Croatia Multisport Adventure

DAY 1 – City of Split, Diocletian's Palace, Biking Marjan Hill

Our Zephyr guides will meet you on the first afternoon of the trip at our hotel in Split for a brief orientation. Dejan — our charming local guide — will lead you on a historical walk to the ancient Diocletian’s Palace (you may have seen this fabulous place in the Game of Thrones).  From there, we'll continue our walk to the soccer stadium for a bike fitting and introductory ride up the gently sloped and historic Marjan Hill, an iconic city park that overlooks the city of Split and its nearby islands. Our goal for this afternoon is to get you comfortable on your bike and introduce you to the concept of Croatia's coastal hills (which you can choose to skip on subsequent rides). We will fine tune as necessary to ensure your comfort throughout the week. After our ride, we’ll return to the hotel before our festive family-style welcome dinner of seafood at a darling local "konoba" (restaurant), where you'll have the chance to try many things, including "black" (squid ink) risotto.

Biking Distance: Flexible warm-up ride of approximately 2 hours

DAY 2 – Ferry to Island Hvar, Biking, Speedboat to Island Vis

We’ll depart Split by ferry this morning, arriving at one of Croatia's more famous (and more crowded) island of Hvar, rich in history and architecture. A 16th-century fortress dominates the city, residing high above the town on a large hill, and the small harbor is full of yachts.  You'll have time to explore town the town of Hvar (on the island of Hvar) and have lunch before we begin our cycling, which will linger in your mind for years to come.  The 10-kilometer climb from town (you can skip this part if you like) will eventually reward you with amazing views of the open sea, Pakleni otoci (“Hell islands”), and the island of Vis in the distance. We continue our ride with stops in the village of Brusje, founded as a shepherd settlement in the 16th century, and known for the production of lavender and rosemary essential oils. Then we will have a long, long descent into the beautiful town of Stari Grad, the island’s oldest town with its 16th-century castle and busy port full of boats, continuing through several picturesque old villages surrounded by vineyards before reaching the town of Jelsa and finally ending in Vrboska, the "Venice" of Hvar because of its central canals.  You can choose to continue another six kilometers on a busy road to reach our al fresco lunch site: an organic eco-farm serving its own wines, olive oil, and specialties grown on the farm. After our late lunch at the farm, we will depart Hvar for our quieter haven of Island Vis, our home for the next three nights and the farthest island off the mainland. Our light dinner tonight is in the romantic outdoor "ruins" that are part of our hotel.

Biking Distance: Route options of 28 KM, 38 KM or 44 KM

DAY 3 – Kayaking + Optional Hike

Today begins with an optional short hike from our hotel to a 200-year-old British military fort across the bay of Vis (you can instead choose to enjoy a relaxing morning exploring on your own or take advantage of some downtime to read a book).  After lunch on your own, we will depart for a lovely bay where we will greet our kayaks and have an introductory kayak session designed to get you comfortable paddling in the Adriatic. From there, we paddle to one of the most incredible beaches in the world -- Stiniva Bay. Not only is it beautiful, it is exclusive -- only accessible through a narrow channel from the sea or via a very treacherous hike down to it. It's likely to be one of the most extraordinary beaches you'll ever visit.  We return to our hotel to freshen up before dinner at a small winery, where we will get to feast on their specialty – peka, a blend of vegetables and meat or seafood drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with herbs, and then baked to perfection under a bell-like dome over an open fire. Dinner will also include a couple of the varietals of the house - the white Rukatac or Bugava and the red Plavac Mali, the signature grape of the Dalmatian coast.

DAY 4 – Biking on Island Vis

After breakfast, we return to our bicycles, this time to explore Island Vis.  Vis is beautifully remote and sparsely populated and because it was used as the naval base of Yugoslavia (what Croatia used to be named) until 1989, it isn't as developed as the other islands we visit and we won't encounter much traffic.  Our route today is designed to utilize the peaceful winding roads of this quaint little island.  A short climb (again, which you can opt out of) will take us up to the flatter plains on top of the island, with breathtaking views of the surrounding Adriatic Sea, vineyards, airfield, and sleepy farmhouses. After a series of short climbs and descents, we have a long and carefree descent to the magical little town of Komiza, the only other town on the island. Komiza is well-known for its seafood, authentic stone houses, cute harbor, 16th-century Venetian fortress, and slow pace of life. (Not so well-known is that it is the place where your Croatian guide Dejan wants to retire!) From there you can choose to ride up a challenging series of switchbacks and back down to our hotel, or shuttle back, giving you a little extra time to enjoy island life. Dinner tonight is on your own and we'll have several places to recommend to you.

Biking Distance: Route options of 13 KM, 26 KM or 36 KM

DAY 5 – Boat to Island Korcula, Kayaking

We take a longer boat ride this morning to the town (and island) of Korcula, the supposed birthplace of Marco Polo. Korcula has beautifully preserved old city walls, narrow winding streets, great gastronomy, rich history, and much more. We explore Old Town, perhaps have a gelato, and then stop off at our hotel before departing to Lumbarda beach to embark on another kayaking adventure, this time exploring as many of the 18 little islands of the Korcula archipelago as we can.  At dinner, wine lovers will want to try the local Korcula Grk wine, a dry white, high in acidity, with hints of pine.

DAY 6 – Boat transfer to Orebic, Biking Peljesac Peninsula, Dubrovnik

Today will commence with a short ferry from Korcula to the town of Orebic on Peninsula Peljesac. We cycle southeast, to the famous vineyards and wineries of Potomje, the "Napa" of Croatia. After a beautiful tasting in a cool wine cellar, we will pass through a tunnel that will take us to the south shore, with steep hillside vineyards above us and below us all the way down to the sea.  This route offers another long descent and beautiful views of Dingac vineyard area, also known as the best red wine of Croatia. Our ride will end with a dip in the sea at the beach in a tiny town called Trstenik, where we'll have an incredible late lunch of grilled fish. Those who want to can visit nearby Grgic Winery for a tasting afterward.  On our 90-minute shuttle to the gorgeous city of Dubrovnik we'll pass the historic town of Ston, with its massive hillside system of fortified walls (think the Great Wall of China on a bit smaller scale). Our final dinner and evening together in Croatia's most famous town will surprise you a bit, as we will eat food from nearby Bosnia!

Biking Distance: Route options of 20 KM or 35 KM

DAY 7 – Walking Dubrovnik's Ancient City Walls, Departure

After an early breakfast (to beat the hordes of tourists who arrive via cruise ships), we depart for a fantastic two-hour walk on top of the beautifully maintained medieval city walls of Dubrovnik before checking out of our hotel and saying our goodbyes.

*Note: This trip makes use of sea vessels for transportation. Seas are fickle and weather is unpredictable!  We prioritize safety above everything and reserve the right to change the itinerary as necessary based on weather conditions and forecast.