Croatia: Islands & Mountains

The tour starts in the fascinating old city of Dubrovnik. Situated right on

the Adriatic Sea, the fine religious buildings surrounded by heavily

fortified walls and the jumble of red-tiled roofs make this a truly

enchanting place. In the evening we will take a walk around the city and go

out for a group meal where we will have a briefing about the tour. 

After breakfast we take a short transfer (about 25 minutes) to the village of

Gornji Obod. From here we follow a path that zig-zags its way up to the

village of Velji Do. After a break, the walk continues up to Strazisce Peak,

and at the top we are rewarded with spectacular views back over Dubrovnik and

can see the commemorative cross in memory of the US aircraft which crashed

delivering aid in 1996. We return to Velji Do and then transfer back to

Dubrovnik where we have the afternoon to enjoy the city. The shelling of

Dubrovnik by Serb troops in 1991 and 1992 outraged the world. Fortunately

over the last 10 years great care has been taken to re-build the damaged

parts of Dubrovnik and the city has now returned to its former glory. The

cobblestoned streets of the old town, or Stari Grad, features fountains,

churches, palaces and museums – all built from the same light coloured

stone. There are no motor vehicles in the city but at night the streets come

alive as locals and visitors take an early evening stroll along the Stradun

– this is the main street and is covered in smooth shiny marble.

After breakfast, we will transfer by bus to Tucepi. This transfer takes about

3.5 hours including a coffee break en route. Once in Tucepi we begin our walk

to Makarska, through the Biokovo mountains. The Biokovo massif rises up

steeply above the Makarska Riviera in three spectacular shelves, providing

hiking at all levels and fabulous views. Our destination of Makarska is a

small but lively town, tastefully restored in stone after a devastating

earthquake in 1962. It has a fantastic 2km stretch of beach, so if we have a

bit of time we can take a refreshing dip before we head for the island of

Brac. We will catch the ferry from Makarska and transfer to Bol, by far the

biggest draw on the island of Brac.

We start today with a 20 minute transfer to the small village of Gazul, and

from here we begin our walk to the peak of Vidova Gora (780m). The first part

of our walk will take us through woodland for around 1.5hrs as we gradually

ascend 230m to the summit of the highest point on Brac Island. The views from

the top of Vidova Gora are spectacular as we can see all the way to the

island of Hvar in the distance and the famous 500m long spit of Zlatni Rat

jutting out to sea in the foreground – this view is one that features on

many postcards in Croatia so make sure to bring your camera! From here, our

walk is downhill for around 2hrs towards the town of Bol. In the afternoon

you can make the most of the glorious beach of Zlatni Rat. It is south

facing, so ideal for an afternoon of rest and relaxation.   



 

We begin with a morning ferry transfer to Split, Croatia’s second biggest

city. The old centre is compact and easily explored on foot, with the main

draw is Diocletian’s Roman Palace. The town as a whole is a lively and

friendly place with a bustling café culture, so it is simply a nice place to

stop, have a coffee and soak up the atmosphere. We then have a transfer

(approx. 84km) by bus to Krka National Park. Here we begin our walk to the

Skradinski Buk waterfalls, made up of a series of waterfalls dropping down in

17 dramatic steps. The area is accessed by wooden walkways and forest paths.

The area is also fantastic for wildlife – it is now an important wildlife

sanctuary with several species endemic to the region or now extinct elsewhere

in Europe. The walk will take around 2.5 hours and is all on easy paths. In

the late afternoon, we transfer to Starigrad Paklenica.

Today we have a walking tour of the National Park Paklenica. Paklenica is

home to the two impressive canyons of Velika and Mala Paklenica, vertically

cut into the mountain where climbers from all across Europe come to test

their skills and conquer these vertical assents. In a relatively small area

of the national park, there are several unusual karst forms and caves, and

the area is extremely rich in flora and fauna. Our 7.5 hour walk starts with

a short jeep ride up to Veliko Rujno (850m), and from here we climb 300m for

fantastic views over the park. Our walk is then mostly downhill as we have

1150m of descent through the quietest areas of the park, the village of

Ramici and finishing in the main canyon itself. In the afternoon we return to

Starigrad Paklenica.

Today we have another opportunity to explore the wonderful wilderness of

National Park Paklenica and complete the most challenging walk of the trip.

We walk to the saddle of 'Pod Jaginim Kukom' which has a great view up to

Bojin Kuk. The Bojinac group is made up of a vast area of limestone, with the

karst scenery forming towers of rock, furrowed limestone cliffs, caves and

soft green meadows creating a contrast against the severe rock. It is an area

of outstanding natural beauty and a walkers paradise. Today's walk takes

about 5-6 hours, the terrain is quite challenging and rocky and requires our

concertation, steady footing and good balance. En route, we pass the unusual

Mirila graves. This afternoon we return to Starigrad Paklenica in time for a

swim and relaxation before leaving Croatia tomorrow.

Transfer to Zadar airport where the tour ends.