ZAGREB-BELGRADE with 4 countries in 13 days

Arrivals. Transfer to your hotel. Dinner and overnight.

In the morning we will take a tour of the city with our local guide. The city of Zagreb developed from two medieval small towns: the ecclesiastic Kaptol and the secular Grič. Our tour takes us first to the city’s main cemetery Mirogoj – don’t worry we are only here for a short visit to admire the imaginative and nostalgic melancholy of the architecture, so appropriate for this place.

After breakfast we take the road to arguably the most beautiful nature sight in Croatia, lakes Plitvice. The National park is the most visited nature site in Croatia for a good reason: its 16 crystalline lakes connect through various waterfalls spread out over travertine barriers or dropping steeply from heights and offering amazing colours and views wherever you turn.

This morning we visit the ancient city of Split. It is more than 1700 years old and plenty of its history is still visible and preserved in the historical center, intertwined with more recent and even modern buildings in an almost cacophonic whole that is very particular of this town. Your local guide will introduce you to the city and we have included entrances to the Cellars of the emperor Diocletian, the Cathedral and Jupiter’s Temple.

Today we depart towards Dubrovnik. The journey there takes a bit of time as we are crossing two borders on route, over a narrow Bosnia and Herzegovina outlet to the sea. There will be time for a light snack on the way. Upon arrival we will check-in at our hotel and have some time to refresh, before meeting again to go on city tour and get to know our destination for the next three nights.

In the morning we will continue our journey to Montenegro, once again crossing the border to a new country. On the road we will visit the man-made island of Our Lady of the Rocks and learn the details on how it was created. A short drive will take us on to Kotor, a small fortified gem in the Adriatic south, nesting at the bottom of hill.

A day at leisure. You can use the time to add to the flavor of the city: visit the city walls, take the funicular to mount Srdj or a short cruise along the walls or to the island of Lokrum and in the evening try and find the small sea gate leading onto the rocks outside the walls – this is the place to enjoy the sunset in Dubrovnik and there is a bar called Buza so you can accompany the sunset with a nice glass of wine.

In the morning we depart towards Mostar, crossing once more to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The UNESCO hit for today is the Old Bridge, rebuilt in the original manner after the 90’s war when it was destroyed. In Mostar make sure to try Baklava, a pastry left by the Ottoman and have a coffee, mind you, you will find it extremely strong here.

This morning is the time to visit Sarajevo on a guided city tour. We will visit the Bascarsija area which is where you will get the sense of history and cultural heritage of Sarajevo. Sarajevo is the place to try ‘ćevapčići’, a local meal consisting in minced meat finger sausages in general eaten with ‘kajmak’ a sort of milky cream.

After breakfast we depart towards Osijek, the Capital of eastern Croatia. We will make stops along the road as it is a quite the ride we have ahead of us today and have a lunch break mid-way. Upon arrival to Osijek we will visit the city. The fortress of Osijek once served as the great defence against the Ottoman.

Morning departure towards Belgrade, but before we reach Serbia’s Capital we will stop in Novi Sad, the city well into the Balkans but with a very European feel to it as there are several strong minorities here trying to maintain harmony which is visible through the fact that there are three official languages and alphabets here.

We start the day with a guided tour of the city. We will explore part of the city on the bus and continue around the Kalemegdan fortress on foot.