Arrival in Dubrovnik

Upon your arrival in the charming seaside city of Dubrovnik, you check into your luxury hotel just outside the ancient walls. One of Croatia’s main seaports, the ancient maritime city was one of the only city-states to rival Venice’s maritime republic. Set on a rise above Miramare Bay, you settle in to views of azure water for your first evening in Dubrovnik, perhaps enjoying your hotel’s fine-dining restaurant.

Private guided walking tour of Dubrovnik; Ronald Brown Pathway walk, easy to moderate, varied mileage options

This morning you leave your hotel on foot for a private guided walking tour of Dubrovnik, described by Lord Byron as “The Pearl on the Adriatic.” A World Heritage site, the city is completely encircled by over a mile of preserved walls built between the 13th and 16th centuries, a masterpiece of medieval and Renaissance architecture that provided protection against seafaring invaders, from the Saracens to the Turks. You stroll the centuries-old main promenade, the Stradun, leading to the 14th-century Franciscan monastery with its lovely cloister. As you learn its long and varied history, you also make your way to the church of St. Blaise, the Sponza Palace, and the Rector’s Palace.

Breaking for lunch with your guide’s recommendation, later this afternoon a guided excursion takes you to the countryside outside Dubrovnik, towards the town of Cavtat to walk along the newly created Ronald Brown Pathway in the Konavle Valley—named for the U.S. Secretary of Commerce who was in the tragic airplane crash of a trade mission here in 1996. The trail rising to Stražišce peak, at 2,200 feet, provides beautiful views over the valley, nearby Župa Bay, and the open sea, with islands and Dubrovnik’s Old Town in the distance. The walk mileage can be easily tailored, taking in the area’s rich flora and fauna, including lizards, birds, and endemic plant species.

You return to your seaside hotel in the late afternoon, before enjoying an evening either relaxing at your hotel or strolling and dining in Dubrovnik.

Sea kayaking excursion to Lokrum Island; 3 miles, easy; and optional easy island walks. Afternoon private wine and oyster tasting in Ston

After breakfast, you make your way to Dubrovnik’s Old Town where you meet your small group for a guided sea-kayaking adventure. With instruction and safety guidelines, you paddle the waters around Dubrovnik’s ancient walls, eventually making your way to the nearest island just off shore—the nature reserve of Lokrum. Its shores sculpted with hidden coves, you can pull up to swim or explore its network of hiking trails, which lead to a botanical garden, a Benedictine monastery, and a sea-fed inland lake known as the dead sea. The island’s small café is a perfect lunch or drink stop, before getting back in the kayaks and paddling back across the turquoise waters to Dubrovnik.

This afternoon, you enjoy one of Europe’s most stunning coastal drives, above the Adriatic to the Peljesac Peninsula, where the terroir (soil unique to the land where the grapes are grown) results in some of the country’s finest white wine. Serendipitously, the sheltered bay below the vineyards is ideal for oyster farming—you enjoy a late afternoon tasting of these two perfectly paired gastronomic delights.

This evening you can continue your explorations of Dubrovnik, perhaps a final walk along the city walls, or time to enjoy your hotel’s amenities with a spa treatment or swim.

Transfer from Dubrovnik to Kotor via Perast. Private guided walking tour of Kotor; 1 hour, easy

Following breakfast in the hotel, you meet your driver for the scenic transfer from Croatia across the border into the country of Montenegro. Entering the Bay of Kotor, your first brief stop en route is at the village of Perast, overlooking the bay’s narrow entrance and the small islands of St. George and Our Lady of the Rock, with their 15th-century chapels built by Venetian sailors.

Arriving in Kotor midday, you can check into your hotel on the main square of this UNESCO-listed medieval town and enjoy lunch before meeting your local guide at the hotel for an introductory one-hour walking tour. With its privileged location at the end of the Kotor Fjord, the entire town, inhabited since the time of the ancient Greeks, is a living museum. Its narrow streets wind through beautifully preserved buildings dating from the 14th to 18th centuries and you visit, among other sites, the Cathedral of St. Tryphon, St. Luka Church, and St. Mihail Church. Returning in the early evening, you step out on your own for dinner, with restaurant suggestions from your guide and hotelier.

Lovcen National Park, various walking options, easy to moderate; Afternoon guided excursion to the Adriatic Sea or Skadar Lake

This morning your guide and driver picks you up at your hotel, taking you straight to the Lovcen National Park, dominated by Mount Lovcen with its twin peaks of Stirnovik at and Jezerski at around 5,000 feet. A winding road rising to the park offers stunning vistas back towards the Kotor Fjord. The park has a network of walking trails of varying lengths and levels of difficulty over its vast limestone geology and a great variety of plants—over 1,000 species. You may drive to the park’s highest point, where 500 steps lead to the summit and an important site for Montenegrins—the mausoleum of Petar Petrovic II Njegoš, a poet, philosopher, prince-bishop, and statesman. Rewarded with spectacular views, on a very clear day you may be able to see Italy across the Adriatic.

In the afternoon, you have the choice of driving down to the coast to visit the charming town of Budva and its surrounding beaches—Montenegro’s Riviera. Alternatively, you can proceed to Skadar Lake, the Balkan’s largest lake on the border with Albania, which is ringed by dramatic karst mountains and dotted with traditional fishing villages, island monasteries, and pristine beaches, and home to more than 260 species of birds. You return, after this full day, to your hotel in Kotor, to relax and enjoy dinner on your own.

Depart Kotor

Following breakfast in the hotel, you check out and depart at your leisure to make flight connections for home or your onward travels.