Island Hopping the Dalmatian Coast

Welcome to Croatia. Your driver meets you at Split Airport (SPU) and transfers you into the city. Check in to your hotel — ideally within walking distance of the Riva waterfront and Diocletian's Palace.

Afternoon at leisure. Split's old town is literally built inside the ruins of a Roman emperor's palace — Diocletian's Palace (UNESCO) is not a museum you visit but a living neighborhood with restaurants, shops, and apartments within the 1,700-year-old walls. Walk the Peristyle, the Cathedral of Saint Domnius, and the Riva waterfront promenade. Welcome dinner at a specialist-selected konoba.

Morning: guided walking tour of Split — the palace basement halls, the Peristyle, Jupiter's Temple, and Marjan Hill (the forested peninsula with panoramic views over the city, the islands, and the Adriatic).

Afternoon: ferry from Split to Supetar on Brač (approximately 50 minutes). Brač is the largest island in central Dalmatia — known for the white Brač stone used to build Diocletian's Palace and, reputedly, the White House. Check in to your Brač hotel. Evening: first island dinner — grilled fresh fish, olive oil, and local Bolač wine.

Morning: Zlatni Rat (Golden Horn) — Croatia's most famous beach, a white-pebble spit that extends into the turquoise Adriatic and shifts shape with the wind and current. Swimming and relaxation. Optional: hike to Vidova Gora (2,552 feet, the highest point on any Adriatic island) for the panoramic view down to Zlatni Rat and across to Hvar.

Afternoon: catamaran from Bol (Brač) to Hvar Town (approximately 1 hour). Hvar Town is the glamour stop of the Dalmatian Coast — a Venetian-era harbor town with a fortress above, yacht-filled marina below, and lavender-scented hills behind. Check in to your Hvar hotel. Evening: harborside dinner.

Morning: Hvar Town exploration — the Fortica (Spanish Fortress) for panoramic views, the Renaissance-era main square (the largest piazza in Dalmatia), the 15th-century Arsenal theater, and the Franciscan monastery with its cypress-garden cloister.

Afternoon: Pakleni Islands — a small archipelago of pine-covered islands just offshore from Hvar Town, reached by water taxi (10 minutes). Palmizana has the beach clubs and restaurants; Jerolim and Stipanska have quieter coves for swimming. Evening at leisure in Hvar Town — the nightlife here is the most vibrant on the Dalmatian Coast.

Morning at leisure on Hvar — a visit to the Stari Grad Plain (UNESCO, the oldest continuously cultivated agricultural landscape in the Mediterranean, divided into stone-walled plots by Greek colonists in the 4th century BC) or the lavender fields in the island's interior (June–July peak bloom).

Afternoon: catamaran from Hvar to Korčula (approximately 1 hour). Korčula is the quieter, more intimate island — a fortified medieval old town on a peninsula that looks like a miniature Dubrovnik. The old town's herringbone street pattern was designed to channel summer breezes and block winter wind. Check in. Evening: dinner in the old town — Korčula's cuisine built around fresh-caught fish and the island's own Grk and Pošip wines.

Morning: Korčula old town walking tour — the Marco Polo House (the Venetian explorer's reputed birthplace, climb the tower for views over the terracotta rooftops), the Cathedral of St. Mark (with a Tintoretto altarpiece), and the fortified walls that ring the peninsula.

Afternoon: wine tasting — Korčula produces Grk (a white grape grown almost exclusively in the village of Lumbarda, the vineyards planted in sandy soil just yards from the sea) and Pošip (a fuller white from the Smokvica area). Your specialist has arranged a private tasting at a family winery. Optional: kayaking around the old town walls.

Morning: catamaran from Korčula to Dubrovnik (approximately 2 hours — the final island hop, with views of the Pelješac peninsula and the approach to Dubrovnik's walls from the sea). Arrive Dubrovnik late morning.

Afternoon: Dubrovnik city walls walk — the complete 1.2 miles circuit of the medieval walls (your specialist times this for late afternoon when the cruise ships have departed and the light on the stone is golden). Evening: farewell dinner in the Old Town — your specialist has the restaurant with the wall-view terrace.

Morning: Lokrum Island (a 15-minute ferry from the Old Port) — a forested island nature reserve with a ruined Benedictine monastery, a botanical garden with peacocks, and a saltwater lake called the Dead Sea (sheltered, warm, swimmable). Or: cable car to Srđ hill for the definitive panoramic view of Dubrovnik, the walls, and the Adriatic.

Afternoon: transfer to Dubrovnik Airport (DBV) for your departure flight. Eight days across the Dalmatian Coast — Split's Roman ruins, four Adriatic islands, and Dubrovnik's walls at golden hour. Your Juniper specialist remains reachable throughout. Safe travels home.