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian.
- âïļ Sibenik â Trogir â Centro storico di Trau (Trogir)
- ð Trogir â Trogir is a medieval gem enclosed in walls, a UNESCO site: a maze of alleys opening onto the cathedral of St Lawrence with its extraordinary Romanesque portal by Radovan, the Venetian loggias and the palm-lined waterfront. You can see it all in a couple of hours. Then you take the car again and in half an hour reach Split.
- ð Diocletian's Palace â Split is Croatia's second city, and its heart is unique in the world: Diocletian's Palace, the immense residence the Roman emperor had built in the 4th century, today not a museum but a living quarter where houses, bars and shops nestle among ancient walls and columns. You stroll the Peristyle, descend into the cellars and climb the bell tower of St Domnius's cathedral. All around pulses the Riva, the seafront. You sleep two nights in Split.
- ðĻ Hotel Globo â Centro / dentro o vicino al Palazzo, Split
Day 6 â Split and the island of Brac
Morning between Marjan hill and Split's lanes, afternoon by boat to Brac for the famous Golden Horn, Croatia's symbol beach.
- ð Marjan Hill â You begin by climbing Marjan, the park-hill that towers over Split: pine woods, rock hermitages and panoramic terraces from which the old town, the port and the islands open beneath your gaze. It is the locals' green lung, perfect for a morning walk before the heat. You return to the centre and board for Brac.
- ðŊ Bol â A fast ferry takes you to Brac, the largest island of central Dalmatia, and to the village of Bol. Here lies Zlatni Rat, the 'Golden Horn': a tongue of white shingle stretching into the turquoise sea that changes shape with wind and currents - Croatia's most photographed beach. Clear water, pines and windsurfing. In the late afternoon you return by ferry to Split for your last night in the city.
Day 7 â Hvar, the island of sun
Ferry to Hvar, Dalmatia's most glamorous island: a Venetian jewel-town crowned by a fortress, scented with lavender and facing the Pakleni archipelago.
- âïļ Split â Hvar â Porto di Hvar (Hvar town)
- ð Spanish Fortress â Hvar town is an amphitheatre of Venetian palaces around St Stephen's Square, the largest in Dalmatia, with the cathedral and the Loggia. Above looms the Spanish Fortress (Fortica): a climb among agaves and walls offers the finest view, over the town's roofs and the Pakleni islets scattered in the sea. Hvar is Croatia's sunniest island. Afternoon by boat among the islands.
- ðŊ Pakleni Islands â Facing Hvar unfolds the Pakleni archipelago, a handful of uninhabited islets with coves of crystal water, pine groves and the odd beach bar: they are reached in a few minutes by taxi-boat from the port. It is the perfect way to spend an afternoon of swimming and snorkelling. On return, a sunset aperitif on the harbour is a must. You sleep in Hvar.
- ðĻ Heritage Hotel Park Hvar â Hvar town o Stari Grad, Isola di Hvar
Day 8 â Hvar among the lavender fields
A slow day on the island: the agricultural Stari Grad Plain, a UNESCO site, the lavender fields of the interior and the stone villages, between tastings and the sea.
- ð Stari Grad Plain â The Stari Grad Plain is an agricultural landscape unchanged since the time of the Greeks of Pharos (4th century BC), a UNESCO site: the same dry-stone walls, vineyards and olive groves divided up 2,400 years ago. You cross it between Stari Grad - Croatia's oldest town - and the lavender-scented fields of the hilly interior, the heart of Hvar's tradition. You lunch in a konoba with local wine and cheese.
- ð Stari Grad â The afternoon is for relaxing: a quiet cove or the little harbour of Stari Grad, snug and authentic around its deep bay. Far from the glamour of Hvar town, here the pace is the slow one of the islands. A swim, an ice cream and a stroll. You return for your last evening on Hvar: tomorrow you sail to Korcula.
Day 9 â Korcula, little Dubrovnik
Ferry to Korcula, a very green island whose walled town - in a herringbone layout - is so like Dubrovnik it has earned the nickname 'little Dubrovnik'. Marco Polo is said to have been born here.
- âïļ Hvar â Korcula â Porto di Curzola (Korcula town)
- ð Korcula â Korcula's old town is a masterpiece of medieval urban planning: the side streets branch off the central street in a 'fishbone', designed to let the cool breeze in but block the cold winds. You visit St Mark's cathedral, the supposed house of Marco Polo and the sea walls, among shops and konobe. The island, cloaked in vineyards and pine woods, produces excellent white wines (Posip, Grk). You sleep in Korcula: tomorrow great Dubrovnik.
- ðĻ Hotel Korsal â Centro storico o Lumbarda, Korcula
Day 10 â To Dubrovnik via Ston
You return to the mainland along the Peljesac peninsula: a stop at Ston among ancient walls and oyster farms, then arrival in Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic.
- âïļ Korcula â Peljesac â Penisola di Sabbioncello (Peljesac)
- ð Walls of Ston â Ston is famous for two things: its defensive walls, over 5 kilometres long - the longest in Europe, called 'the great wall of Europe' - climbing the hill, and its oysters, farmed in the bay since Roman times and among the finest in the world. A tasting of fresh oysters just harvested, with local wine, is ideal. Then you take the car towards Dubrovnik.
- ð Stradun â You arrive in Dubrovnik, ancient Ragusa, the Pearl of the Adriatic. Leaving the car outside, you pass through the Pile Gate and there it is: the Stradun, the broad polished-marble avenue cutting the old town in two among palaces, churches and fountains. All around mighty walls and a maze of alleys and staircases. An overwhelming first impression, also for fans of 'King's Landing' from Game of Thrones. You sleep three nights in Dubrovnik.
- ðĻ Hotel Lapad â Centro storico o Lapad / Ploce, Dubrovnik
Day 11 â The walls of Dubrovnik
A full day inside the Pearl: the famous walls walk, the Stradun's monuments and the cable car up Mount Srdj for sunset over the red roofs.
- ð Walls of Dubrovnik â The unmissable experience is the walls walk: two kilometres of suspended walkway, up to 25 metres high, completely encircling the old town among towers and bastions. At every step views open over terracotta roofs, the turquoise sea and the island of Lokrum. It is best to start early, before the heat and the crowds. Then you head down to explore the centre's monuments.
- ð Fort Lovrijenac â You visit the treasures within the walls: the Rector's Palace, the Franciscan monastery with one of the world's oldest pharmacies, the cathedral and Onofrio's fountain. Just outside the Pile Gate rises Fort Lovrijenac, the 'Gibraltar of Ragusa', perched on a crag above the sea - the set of many Game of Thrones scenes. Afternoon among alleys, ice creams and a swim. Towards evening you go up Mount Srdj.
- ð Mount Srdj â A cable car (or a panoramic road) takes you to the top of Mount Srdj, towering over Dubrovnik: from up there, especially at sunset, the walled city appears in all its perfection, a chessboard of red roofs jutting into the Adriatic, with the islands on the horizon. There is also a small museum on the Homeland War of the 1990s. You dine in town and return to the hotel. Tomorrow relaxation and boat trips.
Day 12 â Lokrum and Cavtat
A last day of sea and relaxation: the lush island of Lokrum facing the old town, or the elegant village of Cavtat just to the south, before heading home.
- ðŊ Lokrum Island â A few minutes by boat from the old port, the island of Lokrum is a natural oasis: botanical gardens, a Benedictine monastery, a salt lake called the 'Dead Sea' and rocky coves to dive into, among free-roaming peacocks and legends. It is the perfect escape from the city crowds for the last day. Alternatively, you head south to Cavtat. You return to Dubrovnik for the final evening.
- ð Cavtat â Those who prefer the mainland can reach Cavtat, a pretty village on two bays just to the south, near the airport: a palm-lined promenade, the Racic mausoleum designed by Mestrovic and a relaxed old-Dalmatia atmosphere. A seafood lunch with a sea view is the best way to say goodbye to Croatia. Then you return to Dubrovnik for the last night.
Day 13 â Departure from Dubrovnik
Return flight from Dubrovnik airport. End of the journey along the Adriatic.
- âïļ Dubrovnik â Aeroporto di Milano Malpensa (MXP)
