Northern Italy, Slovenia, Croatia Small Group Tour – Venice to Split 9nts

Welcome to Venice. Meet your small group and your tour leader at the hotel, an eighteenth-century building in the floating city, then head out to a local restaurant for the first dinner together.

Take the back roads to Villa di Maser, a sixteenth-century estate modelled on the temples of ancient Rome, for a wine tasting in the farmhouse beside it, with charcuterie boards of local hams, jams and cheeses. Continue to Bassano del Grappa for a welcome walk across the thirteenth-century Ponte Vecchio and through Piazza Liberta, then free time before a visit to the Poli Grappa Museum and a tasting of five grappas.

A day trip to Rovereto with a local guide. Rovereto Castle comes first, with its cased armour and underground tunnels, then the Bell of the Fallen, which commemorates those who died in the Great War. Lunch at a local restaurant follows before the return to Bassano del Grappa for a free evening beside the river.

One last Italian stop at Belluno, beneath snow-capped mountains, with a welcome walk past its palazzos and the Torre Civica, the only surviving piece of its twelfth-century castle, and free time for lunch. Then cross the border into Slovenia and follow the back roads to Lake Bled, home for the next two nights.

A gentle climb to Bled Castle, where a local guide covers the museum and the stronghold's history, followed by lunch in the Castle Restaurant above the lake. In the afternoon a traditional pletna boat crosses to the island and the Baroque Church of the Assumption, where a small donation buys the chance to ring the bell. The rest of the day is free.

A welcome walk through Ljubljana with a local guide, dragons and all, then the funicular up to the castle. Next comes Postojna Cave and the train ride through its tunnels, with a guide through the wider cave system. The day ends at the seaside town of Rovinj, with the evening free among its crooked streets.

A slow start, then a cooking class at a local restaurant. It opens with homemade brandy, fritule and an olive oil tasting with chunky bread, before the group makes fresh pasta with truffle sauce and sits down to eat it with side dishes and dessert. The afternoon is free for the Church of St Euphemia, the seafront walkways and the Old Town.

First the coastal town of Opatija, with its colourful houses and time for a coffee, then the village of Rastoke, where waterfalls run between eighteenth-century mills. A visit to Rastoke Mill covers the history of the milling era. The night is spent in the Plitvice Lakes region.

The morning follows the planked paths of Plitvice Lakes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, at your own pace. Then the back roads south to the village of Smiljan and the Tesla House Museum, dedicated to the life and work of Nikola Tesla, before arriving in Zadar for the farewell dinner.

A last wander around Zadar with your tour leader, along the Old Town's smooth flagstones, past the Roman ruins and St Anastasia's Cathedral, the largest church in Dalmatia. Then the final drive down the coast, ending in Split.