Escorted Croatia holidays and small-ship cruises
Croatia offers a wonderful mix of historic towns, stunning coastlines and beautiful islands, with something to discover throughout the country. From Istria’s charming hilltop towns and vineyard landscapes to Dalmatia’s Roman heritage, medieval walled cities and picturesque islands, Croatia is full of character and Mediterranean charm.
Our Croatian holidays begin with flights from the UK, with itineraries offering the choice of exploring from a coastal hotel base or travelling by small ship between picturesque harbours. An English-speaking tour manager accompanies the group throughout, helping you make the most of your holiday.
Frequently Asked Questions About Our Croatia Tours
Our Croatian tours fly out and back, and coaches are used at the destination for airport transfers and excursions, which is a comfortable way to cover Istria or the Makarska coast. Other itineraries use a small ship as the base instead.
Contact Airedale to discuss how you would like to see the beauty of Croatia, and we can work together on a bespoke itinerary.
Split, Trogir, Korčula and Dubrovnik are cobbled or paved with polished limestone, with steps and slopes; Motovun sits on a hill. Guided walks are unhurried to allow for sufficient time to explore an area. Boarding a small ship means a gangway. Tell us about any concerns, and we will be straight with you about a particular itinerary.
Your holiday arrangements are carefully planned by our organisers, with inclusions varying to suit each itinerary. Depending on your chosen tour, these may include return flights and transfers, accommodation, guided excursions, entrance fees, meals and local tastings, with a tour manager to support you throughout. Each tour page provides a full breakdown of what is included, so you can choose the holiday that best suits your preferences.
Yes, any of these itineraries can run as a Private Group. You have the tour to yourselves, and we can adjust the pace, the excursions and the length of stay within reason. Get in touch with rough numbers and the time of year you have in mind and we will put together a quote.
Istria and the truffle country
Istria is Croatia's heart-shaped peninsula, and much of it looks and tastes Italian. Motovun sits on a hill above the Mirna valley, walled and small enough to walk round in twenty minutes, with the truffle woods spread out below. Poreč has the sixth-century mosaics of the Euphrasian Basilica; Rovinj is a tumble of shuttered houses on a headland below its campanile; Pula has a Roman amphitheatre from the first century that still holds concerts.
Our Istrian touring works from a comfortable hotel base, with guided walks in the old towns and time set aside for tastings. Istria produces some of the most respected olive oils in Europe and, in autumn, the white truffle. One of our land-and-cruise itineraries includes a truffle dinner in the Motovun area and a wine tasting at the Roxanich cellars near Motovun before continuing south to Split.
Dalmatia, Split and the walled cities
Split grew up inside a palace. Diocletian, a Roman emperor who was born locally and abdicated in AD 305, built his retirement quarters here, and the town simply moved in when Rome fell away. The result is a working city centre inside imperial walls, with a cathedral in the emperor's mausoleum and cafes in the cellars.
Further along, Trogir crowds onto a small island connected by two bridges, and Zadar has the Sea Organ, a set of pipes beneath the marble waterfront that the swell plays. Dubrovnik's circuit of walls runs close to two kilometres and is the finest walk in the country if the legs are willing.
Between the towns is the Krka river, its travertine falls at their fullest in spring, and the bare limestone archipelago of the Kornati islands, protected as a national park and almost entirely uninhabited.
Croatian food, wine and olive oil
The cooking changes as you go south. Istria leans towards the Italian side of the Adriatic: hand-cut pasta, wild asparagus in spring, truffle shaved over almost anything in autumn, and Malvazija as the everyday white. Dalmatia is simpler and more maritime, with grilled fish, lamb or octopus cooked slowly under a peka lid buried in embers, and Swiss chard with potatoes alongside almost every plate.
Wine is worth paying attention to. The steep south-facing slopes of Pelješac produce Plavac Mali, a big red related to Zinfandel, while Korčula has the white Grk from a village with sandy vineyards. Ston, at the neck of the peninsula, has grown oysters in its bay and harvested sea salt from the same pans since medieval times.
Our itineraries include tastings and a number of set meals, with the rest left free so you can pick a harbour table yourself.
