Croatia for three generations: Zagreb, Plitvice, Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Zagreb

   Zagreb Airport to your hotel in the centre of Zagreb

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Early welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Zagreb
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Zagreb Airport (ZAG), about 17 km south-east of the city, where a driver meets your family in the arrivals hall whatever time you land, with child seats if you ask for them. The hotel is in the Lower Town, the 19th-century grid of squares, parks and blue trams below the old hill towns. We ask every hotel for family rooms or connecting rooms, so grandparents can sleep next door rather than down the corridor. If you arrive early, let the children run in the green horseshoe of parks between the main station and Ban Jelačić Square, or ride a tram a few stops for fun. At about 5:30 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets everyone in the lobby for a short briefing: how the days are paced, where the swims fall and what to pack for the islands. Then we walk to a local restaurant for an early welcome dinner at about 6 pm, with smaller plates for children, so the youngest are in bed in good time after the flight.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Zagreb Airport (ZAG), with child seats on request
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Early welcome dinner

   Option plus facile : Rest at the hotel until the briefing; the restaurant is a short walk or taxi ride away.

   Temps libre : Free until the early evening briefing

   Activité : The welcome briefing is at about 5:30 pm; if you land later, you join the group at dinner or at breakfast the next morning.

   

2. Jour 2 : Zagreb's funicular, Rastoke and Plitvice

   Zagreb to Rastoke, then Plitvice Lakes

   • Environ 2 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Plitvice Lakes
   Détail du jour 2

   After breakfast a licensed local guide takes us up to the Upper Town on the funicular, running since the 1890s and a ride of under a minute, which saves the grandparents the steepest climb. The Lotrščak Tower stands at the top, and a cannon is fired from it every day at noon, so we time the walk to be nearby. We stroll the cobbled lanes of Gradec to St Mark's Church, whose tiled roof shows the coats of arms of Zagreb and of the old Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, then through the Stone Gate. A sit-down coffee and juice stop on a café terrace gives everyone a rest before we walk down to Dolac market, where farmers sell fruit and honey under red umbrellas. Just after noon we drive about an hour and a half south to Rastoke in Slunj, where the Slunjčica river tumbles through old watermills into the Korana, for a sit-down lunch by the water. It is then half an hour to our hotel near Plitvice, with the rest of the afternoon free. There are few places to eat near the park, so an early dinner is included.

   Compris

   • Zagreb Upper Town with a licensed local guide: the funicular, Lotrščak Tower, St Mark's Church and the Stone Gate
   • Dolac market
   • Rastoke watermill village in Slunj
   • Sit-down lunch in Rastoke
   • Early dinner near Plitvice Lakes

   Option plus facile : Ride the funicular both ways and wait on a café terrace in the Upper Town while the group walks down to Dolac; the van meets you below.

   Option plus active : Before breakfast, walk up from the Lower Town to the Upper Town by the stepped lanes off Tkalčićeva street, about 20 minutes.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free at the hotel

   Activité : About 2 hours on foot in Zagreb, mostly downhill after the funicular, and short paths with a few uneven steps at Rastoke.

   

3. Jour 3 : Plitvice Lakes early, then Split

   Plitvice Lakes National Park, then south to Split

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Split
   Détail du jour 3

   We are at the gate when the park opens, about 7 am in summer and 8 am in spring and early autumn, on tickets booked for the first entry slot, because the boardwalks fill by mid-morning. Plitvice Lakes, Croatia's oldest national park and listed by UNESCO in 1979, is a chain of 16 lakes stepping down through beech and fir forest, held back by barriers of travertine that the water builds as it flows, so each lake spills into the next in small falls. With a park guide we follow a family route: the boardwalks of the lower lakes to Veliki slap, at 78 m the highest waterfall in Croatia, then the electric boat across Lake Kozjak and a short loop of the upper lakes, where children spot trout in the clear water. By about 12:30 we are out for a sit-down lunch near the park. Then it is just under three hours south by motorway, with a break halfway, reaching Split by late afternoon in time for a swim or a rest.

   Compris

   • Plitvice Lakes National Park entry on the first slot, with a park guide
   • Electric boat across Lake Kozjak and the park's panoramic train
   • Sit-down lunch near the park
   • Drive to Split with your guide

   Option plus facile : Walk the lower lakes to Veliki slap only (about 3 km on the flat), then take the boat and the panoramic train, and wait at the lakeside café by Kozjak.

   Option plus active : Carry on through the upper lakes to Prošćansko jezero and ride the panoramic train down, about 9 km in all.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Split

   Activité : About 5 km in 3 to 4 hours on boardwalks and forest paths, some wet and with low or no rails in places, so hold younger children's hands. Swimming is not allowed in the lakes. Pushchairs are hard work on the boardwalks.

   

4. Jour 4 : Diocletian's Palace, then the beach

   On foot in Split, then Bačvice beach

   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : Split
   Détail du jour 4

   At about 8:30 am, before the cruise passengers and day coaches fill the lanes, a licensed local guide takes us into Diocletian's Palace, built around AD 300 as the Roman emperor's retirement home and listed by UNESCO in 1979. People still live, shop and drink coffee inside its walls. We start in the cool, vaulted cellars, which copy the plan of the rooms that once stood above, then come up into the Peristyle and the emperor's mausoleum, now the Cathedral of St Domnius. Outside the Golden Gate stands Ivan Meštrović's giant bronze of Bishop Gregory of Nin, whose big toe is rubbed shiny by visitors making a wish, and the children will want a turn. The visit is about two hours, finished before the midday heat. Lunch is your choice, then the afternoon is for Bačvice, the shallow, sandy town beach about 15 minutes on foot from the palace, or a short taxi ride for anyone who would rather not walk in the heat, where locals play picigin, a splashing ball game, in water only knee to waist deep. The evening is free on the Riva.

   Compris

   • Diocletian's Palace with a licensed local guide: the cellars, the Peristyle and the Cathedral of St Domnius
   • Afternoon at Bačvice beach with your guide nearby

   Activités en option

   • The cathedral bell tower (extra, price shown at booking)

   Option plus facile : Sit out the cathedral steps with a coffee on the Peristyle, and rest at the hotel through the heat instead of the beach.

   Option plus active : Climb the cathedral bell tower for the view to the islands, then walk up Marjan hill from the Varoš quarter to the Telegrin viewpoint, about 2 hours return.

   Temps libre : Lunch, afternoon and evening free

   Activité : About 2 to 3 hours on foot on polished stone in the morning. Beach umbrellas and loungers at Bačvice are hired on the spot.

5. Jour 5 : Car ferry to Hvar, via Stari Grad

   Split by car ferry to Stari Grad, then Hvar town

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Hvar
   Détail du jour 5

   We drive our vehicle onto the morning car ferry from Split to Stari Grad, about two hours across the channel past the island of Brač, with the bags staying on board with us and time on deck to watch for dolphins, which are sometimes seen in these waters. Stari Grad was founded as Pharos by Greeks from the island of Paros in 384 BC, and behind it lies the Stari Grad Plain, listed by UNESCO in 2008, where the stone walls laid out by those settlers still divide vineyards and olive groves. A local guide walks us along the harbour to Tvrdalj, the summer house the poet Petar Hektorović built in the 16th century around a fishpond, where grey mullet still swim. After a sit-down lunch in Stari Grad we cross the island, about 25 minutes, to Hvar town, our base for two nights. The afternoon is free for a swim at the hotel pool, if it has one, or at the pebble coves a short walk from the harbour. Your guide suggests early dinner places on St Stephen's Square.

   Compris

   • Car ferry from Split to Stari Grad with our vehicle
   • Stari Grad with a local guide: the harbour, Tvrdalj and a view over the Stari Grad Plain
   • Sit-down lunch in Stari Grad
   • Short orientation walk in Hvar town

   Option plus facile : Stay in the shade of Tvrdalj's courtyard while the group walks the harbour, and skip the orientation walk for an afternoon rest.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free in Hvar town

   Activité : Easy walking on level stone streets. The ferry crossing is about 2 hours; sailings are confirmed with your final itinerary.

   

6. Jour 6 : The fortress, then a boat to the Pakleni Islands

   Hvar town to the Fortica, then by boat to Palmižana and back

   • En bateau
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Hvar
   Détail du jour 6

   We go up to the Fortica, also called the Španjola, early in the morning while the path through the pines is still in shade; those who would rather not climb ride up with our van. The fortress was built above the town in the 16th century, when Hvar was an important Venetian harbour, and children can look out from the walls and peer down into the old prison cells. From the top you see the harbour below and the Pakleni Islands spread across the sea. Back in town we board a taxi boat for the short crossing to Palmižana on Sveti Klement, the largest of the islands, where pine woods run down to small coves and the water is clear enough to see the stones on the bottom. Swim, look for small fish and crabs in the shallows, or sit in the shade, then sit down together for a long lunch near the water. We are back in Hvar town by mid-afternoon, and the rest of the day is free for a siesta or an ice cream on the square.

   Compris

   • The Fortica (Španjola) fortress entry
   • Return taxi boat from Hvar town to Palmižana on the Pakleni Islands
   • Time to swim on the Pakleni Islands
   • Sit-down lunch at Palmižana

   Option plus facile : Ride up to the fortress in our van and walk down, or skip it and meet the group at the boat; at Palmižana, rest in the shade by the restaurant.

   Option plus active : Walk across Sveti Klement to the coves on its south side and back before lunch, about 1.5 hours on rocky paths.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free in Hvar town

   Activité : About 20 minutes uphill on a stepped path to the Fortica. Bring water shoes for the pebbly coves and keep life jackets on for young children on the boat.

   

7. Jour 7 : Across Hvar to Ston, then Dubrovnik

   Hvar town to Sućuraj, car ferry to Drvenik, the Pelješac Bridge to Ston, then Dubrovnik

   • Environ 4 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Dubrovnik
   Détail du jour 7

   This is the longest travel day, about three and three-quarter hours of driving in all, so we split it into three legs of no more than about an hour and a half, each ending with a ferry, a walk or a meal. We leave Hvar town at about 8:30 am and drive the length of the island to Sućuraj at its eastern tip. A 35-minute car ferry takes us to Drvenik on the mainland, and the children can stand at the rail. Over on the mainland we stop at a seaside café for a snack, a stretch and a paddle. We follow the coast past the Neretva delta and its mandarin orchards and cross the Pelješac Bridge, opened in 2022. At Ston the salt pans that made the Republic of Dubrovnik rich are still worked, and the walls run up the hill above them. Walk a short stretch, then sit down to lunch at Mali Ston, with oysters for those who want them and plainer dishes for those who do not. It is about an hour on to Dubrovnik, arriving at about 5 pm, with an early evening walk down the Stradun.

   Compris

   • Car ferry from Sućuraj to Drvenik with our vehicle
   • The walls and salt pans of Ston
   • Sit-down lunch at Mali Ston, with an oyster tasting for those who want it
   • Early evening walk through the Pile Gate and along the Stradun

   Option plus facile : Skip the wall climb and walk the level path beside the salt pans, then meet the group at Mali Ston.

   Option plus active : Walk the full stretch of wall over the hill from Ston to Mali Ston, about 1 hour with steep steps, while the van carries everyone else round.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Dubrovnik

   Activité : The longest drive of the trip, about 205 km, broken by the ferry, the Ston walk and lunch. Car ferry sailings are confirmed with your final itinerary.

   

8. Jour 8 : Dubrovnik's walls, then Lokrum island

   On foot in Dubrovnik's Old Town, then by boat to Lokrum

   • En bateau
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Dubrovnik
   Détail du jour 8

   We are at the city walls when they open, about 8 am in season, before the cruise passengers and the heat. The walls run for about 2 km around the Old Town, with towers to climb and cannons to find, and from them you look down into lanes, gardens and a school playground, and out to the island of Lokrum. The full circuit takes about an hour and a half, and there are exits partway round for anyone who has had enough. Afterwards a licensed local guide takes us on a short walk through the Old Town, listed by UNESCO in 1979 and rebuilt with care after the shelling of 1991 and 1992, ending in the cloister of the Franciscan monastery, where a pharmacy has worked since 1317. Lunch is your choice, then a boat from the old harbour takes us to Lokrum, fifteen minutes away. Peacocks wander under the pines, and a small salt lake called the Dead Sea gives younger children calm water to swim in. We are back for an early farewell dinner together at about 6:30 pm.

   Compris

   • Dubrovnik city walls entry at opening
   • Short Old Town walk with a licensed local guide, with the Franciscan monastery cloister and pharmacy museum
   • Return boat to Lokrum island and the island entry
   • Early farewell dinner

   Activités en option

   • Cable car up Mount Srđ (extra, price shown at booking)

   Option plus facile : Walk only the sea-facing section of the walls from the Pile Gate and leave at the next exit; on Lokrum, stay near the harbour café and the botanical garden.

   Option plus active : Walk up the zigzag path to the top of Mount Srđ in the late afternoon instead of the Lokrum swim, about 1 hour up, and ride the cable car down.

   Temps libre : Lunch and late afternoon free

   Activité : The walls have many steep steps and little shade, so bring water and hats for everyone. The last boats back from Lokrum leave in the early evening; your guide keeps the time.

   

9. Jour 9 : Depart from Dubrovnik

   Dubrovnik to Dubrovnik Airport

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   Détail du jour 9

   The last morning is free until your transfer. With an afternoon flight there is time for an early swim at Banje beach, just outside the Ploče Gate, with a view back to the walls, a look at the morning market on Gundulić Square, where farmers from the Konavle valley sell figs, lavender and dried fruit, or a last ice cream on the Stradun before the day's visitors arrive. Your guide checks every family's flight times the evening before, and our driver takes you to Dubrovnik Airport (DBV) at Čilipi, about 22 km and half an hour south along the coast, whatever time you fly, with the same child seats as on day 1. Many families add a night or two at the end. Ask us when you request your trip and we can add extra nights at the same hotel in Dubrovnik, or quote a day across the border to Kotor in Montenegro as an extension.

   Compris

   • Drop-off at Dubrovnik Airport (DBV)

   Option plus facile : With a late flight, keep the day gentle: breakfast, a short swim at Banje and back to the hotel, which can hold the bags.

   Temps libre : Free until your airport transfer

   Activité : Any flight time works; for a free morning in Dubrovnik, book a flight after about 1 pm.

Faune et météo : June and early September are the sweet spot for families: the sea is warm, the days are long and the crowds are lighter. July and August fit school holidays but are hot, often above 30°C on the coast, and the old towns are at their busiest, which is why the visits start early and the afternoons are for swimming. May is cooler and green at Plitvice, with the sea still fresh. Some taxi boats and seasonal hours thin out after mid-September. Dolphins are sometimes seen from the Hvar ferries, but not reliably.

• Zagreb1 nuit
• Plitvice Lakes1 nuit
• Split2 nuits
• Hvar2 nuits
• Dubrovnik2 nuits