Special day trips from Split for friends of sightseeingcroatia!

#1. Discover the sights and taste of the Palace!

Perfect for people coming in by ship for just the day. A unique Palace Tour and a special, chef-prepared Dalmatian lunch! Begin your tour by meeting the chef of one of Split’s best restaurants in the bustling fish market. After he helps you pick the catch of the day, it’s off for a unique Palace Tour that takes you behind closed doors that most tourists never see; meet local artists and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee at Split’s best café. Then it’s off to the restaurant to enjoy your specially prepared meal. Every day June-October, minimum, 2 people. $75 for adults, $40 for children (we can also offer vegetarian and beef cuisine if fish is not your pleasure!). Without lunch, $40.

#2. Discover Solta, the island of olives, honey and wine!

Solta, the closest island to Split, is just a 45 minute ferry from Split and a world away! With just 1500 year round residence, Solta has remained one of the most unspoiled islands in the Adriatic. A favorite of sailors, who enjoy its 22 bays, Solta is also the island of olives, honey and wine. We’ll be taken to the groves of one of Croatia’s most award winning mills to learn about the oldest cultivated tree in the world. Then tour the mill and enjoy a tasting and home-cooked meal with wonderful local Dobricic wine! After lunch it’s off to the third generation honey farm of Goran Tvrdic overlooking the ocean….and even get a chance to make your own! A marvelous day in nature spent with local Croatians who are preserving a way of life that has gone on here for over 1,500 years! Special Olive Harvest Tours, late Oct.-early November! Minimum 2 people, $65 each, children under 12 ½ price; includes ferry tickets, transfers, lunch with wine! For an additional $250 we can also arrange for a speed boat if you need to be back by 3:30PM or so to be on your cruise ship—and this $250 is the price for up to 10 people!!

#3. Palace Art Walk—a champagne evening of art!

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we’ll go to the new Gallery of Fine Arts to enjoy a vibrant array of wonderful Croatian contemporary art as well as carefully selected pieces dating back to Medieval times. Then it’s off to visit three local galleries/studios to see (and meet!) some of Split’s best—from graphic design to oil on canvas. We’ll end our outing with a glass or two of champagne at one of Split’s most stylish new café’s. A wonderful evening of art! 17:30PM (5:30PM) inside the Tourist Office, one day notice required! $25 per person, $45 per couple, including museum admission, personal escort to the artist galleries and champagne!

#4. Discover Klis Fortress and Vranjaca Cave!

Only 12,000 people a year visit amazing Klis Fortress, perched impossibly high on a rocky butte less than 30 minutes from Split. During the Roman era it was the most important fortification protecting Salona, the Roman capital of Dalmatia. But it was the constant struggle with the Ottoman Empire in the 16thC that cemented Klis' reputation in Croatian history. It took the Turks more than 25 years to capture Klis, but when they did in 1537 the immediate area around Klis became the de-facto boundary between Turkish-controlled Dalmatia and Venetian-occupied land (which included Split). Climbing around this marvelous fort with spectacular views to Split is a rare treat. Afterwards we’ll go spelunking at the Vranjaca cave just a few minutes away in Kotlenica!. Discovered in 1903, the actual cave is 65 meters deep and was created by an underground river millions of years ago. Blissfully cool, the interior is marvelous—you’ll feel like a real explorer! After enjoying the heights of Klis and depths of Vranjaca, off to a great lunch at a local Split konoba overlooking the water! Every day from June 1 to October, minimum two people, $85 each, children under 10 ½ price. Includes private transfer, admissions, lunch in Split, guided tour of the cave. We can do this tour without the cave to Klis Fortress AND the Meet the Chef and Palace Walk for people coming in for the day by ship for $150 each.

#5. Trogir Walking Tour and “peka” lunch at Café Idro!!

Trogir, another UNESCO site, is just an hour by water taxi or bus from Split. Smaller, Greek, Medieval, Renaissance, Trogir is an astonishing architectural treasure that probably would attract millions if it was in Italy. It’s a fascinating bookend to Roman Split. The walking tour takes about an hour and a half and then we go for a rare culinary treat—“peka”! In Dalmatia peka is an art. An ancient way of slow cooking meat, chicken and vegetables inside an iron dome covered under and OVER it with wood coals and let to roast for 4 or 5 hours. The flavor is fabulous and with home made peka bread, wine from the owner’s uncle’s vineyard, sitting in the courtyard of a 13th C house you’ll be in heaven. $75 each including transfer to Trogir (water taxi or bus), walking tour, peka lunch with wine and time to swim later on if you wish! Min. 4 adults. This program can also be done for people coming in by ship for the day!

#6. Discover Krka National Park and Bibic Winery

Skradin is a gorgeous village nestled at the mouth of the Krka River where it meets the Adriatic. An ancient town, today Skradin is the jumping off point for the many visitors that come to enjoy Krka National Park, 20 minutes up river by launch (which is included in the ticket price). Just an hour from Split, Skradin is also home to one of Croatia’s most celebrated boutique wineries, Bibic. As the guests of owner Alen Bibic and his family, you are invited to enjoy four course gourmet cuisine and fabulous wine. You can tour the winery and even buy your favorite vintages. A wonderful day outdoors enjoying nature, a languid afternoon at the winery! Every day, June-October. Minimum 2 people, $400 couple. Includes private transfer, admission to the Park, gourmet wine tasting. This program can also be done without the winery visit, $250 couple.