Hidden Gems of the Dalmatian Coast & Greece (2012)

Athens • Corinth Canal • Delphi • Corfu • Butrint, Albania • Bay of Kotor, Montenegro • Dubrovnik • Korcula • Hvar • Split • Plitvice Lakes • Zagreb
  • 15 days
  • from only:
  • $3595
  • $240 per day
    Small Ship Adventure Only
  • 16 days
  • from only:
  • $4595
  • $288 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
Is this Adventure Right for You?
It's Included
Unique Accommodations
Extend Your Adventure
Ancient Glories: Olympia, Nafplion & Athens
Bled, Slovenia
Optional Tours
Local Team & Insider Tips
Grand Circle Foundation
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
LearnMore
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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, Houston, Seattle

15hrs

Boston, Newark, Washington, DC (Dulles)

13hrs

Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco

16hrs

Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Orlando

14hrs

New York (JFK)

12hrs

Phoenix, Portland, OR

17hrs

Tampa

18hrs

* 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 Athens, Greece. 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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Post-Trip: Bled, Slovenia

3 nights from only $895

With its spectacular mountain scenery, a healthy sub-Alpine climate, crystalline lakes and rivers, and idyllic little medieval towns—Slovenia truly is an amazing corner of the world. We’ll explore Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj, situated in an area with infinite unspoiled natural treasures—including stunning cliffs and majestic mountains. We’ll also venture to smaller, more out-of-the-way towns and historic villages.

Single Supplement: FREE.

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



It's Included

  • Accommodations for 3 nights in Bled
  • 4 meals—3 breakfasts and 1 dinner
  • 2 small group activities
  • Services of our own resident OAT Trip Leader
  • All transfers

Optional Tour

Postojna Caves & Predjama Castle ($85 per person)

Day 1
Transfer to Bled, Slovenia/Tour Ljubljana

After breakfast today, we ride to Ljubljana and tour this city of about 300,000 on the banks of the Ljubljanica River. Because much of the city was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1895, Slovenia’s capital has a unique architectural style that has integrated surviving historic structures with more modern designs. The work of Jože Plecnik, a 20th-century architect and Ljubljana native, is particularly remarkable for the way it incorporates Roman, medieval, Baroque, and Habsburg elements. A number of buildings that survived the earthquake still stand in the historic part of town, Old Ljubljana. There are also many cafés here, and you may want to try one as you partake in today’s lunch on your own.

After lunch, we continue to Bled and check in to our hotel upon arrival. Enjoy an orientation walk around the vicinity of the hotel to get acquainted with this scenic part of Slovenia. The peaks of the Julian Alps rise above the waters of Lake Bled, while a clifftop castle and an island church give the scene a fairy-tale aura. Dinner is on your own this evening.
Day 2
Tour Lake Bled & Lake Bohinj

This morning, we head out for an included tour of Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj. Bled is blessed with natural hot springs regarded as having healing powers, and has been a popular fresh-air retreat since the mid-19th century. Two prominent features in Bled’s vistas date from earlier in its history: Bled Castle, which for 800 years was the seat of the bishops of Brixen (now South Tyrol); and a 17th-century church located on an island in the lake. You’ll probably hear the pealing of this church’s “wishing bell,” which dates from 1534, since legend has it that a wish made by someone who rings it will come true. You may wish to visit both these sites during time on your own.

Higher in the mountains and larger than Lake Bled, deep blue Lake Bohinj is located in the Julian Alps about 16 miles southwest of Bled. Steep mountain slopes rise directly from parts of the shore of Lake Bohinj, and the 15th-century Gothic Church of St. John graces its eastern end. The valley that contains the lake also cradles a rural landscape dotted with farm villages.

Upon returning to the hotel, you can have lunch on your own, followed by an afternoon and evening at leisure.
Day 3
Bled/Optional Postojna Cave & Predjama Castle Tour

Today, you can discover more of the Bled area on your own, or join our optional Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle tour. This optional tour takes us across Slovenia’s Karst region, where the eroded limestone landscapes gave rise to exotic landscapes and magnificent caves. At the country’s most famous natural attraction, Postojna Cave, we’ll journey by foot and underground train to view a seemingly endless display of stalagmites and stalactites, pools, and colorful limestone formations.

After free time for lunch on our own, we continue 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 throughout its fascinating history.

This evening, we all gather for an included Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 4
Return to U.S.

After breakfast this morning, transfer to the Ljubljana airport for your return flight to the U.S.