Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast

Some cities you visit. Dubrovnik you fall for. A walled city rising straight out of the Adriatic, where marble streets run between palaces and the sea is never more than a few steps away. From here you'll sail out among the green Elafiti Islands and eat oysters at Ston in the bay where they're farmed – the southern Dalmatian coast at its very best.

This relaxed week on the southern Dalmatian coast is built around one of Europe's most beautiful cities. From your base in Dubrovnik, three guided days take you inside the Old Town walls, out among the green Elafiti Islands by boat, and along the coast to Ston, famous since the Middle Ages for its salt pans, its great defensive wall and its oysters. In between there are three full days at leisure to swim, wander or simply sit somewhere with a view. Accompanied throughout by our Dedicated Tour Manager, it is a holiday that shows you the very best of the Adriatic without ever feeling rushed.

Your Holiday Itinerary

Day 1 Fly to Dubrovnik

Arrive at Dubrovnik Airport, where you'll be met by your Tour Manager and transferred by coach to the 4-star Hotel Ivka. The hotel sits on the Lapad peninsula, the green residential side of the city, with a bus stop moments from the door and the sea a short walk away. Settle in and enjoy your first dinner in Croatia before an easy first evening.

Day 2 Dubrovnik Old Town

After breakfast, head into the walled city for a guided walking tour of Dubrovnik's Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe. Enter through the Pile Gate onto the Stradun, the broad limestone street worn smooth by six centuries of footsteps, and follow your local guide past the Rector's Palace, the cathedral and a Franciscan pharmacy that has been dispensing since 1317. Afterwards there is free time to climb to the ramparts for the famous view over the rooftops, browse the lanes, or find a table in the sunshine. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 3 Day at Leisure

Today is free to enjoy at your own pace. Walk down to the beach for a swim in the Adriatic, stroll the Lapad promenade, or head to Gruz harbour, where the morning market sells fruit, cheese and honey beneath the plane trees.

Day 4 Elafiti Islands

After breakfast, board your boat for an excursion to the Elafiti Islands, the little archipelago scattered along the coast just north of Dubrovnik. Sail out across clear water to islands where there are no cars and very little hurry: stone villages above small harbours, pine woods running down to the shore, and coves for swimming from the deck. There is time ashore to explore, to find lunch at your leisure, and to do very little at all. Return to Dubrovnik in the late afternoon for dinner and overnight stay.

Please note: In the event of adverse weather conditions, boat excursions may need to be rescheduled or cancelled for safety reasons. Alternative arrangements will be made where possible.

Day 5 Day at Leisure

Another free day, and if you do one thing with it, walk the city walls. The circuit runs for almost two kilometres around the Old Town, high above the rooftops, and takes a couple of hours at an unhurried pace – terracotta roofs on one side, open Adriatic on the other, and the little island of Lokrum sitting green in the bay. Go early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when the stone is cooler and the light is at its best. The rest of the day is yours for a swim, a long lunch, or a wander through the lanes with no particular plan.

Day 6 Ston

Today you travel up the coast to Ston, at the neck of the Peljesac peninsula. This small town has been prized for centuries for two things: salt, still harvested by hand from pans laid out in the fourteenth century, and oysters, farmed in the sheltered waters of Mali Ston bay. Above it all runs the remarkable defensive wall, built to protect the saltworks and stretching for kilometres across the hills. There is time to see the town and to taste the oysters at the water's edge, as fresh as they come anywhere in Europe. Return to the hotel in the evening for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 7 Day at Leisure

Spend the day as you please. Catch the little boat across to Lokrum, the wooded island just offshore, with its old monastery and its saltwater lake. Swim from the rocks, walk the Lapad promenade, or settle in at a cafe and watch Dubrovnik go by.

Day 8 Return Home

After breakfast, your coach will transfer you to Dubrovnik Airport for your return flight to Dublin, bringing your Dubrovnik and Dalmatian Coast holiday to a close.