Croatia's islands on foot: Hvar, Korčula and Mljet

1. Day 1: Arrive in Split

   Split Airport to your hotel in Split

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Split
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Split Airport, about 25 km west of the city near Trogir, and a driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the half-hour drive along the coast. Our hotel is in or close to the old town, so the rest of the day can be on foot. Split grew up inside the walls of the retirement palace the Roman emperor Diocletian built around AD 300, and people still live, shop and drink coffee among its columns. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the week: which walks are harder, how the ferries work with luggage, and what each island is like. Then we walk along the Riva, the waterfront promenade below the palace's south wall, to a welcome dinner of Dalmatian dishes at a local restaurant. Plan to land by mid-afternoon.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Split Airport (SPU)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Evening walk along the Riva
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the early-evening briefing

2. Day 2: Diocletian's Palace early, then the ferry to Hvar

   Split by car ferry to Stari Grad on Hvar, then across the Stari Grad Plain to Hvar town

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Hvar
   Day 2 details

   We start at 8 am inside Diocletian's Palace with a licensed local guide, before the cruise passengers and tour groups arrive. Walk through the Bronze Gate into the vaulted substructures, then up to the Peristyle, the colonnaded court in front of the emperor's mausoleum, now the Cathedral of St Domnius. The palace has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979. After a coffee we board the car ferry for the crossing to Stari Grad, about two hours on the open deck past the island of Brač. Lunch is your choice in Stari Grad's harbour. In the late afternoon, when the heat goes out of the day, we walk part of the Stari Grad Plain: fields laid out by Greek settlers from Paros in the 4th century BC, still divided by the same stone walls and planted with olives and vines, and on the UNESCO list since 2008. A short drive takes us to Hvar town for two nights.

   Included

   • Diocletian's Palace from 8 am with a licensed local guide: the substructures, the Peristyle and the Cathedral of St Domnius
   • Car ferry from Split to Stari Grad
   • Guided walk on the Stari Grad Plain
   • Transfer to Hvar town

   Easier option: Walk only the first part of the plain, about 45 minutes on a flat farm track, and wait for the group in Stari Grad.

   Free time: Evening free in Hvar town

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot in total: an hour and a half in the palace on stone floors and steps, and about 5 km on flat farm tracks with little shade on the plain.

3. Day 3: Sveti Nikola, Velo Grablje and down to Milna

   Hvar town to Svirče and Sveti Nikola, then Velo Grablje, Malo Grablje and Milna

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Hvar
   Day 3 details

   An early start, about 8 am, to beat the heat on the island's high ridge. We drive east to the village of Svirče and walk up a stony path through pine and maquis to Sveti Nikola, the highest point on Hvar at 628 m, with its small chapel and views over the Pakleni Islands, Brač and, on a clear day, Korčula and Vis. The climb is about 450 m and the walk takes about three hours up and down. Mid-morning we drive back west to Velo Grablje, a stone village that was a centre of Hvar's lavender oil trade, where a few families still distil it. From there an old mule track leads down a valley of terraces to Malo Grablje, a village left empty in the last century, where we stop for a long lunch at a family konoba. A last stretch takes us to the sea at Milna for a swim before the short drive back to Hvar town.

   Included

   • Guided walk to Sveti Nikola, Hvar's highest point, from Svirče
   • Velo Grablje, the lavender village
   • Walk down the old track to Malo Grablje and Milna
   • Lunch at a konoba in Malo Grablje
   • Swim stop at Milna

   Easier option: Skip Sveti Nikola: take the morning in Hvar town, walk up to the Fortica fortress above the harbour, and join the group in Velo Grablje for the gentler downhill walk to Malo Grablje and lunch.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Hvar town

   Activity: The hardest walking day: about 4 to 5 hours on foot in total, with about 450 m of climbing on a stony path to Sveti Nikola and about 2 hours mostly downhill to Milna. Good shoes with grip, a hat and 1.5 litres of water.

   

4. Day 4: Catamaran to Korčula and the old town

   Hvar town by catamaran to Korčula town

   • By ferry
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Korčula
   Day 4 details

   A slow morning: breakfast, a swim or a coffee on Hvar's main square in front of St Stephen's Cathedral. Late in the morning we walk our bags to the harbour and take the coastal catamaran south-east to Korčula, about an hour and a half along Hvar's southern shore and past the islet of Šćedro. Lunch is your choice on the Korčula waterfront. In the afternoon your guide walks you through the old town, built on a small peninsula and closed by walls and towers. The streets branch off the main spine like the bones of a fish, laid out so the summer sun and the cold winter wind cannot run straight through them. We go in through the Land Gate, up to St Mark's Cathedral and past the house the town says belonged to Marco Polo's family. Then the evening is yours: a glass of local Pošip white on the walls at sunset.

   Included

   • Catamaran from Hvar town to Korčula town
   • Guided walk of Korčula's old town: the Land Gate, St Mark's Cathedral and the walls

   Optional experiences

   • Moreška sword dance performance, on the evenings it runs in season

   More active option: Before dinner, walk up the cypress-lined steps to the chapel on St Anthony's hill above the town, about an hour return.

   Free time: Morning free in Hvar; evening free in Korčula

   Activity: About 2 hours of easy walking in the old town, with some steps.

5. Day 5: By boat from Vela Luka to Proizd

   Korčula town to Vela Luka, by boat to Proizd and back

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Korčula
   Day 5 details

   We drive the length of Korčula, about an hour through pine woods, vineyards and the villages of Pupnat, Smokvica and Blato, to Vela Luka at the island's western end, a working fishing town at the head of a long, deep bay. A private boat takes us out to Proizd, a small islet of bright white limestone slabs and very clear water, about half an hour away. We walk the path that loops around the islet, about 3 km over rock with no shade, stopping at each cove, then swim and have lunch at one of the islet's seasonal restaurants or a picnic if they are closed. The boat brings us back to Vela Luka in the early afternoon and we drive back across the island, arriving in Korčula town in time for a rest and a free evening. This is the day to slow down between two walking days.

   Included

   • Drive across Korčula to Vela Luka
   • Private boat from Vela Luka to Proizd and back
   • Guided walk around Proizd, with time to swim
   • Lunch on Proizd

   Optional experiences

   • Vela Spila, the prehistoric cave above Vela Luka, if time and opening hours allow

   Easier option: Stay by the first cove on Proizd and swim while the group walks the loop.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Korčula town

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot on bare limestone with no shade; bring sea shoes or sandals with grip, a hat and sun cream.

6. Day 6: A Pelješac wine lunch, then the ferry to Mljet

   Korčula by ferry to Orebić, Potomje on Pelješac, then Prapratno by ferry to Sobra and on to Mljet National Park

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Mljet
   Day 6 details

   A short car ferry crosses the channel from Korčula to Orebić on the Pelješac peninsula in about fifteen minutes. We drive up into the vineyards around Potomje, where Plavac Mali, Dalmatia's main red grape, grows on the steep south-facing slopes of Dingač above the sea; a tunnel cut through the ridge in the 1970s lets growers reach them. Your guide leads a short walk on the vineyard tracks before a long lunch at a family winery, with their wines, local cheese, ham and olive oil. Early in the afternoon we drive along the peninsula to Prapratno, near Ston, and take the car ferry to Sobra on Mljet, about 45 minutes. Our vehicle carries us across the island to the national park end, where we stay at Pomena or Polače. There is time for a swim before dinner together; Mljet has few restaurants, so this one is included.

   Included

   • Car ferry from Korčula to Orebić
   • Short guided walk in the Pelješac vineyards
   • Wine lunch at a family winery near Potomje
   • Car ferry from Prapratno to Sobra on Mljet
   • Dinner on Mljet

   Free time: Late afternoon free on Mljet

   Activity: A lighter day: about an hour of walking. Wine is part of lunch; non-drinkers are well looked after.

   

7. Day 7: Mljet's lakes on foot and by bike, then Dubrovnik

   Mljet National Park, then Sobra by ferry to Prapratno and on to Dubrovnik

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Dubrovnik
   Day 7 details

   We are on the park paths at about 8 am, while the water is still and the day boats from Dubrovnik and Korčula have not yet arrived. Mljet National Park, set up in 1960, covers the island's wooded western end and two saltwater lakes, Malo Jezero and Veliko Jezero, joined to each other and to the sea by narrow channels. We walk from the hotel to the bridge at the channel, then pick up bikes for the flat path around Veliko Jezero, about 10 km under Aleppo pines with stops to swim. Midway a park boat takes us out to St Mary's islet and its 12th-century Benedictine monastery and church. Lunch is by the lake. In the early afternoon we drive back to Sobra for the ferry to Prapratno, then about an hour along the coast to Dubrovnik. In the evening your guide takes the group in through the Pile Gate, down the Stradun and along Od Puča to a farewell dinner.

   Included

   • Mljet National Park entry from about 8 am
   • Guided walk to the lakes and bike hire for the Veliko Jezero loop
   • Park boat to St Mary's islet and the Benedictine monastery
   • Lunch by the lake
   • Car ferry from Sobra to Prapratno and the drive to Dubrovnik
   • Evening walk into Dubrovnik's old town
   • Farewell dinner

   Easier option: Walk the shorter loop around Malo Jezero instead of cycling, about 3 km and flat, and meet the group at the boat to St Mary's.

   More active option: Walk the whole Veliko Jezero loop instead of cycling, about 10 km on a mostly flat path.

   Activity: About 3 to 4 hours on foot and by bike on flat lakeside paths and park roads.

   

8. Day 8: Dubrovnik's walls at opening, then home

   Dubrovnik's old town and city walls, then Dubrovnik Airport

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 8 details

   We are at the entrance by the Pile Gate when the walls open, around 8 am in season, and walk the full circuit of about 2 km before the cruise passengers and day-trippers fill the ramparts. The walls, mostly built between the 13th and 17th centuries and part of the old town's UNESCO listing since 1979, give you the whole city from above: terracotta roofs, the harbour, the island of Lokrum and the round Minčeta Tower at the highest point. Allow about two hours with stops. Afterwards a licensed local guide walks the group down through the old town to the Franciscan monastery and its pharmacy, opened in 1317, the Sponza Palace and the Rector's Palace, and explains how the city survived as an independent republic until 1808. Lunch is your choice. Then it is about half an hour to Dubrovnik Airport, and your guide sees you off.

   Included

   • Dubrovnik's city walls at opening, with your guide
   • Guided walk of the old town with a licensed local guide
   • Drop-off at Dubrovnik Airport (DBV)

   Easier option: Walk only the sea-facing half of the walls, from the Pile Gate to the harbour, which has fewer steps.

   Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 3 pm. The walls have many steps up and down and little shade; go early and bring water. Ask us at booking for an extra night in Dubrovnik.

   

Wildlife and weather: May, June, September and October bring warm days of roughly 20 to 28 °C and a sea warm enough to swim, with fewer people than July and August. Ferries and catamarans run their fuller timetables in this window; a strong wind can delay a crossing, and we adjust the day around it.

• Split1 night
• Hvar2 nights
• Korčula2 nights
• Mljet1 night
• Dubrovnik1 night