Cruising the Adriatic: Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina (2012)

Zagreb • Zadar • Sibenik • Split • Hvar • Dubrovnik • Bay of Kotor • Korcula • Mostar • Neum
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
Is this Adventure Right for You?
It's Included
Unique Accommodations
Extend Your Adventure
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Zagreb, Croatia
Optional Tours
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your adventure, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two adventures to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the OAT adventure that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your adventure
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your adventure with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of OAT adventures to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, Orlando, San Francisco

15hrs

Boston, Miami, Minneapolis

13hrs

Denver

16hrs

Newark

11hrs

Washington, DC (Dulles)

14hrs

Chicago, New York (JFK), Philadelphia

12hrs

Los Angeles, Tucson

17hrs

Seattle

21hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Zagreb, Croatia. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the OAT family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on an OAT trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-955-1925 or click here.

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Pre-Trip: Ljubljana, Slovenia

4 nights from $595

With café-lined streets in its Old Town and quaint bridges spanning its namesake river, Ljubljana is reminiscent of the timeless cities of Old Europe. But it boasts a modern touch as well—much of the city was rebuilt after an earthquake at the end of the 19th century. Wander the market squares here in Slovenia’s major university town and witness how the past and present have seamlessly merged.

Single Supplement: FREE

Please note: Available as a pre-trip on Zagreb to Neum departures and as a post-trip on Neum to Zagreb departures. Ask your Adventure Specialist for details.

It's Included

  • Accommodations for 4 nights in Ljubljana
  • 4 breakfasts
  • 1 small group activity
  • Services of an OAT representative
  • All transfers


Optional Tours

Postojna Caves & Predjama Castle excursion ($85 per person); Lake Bled excursion ($90 per person)

Day 1
Depart U.S.

You depart from the U.S. for Ljubljana.
Day 2
Arrive Ljubljana, Slovenia

An OAT representative will meet you at the airport for your transfer to our hotel. You’ll have the chance to get oriented with a walking tour of your surroundings before a Welcome Drink with your fellow travelers.
Day 3
Ljubljana/City tour

After breakfast, get to know this indomitable city in an included tour. The serene-looking university town with its hilltop castle is a true survivor: An 1895 earthquake destroyed much of the town. But the locals rebuilt Slovenia’s charming capital with determination. Many of the city's buildings, parks, and monuments (and all of the bridges spanning the city center) were designed by innovative local architect Joze Plecnik in the first half of the 20th century. Plecnik incorporated remnants of the original Roman, medieval, Baroque and Habsburg buildings into new construction that remains today. Our walking tour will highlight the quaint bridges spanning the gently flowing Ljubljana River, and the narrow streets of its café-lined Old Town.

After our guided exploration, the balance of the day is free for you to discover on your own. You might want to visit St. Nicholas’s Cathedral, one of the city’s striking Baroque buildings. With its green dome and twin towers catching the eye at first, it offers an array of beautiful details, from its bright pieta on the southern wall to the enormous sculpted bronze doors on the front and side of the building. The ceilings of the nave and the dome are both so intricately detailed, you could spend hours simply interpreting the scenes above you.

This evening, dinner is on your own.
Day 4
Ljubljana/Optional Postojna Caves & Predjama Castle tour

After breakfast, explore Ljubljana at your own pace for a full day. Perhaps you’ll survey the entire region from the top of Ljubljanski Grad, the castle that crowns the town. The castle tower dates from the 19th century, and its walls are even older—they were built in the early 1500s. From here you can see past the river all the way to the Julian Alps.

Or join us for an optional Postojna Caves tour. With names like Upturned Ship, Gothic Hall, and Tiger Hall, these underground chambers enthrall with their singular formations, including Brilliant, the most famous stalagmite in the world. Gothic Hall has its own claim to fame—the remains of Ice Age animals were discovered here. Visitors have headed underground for 189 years, at first on foot. In 1872, railroad tracks were laid—though it would be twelve more years before electrical lighting was installed, so that visitors could ride into the depths in the comfort of rail cars and witness the illuminated splendors. We’ll have a chance to ride the only cave-system railway in the world during our visit. We continue on to Predjama Castle, a remarkable cliffside fortress complete with a labyrinth of secret underground passages and tunnels carved from solid bedrock. Originally built in the 13th century, the nearly impregnable fortress served as a stronghold for many bandits and robber barons through its fascinating history.

Dinner is on your own this evening.
Day 5
Ljubljana/Optional Lake Bled excursion

You can further explore Ljubljana on your own today.

Or, join our optional full-day excursion to the picturesque resort area of Lake Bled (subject to local weather conditions). The natural beauty and healing waters of Bled have been attracting pilgrims for centuries. It is difficult to envision a more picture-postcard setting than Bled’s 17th-century church, perched on an islet in the middle of the lake, and its 800-year-old castle clinging to a rocky cliff, all against a backdrop of the majestic Julian Alps. Your optional tour includes a ride on the emerald lake by pletna boat, the locals’ version of a gondola, to reach the island church. You may find it hard to resist ringing the “wishing bell” at the 15th-century belfry next to the church. After an included light lunch, you’ll return to Ljubljana.

Dinner is on your own this evening.
Day 6
Ljubljana/Transfer to Zagreb

After breakfast, transfer by coach to Zagreb to begin your Cruising the Adriatic Small Ship Adventure.