DATES: 

17 DAY TOUR ( join the tour in Dover ) 

Saturday, 26th April to Tuesday, 13th May ( 17 days/ 17 nights )

13 DAY TOUR ( join the tour on Lake Garda)

Wednesday 30th April to Tuesday 13th May ( 13 days/ 13 nights ) 

 

COSTS PER PERSON  based on 2 people sharing a car and hotel bedroom

17 day tour  £4,350 per person

13 day tour  £3,500 per person

We reserve the right to increase the price via a surcharge based upon the conversion rates at the time of payment of the fees resulting from the uncertainty of predicting sterling to euros conversion rates

The costs, per person, are based on two people per car sharing a hotel bedroom and include the following:

• Accommodation in 4-star or 3-star stylish hotels,  ( 13 nights or 17 nights )
• 3-course dinners ( 13 nights or 17 nights  )
• Breakfast daily
• Rally plate
• DK Eyewitness guidebook, Croatia
• Comprehensive road books with daily itineraries, detailed route notes
• Highlighted  Michelin maps of  Croatia and Italy north-west
• Return DFDS ferry from Dover to Calais with priority boarding and premium lounge access, (17-day tour only )
• Services of a Tour Director throughout the tour

NOT INCLUDED ARE THE FOLLOWING:

• Lunches, snacks, coffees, etc.
• Drinks with dinner including bottled water and coffee
• Entry to places of interest eg. museums, gardens, villas, etc.
• Ferries in Croatia
• Autoroute tolls or toll bridge tolls

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Our 17-day tour, with 12 days in Croatia travelling along almost the entire coastline from Pula in the northwest to Dubrovnik. Our tour starts with an afternoon ferry crossing from Dover to Calais then drive 50 miles to our Chateau Hotel for the night, near Bethune.  The next day we drive to Luxembourg where we spend our 2nd night. On day 3 we travel southeast to Alsace and stay in one of France's most beautiful villages. On Day 4, we arrive on Italy's Lake Orta where our hotel is based overlooking the lake. On day 5,  we drive east to Desenzano del Garda on Lake Garda where our hotel is located facing the lake.
The following day, our 1st day in Croatia, we drive east from Lake Garda to Triste then through Slovenia to the Croatian border where our tour of Croatia starts.
Our first day is spent in Istria, a triangular peninsula, and indeed our first two nights are spent in Porec on the Istrian coast. On the morning of our second day in Croatia, we explore local hilltop villages on the Istrian Peninsula. The next day we drive south to Pula on the coast which is well known for its magnificent monuments from the Roman era including the sixth largest Roman amphitheatre existing today. We then continue around and up the Istrian coastline via Rijeka to the island of Krk, the largest of the Adriatic islands where our next hotel is based. The following day, we enter Dalmatia, the most visited region of Croatia, and travel down the coastline visiting Zadar to Trogir, a small island and one of the jewels of the Dalmatian coast with many splendid monuments, some dating back to Roman times.  Our hotel tonight is in Split, which gives you plenty of time to explore the old town.
The following day, we visit the Krka National Park near Sibenik and take a boat ride from Skradin to visit the magnificent lakes and waterfalls. We then continue down the coastline to Drvenik where we catch the ferry to another island, Hvar, where we stay for 2 nights in the charming harbour town which gives the island its name. The following day we relax around Hvar.
We then leave the island of Hvar by car ferry and drive down the coast to Ploce where we take another ferry to Trpanj on the Peljesac peninsula famous for its oyster farms and vineyards. We then drive across to Orebic where we visit the Franciscan Monastery which was founded in the 15th century. Our hotel is in the pretty town of Orebic. The following day we take the car ferry to the nearby island of Korcula and drive around this pretty island before returning to Orebic. We then drive to Mali Ston our afternoon coffee stop. Mali Ston is joined to its neighbour, Ston, by an impressive 3 miles of massive walls along the hillside with 41 towers seven bastions and two forts making it one of the most interesting defence structures in the Adriatic or even the world! We then leave the peninsula and drive down the coast to Dubrovnik, "the jewel in the Adriatic crown" where we spend the next three nights. The following day we explore Dubrovnik on foot.
The following day we drive south across the border into the independent country of Montenegro where we visit another UNESCO World Heritage site, Kotor, before arriving in the new jet-set destination of Port Montenegro where some of the world's most expensive yachts are moored in the newly created marina. We return to our hotel in Dubrovnik late afternoon.
On our 11th day in Croatia, we leave Dubrovnik and take the motorways northwest through the mountains to Rijeka. The next day we take the motorway across the Slovenian border into Italy and across to Lake Garda to our hotel for the last night of the tour.

Day 1 Saturday, 26th April 

Dover-Calais, afternoon ferry,

Then Calais to Bethune  ( 50 miles )

Our tour starts with an afternoon DFDS ferry crossing from Dover to Calais.

 

You will have VIP status so will be first to board and disembark and once on the ferry, you have access to the Premium lounge where there are complimentary beverages and snacks.

Arriving in Calais around 3.00pm French time we then drive to our Chateau Hotel near Bethune

Tonight we celebrate the start of our tour with drinks in the hotel's bar before dinner in the restaurant.

Day 2 Sunday, 27th April 

Bethune to Echternach, Luxembourg

(  195 miles including 90 miles on motorways )

Dinner tonight is in the hotel's restaurant

Day 4 Tuesday 29th April

Riquewihr to Lake Orta ( 230 miles )

 

Day 5 Wednesday 30th April 

Lake Orta to Desenzano del Garda, Lake Garda ( 125 miles )

We leave Lake Orta and drive east  to Lake Garda where our hotel is located in Desenzano del Garda at the bottom of the lake, see photos below:

Day 6, Thursday, 1st May ( Day 1 in Croatia ),

Desenzano Del Garda to Porec, Croatia,

  ( 230 miles including 200 miles on motorways )

We leave Desenzano del Garda and take the Italian autostradas ( motorways) east towards Venice and on to Trieste then across the Slovenian border into Croatia. Here we drive down the west coast of the triangular Istrian peninsula to Porec where our hotel for the next two nights is located overlooking the harbour, see photos below:

In the town you can visit the Basilica of Euphrasius, a 6th-century Byzantine church masterpiece, see photos below:

Dinner tonight is in the hotel's restaurant overlooking the harbour

Day 7/2, Friday  2nd May ( Day 2 in Croatia ),

Porec, local excursion, Istrian Peninsula  ( 80 miles )

Today we explore some of the hill villages on the Istrian Peninsula.

We leave Porec and drive east into the mountains where there are several hilltop villages. We continue to Motovun a fortified hilltop village and our morning coffee stop, see photos below:

After coffee, we return to the coast to our hotel in Porec.

Dinner tonight is in the hotel's restaurant overlooking the harbour

Day 8,  Saturday  Day 8  ( Day 3 in Croatia )

Porec to Krk ( 112 miles)

We drive south down the coast to Pula, our morning coffee stop.

We then drive north up the scenic eastern shoreline to Rijeka then Kraljevica where we then take the toll bridge to the island of Krk where our hotel tonight is on the seafront.

 

Dinner, tonight, is in the hotel's restaurant

Day 9,  Sunday 4th May  ( Day 4 in Croatia )

Krk to Split

We leave Krk and drive north across the island to Voz where we drive across the toll bridge back to Kraljevica on the mainland.

Then we take the scenic coast road south to Senj our morning coffee stop before continuing down the coast road to Zadar, our lunch stop.

We then carry on down the coast to Trogir .

Trogir is a small island linked to the mainland by a bridge and regarded as one of the jewels of the Dalmatian coast with many ancient monuments. In 1997 Trogir was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, see photos below:

We then continue to Split, where our hotel is located overlooking the sea

Day 10, Monday 5th May ( Day 5 in Croatia ) 

Split to Hvar via the Krk National Park, ( 125 miles)

Leaving Split, we drive down the coast to Split, our morning coffee stop, where we explore this fascinating ancient town. We then leave Split and drive on the motorway north-west to Skradin in the Krka National Park, see photos below:

Here we take a boat trip on the lake into the canyon to view the magnificent Roski Slap and Skradinski Buk waterfalls, see photos below:

After lunch, we drive back to Split and drive down the coast to Drvenik where we catch the car ferry to the island of Hvar where our hotel for the next two nights is on the waterfront.

Dinner, tonight, is in the hotel's restaurant.

 

  Day 11, Tuesday, 6th May ( Day 6 in Croatia ) 

 Hvar, local excursion ( no driving today)

A day spent relaxing around Hvar

   Day 12, Wednesday 7th May ( Day 7 in Croatia ,    

   Hvar to Pelejac Peninsula  ( 90 miles  )

We leave Hvar and drive east towards Sucuraj stopping for a coffee at the pretty little port of Jelsa.

After Jelsa, we drive to the ferry terminal of Sucuraj and catch the 20-minute ferry to Drvenik.

Upon arriving in Drvenik we head south-east along the coast road to Gradac which boasts the longest beach in the eastern Adriatic. Continuing along the coast towards Dubrovnik we take the car ferry at Ploce to Trpanj on the Peljesac peninsula famous for its oyster farms and red wine.

We then drive across this picturesque peninsula to Orebic our lunch stop where we visit the nearby Franjevacki Samostan, ( Franciscan Monastery), which overlooks the bay of Orebic, see photos below

Our hotel is located just outside the town, see the photos below:

   Day 13,  Thursday, 8th May  ( Day 8 in Croatia )

Orebic to Dubrovnik, ( 70 miles)

Today we catch the car ferry to the nearby island of Korcula and explore the island, see photos below:

In the late afternoon, we return to Orebic then Ston taking a scenic minor road visiting Trstenik and Juliana, quiet fishing villages, see photos below:

 

We then follow a scenic minor coast road to nearby Julanja, another sleepy fishing village, stopping on the way to admire the stunning coastal views, see photos below:

After Juljanja we drive to Mali Ston our afternoon coffee stop. The defensive walls above Mali Ston and its neighbour Ston were begun in the 14th century on Dubrovnik's orders. There are more than 3 miles of walls incorporating 41 towers, seven bastions and two forts representing one of the most interesting defensive structures in the Adriatic.

We then drive back to the mainland and then take the coast road south down to Dubrovnik, a UNESCO World Heritage site, where our hotel for the next three nights is based.

 

Day 14,   Friday 9th May ( Day 9 in Croatia )

A day exploring Dubrovnik ( no driving today)

After a leisurely breakfast, we walk into Dubrovnik and enjoy lunch in this attractive town.

From the Autumn of 1991 to May 1992 Dubrovnik was bombarded by Yugoslav troops and over 2,000 bombs and missiles fell on the walled city damaging over half the buildings which, thankfully due to assistance from UNESCO and the European Union, have since been restored to their former glory, see photos below:

 

Dinner, tonight, is in the hotel's restaurant.

Day 15,  Satursday  10th May ( Day 10 in Croatia )

Dubrovnik to Montenegro return ( 135 miles)

Today we enjoy an excursion to Montenegro. Because our motor insurance isn't valid in Montenegro we will probably use hire cars or a minibus with a driver.

We leave Dubrovnik and drive 20 miles along the coast to the Montenegro border and along the coastline. We continue to Kotor a UNESCO World Heritage site and our lunch stop. After visiting Kotor we drive 12 miles to Montenegro Port at Tivat our afternoon coffee stop. The old naval port of Montenegro has been developed as a very upmarket marina and billions of Euros have been invested by wealthy Russians and others. In the afternoon we return to our hotel in Dubrovnik.

Dinner, tonight, is in the hotel's restaurant.

Day 16,  Sunday  11th May ( Day 11 in Croatia )

Dubrovnik to Rijeka, ( 360 miles including 230 on motorways)

We leave Dubrovnik and head north towards Split then a few miles after the Peljesac peninsula we turn inland to take the A1 motorway north-west towards Zagreb then, near Karlovac, we turn west onto the A6 to Rijeka Tonight, our last night in Croatia, there is a celebratory dinner in the hotel's restaurant.

Day 17,   Monday 12th May, ( Day 12 in Croatia ),

Rijeka to Desenzano del Garda, Lake Garda ( 230 miles including 195 mi on motorways )

After breakfast, we leave Rijeka and drive across the border into Slovenia and then into Italy where we drive west to Lake Garda where our hotel is located in Desenzano del Garda. This is the last night of the tour.

Day 18 Tuesday, 13th May

After breakfast, participants make their own way home

( Desenzano del Garda to Calais  700 miles )