Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Croatia: Zagreb, Plitvice, Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik
9 days from Zagreb to Dubrovnik: Plitvice Lakes at opening, two nights in Split with Trogir, two nights on Hvar, Ston on the way south and Dubrovnik's walls first thing.
9 days · Zagreb to Dubrovnik · up to 12 guests
Split from the air: Diocletian's Palace and the Riva Photo: dronepicr, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Luftbild_vom_Diokletianpalast_in_Split,_Kroatien_(48608754492).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 9 days, 8 nights
- Start and end
- Zagreb to Dubrovnik
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Moderate
Most days are 2 to 4 hours on foot over stone streets and steps. Plitvice is the longest walk, about 8 km in 4 to 5 hours on boardwalks and forest paths. Dubrovnik's walls are about 2 km with many steps, and the Fortica climb on Hvar is about 20 minutes uphill. Each of these has an easier version, and the longest drive is about 3 hours.
- Meals included
- 8 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 2 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 645 (estimated price)
- Season
- May to June and September to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- Plitvice Lakes from the first entry slot, with the lower lakes and Veliki slap before the crowds
- Diocletian's Palace at 8 am with a local guide, then Trogir in the late afternoon light
- Two nights on Hvar, with our own vehicle on the car ferry via Stari Grad and its UNESCO-listed plain
- A taxi boat to the Pakleni Islands for a swim and a long lunch at Palmižana
- The walls of Ston and fresh oysters at Mali Ston on the drive south over the Pelješac Bridge
- Dubrovnik's city walls at opening, before the cruise passengers arrive
- Zagreb's Upper Town by funicular, and lunch among the watermills of Rastoke
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 645 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Zagreb
Zagreb Airport to your hotel in the centre of Zagreb
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Zagreb
- Drive about 30 min
Fly into Zagreb Airport (ZAG), about 17 km south-east of the city, where a driver meets you in the arrivals hall whatever time you land.
Evening
Plan to arrive by about 4 pm to join the evening briefing; the exact time is sent with your final itinerary. Your hotel is in the Lower Town, the 19th-century grid of squares, parks and blue trams below the old hill towns. If you arrive early, walk the green horseshoe of parks from the main station towards Ban Jelačić Square, or sit at a café on Tkalčićeva street, where Zagreb spends its evenings. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the nine days ahead: how the early starts work, what to pack for Plitvice and the islands, and how the ferries fit together. Then we walk to a local restaurant for a welcome dinner of Zagorje dishes such as štrukli, baked dough filled with fresh cheese.
Included
- Pick-up at Zagreb Airport (ZAG)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Zagreb's Upper Town, Rastoke and Plitvice
Zagreb to Rastoke, then Plitvice Lakes
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Plitvice Lakes
- Drive about 2 h
Morning
After breakfast a licensed local guide takes us up to the Upper Town on the funicular, running since 1890 and one of the shortest in the world. From the Lotrščak Tower terrace the view runs over the red roofs of the Lower Town. We walk the cobbled lanes of Gradec to St Mark's Church, whose tiled roof carries the coats of arms of Zagreb and the old Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, then through the Stone Gate, where candles burn before a painting of the Virgin that survived a fire in 1731. Down at Dolac market farmers sell cheese, cream and fruit under red umbrellas.
Afternoon
Around midday we drive about an hour and a half south to Rastoke in Slunj, where the Slunjčica river falls through old watermills into the Korana, for a sit-down lunch. It is then half an hour to our hotel near Plitvice.
Evening
There are few places to eat near the park, so dinner tonight is included.
Included
- Zagreb Upper Town with a licensed local guide: the funicular, Lotrščak Tower terrace, St Mark's Church, the Stone Gate
- Dolac market
- Rastoke village of watermills in Slunj
- Sit-down lunch in Rastoke
- Dinner near Plitvice Lakes
Free time: Late afternoon free at the hotel
Activity: About 2 hours on foot in Zagreb, mostly downhill after the funicular, and short paths with a few uneven steps at Rastoke.
Plitvice Lakes at opening, then Split
Plitvice Lakes National Park, then south to Split
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Split
- Drive about 3 h
We are at the gate when the park opens, about 7 am in summer and 8 am in spring and autumn, on tickets booked for the first entry slot. 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 itself builds, so each lake spills into the next in hundreds of small falls. With a park guide we take the boardwalks of the lower lakes to Veliki slap, at 78 m the highest waterfall in Croatia, then cross Lake Kozjak on the electric boat and climb gently through the upper lakes while the paths are still quiet.
Afternoon
By about 1 pm we are out for a sit-down lunch near the park. Then it is about three hours south by motorway, through the Lika plateau and down to the coast, reaching Split late in the afternoon.
Evening
The evening is free on the Riva.
Included
- Plitvice Lakes National Park entry on the first slot, with a park guide
- Electric boat across Lake Kozjak and the park shuttle
- Sit-down lunch near the park
- Drive to Split with your guide
Easier option: Walk the lower lakes to Veliki slap only (about 4 km), then take the boat and wait at the lakeside café by Kozjak.
More active option: Carry on to the top of the upper lakes at Prošćansko jezero and ride the shuttle down (about 10 km in total).
Free time: Evening free in Split
Activity: About 8 km in 4 to 5 hours on boardwalks and forest paths, some wet and uneven, with steps. Swimming is not allowed in the lakes.
Diocletian's Palace early, Trogir at golden hour
On foot in Split, then Trogir and back
- Breakfast
- Stay in Split
- Drive about 1 h
At 8 am, before cruise passengers and day-trip 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. The town grew inside its walls, and people still live, shop and drink coffee in it. We start in the vaulted cellars, which copy the plan of the rooms that once stood above, come up into the Peristyle, and enter the emperor's mausoleum, now the Cathedral of St Domnius; climb its bell tower for the view to the islands.
Afternoon
From late morning you are free: lunch where you like, a swim at Bačvice or a rest through the heat. At about 4 pm we drive half an hour west to Trogir, a medieval town on a small island joined to the mainland by bridges and listed by UNESCO in 1997.
Evening
A local guide shows us Master Radovan's carved portal of 1240 on the Cathedral of St Lawrence and the Kamerlengo fortress, as the evening light warms the stone. Back in Split for a free evening.
Included
- Diocletian's Palace with a licensed local guide at 8 am: the cellars, the Peristyle and the Temple of Jupiter
- Cathedral of St Domnius and bell tower entry
- Trogir with a local guide in the late afternoon: the Cathedral of St Lawrence and Radovan's portal, the Kamerlengo fortress
Easier option: Skip the bell tower stairs and take a slow coffee on the Peristyle steps; in Trogir, stay on the level waterfront.
More active option: In the free hours, climb the steps from the Varoš quarter up Marjan hill to the Telegrin viewpoint (about 2 hours return).
Free time: Late morning, early afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 3 to 4 hours on foot over the day on polished stone, with about 180 steps up the bell tower if you climb it.
Car ferry to Hvar, via Stari Grad
Split by car ferry to Stari Grad, then Hvar town
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Hvar
- Drive about 30 min
Morning
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 coffee on deck and the luggage staying on board with us. 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 and plots laid out by those settlers still divide vineyards and olive groves. A local guide walks us along the harbour to Tvrdalj, the fortified summer house that the poet Petar Hektorović built in the 16th century around a fishpond.
Afternoon
After a sit-down lunch in Stari Grad we cross the island, about 25 minutes, to Hvar town, where we stay two nights. In the late afternoon your guide walks us through St Stephen's Square, past the cathedral and the Arsenal, whose upper floor holds a public theatre opened in 1612.
Evening
The evening is free by the harbour.
Included
- 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
- Orientation walk in Hvar town: St Stephen's Square, the cathedral and the Arsenal
Free time: Evening free in Hvar town
Activity: Easy walking on level stone streets. The ferry crossing is about 2 hours; sailings are confirmed with your final itinerary.
Fortica first thing, then the Pakleni Islands
Hvar town to the Fortica, then by boat to Palmižana and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Hvar
- By boat
Morning
We walk up to the Fortica, also called the Španjola, early in the morning while the path through the pines is still in shade. The fortress was built above the town in the 16th century, when Hvar was an important Venetian harbour, and from its walls you look straight down on the harbour and out over the Pakleni Islands. Back in town we board a taxi boat for the short crossing to Palmižana on Sveti Klement, the largest of the Pakleni Islands, where pine woods run down to small coves and the water is clear enough to see the stones on the bottom.
Afternoon
Swim, walk the island paths, or sit in the shade, then sit down together for a long lunch at a konoba near the water.
Evening
We are back in Hvar town by mid-afternoon, and the rest of the day is yours: a siesta, a walk along the shore to the coves east of town, or an evening drink on the square as the light goes.
Included
- 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
Easier option: Take a taxi to the top for the fortress and walk down, or skip the climb and meet the group at the boat.
More active option: Walk across Sveti Klement to the coves on its south side and back before lunch (about 1.5 hours on rocky paths).
Free time: Afternoon and evening free in Hvar town
Activity: About 20 minutes uphill on a stepped path to the Fortica; bring water shoes for pebbly coves.
Across Hvar to Ston, then Dubrovnik
Hvar town to Sućuraj, car ferry to Drvenik, the Pelješac Bridge to Ston, then Dubrovnik
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Dubrovnik
- Drive about 4 h
We leave Hvar town at about 8 am and drive the length of the island, past lavender terraces and hill villages, to Sućuraj at its eastern tip, about an hour and a half. A 35-minute car ferry takes us to Drvenik on the mainland. We follow the coast past the Neretva delta with its mandarin orchards and cross the Pelješac Bridge, opened in 2022, which keeps us inside Croatia rather than through the border strip at Neum. Ston guarded the Republic of Dubrovnik's salt pans, and its walls, begun in the 14th century, run over the hill to Mali Ston.
Afternoon
Walk a stretch of them, then sit down to lunch at Mali Ston, starting with oysters from the bay. It is about an hour on to Dubrovnik, arriving late afternoon, the longest driving day at about three and three-quarter hours in short legs. After check-in your guide walks us in through the Pile Gate and down the Stradun as the lamps come on.
Evening
Dinner is your choice.
Included
- Car ferry from Sućuraj to Drvenik with our vehicle
- The walls of Ston
- Oyster tasting and sit-down lunch at Mali Ston
- Evening walk through the Pile Gate and along the Stradun
Easier option: Skip the wall climb and walk the level salt-pan path in Ston, then meet the group at Mali Ston.
More active option: Walk the full stretch of wall over the hill from Ston to Mali Ston (about 1 hour with steep steps).
Free time: Evening free in Dubrovnik
Activity: The longest drive of the trip, about 205 km, broken by the ferry, the Ston walk and lunch. Leave the oysters for something else if you prefer.
Dubrovnik's walls at opening
On foot in Dubrovnik's Old Town
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Dubrovnik
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 and bastions, and from them you look down into lanes and gardens and out to the island of Lokrum. Allow an hour and a half to two hours for the full circuit. Afterwards a licensed local guide takes us through the Old Town, listed by UNESCO in 1979 and rebuilt with care after the shelling of 1991 and 1992: the Rector's Palace, seat of the Republic of Dubrovnik's government, the Franciscan monastery with a pharmacy working since 1317, the Sponza Palace, and the Orthodox Church of the Holy Annunciation.
Evening
From early afternoon you are free: take the boat to Lokrum for a swim among its pines, ride the cable car up Mount Srđ for the view at sunset, or swim off the rocks below the walls. In the evening we meet for a farewell dinner together.
Included
- Dubrovnik city walls entry at opening
- Old Town walk with a licensed local guide
- Rector's Palace entry
- Franciscan monastery and pharmacy museum
- Farewell dinner
Optional experiences
- Boat to Lokrum island (extra, price shown at booking)
- Cable car up Mount Srđ (extra, price shown at booking)
Easier option: Walk only the sea-facing section of the walls from the Pile Gate and come down at the next exit, then rejoin the group for the Old Town walk.
More active option: Walk up the zigzag path to the top of Mount Srđ for sunset instead of the cable car (about 1 hour up), and ride down.
Free time: Afternoon free
Activity: The walls have many steep steps and little shade; bring water and a hat. About 4 hours on foot in the morning.
Depart from Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik to Dubrovnik Airport
- Breakfast
- Drive about 30 min
Morning
The last morning is free until your transfer.
Afternoon
If you have an afternoon flight, it is a good time for what you missed: an early swim at Banje beach just outside the Ploče Gate with a view back to the walls, the morning market on Gundulić Square, where farmers from the Konavle valley sell figs, lavender and dried fruit, or a coffee on the Stradun before the day's visitors arrive.
Evening
Your guide checks your 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. If you would rather stay on, we can book extra nights in Dubrovnik, or a day across the border to Kotor in Montenegro, as an extension when you request your trip.
Included
- Drop-off at Dubrovnik Airport (DBV)
Free time: Free until your airport transfer
Activity: Any flight time works; for a free morning in Dubrovnik, book a flight after about 1 pm.
- Zagreb1 night
- Plitvice Lakes1 night
- Split2 nights
- Hvar2 nights
- Dubrovnik2 nights
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: May and June are warm, with the sea warming through June; September is often the warmest month for swimming and October is mild with fewer crowds. Plitvice is greenest in May and June and turns gold in October. We avoid July and August for the heat and the crowds.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- First-time visitors who want the classic Croatia route without packing every morning
- Travellers who would rather see Plitvice, Split and Dubrovnik early than with the crowds
- Swimmers and island lovers: two nights on Hvar and a boat day on the Pakleni Islands
- Solo travellers who want a small group, a set price and one guide throughout
Not for you if you want
- Step-free access: old towns, walls and fortresses mean stone steps everywhere
- Travellers looking for a party or nightlife trip
- Anyone wanting a sailing or island-hopping cruise with nights on a boat
- A beach holiday: most days are walking and sightseeing, with swims fitted in
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
8 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Zagreb1 night
- Plitvice Lakes1 night
- Split2 nights
- Hvar2 nights
- Dubrovnik2 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 8 nights: 1 in Zagreb, 1 near Plitvice Lakes, 2 in Split, 2 in Hvar town, 2 in Dubrovnik
- Central hotels of at least 3-star-plus standard, named when we confirm your dates, walkable to the old town in Zagreb, Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Zagreb Airport (ZAG) on day 1 and drop-off at Dubrovnik Airport (DBV) on day 9, whatever your flight times
- Our own air-conditioned vehicle and driver from Zagreb to Dubrovnik
- Car ferries with our vehicle: Split to Stari Grad and Sućuraj to Drvenik
- Electric boat on Lake Kozjak and the park shuttle at Plitvice
- Return taxi boat from Hvar town to the Pakleni Islands
- The Zagreb funicular
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group for all 9 days
- Licensed local guides in Zagreb, Split, Trogir, Stari Grad and Dubrovnik, and a park guide at Plitvice
Activities
- Zagreb: Upper Town walk with St Mark's Church, the Stone Gate and Dolac market
- Rastoke: the watermill village in Slunj
- Plitvice Lakes National Park: entry on the first slot with the boat and shuttle
- Split: Diocletian's Palace with the cellars, the Cathedral of St Domnius and bell tower
- Trogir: guided walk with the Cathedral of St Lawrence
- Stari Grad: Tvrdalj and the Stari Grad Plain
- Hvar: the Fortica (Španjola) fortress and the Pakleni Islands
- Ston: the walls and an oyster tasting at Mali Ston
- Dubrovnik: the city walls at opening, the Rector's Palace, the Franciscan monastery and pharmacy museum
Meals
- 8 breakfasts
- 5 sit-down lunches: Rastoke, near Plitvice, Stari Grad, Palmižana and Mali Ston
- 3 dinners: welcome dinner in Zagreb, dinner near Plitvice and farewell dinner in Dubrovnik
Not included
- International flights to Zagreb and from Dubrovnik
- Travel insurance
- ETIAS travel authorisation fee, if it applies on your dates
- Lunches and dinners not listed
- Drinks
- Tips
- Optional activities: the Lokrum boat and the Mount Srđ cable car
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 645 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Eight nights in central hotels, 8 breakfasts, 5 sit-down lunches and 3 dinners, airport transfers at both ends, our own vehicle and driver including both car ferries, your See Sight Tours guide for all 9 days, local guides, and every entry in the day plan: Plitvice, the palace cellars, Trogir, the Fortica, the Pakleni Islands boat, the Ston walls with oysters, and Dubrovnik's walls.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests. That is small enough to take the first slot at Plitvice, fit on one taxi boat to the Pakleni Islands and sit at one table for lunch, and everyone can hear the guide in the palace cellars.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from Zagreb to Dubrovnik for all nine days. In Zagreb, Split, Trogir, Stari Grad and Dubrovnik a licensed local guide leads the old-town walks, and a park guide joins us at Plitvice, because those sites require or reward local knowledge.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderately fit. You should be comfortable on foot for 3 to 4 hours on stone streets and steps. Plitvice is the longest walk, about 8 km, and Dubrovnik's walls have many steep steps. Each demanding day has an easier version, such as the lower lakes only at Plitvice or part of the walls.
I am travelling solo. Is there a single supplement?
Yes, and it is shown before you book: a room of your own is from CAD 645 more than the shared price. There are no other solo charges and no local payment on arrival. If you would like to share a room with another solo traveller, say so when you request to book and we will tell you what is possible on your date.
When is the best time to go?
May to June and September to October. Days are warm, the sea is good for swimming from June into October, ferries and taxi boats run, and the old towns are calmer than in July and August, when heat often passes 35°C and the crowds peak. Plitvice is greenest in spring and turns gold in October.
How does booking work?
Choose your start date and send a request to book. No payment is taken at that stage. We check hotels, ferries and the Plitvice slot for your date and confirm your place within 24 hours, then send the payment details and your final itinerary.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. The trip also runs privately for your party only, on a date you choose, with your own guide and vehicle, from CAD 6,830 per person sharing. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, ferries and local guides without a group.
Do I need a visa for Croatia?
Canadian, US, UK and Australian passport holders do not need a visa for a stay of up to 90 days in the Schengen area, which includes Croatia. The EU Entry/Exit System records fingerprints at the border, and the ETIAS online authorisation is due to start; we confirm what applies to your dates when you book.
Why two nights on Hvar instead of a day trip from Split?
On a day trip you arrive with the morning catamaran crowds and leave before evening. With two nights you see Stari Grad and its Greek field plain on the way in, climb the Fortica in the cool of the morning, spend a day on the Pakleni Islands and have two evenings in Hvar town after the day boats leave.
Can we add Kotor or the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro?
Not in the nine-day plan, because Kotor is a full day from Dubrovnik with a border crossing that can queue in season. We can add a night in Dubrovnik with a Kotor day as an extension, or build it into a private trip. Ask when you request to book.
How long are the drives?
Short. Zagreb to Plitvice is about 2 hours with a lunch stop at Rastoke, Plitvice to Split about 3 hours on the motorway, and Hvar to Dubrovnik about 3 hours 45 minutes of driving, broken by a car ferry, the Ston walls and lunch. The other days have half an hour or less.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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