Zadar Tours in October 2026

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.

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.

A memorable and very enjoyable holiday. We hesitated to book initially as we weren't sure about Croatia and almost booked an Italian trip but are now so glad we did. The guide was excellent and gave us a real insight into the country and its people. We loved the walks all came with excellent views and the scenery was far lovelier than we had expected it to be.

Vana, our guide, was amazing (fun, relaxed and knowledgable about the trails and the terrain). I appreciated her ability to "read" the group, flexing expectations with weather conditions (intense winds) and the groups abilities. This was not a trip to stop and "smell the roses" which is maybe more what I was hoping for (more cultural and historical information). Croatia is a stunningly beautiful country and the vistas did not disappoint. It was fun to explore the coast and the island more intimately. Accommodations were simple and clean. Breakfasts were excellent, especially at our last hotel. My biggest concern is that our ending spot (not where we started) near Zadar was more challenging to book return flights from and I wish that Exodus and provided transportation to a more major transportation hub, Zagreb maybe?

Our Skipper Marco has such a good mixture of responsibility, strictness and being easy-going and having an open year. That made me feel safe and very welcome. Apart from the AC smell and sound, I?d say that the only risk one would take on such a trip is the group that joins. Everything else was great, thank you!