One-Way Wonders Luxury Cruise Dubrovnik to Split 7nts (Saturdays) with Balcony ships

Transfer from Dubrovnik Airport to Gruz harbour and check-in from 14:00. Free time in the old town, a compact walled city of marble streets, with the 1,940 m wall circuit open to walk and a cable car up to Srd for the view over the red roofs. Welcome reception and dinner on board. Overnight in Gruz harbour.

A guided tour of Dubrovnik in the morning, then north along the coast with a swim stop and lunch on board. Slano is a quiet fishing village and the gateway to Ston, a fortified town behind the second longest defensive wall in Europe, salt-producing since Roman times and known for the oysters farmed at Mali Ston. A tasting is included. Overnight in Slano.

On to Mljet, the greenest island in the south, where the national park covers the western end and entry is paid on the spot. Two connected saltwater lakes sit inside the park, with a boat across to St Mary islet and its 12th century Benedictine monastery. Swim in the lakes, walk or hire a bike. The Captain's Dinner with live music is served on board. Overnight in Pomena or Polace.

A morning swim stop and lunch on board on the way to Korcula. The walled old town sits on a promontory with a fishbone street plan built to catch the breeze, and claims Marco Polo as a local. A guided walking tour covers the cathedral, the walls and the bastions, and the konobas and wine bars fill the lanes in the evening. Overnight in one of the ports of Korcula, either the town centre port or Domince about 3 km out.

West to Vis, the furthest inhabited island from the mainland and closed to foreign visitors until 1989, which left it quieter and less built up than its neighbours. A wine tasting is included. The town sits beside ancient Issa, the first urban settlement in Croatia, with Roman baths, the town museum and a shore walk past the villae rusticae. Overnight in Vis town, or at Komiza on the west of the island if berths at Vis are full.

An early run out to the islet of Bisevo for the Blue Cave, where the light through an underwater opening turns the water an intense blue. Entry is paid on the spot and the visit depends on sea conditions. On to Hvar with lunch on board at the Pakleni islands and a swim stop, then an afternoon guided tour of the Renaissance cathedral, the 1612 community theatre and the fortress above the town. Overnight in Hvar, or at Stari Grad if berths at Hvar are full.

A morning call at Bol on Brac, with a swimming stop at Zlatni Rat, the shingle spit that shifts shape with the wind. Lunch on board on the run back to the mainland. Trogir's old town sits on its own island between the mainland and Ciovo, with the Cathedral of St Lawrence, Radovan's Portal and the Kamerlengo fortress in a compact grid of marble streets. Evening at leisure. Overnight at Marina Baotic.

Breakfast on board, then check-out and farewell to the crew. Split Airport is about 10 minutes away.