Best of Croatia — Private Tour

Day 1Arrival in Zagreb

Arrival to Zagreb and transfer to your accommodation in the heart of the city. In the evening you will meet your guide for a welcome drink to get to know each other and talk about your upcoming week. Zagreb is a lively, walkable capital with plenty of museums, cafés and restaurants — if you have time, we suggest arriving a day or two earlier to enjoy it properly.

Overnight: 4-star hotel in Zagreb

Day 2Zagreb, Rastoke Village & Plitvice Lakes

Enjoy the morning in Zagreb at your own pace — or add an optional 2-hour guided walking tour with a certified city guide for a supplement, if you'd like the highlights explained properly. Around midday we set off south towards the Plitvice Lakes, stopping along the way in Rastoke, a small village of old watermill houses perched over cascading pools — one of Croatia's prettiest, least-crowded spots. We arrive at Plitvice in the late afternoon, with dinner at the lakes to finish the day.

Overnight: 4-star hotel in the Plitvice Lakes area

Day 3Plitvice Lakes National Park

A full day at the oldest national park in Croatia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sixteen terraced lakes, linked by waterfalls and travertine pools, are even more striking in person than in photographs. We walk the boardwalks at an easy pace, with time at the main viewpoints and a boat crossing on the larger lakes — your guide adjusts the route depending on the season and how much walking you'd like to do.

Overnight: 4-star hotel in the Zadar area

Day 4Krka River National Park & Split

This morning we head to Krka National Park, famous for the Skradinski Buk waterfalls — seven travertine cascades dropping into a wide, swimmable pool. We walk the forest boardwalks along the river, with time to cool off in the water if the weather allows. In the afternoon we continue to Split, Croatia's second city, built directly into and around the 1,700-year-old walls of Diocletian's Palace.

Overnight: 4-star hotel in Split

Day 5Brač Island & the Olive Oil Museum

A ferry crossing takes us to Brač, the largest island in central Dalmatia and the source of the pale stone used to build Diocletian's Palace and, reportedly, the White House. We visit Škrip, Brač's oldest village, and its Olive Oil Museum — a working 19th-century press housed in a stone mill, with olive groves that have been worked on the island since Roman times. We return to Split by evening ferry.

Overnight: 4-star hotel in Split

Day 6Pelješac Peninsula & Ston Walls

We travel south to the Pelješac Peninsula, Croatia's wine country, known for its Dingač and Postup reds and — around Ston — some of the best oysters and mussels in the Adriatic. We walk a stretch of the Ston walls, the second-longest defensive walls in the world after the Great Wall of China, with sweeping views over the salt pans below. You can add an optional wine tasting and/or oyster tasting here if you'd like to try the local specialities before we continue to Dubrovnik.

Overnight: 4-star hotel in the Dubrovnik area

Day 7Dubrovnik

A full day to explore Dubrovnik's old town with your guide — the marble streets, the city walls, Stradun, and the view out to Lokrum island just offshore. There's time in the afternoon to wander on your own, whether that means the cable car up Srđ mountain, a swim off the rocks, or simply a coffee on the Stradun watching the city go by.

Overnight: 4-star hotel in the Dubrovnik area

As your trip concludes, we provide a seamless transfer to the airport, bus station, or your next hotel. If you'd like to extend your stay, we're happy to recommend how — a few extra days in Dubrovnik, a hop over to Montenegro, or a stretch on one of the nearby islands.