Luxury Island Hopping Vacation in Croatia

Dalmatian culture is as evocative as it sounds as the people here do not take life too seriously, preferring a laid-back style that goes hand in hand with the salty sea breeze. Touch down in Split, and this first day is yours for exploring with your hotel just a couple of corners from Diocletian’s Palace. Take a walk through the narrow pedestrianized streets, out to a broad promenade and Riva Harbor. Join the locals at a cafe terrace, watch the sun go down from the seafront, and start feeling comfortable with the Croatian way of life as this is a warm and gregarious country where every visitor can quickly feel at home.

Meet your local guide and start the day as friends usually do in Split with a drink and a chat on a small cafe terrace. Take off through the city, admiring time-inscribed facades and proud Dalmatian cafes. Wander around Diocletian’s Palace then explore the interior of a structure built by a Roman emperor in the fourth century. Soak up the historical stories from your guide and come to understand a convoluted history of war, takeover, revolution, and independence, often in the order you do not expect. Then keep going into the newer part of Split for a chance to see a side to the city that often falls in the palace’s shadow. It will be a half-day walking tour at a leisurely pace before the afternoon is at your leisure.

The Adriatic is more than just islands and turquoise waters. Today you will drive inland to the entrance to Krka, a national park of silvery waterfalls and lavish forest where the hiking trails immerse you in the scent of the wild. A boat will take you to Skradin, a mystical village tucked beneath the flowing cascades at the point where the river meets the sea. You will have lunch before following the coastline to Trogir, a tiny town that paints millennia of history through its extravagant architecture. Get lost in the maze of knotted lanes and easily see why the cathedral became a UNESCO World Heritage Site as you follow the medieval walls towards the expansive Adriatic. You will return to Split late in the afternoon, where Riva Harbor is likely to be calling you for another leisurely evening.

After three days spent walking past Diocletian’s Palace, you will recognize the color and the type of stone that covers Brac. Radiant and resplendent, this white stone was even used in constructing the White House, something which sounds implausible until you get the full story from your guide. After the short ferry from Split, you will have a full-day private tour that will begin with a journey along a dramatic cliff-strewn coastline. Pine forests stand above inky waters while sleepy fishing villages await beneath vineyards and olive groves. Skrip holds 3,000 years of history and is just one of the villages you will stop at. Also on the tour will be a superb lunch of lamb on an island populated by sheep, plus a drive to Vidova Gora, a majestic peak that offers views across the Adriatic to Hvar, Split and sometimes even Italy. Spend the night back in Split for another relaxing evening.

The island of Hvar is a destination that seems to emanate every possible superlative. Lavender fields set the scene, historical towns provide urban beauty and super yachts lull in the calm aquamarine waters. Conde Nast called it one of the top ten islands in the world, and it is impossible not to be won over. After the fast catamaran ride, you will set off into the interior to taste olive oils and wines in very tranquil settings. Travel to a fishing village and then explore Stari Grad on foot, a UNESCO World Heritage old town made up of thick stone slabs and incredibly harmonious buildings.

Your hotel is within the UNESCO protected area, and the afternoon is free to slowly uncover the town’s sights. Laid-back and low-key, Stari Grad can be walked around in less than an hour, but it is one of those towns that you can happily walk around for many hours doing nothing but window shopping and people watching. This evening you can dine at a konoba. Konoba translates into restaurant, although this style of restaurant is only found on the Adriatic and not the interior. Think fresh farm produce, generations-old recipes, and a simple restaurant interior found in an abandoned medieval village. For eating like the locals, this is a genuine highlight of an experience.

Nature’s indulgence is found on the islands around Hvar. There is the Blue Cave on Bisevo Island with its water a supernatural color that cannot be captured on photos. Ravnik Island has blissful swimming spots, like the Green Cave and a lagoon backed by mesmerizing cliffs. Then Pakleni Islands provides languid beach time along with fresh seafood dining and wonderfully warm waters. You will explore all of these islands on a full-day small-group boat tour from Hvar, returning for another sultry evening in Stari Grad. For tonight’s dinner, you will head to an old family estate above the town to taste the superb organic produce that Hvar’s soil can cultivate.

Korcula has even more olive groves and vineyards, so there is no guessing two of the stops on today’s island tour. The island also has thick forests and a marble city that is dripping with history. Renaissance townhouses wrap themselves around a Gothic cathedral, and the island’s stone carving history is evident at every turn. Arrive on the catamaran from Hvar and spend the morning in Korcula town to take a guided walk along the ancient walls while paying homage to Marco Polo in the place of his birth. You will travel out to the vineyard to see the great piles of broken stones that dot the island, from a medieval time of clearing and farming that turned Korcula from white to green. Your afternoon is free, and there are many adventures to be had in nature, either taking a boat along the coast or discovering the walking trails that lead up and through the island’s forests.

Korcula is the Green Island, but Mljet is even greener as an island where more than half the land is protected as a national park. The forests are thick with pine, casting shadows onto rugged cliffs and stunning saltwater lakes. Legend declares that Odysseus spent seven years on this island oasis, and with such a seductive setting it’s hard to challenge the claim. On a private island tour, you can walk through the forest on trails that connect the two main lakes. Cruise across the stillness of Large Lake to the place where a 12th-century Benedictine monastery stands on an otherwise uninhabited islet. Take some time to swim in the crystal clear waters and then choose from a number of other possible hikes through the forest. One hike leads you to a deserted pebble beach while another brings provide panoramas over the lush island landscape.

Ask a Croatian where to go eat seafood and the answer will probably be Ston, a fishing village turned medieval fortified city turned fishing village once more. The epic city walls suggest scale and grandeur, but Ston is more crumbling churches and pungent fishing smells than modern urban development. It now has a fishermen’s laid-back charm and some very unique seafood experiences. You can pluck oysters straight from the sea and slurp them down on the spot, with a drizzle of lemon to counteract the earthy salt. You can also try out the local mussels and the catch of the day at a traditional seafood restaurant before continuing the tasting at one of Croatia’s oldest wineries. To reach Ston, you take the boat to Peljesac and then transfer by road. After most of the day in the town, you will continue south to Dubrovnik where your hotel is within the Old Town walls.

Walking along the city walls brings an iconic introduction to Dubrovnik’s history. If the surrounds seem familiar, it is likely because you watch the Game of Thrones or have seen Star Wars XIII. While the big screen does not lie about the city’s beauty, only when walking above the terracotta roofs can you appreciate the harmony of this ancient city. It is a city of summer, even if you visit in the middle of winter. Festivals take place throughout the year, museums and galleries juxtapose with spires and seascape, and your footsteps echo across marble slabs.

While traveling the 1,940-meter-long city walls, you will hear the city’s history from your guide. Then walk beneath the bastions and towers as you come to understand the intricate details that tie everything in Dubrovnik together. Move into the afternoon, and you can take a cable car ride up Mt Srd, a place where you can gaze down on the city’s interplay of light and stone. The Adriatic shimmers its ineffable color as an entire archipelago awaits just off shore. While Dubrovnik is not quite an island, you feel as though you have hopped into an isolated landscape distinct from the rest of the world.

Before a final day of island hopping, you will enjoy an alternative perspective by exploring Konavle, a region that is fiercely traditional and proud of its rural roots. Start in Cavtat, a Roman colony that preceded Dubrovnik as refugees from Cavtat established Dubrovnik after fleeing a 7th-century Slav invasion. Visit the cemetery and mausoleum to find masterpieces from Croatia’s most iconic sculptor, Ivan Mestovic and then head out into the hills where tiny villages preserve old customs and you can experience a version of Croatia that has not changed in centuries. Enjoy a culinary experience in a local home with a chance to get your hands dirty around a farm. Return to Dubrovnik, and spend another evening within the city walls to walk the lantern-lit lanes after dusk.

Return to the islands as you finish your Croatian vacation with the destinations that adorn postcards. Golden beaches interlace with the blue of the sea with the sky, all of them back-dropped by a thick canvas of forest. The Elafiti Islands are places to escape as you dip into the clear seas, stroll through the hamlets, and lounge on the beach. There are no roads and no vehicles, just the odd boat taking you from island to island. You will visit three of them with Kolocep, Sipan and Lopud as you fully unwind in true Dalmatian style. These are fitting destinations for your final day, the mix of discovery and relaxation summarizing the last week and a half in Croatia.

After ten islands and many other Adriatic destinations, you will complete your vacation with a lazy morning spent walking around Dubrovnik. Late check-out has been arranged, and you can transfer to the airport with plenty of time for your departure flight.