Highlights of Croatia and Slovenia – Dubrovnik and the Dalmatian Coast

Local departure by coach or Home Connect service, then to our overnight hotel in northern France.

We’ll then continue on to reach our overnight hotel in the Parma area in time for dinner, before our overnight stay.

We then continue our journey to Ancona, where we embark on our overnight ferry service to Split.

Arriving after breakfast into Split, we disembark our ship and continue southwards calling at the enchanting town of Ston on the Peljesac peninsula, home to the longest fortifications in Europe. Continue to Dubrovnik, where we stay for four nights.

Dubrovnik is a truly stunning city, with an exceptional coastline and views out over the Adriatic Sea, plus historic architecture and attractions. In addition to this, the city enjoys a lively culture that makes it a superb place to stay. We include a guided walking tour of the city to find out more about its impressive heritage, and so we’ll be able to see some of its best landmarks. These include the beautifully preserved city walls, which date from the 7th century, as well as the Old Town, Rector's Palace, St. Saviour Church and much more.

Famously described as the 'Pearl of the Adriatic', Dubrovnik has a beautiful old town, which is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. Take time to explore or you may choose to join our optional Three Islands boat trip, which will take in the lovely Elaphiti Islands off the coast of the city. These beautiful islands feature stunning landscapes and are wonderful to admire, ensuring we have an enticing excursion, soaking up the scenery of the Dalmatian coast.

Today we venture out on a guided trip to Montenegro, to see the unspoilt coast. We enjoy a ferry journey across to the island of "Our Lady" before continuing onwards to the charming coastal town of Kotor for a guided tour before lunch in a delightful local restaurant. Kotor is filled with history, thanks to its excellently persevered fortifications which were built during Venetian times. We head back to Dubrovnik in time for dinner and our final night stay.

We leave Dubrovnik this morning for a coastal drive to Split. Split is filled with amazing sights, and we’ll get to admire many of them during an optional walking tour of the city. This city enjoys a fascinating heritage which we’ll get to learn more about during our visit, which will take us through Split’s most popular areas so we can see the sights and marvel at the attractive architecture. One of the most famous landmarks is the historic Diocletian's Palace, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, which our guide will tell us more about. We stay overnight in Split.

We head along the coast and visit Trogir, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site home to many interesting sights including the Cathedral of St Lawrence. The town dates from ancient times, having first been founded in 3rd century BC by the Greeks, and it still maintains much of its history. This includes Kamerlengo Castle, the city gate, and a number of palaces. We continue to Zadar, which boasts a historic old town with Roman ruins and medieval churches, as well as cosmopolitan cafés. Why not join our optional walking city tour to discover more.

We continue our journey today, and enjoy a guided tour into stunning Plitvice Lakes National Park, situated in the mountainous Karst region of Croatia and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. For stunning Croatian landscape, there’s no better place than Plitvice National Park. Enjoy the scenery as we drive and walk through these marvellous landscapes, accompanied by a knowledgeable local guide, to give us more insight into this unique location. Later we arrive into the colourful capital of Zagreb, where we stay for two nights.

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is located in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb is also called a city of museums as there are more of them per square foot than any other city in the world. Take advantage of our optional city tour to discover more.

Journeying back up through Slovenia, we call at the vibrant capital of Ljubljana for an included city tour of this fabulous city, as we find out more about its fascinating heritage. With a backdrop of the Alps, as well as a beautiful mixture of architecture, this is certainly an enchanting city. We continue to beautiful Bled for a two night stay.

Sheltered by picturesque mountains, Bled reigns in the middle of an Alpine lake. Its charm has made it a symbol for centuries of a town to which guests from all over the world love to return. Why not join our optional excursion to Bled Castle, which is an iconic medieval fortress, seemingly plucked from a fairy tale. The castle is built on a rocky precipice which juts out over the lake below. It dates from the 11th century and has been restored to its former glory, now housing a museum dedicated to the town of Bled and the surrounding lake.  We also visit beautiful Lake Bohinj.

We say goodbye to Bled today and journey onwards into southern Germany, travelling through the Austrian Tyrol region along the way.

Travel to Belgium for our final overnight stay.

Return home.