Dalmatian route

If you decide to take 14 days for your vacation, we suggest one of our sailboats which will round the most beautiful cities, National Parks and bays in the DALMATIAN ROUTE!

We start off from the capital of Diocletian - Split; according to many "the most beautiful city in the world". You'll have a chance to verify those claims on the last day of your stay, after you have visited all the pearls of the Adriatic.

The first is a small Dalmatian town, under the Unesco protection - Trogir: Trogir is a museum in the real sense of the word. Lovers of cultural and historical sights, works of art, original buildings and lovely streets will find the rich and stratified heritage in Trogir - from the romanic yards to the modern interiors.

Sent off by the Kamerlengo tower, we continue our cruise towards north. Before entering "the new castle", captain will stop the ship in a beautiful hidden bay where you'll taste the culinary art of the chef, have a nap, or dive into the blue.

The island of Zlarin is the closest of all the islands in the archipelago of Šibenik. It is best known for its original product, corals. A lot of people think (wrongly) that they can be found around Zlarin, but , in fact, they are caught in the sea around Kornati archipelago. We spend the night picking the corals, and continue at dawn to the national park Krka:

Only 12 kilometres from Šibenik water formed astonishing downfalls coming down 45 meters over more than 17 natural cascades. All that in the beautiful surrounding of a National Park that reveals its beauty through the continuous dance of light and water creating a magnificent landscape. You'll have some free time to take a walk, a swim in the crystal water or a photo of the picturesque nature.

Tired but happy, we return to the ship where the chef enraptures us again with his fish specialities. We take off and bravely continue towards Vodice: mostly for its beauty and great touristic offer, this destination, one of the most attractive on this part of the Croatian coast and the Adriatic in general, bears a flattering name of "St Tropez of the Adriatic ". And not without a reason! Located 13 km west of Šibenik on the coast of a broad bay, Vodice is firstly mentioned in 1402. in documents about the construction of st. Cross church, although the place itself was settled in Roman times under the name Arausa or Arausa Antonina. The surrounding is rich in water (voda - its today's name derives from it) which was being transported in galleys and boats to the nearby villages and islands till the late Middle Ages.

We have a reason to spend the night here . Our captain will again surprise us with his knowledge of secret bays where we can really relax listening to the sounds of nature.

Zadar:
For centuries the capital of Dalmatia, today the centre of the region, Zadar is a town with rich monumental inheritance visible even today on every step: Roman forum from the 1^st c., St Donat's church from the 9^th c. - the most famous medieval basilica, the trade mark of the city; renewed romanic churches of St Krševan from the 12^th c. and the church-tower of St Mary from 1105, the cathedrale of st Anastasia from the 13^th c., National square with the City lodge and guard from the 16^th c., strong wall of fortress with representative Harbour and Continental gates from the 16^th c., Square of 3 wells and Square of 5 wells, numerous palaces, villas and other monumental inheritance.

After spending the night in the real city crowd we are facing the day of departure from the civilisation: The National Park KORNATI:

"On the last day of Creation God wanted to crown his masterpiece, so out of tears, stars and breath He created Kornati."

In the central part of the Croatian Adriatic, at touching point of islands of Šibenik and Zadar, a separate and in many ways special group of islands called Kornati is situated. For the exquisite beauty of its landscape, interesting geomorphology, great indentedness of the costal line and especially rich bio enosis of the costal ecosystem, a larger part of the Kornati archipelago was declared a National park in 1980.

Today the National Park "Kornati" covers an area of around 220 km2 and includes 89 islands, islets and rocks in total with circa 238 km of costal line. In spite of this relatively big number of islands, the continental part of the park makes less than ¼ of the total area, while the rest is maritime ecosystem.
....we suggest sightseeing and taking photos because there is no place as impressive as Kornati!!!!

One more suggestion: the day after, when we continue our cruise from the national park towards Primošten you should look around to see the breathtaking view of steeps and waste of beautiful sea rocks!!!

Primošten: slow return to the reality; we trace Primošten in documents from 1564. under the name of Capusta Cista. After its settlement the island-town was surrounded by a wall of fortress with towers to protect the citizens from Turks' attacks. The only connection with the mainland was a movable bridge which was later on replaced by an embankment that transformed Primošten into a peninsula. Even today Primošten conserved the atmosphere and all architectural characteristics of a medieval Mediterranean fishing settlement. St George's church, built in 1485. on, at that time, the highest top of the island, dominates the place. Church of Our Lady of Mercy from 1553. and St Roko's chapel from 1680. are also worth seeing

Today Primošten is an important tourist destination with numerous accommodation capacities, restaurants, cellars and coffee bars.

Stone cells of the vineyards (Babić sort) on the nearby slopes are a special experience and the evidence that a man's hand can cultivate and fertilise even the most rustic landscape.

You should have a good night's sleep because tomorrow we're already having a night out - town of Hvar: the king of the island-towns, according to many the most beautiful posh place for a night out, nevertheless it's a town full of historical heritage!

More things to see;

Vela Luka: a place with 4500 inhabitants is situated in a deep, picturesque bay in the west of the island of Korčula. It's known for its friendly hosts, Dalmatian song, mild climate and crystal clear sea and air.

Mljet: for many tourists it's one of the islands lost in the open sea. It is really hard to reach. But don't let the landscape; mentioned in the stories of Ulysses, St Paul, Benedictines and the Mediterranean she-bear; remain undiscovered. Mljet seems to be an unindented long island, approximately 3 km wide and 37 km long. It's an island of peculiarities and contrasts. The National Park "Mljet" occupies its north-western part and covers an area of 5375 hectares of protected land and surrounding sea. It was declared a National Park on 11^th November 1960. and represents the first institutional attempt of protection of the original ecosystem in the Adriatic.
The National Park "Mljet" was declared an area of a special destination for: - its unique panoramic view consisting of indented coast, cliffs, rocks and numerous islets, rich orthography of nearby hills that steeply dominate the sea surface screening the numerous rocky fields and ancient stone settlements. Its outer coast, open towards the south sea, is steep and full of "garma" - fell in caves. The coast facing the mainland and north wind "bura" is lower and more approachable; - its salty lakes representing a unique geological and oceanographic rocky phenomenon, important in worldly proportions. These two unique salty lakes were, originally (10000 years ago), fresh-water lakes all the way to the Christian era. On the costal rocks some endemic Dalmatian plants; with the beauty, "dubrovačka zečina" ahead; can be found.

Mljet, "second paradise", can be nicely visited if you rent a bike or a motorbike. It is a completely different and interesting experience to take a swim in the lakes. In the evening, take your favourite drink, sit in a deck chair and enjoy the landscape.

Before entering worldly famous tourist destination - Dubrovnik, you could use a lunch break and bathing on Elafiti islands. You've got two days to get to know this city: Dubrovnik was founded in the 7^th c. and it is now surrounded by the wall of fortress 2 km long, which was being built from the 11^th to the 17^th c. Its citizens were known as seamen and tradesmen, and sailboats from Dubrovnik were sailing all around the world. The 15^th and the 16^th c was the best period of Dubrovnik and it is known as "The golden Age". But the greatest blow Dubrovnik got in 1667. when a big earthquake almost destroyed the city. It was the centre of the Republic of Dubrovnik that went down at the beginning of the 19^th c. with Napoleon's arrival. Through its history Dubrovnik, with its beauty, always attracted and fascinated numerous inquisitives, travellers, adventurers and others, as it does even today. The main Dubrovnik street Stradun, unique for its beauty, is the centre of the old city and favourite gathering place of its citizens. With its 17 monasteries and churches and one of the oldest synagogues in Europe, Dubrovnik testifies its religious and cultural heritage. Numerous cultural sights, clear sea, friendly hosts and local specialities will make your stay in Dubrovnik unforgettable.

While still under the impression of "The beauty of the Adriatic" we'll sail to - the town of Korčula; situated on the end of the island, it's an exquisite example of a well preserved, fortified medieval town. It is located on an islet (3 hectares area) which was later connected to the rest of the island east. I bid you good night with traditional MOREŠKA dance!

: What kind of a Dalmatian route would it be without Dalmatian customs?! Only with us you can experience Dalmatian songs, costumes and dance, and all that in the original surrounding - VILLAGE PARTY; Sumpetar: A small village of the Republic of Poljica full of old hamlets, you can slowly discover following the ancient paths. Hundred years old oak trees togethet with young olive trees will follow you to the gates of St Ante's church in Zeljovići.

We'll give you an unforgettable night to crown this marvellous cruise!

Let's get back to where we started: Split "the most beautiful city in the world": the city that lives in slow motion you'll soon adapt to. The feeling that every day is a holiday, squares, restaurants and bars crowded with people and, of course, the city promenade "Riva" refreshed by the wind "maestral" in the summer and in the winter bathed in the Mediterranean sun and protected from the cold by its "coat" - the palace. Because of all that you'll feel at home. It's a kind of déjà vu you can only feel in cities where centuries collide and can only be recognised in details. 1700 years ago the emperor Diocletian, son of the god Jupiter, built his residence here. Split is situated in the central part of the eastern coast of the Adriatic, between the Žrnovnica river in the east and the Jadro river in the west. It offers shade of the Marjan forest-park in the west part of the peninsula, 15 km of seaside promenades and Dalmatian song in the stone alleys of the old city. It is also known for its climate as it is situated on one of the sunniest parts of the central Mediterranean with over 2700 hours of sun a year.