Venice to Croatia: Trieste, Piran, Istria and Plitvice

1. Day 1: Arrive in Venice

   Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) by water taxi to your hotel in Venice

   • By boat
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Venice
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE), on the mainland edge of the lagoon. A driver meets you in arrivals and walks you to the airport's water dock, where a private water taxi takes you across the lagoon to the landing nearest your hotel, about half an hour on the water with the bell towers of Venice growing on the horizon. There are no cars in Venice, so the last stretch is on foot over bridges, and a porter carries bags where the hotel offers one. Rest, or start finding your way: the city is small, and getting lost between its squares is part of the pleasure. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing: three countries in nine days, how long each drive is, which mornings start early and why. Then we walk to a welcome dinner of Venetian dishes, such as risotto, sarde in saor and fish from the lagoon.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) and a private water taxi to your hotel
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner in Venice

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

   Activity: Plan to land by about 4 pm to reach the briefing; later arrivals are met and given a catch-up by the guide.

2. Day 2: Venice: St Mark's early, the Doge's Palace and cicchetti

   On foot and by vaporetto in Venice

   • By boat
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Venice
   Day 2 details

   We are at St Mark's Basilica for the first entry of the morning, before the queue stretches across the square. Inside, the domes and vaults are covered in gold mosaics laid over several centuries, and with a licensed local guide you have time to look up rather than shuffle through. Next door is the Doge's Palace, the seat of the Venetian Republic's government until 1797. We walk through the council chambers, where the Great Council met beneath Tintoretto's vast Paradise, then cross the Bridge of Sighs into the old prisons and look back out through its stone windows. Lunch is cicchetti, the small snacks Venetians eat standing at the bar with a glass of wine, at bacari near the Rialto. Then we ride a vaporetto, the city's water bus, along the Grand Canal to see the palaces from the water. The afternoon and evening are free: the Accademia, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the glass furnaces of Murano, or a gondola, booked at the price shown.

   Included

   • St Mark's Basilica on the first entry of the morning, with a licensed local guide
   • The Doge's Palace with the Bridge of Sighs and the prisons
   • Cicchetti lunch at bacari near the Rialto
   • Vaporetto along the Grand Canal

   Optional experiences

   • A gondola ride (extra, price shown at booking)
   • Murano and Burano by vaporetto on your free afternoon (fares extra)

   Easier option: Skip the prison stairs and wait in the palace courtyard, then ride the vaporetto back towards the hotel after lunch.

   More active option: Walk east in the afternoon past the Arsenale into Castello, the quietest district in the centre, and back along the waterfront.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot, with steps over bridges and in the palace. St Mark's opens to visitors only in the afternoon on Sundays; if this day falls on a Sunday, we visit the Doge's Palace first and St Mark's at its afternoon opening.

3. Day 3: Habsburg Trieste, then Piran at dusk

   Venice to Trieste, then along the coast into Slovenia to Piran

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Piran
   Day 3 details

   After breakfast a boat takes us and our bags from the hotel to Piazzale Roma, where our own vehicle and driver are waiting. About two hours east is Trieste, the Habsburg empire's great port on the Adriatic until the end of the First World War, a city that still feels closer to Vienna than to Venice. With a local guide we walk Piazza Unità d'Italia, open on one side to the sea, and the Canal Grande, dug in the 18th century through the grid of the Borgo Teresiano, then climb past the Roman theatre to the cathedral of San Giusto on its hill. Lunch is your choice: a buffet for boiled pork with horseradish, or a historic coffee house. In the afternoon we cross into Slovenia and follow the coast for about 45 minutes to Piran, our base for two nights. We check in, and from about 5:30 pm, as the day visitors leave, a licensed local guide walks us through the old town to Tartini Square and the Church of St George above the sea.

   Included

   • Boat with your luggage from the hotel to Piazzale Roma
   • Trieste walk with a licensed local guide: Piazza Unità d'Italia, the Canal Grande, the Roman theatre and San Giusto
   • Evening walk in Piran with a licensed local guide: Tartini Square, the old-town lanes and the Church of St George

   Optional experiences

   • Miramare Castle on the shore north of Trieste, in place of free time at lunch (extra, price shown at booking)

   Easier option: Skip the climb to San Giusto and wait for the group in a cafe on Piazza Unità.

   Free time: Lunch on your own in Trieste; evening free in Piran after the walk

   Activity: Piran's old town is closed to most traffic, so the vehicle stops at the edge and bags go to the hotel by porter or the town shuttle.

   

4. Day 4: Postojna Cave and the Lipizzaners of Lipica

   Piran to Postojna Cave and Lipica, then back to Piran

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Piran
   Day 4 details

   We leave Piran at 8:30 and drive about an hour inland onto the Kras, the limestone plateau that gave the word karst to geology, to Postojna Cave, booked on an early tour before the coaches arrive. An electric train, running here since 1872, carries us several kilometres into the hill; then a cave guide walks us about 1.5 km on paved paths through halls of stalactites and stalagmites to a tank holding the olm, a blind, pale salamander found only in the caves of this corner of Europe. It is about 10 °C inside all year. Lunch is at a farm on the Karst: air-dried pršut ham, cheese, bread and a glass of teran, the region's dark red wine. In the afternoon we visit the Lipica Stud Farm, founded in 1580 for the Habsburg court and the original home of the Lipizzaner horses, and walk its stables and paddocks with a local guide. We are back in Piran by about 5 pm, in time for an evening swim off the rocks.

   Included

   • Postojna Cave guided tour with the cave train
   • Lunch at a Karst farm with pršut and teran wine
   • Lipica Stud Farm guided tour

   Optional experiences

   • The Lipica riding presentation, on the days it runs (extra, price shown at booking)

   Easier option: Skip the stable walk at Lipica and wait in the cafe beside the paddocks.

   More active option: Back in Piran, walk up to the old town walls and climb St George's bell tower for the view along the coast to Croatia (entry extra).

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Piran

   Activity: About 1.5 km on foot in the cave, with slopes and wet floors; bring a warm layer.

   

5. Day 5: Into Croatia: truffles below Motovun, then Rovinj

   Piran across the Croatian border to the Mirna valley and Motovun, then Rovinj

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Rovinj
   Day 5 details

   We leave Piran at 8:30, cross into Croatia and drive about an hour and a quarter into the green interior of Istria, to the Mirna valley below Motovun. Here a truffle hunter and their dogs lead us into the oak forest, where black truffles can be found most of the year and the prized white truffle from about late September to January. Whatever the dogs turn up, lunch at a family farm is built around truffles: fritaja, the Istrian omelette, and hand-rolled fuži pasta, with local olive oil and a glass of malvazija, the white wine of Istria. Afterwards we drive up to Motovun itself, a walled hill town about 270 m above the valley that was Venetian for centuries, and walk its ramparts for the view over vineyards and forest. It is then under an hour to Rovinj on the west coast, our base for two nights, arriving by about 4 pm. The evening is free: watch the sun go down over the sea from the rocks below the old town.

   Included

   • Truffle hunt with a truffle hunter and dogs in the Mirna valley
   • Truffle lunch at a family farm
   • Walk on Motovun's town walls

   Optional experiences

   • A tasting at an Istrian olive oil producer or winery on the way (extra, price shown at booking)

   Easier option: Skip the forest walk and meet the group at the farm for lunch; in Motovun, stay at the lower gate instead of climbing the steep street.

   More active option: Walk the full circuit of Motovun's walls and down the old stepped path to the foot of the hill to meet the vehicle.

   Free time: Evening free in Rovinj

   Activity: The truffle hunt is about an hour of easy walking in the forest, sometimes muddy. White truffles are in season from about late September to January; at other times the dogs look for black truffles.

   

6. Day 6: Rovinj at 9 am, Roman Pula after

   On foot in Rovinj, then Pula and back

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Rovinj
   Day 6 details

   At 9 am, before the day visitors arrive, a licensed local guide walks us through Rovinj, an island town until 1763, when the channel between it and the mainland was filled in. We follow Grisia, the steep stone lane of galleries and studios, up to the Church of St Euphemia, whose bell tower, modelled on St Mark's in Venice, carries a copper statue of the saint that turns with the wind. Climb its wooden stairs for the view over the red roofs and the islands offshore. Late morning we drive about 40 minutes south to Pula. With a local guide we walk into the Arena, the 1st-century Roman amphitheatre whose outer wall still stands almost complete, then through the old town to the Temple of Augustus on the old forum and the Arch of the Sergii. Lunch is your choice in Pula. We are back in Rovinj by mid-afternoon to swim, rest, or take a boat out to the islands at sunset.

   Included

   • Rovinj walk with a licensed local guide
   • St Euphemia's bell tower (in its open season)
   • Pula Arena entry with a licensed local guide
   • The Temple of Augustus and the Arch of the Sergii

   Optional experiences

   • Sunset boat trip to the islands off Rovinj (extra, price shown at booking)

   Easier option: Skip the bell tower's narrow wooden stairs and wait in the church square with its view over the sea.

   More active option: In the afternoon, walk the coastal path south of Rovinj into the Golden Cape forest park, with coves to swim from (about 2 hours).

   Free time: Lunch on your own in Pula; afternoon and evening free in Rovinj

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot on polished stone lanes, which are slippery when wet. The bell tower opens in the main season and its stairs are steep; it is optional.

   

7. Day 7: Opatija's seafront, then Plitvice Lakes

   Rovinj through the Učka tunnel to Opatija, then inland to Plitvice Lakes

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Plitvice Lakes
   Day 7 details

   This is the longest drive of the trip, about three and three-quarter hours in all, so we break it in two. We leave Rovinj at 9 and drive across Istria and through the tunnel under Učka mountain to Opatija on the Kvarner Gulf, about an hour and a quarter. In the late 19th century Opatija became a winter resort for Austro-Hungarian society, and its hotels and villas still face the sea from gardens of laurel and palms. We walk part of the Lungomare, the path that runs along the shore, past the statue of the Maiden with the Seagull, then sit down to a seafood lunch by the water. In the afternoon we climb inland by motorway through the forests of Gorski kotar and Lika, about two and a half hours with a coffee stop, to Plitvice Lakes. We arrive by about 5 pm at a hotel beside the park, with time for a short walk before dinner together.

   Included

   • Walk on Opatija's Lungomare seafront
   • Sit-down seafood lunch in Opatija
   • Dinner at Plitvice Lakes

   Easier option: Stay on the level stretch of the Lungomare near the lunch spot and sit by the sea.

   More active option: Walk the Lungomare from the fishing village of Volosko into Opatija, about 3 km, and meet the vehicle there.

   Free time: Short free time at Plitvice before dinner

   Activity: The longest drive of the trip, broken by about two hours in Opatija and a coffee stop. Plitvice has few restaurants after dark, so dinner tonight is included.

8. Day 8: Plitvice Lakes at opening, then Zadar and the Sea Organ

   Plitvice Lakes National Park, then Zadar

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Zadar
   Day 8 details

   We are at the park entrance when it opens, on the first timed entry slot, and walk the lower lakes before the tour coaches arrive. UNESCO listed Plitvice in 1979: sixteen terraced lakes joined by waterfalls, built up over thousands of years as travertine settles out of the water. The boardwalks run just above the surface, so you look straight down through clear green water at fish and sunken trunks. With a licensed park guide we pass below Veliki slap, at 78 m the highest waterfall in Croatia, cross Lake Kozjak on the electric boat and climb through the upper lakes. After lunch near the park we drive about an hour and three-quarters to Zadar. In the late afternoon our guide walks us across the Roman Forum to the round 9th-century Church of St Donatus, and we finish on the waterfront at the Sea Organ, whose pipes play with the waves, and the Greeting to the Sun as the light goes. A farewell dinner follows in the old town.

   Included

   • Plitvice Lakes National Park entry on the first timed slot, with a licensed park guide
   • Electric boat across Lake Kozjak
   • Lunch near the park
   • Zadar walk: the Roman Forum and the Church of St Donatus
   • The Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun at sunset
   • Farewell dinner in Zadar

   Easier option: Walk the lower lakes only, about 2.5 hours, and take the park's panoramic train back to wait at the entrance cafe.

   More active option: Walk the full upper-lakes circuit on foot to the top lake instead of the park shuttle back, about 3 km more.

   Free time: Short free time in Zadar before the walk

   Activity: The longest walking day: about 8 to 9 km over 4 hours on boardwalks, forest paths and steps. Opening times change with the season (about 7 am in summer); we confirm the slot for your date.

9. Day 9: Depart from Zadar

   Zadar to Zadar Airport (ZAD)

   • Drive about 15 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 9 details

   The trip ends after breakfast. The morning is yours in Zadar while the old town is still quiet: the market under the walls, a coffee on the Kalelarga, the marble-paved main street, or a last swim from the stone steps of the waterfront. Zadar Airport (ZAD) is about 15 minutes from the centre, and we drive you there in time for your flight. Flights from Zadar are mostly within Europe and many run only in the main season, so most travellers connect through a European hub. If your flight leaves from Split instead, about an hour and a half down the coast, we arrange a transfer at the price shown when you book. Your guide says goodbye at the airport or the hotel. If you want more of the coast, add nights before or after the trip: the Kornati islands by boat from Zadar, Split and Diocletian's Palace, or Dubrovnik further south, and we can book hotels and transfers when you request to book.

   Included

   • Drop-off at Zadar Airport (ZAD) or in central Zadar

   Optional experiences

   • Transfer to Split Airport (SPU) (extra, quoted when you book)
   • Extra nights in Zadar, Split or Dubrovnik (quoted on request)

   Free time: Morning free in Zadar

   Activity: Book a flight after about 12 noon for the group transfer; earlier flights get a separate transfer.

Wildlife and weather: May and June bring full waterfalls at Plitvice and long, mild days on the coast; September and early October are settled, warm enough to swim and quieter. July and August are hot, sometimes near 40 °C inland, and the busiest months in Venice and at Plitvice, so we start the big sights early. White truffles are in season from about late September to January; at other times the dogs find black truffles. Bring a light rain layer: summer storms build quickly over the Istrian hills.

• Venice2 nights
• Piran2 nights
• Rovinj2 nights
• Plitvice Lakes1 night
• Zadar1 night