Flavours of Croatia & Bosnia

A morning walk around the local villages in Konavle Valley. 

Wine tasting with traditional lunch - it is always a fun and challenging experience to meet local winemakers and to taste their wines. Konavle offers all its visitors the opportunity to taste excellent white & red wines produced and presented in small family wineries and tasting-rooms; visitors should not miss this opportunity to taste other original products from the region.

• Dinner at local restaurant.

After a relatively early breakfast, your journey northwards and inland begins, heading ultimately to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia & Herzegovina. Along the way there will be a stops at the lovely small town of Trebinje to see its traditional market and for a short walk along the river to the stone bridge; then at Mostar where there will be a guided tour (1hr) around its old centre and to see its stone bridge. Afterwards, some free time to stroll around the many old craft shops and to get lunch in one of the picturesque local restaurants.

In the afternoon, continue along the scenic road snaking through the Neretva River valley to Sarajevo, arriving late in the afternoon. Enjoy time to relax and settle into your room (for the next two nights) before dinner.

• Dinner at your city centre hotel in Sarajevo.

Sarajevo Sightseeing Tour with Local Guide (2.5 hrs) - the capital city of Bosnia & Herzegovina is located in the Sarajevo valley surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River. The city is famous for its traditional religious diversity, with adherents of Islam, Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Judaism co-existing there for centuries.

Afternoon free to explore the city (lots of sightseeing options* available).

• Home-hosted dinner: split up into smaller groups to visit the homes of some local families. Many families in Sarajevo have vivid memories of living through the siege of their city and perhaps you'll gain some first-hand insights into what life was like for them. When you sit down to dinner with your hosts you will experience a taste of genuine Bosnian hospitality.

* Optional trip: "Tunnel of Hope" - The Sarajevo Tunnel was constructed between March and June 1993 during the siege of Sarajevo at the height of the Bosnia War and was in use until 1996. The 800m corridor helped the beleaguered city regain access to telephone lines, oil supplies, food & electricity. The museum contains many items from this time and a section of the tunnel from the longest-running siege of any city in modern history.

Travel from your hotel in Sarajevo up through the wild northern Bosnian countryside to enter a much less visited area of Croatia - Slavonia. Your destination is Karanac, a charming rural village outside Slavonia's largest city, Osijek, where once more we'll take advantage of the small group size to spend the next two nights at a small farmstead located in this tranquil agricultural region.

• Dinner at rural household in Baranja area.

Excursion to Kopački Rit - a protected nature park, a wetland area that is home to different wild animals and very rare birds. Kopački Rit offers visitors the possibility to observe rare birds, wild boar and deer, to walk along old forest paths, to ride a boat along the wetland canals and to experience the unique beauty of untouched nature. This trip includes tickets to the nature park, panoramic sightseeing of a special zoo-reserve by boat, a walking tour along the boardwalks, a visit to the exhibition of flora and fauna in the wetland station of Kopački Rit and the chapel. The Nature Park provides an expert guide for the duration of this trip.

Osijek Sightseeing Tour with Local Guide (1hr) - the history of Osijek goes back to Neolithic times and begins with the first known inhabitants who belonged to the Illyrian tribes. Osijek was heavily damaged during the Homeland War, 1991-1995 but the peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia and Baranja was successfully completed, opening the way to the revival of the city and the whole region.

• Dinner at rural household.

Travel from Karanac along the Sava river to the Northern part of Croatia, Hrvatsko Zagorje.

Zagreb Guided Sightseeing Tour (2hrs) - Zagreb grew up on two neighbouring hills: Kaptol - the centre of spiritual and religious life of north-western Croatia, and Gradec - the commercial centre of skillful tradesmen and craftsmen. Take a walk with your guide - visiting the Upper Town with its Gothic Cathedral, the beautiful and ornate St. Catherine’s church and the massive St. Mark’s church with its famous coloured-tiled roof. Continue to the mediaeval Stone Gate and “Dolac”, the open-air market.

Your accommodation in this area is at autochthonous houses (hiža) in Krapina; where you'll wake up to the chirping of the birds.

• Dinner at Vuglec Breg traditional restaurant.

Drive from your rural hideaway in the north to Zadar.

Along the way there is time for a magical visit of Plitvice Lakes National Park, one of the best-preserved landscapes in the country. Its exceptional beauty is why the entire lakes and surrounding areas were declared a national park and are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. It is a valley situated between high forested mountains in which lie a string of 16 beautiful lakes of crystal blue and green waters. Fed by small streams and brooks, they spill into each other in 92 foaming cascades and thundering waterfalls.

Afterwards there is some free time for lunch on your own prior to the remaining journey to Pakostane to check in to your hotel.

• Dinner in Pakostane near Zadar.

A short drive to the Paklenica National Park for a day of walking in this stunning landscape. The area of Paklenica National Park stretches along the littoral slope of the South Velebit mountains and covers the area of distinctive canyons carved vertically into the slopes created by the torrent flows of Velika Paklenica and Mala Paklenica. This relatively small area offers visitors an abundance of geomorphological phenomena, diverse flora and fauna, attractive landscapes and untouched nature.

• Activity level: moderate. (This walk / exploration of the national park is a well-balanced mixture of activity, nature and culture). A lunch box is included.

Following this there is a drive along the inland highway to your overnight destination, Omis, at the mouth of the Cetina Valley.

• Dinner in Omiš.

A morning for culture or you may choose to relax in the beautiful resort of Omis or perhaps consider the incredible zip-line adventure in the Cetina Valley as an optional excursion.

Sightseeing tour of Split with local guide (2hrs). The old town of Split is built on and around the spectacular Roman Palace erected by the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 4th century AD. The walking tour starts with a visit to the cellars of the Palace that are still very well preserved. Other sites such as the Golden Gate, the Silver Gate, the Peristyle Square etc. will be visited along the way.

• Optional Activity: Zipline. The adrenalin infused ZIPLINE is located in the canyon of the River Cetina, 3 km from Omiš. It consists of eight separate steel cables across which participants, sitting in a belt, descend down the canyon [pre-booking required as it must co-incide with the timings of the Split sightseeing tour].
  

In the afternoon it is time to journey along the beautiful Dalmatian coast, through the Bosnian Corridor to the delightful village of Ston, located on a narrow isthmus connecting the Peljesac Peninsula with the mainland, known for their traditional salt production and the construction of a huge, fortified wall complex encompassing the settlements of Mali and Veliki Ston and high quality oysters and mussels.

Oyster & Mussel Tasting - an experience of the food items for which this location is famous. The locals proudly say, "the best oysters in Croatia and the world come from Mali Ston bay"; this area has been famous for shellfish cultivation since the Roman times. Your first stop is the oyster and mussel farm where the process of production is explained. After that continue by boat to a private peninsula where you will taste oysters, fresh from the sea, with the welcoming “grapa” and a light snack – "buzara" made of mussels.

Late afternoon you will have free time to visit the walls.

• Farewell dinner at local restaurant in Ston or Orašac area.

Transfer to Dubrovnik Airport for your departure flight or to Dubrovnik if you plan to stay on for a few days.

Other transfer locations or car hire - upon request.