Elegance Cruise from Split

Board the M/S Equator in Split harbor at any time through the day. If you arrive in the morning you cannot enter your cabin before 1:00 p.m. but you can leave your luggage on board.

The welcome meeting and dinner starts at 7:00 p.m. where you are introduced by your Cruise Director to the Captain, crew, and your future fellow passengers with whom you spend a week on board. Passengers arriving later at night are provided with a cold dinner.

Start your day with a morning departure towards Bol, said to have the best beach for swimming in Croatia named Zlatni Rat (Golden Cape). Stop in Bol and enjoy this nice Dalmatian town for a walk, or to have a cup of coffee and take a swim until lunch is served on board.

After lunch, continue cruising towards the sunniest island of Croatia – the island of Hvar, with a second swim stop in one of the many coves and bays along the way. Hvar is one of the most popular, very attractive tourist destinations and a meeting point for the international jet set. Upon your evening arrival at Hvar, a local English- speaking guide walks you throughout the town introducing you to the history, culture, and way of life on this island and explains how lavender was traditionally farmed on Hvar for centuries. Have an evening in Hvar free on your own to explore and dine in one of numerous family-owned restaurants.

Start your day with a morning departure towards the island of Korčula. Stop for a swim before lunch and in the afternoon arrive to Korčula town, on Korčula Island. Korčula is a city known as a birthplace of Marco Polo, the famous explorer. An English-speaking guide leads a short Korčula city tour, and walks you through narrow and cobbled streets.

The rest of the evening is free to enjoy dining at one of the local restaurants of your choice.

After breakfast depart for a pleasant cruise along the shores of Mljet and the Elaphite Islands where you can have a swim stop and lunch, arriving to Dubrovnik in the afternoon. After an organized panoramic drive and photo stop of breathtaking scenery at a hill above Dubrovnik, arrive at the historical center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where your guide shows you the most interesting highlights of the city. See why this city is called the Pearl of the Adriatic. 

After a city tour enjoy time on your own to explore the city, visit City Walls, or take the cable car to the top of the Mount Srđ. Return coach transfer is scheduled in the evening or you can return on your own. 

After breakfast sail to Mljet National Park, passing by the magnificent shores of the Elaphiti Islands archipelago, to the northwest of Dubrovnik, with swim stops along the way.

Lunch is served on board while cruising to Mljet National Park. Upon arrival to the park, enjoy a free afternoon to explore (entrance fees are not included) and walk around the Great and Small Lake and Islet of St. Mary with its Benedictine Monastery from the 12th century. Evening at leisure.

Your voyage continues towards Makarska with refreshing swim stops on your way, passing by Pelješac Penninsula and its picturesque places on both sides, green with the olive and pine groves, vineyards, and the low bush forests and Eastern side of Hvar Island.

Lunch on board “en route” and in the afternoon arrive to Makarska on the mainland, the “tourist Center of Dalmatia” famous for its long beaches and nightlife, where you spend the night.

After breakfast cruise across the Brač channel to Pučišća. Pucisca is the biggest village of the island of Brač with authentic Mediterranean architecture and rustic ambiance inside a deep fjord. Shiny and white stone facades rising amphitheatrically uphill make this place so unique and worth seeing, and famous for its quarries from which stone was excavated to build limestone columns of the White House in Washington DC, The Parliament house in Vienna, and many other famous buildings all over the world.

In Pucisce is only one Stonemasonry school in Croatia where students carve Brač limestone with traditional and unconventional tools that are used here for centuries. After a relaxed walk, have lunch while cruising to Split, your first and last stop.

Split is the second largest urban center in Croatia and the seat of the Split and Dalmatia County. It is traditionally considered to be over 1,700 years old. Since 1979 the historic center of Split has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List. The historical and cultural buildings are located inside the walls of the Diocletian’s Palace. An English-speaking guide leads an afternoon Split City tour, and walks you through historical Diocletian’s Palace.

Optional Friday afternoon farewell excursion to Krka National Park:
Krka National Park was proclaimed in 1985 and is the seventh National Park in Croatia.The whole area is rich with vegetation as well as birds and fish. Due to new strong preservation laws, this extraordinary area has been kept in its original pristine state.
 
From the boat depart after lunch, arriving there around 3:30 p.m. Walk through the National Park to Skradinski buk waterfall, the longest waterfall on the Krka River and one of the best-known natural beauties of Croatia. The walking part is ended at The Skradinski buk Ethno Village at Krka National Park, which recently received the prestigious Golden Flower of Europe award in a competition among several thousand sites. Return by scenic road from Krka to Split, arriving to Split through Golden Door, for an orientation Split City tour and ending your journey at the ship.

It is time to say farewell to all your new friends after having breakfast.