Small Group Tour – Croatian Rhapsody Food & Wine Tour – Zagreb to Dubrovnik 8nts (Fridays)

Arrive in Zagreb and transfer to the hotel, around 20 to 45 minutes from the airport. Dinner is at the hotel.

After breakfast, a walking tour of Zagreb with an English-speaking guide takes in the fortified medieval Upper Town, St Mark's Church with its tiled roof, Parliament and the government palace. Continue to Kvarner Bay and Opatija, the cradle of Croatian tourism and once a favourite spa resort of the Habsburgs. Dinner and overnight in Opatija. Driving time around 2 hours 30 minutes.

A full day in Istria, starting with the 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre in Pula. Continue to Rovinj, widely held to be the most beautiful town in Istria, with time at leisure. Then on to Motovun for a tasting of the truffle, one of Istria’s tastiest treasures. Departure at 9:00am, returning to Opatija around 6:00pm.

An early departure for Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia’s oldest and most beautiful national park, UNESCO protected and made up of 16 lakes joined by waterfalls. The park is explored mostly on foot over around 3 hours, and the entrance includes a boat ride across the emerald green Lake Kozjak. Continue to Zadar for dinner at the hotel restaurant and overnight. Total driving time around 5 hours 30 minutes.

After breakfast and check out, explore Zadar and its Roman Forum dating to the 1st century AD, the 9th-century church of St Donatus, and the Sea Organ, one of a kind in the world. From the Old Town, continue to a local winery in the Dalmatian hinterland for a tasting of authentic Dalmatian wines and international cuvees, served with Croatian-style tapas. Continue to Split for the overnight. Total driving time around 3 hours.

Split is the handiwork of seventeen centuries of building and remodelling, so that 18th-century houses intersect with ancient Roman walls. At its core is the palace the emperor Diocletian built for his retirement at the turn of the 4th century. Lunch is a traditional Dalmatian dish prepared at the Tragos restaurant in Trogir, a UNESCO town with 2,300 years of continuous urban tradition and a dense concentration of palaces, churches and towers.

On the way to Dubrovnik, stop near the town of Ston to visit a local winery and taste the Plavac Mali, a close relative of Zinfandel. The tasting includes a presentation on the wine-making process and a snack. Arrive in Dubrovnik for dinner and overnight. Driving time around 5 hours.

Completed in the 13th century, the old city of Dubrovnik has remained largely unchanged since. Medieval ramparts encircle the Old Town, entered through one of two gates, and crossing the stone bridge under the gaze of the city’s patron Saint Blaise brings you onto the Stradun, the broad stone-paved promenade. Free time to explore on your own afterwards.

The tour ends after breakfast. A departure transfer to the airport is provided.