May Guided Tour: Walking and Cruising Southern Dalmatia

May Guided Tour: Walking and Cruising Southern Dalmatia BY PETER SOMMER TRAVELS

Packages

UPDATED 1 month ago DURATION 8 Days SEASON 18th May 2019 - 25th May 2019 RATES GBP 3,395.00 per person EXPIRES May 15, 2019
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DESCRIPTION

Walking and Cruising Southern Dalmatia is an enticing combination of a gulet cruise with walks through some of the region’s most beautiful landscapes. Ancient forts, beautiful towns, great castles and churches line the trail, and our guides will use them to bring the country’s rich and turbulent history to vibrant life.

A series of highlights await. At Ston, you’ll walk atop the 5 km wall built in the 14th and 15th centuries to protect a landscape of prime agricultural land and precious salt pans in one of the Adriatic's most important wine-growing regions. On Mljet, a network of paths and tracks will offer you an ever-changing set of vistas, taking in sea and lake, hill and valley, and a string of sites ranging from prehistory via the Romans to the Middle Ages. On Hvar, you will explore the Stari Grad Plain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where local farmers are using the same tracks and maintaining the same field boundaries that their ancient Greek forebears laid out when they colonised the island 100 generations ago: a living archaeological landscape.

You will also experience this magnificent stretch of Croatia’s coast through its delicious local produce: a cornucopia of delights await: fresh seafood, fine wines and superb meat and cheese dishes. Travelling aboard a traditional and elegant gulet, you’ll have the pleasure of anchoring in beautiful bays and coves and picturesque harbours, the perfect way to discover the Dalmatian coast.

ADDITION RATE INFORMATION

Single Supplement: £925

ITINERARY

Day 1:

We embark at the little harbour of Slano, about an hour from Dubrovnik airport. Welcome drinks and dinner on board.

Day 2:

In the morning, we walk the "Great Wall of Ston", one of the most unusual historical fortifications in Europe. Erected in the 14th and 15th centuries to protect the precious salt pans, and the peninsula itself, the wall stretches for 5.5 km from Ston to Mali Ston. In the afternoon, we make the short crossing to the verdant island of Mljet.

Day 3:

On Mljet, we explore an important nature reserve on foot on romantic forest tracks, passing a Roman palace, an Illyrian stronghold, a great pair of lakes and a beautiful medieval monastery set on a lake island. Later, we cruise to the Straits between Korcula and Orebic.

Day 4:

In the morning, we hike up to the beautiful Nakovana plateau, high above Orebic on the Peljesac Peninsula. In an evocative landscape setting, we discover a stupendous prehistoric hill fort, an ancient sacred cave and a picturesque abandoned village.

Day 5:

In the morning, we head to the island of Hvar. Here, we make our way from the serene little port of Stari Grad to walk in the hills above the Stari Grad Plain before exploring the plain itself, Croatia’s most unusual World Heritage site: the field system laid out by the Greek settlers of Pharos 24 centuries ago, and still in use.

Day 6:

We cross to the wonderful island of Brac. Here, we head up to admire the views from Vidova Gora, the highest peak of all the Adriatic Islands, followed by a wonderful forest walk to the mountain village of Gazul, where we enjoy a rustic traditional lunch.

Day 7:

We walk through the Blaca Gorge, visiting the striking Blaca Hermitage, a monastery founded in the Renaissance period and in use until 1963. A last swim and then a delicious final dinner.

Day 8:

Transfers to Split airport about 30 minutes away.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

• Full board accommodation on traditional gulet
• Airport transfers on first and last day of tour
• All crew services on gulet
• Entrance fees and tips on land
• Expert-led excursions
• WiFi on board (when coverage permits)