Zadar Tours in Fall

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.

Really enjoyed the variety in this trip. There was a walk every day plus the chance to visit the historic parts of Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar. Most days there was an opportunity to swim in the sea. Some of our group opted out of the hardest walks, which gave them time to have a relaxing day by the sea.

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.

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.

All the reviews provide great advice and insights - I recommend reading them and I'll try not to duplicate their excellent advice. It is a Level 3 hike, so it's not a stroll in the park on flat surface. You'll enjoy the trip more if you've put some training before hand. Look at Exodus' training advice. As Kathryn mentioned, the Dalmatian Coast is limestone so lots of different size rocks, and lots of going up, and down. Take good hiking boots and poles are really helpful. For the going up, work on your cardio so you're not winded and you can enjoy the views. For going down, work into you daily routine going down stairs. Forward and backward lunges using a bosu is also good to help strength your knees/quads for the descents. All of the hotels had access to swimming, so bring a bathing suit. There's nothing better than going for a swim after a long hike. The beach in Bol is lovely and it was so nice to just relax. Seeing Dubrovnik, Bol, Split and Starigrad were a nice "taste" of Croatia. It was also great to have a couple of nights in each location so you didn't always feel like you arrived and then had to pack up and go.

It's a full on itinerary so not much chill time, but we saw a lot of a very beautiful country in a short time. This was my first trip to Croatia but I'm pretty sure not my last.