Walking Croatia: Islands & Mountains

I highly recommend this tour if you want to see the Dalmatian Coast and Croatia’s mountainous terrain. I have never visited Croatia so I was eager to see the big cities-Dubrovnik and Split-but I also wanted to hike in Croatia’s National Parks. With this tour, I could do both plus write about them for my blog (www.femalesolotrek.com). It was a writer’s dream. Our guide was Mario, a native who taught us so much about his country, the war and the Croats. He was high energy and great fun. I would definitely do a tour with Mario in the future. I think it is a great decision by Exodus to stay at a seaside Dubrovnik hotel for the first two nights because it features wonderful walks to view the Adriatic Sea (plus friendly cats). There was also a great restaurant for our first night out (order the black risotto with cuttlefish) plus the local grocery store to purchase food for lunches during our hiking days. I highly recommend that your group pay the extra fee for a walking tour of Old Town Dubrovnik to learn about its history. I also chose to pay to walk the fortress walk. It took about 90 minutes. It was an incredible experience. If you are a cat lover, you will cherish all the time to play with the street cats in Dubrovnik. They are so friendly. In quick succession over the next seven days, we visited the Island of Brac, Split, Krka National Park (the waterfalls), Starigrad Paklenica and National Park Paklenica. I loved each location but the stay in Brac was particularly memorable. We had an old fashioned Croatian dinner featuring roasted meats and potatoes. I also loved the goulash served at a mountaintop restaurant/inn. It was a great treat after climbing all morning on Thursday. You don’t visit Zadar as part of the tour. But the group flight departs from Zadar airport so you can make your own tour on the last day. Our group had several people who chose to take a van back to Split to fly home.

What a great week. Although the actual days of activity only number 6 you pack masses in, whilst still feeling unrushed. Food great, scenery stunning, guide brilliant, hotels comprehensive, Croatian people friendly, walks perfect. We just loved this holiday.

Activity packed trip in the stunning Croatian Landscape Non stop loads to do and see

A fine mix of culture- Dubrovnik and Split, with daily walks. Brac was a sample of Dalmatia's islands and Bol was both a quiet characterful resort, and ferry port. The long linking distances were made in a comfortable mini bus and the travel linked first rate scenic highlights. The northern Krka National Park with its superb waterfalls; and the sharp, bare fluted limestones mixed with rich pine and beech forests of the Paklenica National Park made a memorable finale. Our guide was excellent and the choice of restaurants for the evening meal together was generally much appreciated.

Our week in Croatia was a very enjoyable mix of hiking, sightseeing, socialising, food and wine. It also included perhaps a little too much adventure when the bora winds struck. On our second hike the winds, gusting at record speeds, literally blew several of us off our feet. Luckily injuries were limited to bruises and scrapes. Our leader, Zeljko Zarak, managed to get us all safely back despite road closures and emergency conditions. Otherwise the weather was beautiful, the hikes challenging but satisfying and the companionship of the group very pleasant. Some beach time was also included, as well as historical and architectural experiences in Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar. Zeljko provided very interesting and informative background on the history and politics of the country. I liked the fact that dinners were on our own but also appreciated Zeljko arranging several optional meals, particularly a bean soup lunch at the midpoint of one hike and a superb dinner at a family farm in Bol. My girlfriend and I are vegan/vegetarian and were initially concerned by what we heard was a heavily meat-based diet in Croatia. But we were very pleased with the options available to us. We were also told the hotels were very basic but all of them were excellent and each was better than the last as we moved from Dubrovnik to Bol to Starigrad and then Zadar.

Great way to see lots of Croatia in a short space of time. The tour takes you along the coast from Dubrovnik in the South to Zadar in the North via islands, waterfalls and beautiful beaches. It's quite a fast paced tour but Exodus has got the itinerary down to a fine art and the schedule is well thought out and works well.

This is an amazing trip with spectacular scenery and amazing history. It has great variety, with waterfalls, sea views, dramatic gorges and incredible limestone outcrops. On top of all of that, there is a wealth of history with Roman ruins, ancient Christian sites and abandoned farmhouses. The food is also excellent as are the interesting spirits you are offered with almost every meal! My personal favourite had to be the Herb Raki, but there are lots of choices!

Another excellent walking holiday with Exodus, with a friendly group in lovely surroundings.  The leader Zeljko was an inspiring and enthusiastic guide, and the holiday exceeded my expectations. 

A fantastic trip with stunning scenery, amazing walks, and beautiful towns. Quite full on with the walking times not leaving loads of time to relax, but fabulous nonetheless. A really noce country.

Really enjoyable itinerary and the trip leader, Mario, was fun and entertaining and did a wonderful job. The overall rating of "3" moderate is appropriate as a weekly average, although some walks were a "1" and perhaps one day might rate a "4" due to the size of the rocks and boulders along much of the path. The seaside views were stunning and the sea itself lovely for evening swims. Definitely take your togs and plan on swimming. August proved very hot and very crowded during the summer holidays - probably not the best month to see Croatia, and particularly not good timing for Krka N.P. as it was a national holiday and quite honestly over sold for the day. Dubrovnik was beautiful and worthy of adding an additional day on the front end if possible. Accommodations, transfers, flights (we booked our own), and meals were all very good.