Rhapsody Of Food And Wine Tour

Day 1 – Zadar, Arrival

Guests will arrive in Zadar. Transfer to hotel from the airport.

ITINERARY:

- Arrival
- Free time
- Overnight

INCLUDES:

- Transfer to accommodation
- Accommodation

Day 2 – Zadar – Krka National Park – Šibenik

While visiting the city of Zadar, the ancient Forum, a symbol of the city-church of St. Donat, St. Anastasia, monuments, and palaces, you can learn all about the rich history of this beautiful old town. Tour of the Land Gate and city walls, Square of Five Wells, People's Square and of course the Sea Organ and Greeting to the Sun. In 2016 Zadar got the prestigious title of ‘Best European Destinations’.

On our second day, we will take you to the beautiful Krka National Park, home to more than 800 species of flora and a huge range of birds. You’ll trek through lush vegetation to the magnificent waterfalls of Skradinski Buk, and Roški Slap, enjoying views of beautiful small cascades and numerous backwaters and islets. Krka Waterfalls is the only National Park in Croatia where swimming is allowed!

Šibenik was created as an ancient castrum, a fortification at the bottom of St. Michael’s Fortress, that today still dominates the town. The city was mentioned for the first time in the 11th century in a proclamation by King Petar Krešimir IV., the most important Croatian ruler.

In the 12th century, it was destroyed by the Venetians, but settlers built it again from the ground. The harbor, connected to the open sea by St. Anthony Strait, has been an initiator of maritime affairs development, trading, and the overall economic prosperity of the town for centuries. The Fortress of St. Nicholas, at the entrance into the Strait, is the most important renaissance fortress on the eastern coast of the Adriatic. Overnight in Šibenik.

We will take you to a wine tasting at the best winery in the region, with an almost 500-year-old family tradition. Their main and basic variety for which we are best known in Croatia and connected with through history is Debit. An indigenous variety of the Šibenik region, it came in circuitous Mediterranean routes from Smyrna from Turkey via Apulia in the south of Italy to Šibenik.

It is not found anywhere today except here and so, as the basis of their whites, it has given an excellent spur to produce six different wines from it. Along with Debit, they three local reds: Plavina, Babić and Lasin, from which they made basic red wine – Bibich Riserva, the wine they are best known for. In the last ten years or so they have planted plenty of international varieties, mainly Shiraz, but also Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet France, Sauvignon Blanc. Currently, they produce 13 different wines from all these varieties, or in various Cuvee and blends. Overnight in Šibenik.

ITINERARY:

- Pick up and transfer
- Guide
- Tour of Krka NP
- Wine tasting
- Dinner in a traditional tavern
- Transfer to Šibenik
- Sightseeing of Šibenik
- Overnight

INCLUDES:

- Transfer and guide
- Entry tickets
- Wine tasting
- Dinner
- Accommodation

Day 3 – Trogir – Salona – Split

Trogir, the city with 2300 years of tradition, is a remarkable example of an urban island settlement from the Hellenistic period. In the first-century Trogir became the Roman municipality ‘Tragurium’, and joined Salona, the center of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Upon the fall of the Roman Empire, Trogir has become an independent town.

It has beautiful Romanesque churches which are complemented by the outstanding Renaissance and Baroque buildings from the Venetian period, and in 1997 UNESCO acknowledged Trogir as a World Cultural Heritage.

3000 years old ‘Salona’, today Solin, was the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and the birthplace of Emperor Diocletian. In the 7th century, the town was destroyed after the arrival of Avars and Croats, and refugees escaped to Diocletian’s Palace, in Split.

Known as ‘The Cradle of Croatian history, it was one of the capital cities in Medieval Croatian state and a place where Croatian King Demetrius Zvonimir was crowned in the 11th century. Today, Solin preserved remains of the old city and the arena, where gladiators fought till death.

The story of Split is already 17 centuries old, dating to the time the Roman Emperor Diocletian decided to build his Palace right on the peninsula near the great Roman city Salona, where he wanted to spend the last years of his life.

During these 1700 years, the Palace slowly turned into a city, which to this day lures with its rich tradition, glorious history, and beauty of its natural and cultural heritage. Diocletian Palace and the entire historical core of Split have been on the World Heritage UNESCO list ever since 1979.

Stella Croatica is a long family tradition of growing local home-grown products and old recipes of local delicacies. Using only our home-grown olives, figs, almonds, and other fruits, they create the finest Dalmatian delicacies. Top-quality olive oil, desserts made of figs, walnuts, and citrus fruits, healthy honey snacks, a variety of tasty and cute cookies, jams, and spreads are part of their unique offer.

Carefully designed packaging, their products are deservedly referred to as premium boutique products, and more importantly – true gastronomic souvenirs of this region. Overnight in Split.

ITINERARY:

- Pick up and transfer to Trogir
- Entry tickets
- Guide
- Transfer to Salona
- Entry tickets
- Transfer to Stella Croatica
- Cooking class and dinner and high-quality wine
- Overnight in Split

INCLUDES:

- Transfer and guide
- Entry tickets
- Cooking class
- Dinner
- Accommodation

Day 4 – Imotski – Ston – Dubrovnik

Imotski is an area where there is a large number of stećci. Stećci are under UNESCO protection. Most of them (stećci) you can find along paths or along the old Roman roads that ran from Salona (Solin) to Narona (Vid kod Metkovića). Tombstones (stećci) are blocks that are placed in a specific order.

These clumsily and somewhat harshly treated monument have found their place in the history of the Imotski region, and witnesses literacy, culture, faith, and power in this region. Imotski tombstones have their own characteristics that distinguish them from other groups such as neighboring Cetina or Herzegovinian.

The Blue and the Red Lake have been recognized as the top tourist attraction of Imotski. Both lakes are natural phenomena, also known as 'pearls of nature. The Blue Lake is almost bordering the town of Imotski, while the Red Lake is only one kilometer away.

Blue Lake got named after the color of water in it, and Red Lake's name comes from the red stones that surround it. The Blue one is very attractive to media during periods of extreme drought because when the lake gets dry local people to form play football at the bottom.

This winery's desire is to promote autochthonous varieties of the Dalmatian hinterland, such as Kujundžuša and Black Trnjka, but they do more exquisite wine from grape varieties such as Merlot, Chardonnay, Cormorant. Ripening in ancient stone cellar gives their wines peace and character.

Popularly known as ‘The Great Wall of Croatia’, more than five kilometers in length, Ston town walls are the longest complete fortress system around a town in Europe and the second in the world. Built in the 15th century as a first line of defense, heavily fortified, with a purpose to protect a precious commodity – salt. With the tradition of harvesting salt for over 4000 years, ‘The City of Salt’ is confirmed even nowadays as the oldest active salt pans in the world.

Ston is a Dalmatian town you will fall in love with, and as playwright George Bernard Show once said, ‘There is no love sincerer than the love of food’ - an appropriate quote, because Ston is known as the home of one of the rarest, most delicious breed of oysters, which you will try.

We will take you to the region’s best winery where you will experience the Royal Highness Plavac Mali. They were lucky enough to own vineyards in the best geographical location with the best grape variety for the given land. Most of the vineyards planted between 1950 and 1980 is 100% Plavac Mali.

In 2006 their first premium vine "Plerej" was produced. In the next harvests, they achieved an exquisite quality grape yield of as small as 0.5 - 0.7 kg per grape vine. In 2009 they created "Plerej grand cru".

Besides the wine, here you can taste all kinds of liquers as well as ecological olive oil they produce from the autochthonous variety Oblica.

The 'Pearl of the Adriatic', situated on the Dalmatian coast, became an important Mediterranean sea power from the 13th century onwards. Although severely damaged by an earthquake in 1667, Dubrovnik managed to preserve its beautiful Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces, and fountains. Damaged again in the 1990s by armed conflict, it is now the focus of a major restoration program coordinated by UNESCO.

For dinner, we will take you to the restaurant that lies on the very edge of the sea at Pile, alongside the western entrance to Dubrovnik's Old City. From its unique terraces, diners can enjoy a true one-of-a-kind view of the Adriatic and the fortresses of Lovrijenac and Bokar.

The restaurant serves to preserve the location's rich history while retaining the noble atmosphere of Dubrovnik's reign as a republic. It was recognized as the sixth most romantic restaurant in the world by the much respected Condé Nast Traveller magazine. Also, it was honored to host Blessed John Paul II on June 6th of 2003. Overnight in Dubrovnik.

ITINERARY:

- Pick up and transfer to Imotski
- Guide
- Blue and Red Lake tour
- Wine tasting
- Transfer to Ston
- Ston tour
- Wine, champaign, and oyster tasting
- Transfer to Dubrovnik
- Dinner
- Overnight in Dubrovnik

INCLUDES:

- Transfer and guide
- Entry tickets
- Oyster, champaign and wine tasting
- Accommodation

Day 5 – Dubrovnik – Konavle

Experience the traditional and original village ambiance on this marvellous excursion to Konavle. After paying a visit to the first winery, absorb the region by riding on a tourist train through its rich vineyards. Past customs are presented in the village of Ljuta in the water-powered mill where you get to see how flour was once produced.

Just a few meters forward, there is another traditional craft on display – wool processing. Relish in some of the best wines originating in this part of Croatia in the following three vineyards. You may also find it particularly interesting to pick at the traditional ploughman’s lunch of bacon, onions and hard-boiled eggs served in a customary manner of the old folks from Konavle who labored in the fields.

For all real gourmands, we offer autochthonic Konavle’s and Dubrovnik’s dainties. Visit traditional Konoba and enjoy traditional homemade specialties, homemade wine, and a pleasant atmosphere near the river. As part of Konoba, there is also small wine and souvenir shop in which we offer a huge variety of Konavle’s wines and traditional homemade products. Our kindly staff will fulfill all your wishes. Overnight in Dubrovnik.

ITINERARY:

- Pick up and transfer to Konavle
- Entry tickets
- Guide
- Wine and traditional delicacies tasting
- Dinner
- Overnight

INCLUDES:

- Transfer and guide
- Entry tickets
- Wine and traditional delicacies tasting
- Dinner
- Accommodation

Day 6 – Dubrovnik, Departure

Pick up and transfer to airport. Departure.