Kayak Croatia

Meals: N/A

Arrive in Split from Sydney. Many airlines service the route, including Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Thai and the Middle Eastern Carriers. The journey involves two stops. Skyscanner’s current cheapest and most convenient combination is Qatar via Doha and Belgrade for $1,276 return (fares vary all the time). Overnight at the beautiful 4-star Cornaro Hotel, in the heart of Split and steps from the Diocletian’s Palace. Check in is from 2pm. Bryon will meet you on arrival at the hotel. As we’ll all be arriving at different times, no group dinner is planned for tonight. Split is a fascinating place and great for exploration. If you’d like to arrive before September 26, we can arrange additional nights for you at the Cornaro - $458 per room night double/twin (two people) share, subject to availability. A couple of extra nights will enable you to recover fully from jet lag before the paddling starts.

Meals: BLD

Breakfast at your hotel. Group will gather in hotel lobby after 10am for a briefing and transfer to a nearby beach where your kayaks will be waiting. You will be fitted with a PFD and your kayak set up for you. Then we’ll go for a warm-up paddle around forested Marjan Hill. You will also see the city beaches and cliffs. Paddle will finish at our home for the next 12 days – the motor vessel Otac Duje. Enjoy a special Welcome Aboard dinner, meet the captain and crew and get to know our local guides. After a short boat ride, Otac Duje will overnight on Brac island. Our kayaks travel with us. 

Meals: BL

Breakfast on board and a short boat cruise to southern part of Brac island. Then enjoy a relaxed morning paddle to the southwestern shore of the island and its numerous uninhabited small bays with turquoise water and little pebble beaches. Midday we’ll take a break for lunch and walk to the Blaca desert, where we’ll see a monastery founded by the Glagolitic priests from Poljice, when they were fleeing from the Turks around 1550. The monastery was turned into a museum in 1963 (entry included in your package). While taking a boat ride to Bol, the island’s oldest settlement, you’ll see luscious grapes waiting to be picked. Overnight in Bol and one of the best-known beaches in Europe, Zlatni rat. It changes shape with the winds and tides and juts out into a perfect azure sea. Bol has a vibrant nightlife with lots of great restaurants and bars. Take a wander and find a nice place to eat (guides will provide recommendations). 

Meals: BL

Breakfast and short boat ride to Jelsa on Hvar Island. You may cycle across the island (E-bikes must be prebooked with Freedom Outdoors before you leave Sydney). Alternatively, a coach will be provided, or you may stay on the boat. Bike through beautiful countryside to Ager Fields, a UNESCO World Heritage site where there are tranquil small villages like Pitve, Vrisnik and Svirce, surrounded by olive tree farms, lavender fields and vineyards. Then to the town of Stari grad founded 2400 years ago by Greek explorers (coach will stop for an hour here) and the village of Brusje, with its spectacular view of the open sea and surrounding islands. You will have around two hours to spend in Hvar town and to grab lunch. Our boat picks us up for a kayaking tour around Pakleni Islands, adjacent to Hvar island. The islands were the main source of resin for local shipbuilders and are still covered with thick pine. The archipelago has numerous narrow straits, between small islands with hidden small pebble beaches for swims, snorkelling and relaxing. Overnight anchored on Pakleni Islands or in Vis Harbour.

Meals: BD

Otac Duje takes us to the islands of Bisevo, known for amazing caves, cliffs and sandy beaches. Firstly, we will visit spectacular 6m high Blue Cave, one of the most famous natural attractions in Croatia. Sunbeams reflect from the white bottom floor, coloring objects in the water silver. Afterwards we jump into our kayaks to experience another highlight - the Medvidja Cave, named after the Mediterranean monk seal that may be found here. After late lunch and if weather allow us, take a snooze on one of the sandy beaches on the west coast of the island or, if you want something more active, join us on a short hike to meet some of the only 15 inhabitants still living on the island. Evening will see us at one of the most picturesque spots on the coast – the fishing village of Komiza, the last real fishermen’s village in the Adriatic. Slide into the easy rhythm of what the islanders call “pomalo” and enjoy delicious food and wines with the locals.  Overnight stay aboard Otac Duje in the town of Komiza.

Meals: BL

We’ll paddle the famous south side of Vis Island and take in more natural beauty. From Komiza Bay, we will cruise along cliffs, coves and beaches sculptured by the waves over thousands of years. Lots of intriguing nooks and crannies to explore. We will visit Srebrna beach and Stiniva cove, where we will break for lunch and optional snorkeling. Tonight is reserved for wine tasting in the unusual Lipanovic winery, cleverly housed in a cave, that was an army installation during the Tito era. The story of the island’s isolation makes the winery a must-visit. You will taste and learn about Vis Island’s indigenous white grape. Eat ashore then overnight aboard. 

Meals: BLD

After a cruise on the Otac Duje, we start today’s kayaking tour from the secluded, picturesque Milna Bay. Gorgeous views of Dubovica. In Sveta Nedjelja, there is an optional visit and tasting at a unique underwater wine cellar (tasting at extra cost). Go for a swim if you prefer water to wine! Finally to the charming island of Scedro. It is a protected nature park with sweet aromas of lavender, rosemary and sage. Cameras out - the island offers a spectacular sunset. Enrich it with a glass of Hvar’s famous wine. Overnight stay anchored on Scedro. 

Meals: BLD

Early morning, we will leave Scedro and sail towards a very different kayaking experience – the green delta of the river Neretva. The whole valley of 20,000 hectares, spreading from Bosnia Herzegovina over the Croatian border to the Adriatic, is full of narrow channels. The valley is rich with juicy oranges and watermelons which are sold all over Europe. Numerous animal species live in the valley including more than 300 types of birds. We’ll paddle through the lush green delta lakes, narrow river channels, forests of reeds, lagoons, sandbanks and river branches covered in aquatic plants. Later anchor at Peljesac with dinner aboard.

Meals: BL

Cycling over the peninsula of Peljesac, famous for its wines and beautiful scenery. To the Dingac vineyards and village of Potomje before descending to the town of Orebic where we will be picked by our boat and cross the channel to the island of Korcula. Often called “Little Dubrovnik”, the town of Korcula is a historic fortified town with a gothic and renaissance cathedral and town hall. Just off the coast are 19 small islets known as the Skoji Islands, in the Korcula archipelago. We’ll kayak Badija with its Franciscan monastery built in the fifteenth-century and the birthplace of Marco Polo. You’ll have free time in the evening to sightsee the town of Korcula. Overnight stay aboard our boat in the town of Korcula. Eat at a local café.

Meals: BLD

If another wonder could be added to the Seven Wonders of the World, then the magnificent island of Mljet would certainly be on the shortlist. Mljet is the most forested island in the Adriatic. Natural coves, sandy bays, vertical cliff drops, mystic caves and crystal-clear sea. We will paddle into the Mljet National Park and its two salt lakes, kayak around St Mary’s island where the oldest church complex in the Adriatic is placed. Then to egg-shaped Odysseus Cave, named after the legend of Odysseus who was allegedly shipwrecked near the cave and remained imprisoned by nymph Calypso, who ruled the island. The cave can be entered from the sea by swimming or by kayaking through the entrance which is about 4-5 meters wide. The tunnel cave is about 20m long and the sea depth is 10m.

Meals: BLD

Our last day of kayaking, around the Elafiti archipelago. Starting from Lopud’s big sandy beach Sunj towards island Kolocep and then cross a channel to Dubrovnik. We’ll see vast sandy beaches, natural sea caves, monuments and cypress, lemon, orange, pine and palm trees. Medieval Renaissance and Baroque churches and chapels. Late afternoon we arrive in Dubrovnik, a stunning city with wonderful architecture, sculptures, churches, monasteries, museums and fountains (visited by over a million people every year). Our sunset kayak arrival takes us under the 15th century medieval city walls, near the Lovrjenac fortress standing under a 40m cliff, before crossing a channel to the island of Lokrum. This is our last night together. As is traditional on Freedom Outdoors adventures, we will have a big, final dinner to bid each other farewell and relive the highlights of a wonderful time together. Overnight on the Otac Duje in Dubrovnik harbour.

Meals: N/A

After breakfast, you will be transferred to your accommodation in the city if you are staying on or to the airport (airport transfer 20 Euros). This concludes your Freedom Outdoors Kayak Croatia adventure.