Essential Dalmatia - Croatia & Montenegro (8 days)

Arrive into Split, where your driver will meet you just outside customs and baggage claim. Please note that no airfare is included in your trip cost. Transfer to your luxury hotel right in the heart of Split’s historic center.

The remainder of your afternoon and evening is at leisure.

Split, the second largest city in Croatia, is a busy maritime and shipbuilding center, but also the home of the Diocletian Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built in the 3rd Century and covering an enormous area in the heart of Old Town. Your hotel is actually in the remains of the Diocletian Palace.

This morning, your guide will meet you in the hotel lobby to take you for a walking tour of the Old Town Split.

The Diocletian Palace, facing onto the Split harbor, is one of the most impressive Roman architectural monuments in existence and is protected as a UNESCO Heritage Site. The Roman Emperor Diocletian, noted for his persecution of early Christians, was supposedly a native of nearby Salona before rising through Roman military ranks before finally being appointed as emperor by his legions.

You will have the chance to explore more than 200 buildings within the boundaries of the Diocletian Palace complex, many of which are still homes, while others house cafes, restaurants, and shops.

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Later today, your guide and driver will take you on a private visit to the gallery of Ivan Mestrovic - the most celebrated Croatian artist of the 20th Century. Even as a child in rural Croatia, Mestrovic demonstrated a unique talent for molding clay. This talent was later honed in Zagreb and Vienna from which emerged an exquisite artist whose brilliant creativity translated itself into sculpture.

This afternoon, your driver and guide will take you a short distance outside of Split to Trogir - a treasury of cultural and historical monuments dating as far back as the 4th Century BC. Set on a small island just off the mainland, Trogir was first settled by the ancient Greeks, before falling under the Romans and later the Byzantines.

Your guide will show you the Gradska loza (the Old City Hall) from the 15th Century, the city walls, and the Kamerlengo Castle, which was once the residence of the Venetian governor.

Enjoy some time at your leisure to browse the small shops and cafes in Trogir, before heading back to Split.

This morning your guide will meet you for the short stroll to the ferry port where you will meet your driver for the journey to Hvar.

It is believed that Hvar Island has been inhabited since antiquity. In the 4th Century BC, Greek settlers founded a trade colony here and called it Pharos (the Greek word for lighthouse). When the Slavs settled here in the 7th century, they started calling the island Hvar. In the following centuries, Venetians and Habsburgs sought to control the island because of its strategic location, fertile soil, and secluded harbors.

Through the course of history, Hvar Town has been a melting pot of cultures and influences and is still bursting with history, art and culture, and the home of Europe’s oldest municipal theater, which was built in the early 17th century over an arsenal in a peacemaking attempt by the then ruler of Hvar.

To the north of the main square and towering over the town, you may decide to explore Hvar’s fortress, which is known as Spanjola as it was partially built by Spanish engineers. The hike to the very top of the fortification is well worth the effort for the beautiful views over the bay.

After Hvar Town, continue to explore the rest of the island.

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Your first stop will be the small coastal town of Jelsa and a visit to the family winery of Tomic – one of the most famous wine producers in all of Croatia. You will be invited to a private tasting of wine and locally produced olive oil.

Later continue to the town of Stari Grad. Literally translated, Stari Grad means “Old Town” and the name could not be more appropriate as this UNESCO protected settlement is believed to be the oldest in Croatia.

Next, your guide will take you to the Tvrdalj Castle - the fortified residence of the famous Croatian Renaissance poet and philanthropist, Petar Hektorovic, which has been preserved and now houses an ethnographic museum. Y

This morning, your private driver will meet you in the hotel lobby to take you south along the Dalmatian coast toward Dubrovnik. You will cross the border into the now independent country of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which, together with Croatia, was once part of the Yugoslav Federation.

Early this afternoon you will reach enchanting Mostar, the unofficial capital of Herzegovina, which is situated on the Neretva River. Mostar was named after its famous UNESCO-protected Old Bridge (Stari Most) and the towers on its sides, known as the ‘bridge keepers’ (mostari). Before its destruction during the Bosnian war in 1993, people from around the world came to see the 500-year old bridge, a trend which now continues after it was rebuilt in 2004 and again connects the banks of the Neretva River.

Upon arrival in Mostar, your local guide will meet you and will take you on an overview walking tour of Mostar’s Old Town (it is largely pedestrian-only). You will, of course. walk along the Old Bridge and to Mostar’s cobbled Ottoman Quarter, which houses the city’s artists and craftsmen, as well as beautiful 16th – century mosques, museums and cafes. It is believed that before the Ottomans occupied this region in the 15th century, Mostar was only a small settlement with a suspension bridge over the river. Thanks to its strategic location, Mostar soon became an important Ottoman military and administrative center. In the following centuries, the town grew and prospered from the trade with the nearby Dubrovnik.

Continue this afternoon with your journey to Dubrovnik. Upon arrival, your driver will take you to your stunning, seaside hotel. The remainder of your evening is at leisure.

This morning, your guide will meet you at your hotel for an overview walking tour of the historic center of Dubrovnik, which is protected as a UNESCO Heritage site. Guests of Villa Dubrovnik are invited to use the hotel’s private motorboat to transfer to Old Town and you won’t want to miss this entrance into the historic district!

Begin in Dubrovnik’s main square - the Loggia Loza, situated at the eastern extremity of the Stradun – the centuries-old promenade which runs through the walled city from East to West. Your guide will take you into the Rector’s Palace. The Rector was the highest authority in the city and his palace now houses the Museum of Dubrovnik. Over 15,000 works are on display documenting the economic and cultural history of the city. You can also visit the Dubrovnik Cathedral and its treasury famous for the ancient relics including a fragment of the ‘true cross’ on which it is believed that Jesus was crucified.

If you like, you may visit Dubrovnik’s Sephardic Synagogue. The synagogue was established in the 15th century, survived earthquakes and wars, and is still in service today. Make sure to see the Franciscan monastery of the “Order of Minor Friars” (Ordo Fratrum Minorum) which includes one of the three oldest pharmacies in Europe, still serving customers. Part of the Franciscans’ mission was to take care of the health of the local residents, so they opened the pharmacy in 1317 and it has been in operation ever since. The monastery contains numerous medieval pharmacists’ tools and medical books which belonged to the English kings’ physicians, as well as 10th-Century manuscripts.

The remainder of your afternoon is at leisure. You can stay in the city to enjoy the shops and cafes or return to your hotel and indulge in the spa.

This morning, your driver and guide will take you farther south along the Dalmatian coast to the town of Cavtat. This historic town dates back to the 6th Century BC and was first a Greek colony and later a Roman town called Ephidaurum. When Slav tribes invaded the area in the 7th century, the local population sought refuge up the coast where they established Ragusa, which later expanded to become today’s Dubrovnik. Today, Cavtat is one of the most charming towns on the coast and retains a small town, laid-back ambience. Of historic interest here is the Baltazar Bogisic Collection, which includes many fine paintings and works of art and is housed in a 16th century Count’s Palace. You will also see a Franciscan monastery from the 16th century and a monument designed by Mestrovic.

Later, you will continue your drive through the southern Dalmatian countryside and the region known as Konavle. This is Dalmatia at its most traditional, where people still maintain the old customs and authentic costumes and cultivate olives and vineyards.

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This afternoon you will visit the winery of Niko Karaman, a local enologist who is quickly making a name for his tiny operation. He is known for dry wines and exquisite sweet Prosek (dessert wine) that he makes from rare indigenous grapes. His wines have already been awarded the title of World’s Best Dessert Wine in 2009. Konavle is also known for its excellent cuisine and we recommend having lunch at the restaurant Konovaski Dvori, a traditional southern Dalmatian restaurant located on the banks of the Ljuta River. (Cost of lunch is not included).

Later this afternoon, your driver and guide will take you back to Dubrovnik. The rest of the evening will be at your leisure.

This morning, after an early start, your driver will take you to the southernmost tip of Croatia where you will continue across the border into Montenegro, which used to be a part of the former Yugoslavia but has been an independent country since the referendum in 2006. The country’s name, meaning “Black Mountain,” probably dates back to the era of Venetian hegemony over the Adriatic coast in the middle ages. Once you cross the border, your Montenegrin guide will join you for the day.

Your first stop today is the port town of Kotor. Located at the head of a deep fjord, Kotor’s fortified Old Town was strategically built at the foot of a high cliff and is today protected by UNESCO. The fortified Old Town bears similarities with the one in Dubrovnik, but is smaller and more idyllic in some ways.

Time and fitness permitting, you may consider climbing the 1,500 steps of Kotor’s old fortress walls on the hills above the town (for the physically fit, this climb is one of the true highlights of a trip to Montenegro!).

Later today continue toward Lustica village, approximately 45 minutes away from Kotor.

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Today you will meet the Moric family, locally famous for their olive oil production. This olive grove is family owned and operated in an area renowned for the quality and complexity of its extraordinary artisan olive oils produced with purity, flavor and character. Today you will be invited to savor the goodness of their Estate grown artisan oils. All of the olives are organically and sustainable farmed and hand-harvested. You will also have the opportunity to get to know the Moric family, witness how they produce their domestic olive oil and enjoy a homemade meal of Montenegrin specialties.

Morning at leisure before check-out and transfer to the airport for your onward flight.