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Adriatic Escape
Small Group
Tour Description:
Journey from Zagreb to Venice in a Small Group, following the northern Adriatic through Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. Along the way, explore Zagreb and Ljubljana, cruise Lake Bled, visit Postojna Cave, Krk Island and Istrian towns such as Rovinj and Pula before continuing to Piran and Venice. Local Experts and MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences will connect you with family-run wineries, Murano glassblowers and local initiatives, with balanced time at leisure in harbors, old towns and lakeside settings.
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Dates & Pricing
| Sunday 13 Sep 26 — Tuesday 22 Sep 26 | Starting at $4,478 |  SPECIAL | Get a Quote |
| Sunday 11 Apr 27 — Tuesday 20 Apr 27 | Starting at $4,950 | SPECIAL | Get a Quote |
| Sunday 25 Apr 27 — Tuesday 04 May 27 | Starting at $4,950 | SPECIAL | Get a Quote |
| Sunday 09 May 27 — Tuesday 18 May 27 | Starting at $5,495 | SPECIAL | Get a Quote |
| Sunday 23 May 27 — Tuesday 01 Jun 27 | Starting at $5,495 | SPECIAL | Get a Quote |
| Sunday 06 Jun 27 — Tuesday 15 Jun 27 | Starting at $5,195 | SPECIAL | Get a Quote |
| Sunday 20 Jun 27 — Tuesday 29 Jun 27 | Starting at $5,195 | SPECIAL | Get a Quote |
| Sunday 29 Aug 27 — Tuesday 07 Sep 27 | Starting at $5,195 | SPECIAL | Get a Quote |
| Sunday 12 Sep 27 — Tuesday 21 Sep 27 | Starting at $5,595 | SPECIAL | Get a Quote |
| Sunday 26 Sep 27 — Tuesday 05 Oct 27 | Starting at $5,325 | SPECIAL | Get a Quote |
| Sunday 10 Oct 27 — Tuesday 19 Oct 27 | Starting at $5,225 | SPECIAL | Get a Quote |
Disclaimer: Prices listed are per person, based on double occupancy, and in USD. All promotions are valid for new bookings only, capacity controlled and valid on select dates and departures. Individual Terms and Conditions will apply to all promotions. Any promotion can be withdrawn at any time without notice. Please speak with your Pavlus Travel Planner for complete vendor terms and conditions, including eligible tour and cruise dates.
Destination & Sightseeing
Destination & SightseeingDestination Highlights:
Personal radio headsets give you the freedom to wander during visits to famous highlights, without missing any of your Local Expert's fascinating commentary.
Hotel and restaurant tips are included - you'll never have to worry about how much to give, nor search for foreign currency. We also include all taxes and porterage charges at hotels.
We carry your bags for you and promptly deliver them to your hotel door.
From time to time, your Travel Director will delight you with an Insight Flourish, which is a local specialty representing the destination.
Stay connected with friends and family with our complimentary coach and hotel Wi-Fi (where available).
If your arrival and/or departure flights are as per the itinerary start and end dates, then transfers are available at scheduled times. If your flights are outside these times, or you have booked additional nights accommodation with Insight Vacations, you may purchase transfers or make your own way from/to the airport.
Personal radio headsets give you the freedom to wander during visits to famous highlights, without missing any of your Local Expert's fascinating commentary.
Hotel and restaurant tips are included - you'll never have to worry about how much to give, nor search for foreign currency. We also include all taxes and porterage charges at hotels.
We carry your bags for you and promptly deliver them to your hotel door.
From time to time, your Travel Director will delight you with an Insight Flourish, which is a local specialty representing the destination.
Stay connected with friends and family with our complimentary coach and hotel Wi-Fi (where available).
If your arrival and/or departure flights are as per the itinerary start and end dates, then transfers are available at scheduled times. If your flights are outside these times, or you have booked additional nights accommodation with Insight Vacations, you may purchase transfers or make your own way from/to the airport.
ITINERARY
ITINERARYWelcome to Zagreb
Arrive in Zagreb, capital of Croatia, capital of Croatia and a key Central European gateway to the Adriatic. After check-in, you’ll have time to settle and take in first impressions of the city or simply rest at the hotel. In the evening, you’ll meet your Travel Director and your Small Group for a welcome dinner in a local restaurant, where regional dishes will introduce your northern Adriatic journey.
Zagreb Sightseeing and on to Ljubljana
Explore Zagreb with your Local Expert, beginning in the Lower Town near the Art Pavilion and the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. You’ll walk the formal paths of Zrinjevac Park before riding the funicular up to the Upper Town for St. Mark’s Church and a view of the Lotrščak Tower, once part of the city’s defensive walls. Later, continue across the border to Slovenia and arrive in Ljubljana. Join a walking tour that follows the riverbanks and main squares, crossing the bridges that link the historic center. In the afternoon, visit the Sonček association for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, meeting artists with cerebral palsy who craft distinctive Slovenian souvenirs. This evening, enjoy dinner of local specialties in a Ljubljana restaurant.
Lake Bled, Jewel of the Slovenian Alps
Travel to Lake Bled, one of Slovenia’s best-known Alpine lakes, long recognized as a historic spa resort. With Insight Choice, choose to board a traditional wooden pletna boat to Bled Island, climbing to the 15th-century church to ring its bell, or visit Villa Bled, once a presidential residence, to sample Bled’s kremšnita cream cake with coffee on the terrace overlooking the water. Return to Ljubljana for an afternoon at leisure, perhaps taking the funicular up to Ljubljana Castle for city views, walking the avenues and gardens of Tivoli Park or exploring Jože Plečnik’s riverside Central Market, and perhaps join an Optional Experience to Pr’ Krač for a traditional dinner showcasing Slovenia’s rural heritage.
Postojna Caves and across the border to Croatia
Leave Ljubljana and travel south to Postojna Cave, one of Europe’s best-known karst cave systems and a show cave visited since the 19th century. Inside, you’ll travel by underground train into the heart of the cave, then continue on foot through chambers marked by stalactites, stalagmites and limestone columns formed by water over millions of years. Continue across the border into Croatia towards Rijeka, a major Adriatic port once known as Fiume under Habsburg rule. After settling into the hotel, spend time along the waterfront or on the Korzo promenade, and perhaps join an Optional Experience to Opatija to follow its seafront promenade and try coastal specialties in a local restaurant.
Explore the island of Krk
Enjoy a Relaxed Start before traveling from Rijeka across the bridge to Krk, one of the largest islands in the Adriatic and an early center of Croatian literacy and rule. In Krk Town, explore with a Local Expert, visiting St Mary’s Cathedral, whose origins trace back to an early Christian basilica, and viewing the Frankopan Castle, seat of a powerful medieval noble family. Continue to a family-owned winery for a farm-to-table lunch, with dishes prepared from seasonal island ingredients and paired with local wines such as Žlahtina. Return to Rijeka in the afternoon and spend the evening at leisure, perhaps walking the Korzo promenade, seeking out a seafood konoba along the waterfront or visiting Trsat Castle above the city for views over the port and Kvarner Bay.
Rovinj and Pula, Jewels of Istria
Leave Rijeka and travel south into Istria for a morning in Rovinj, a former island town later linked to the mainland. With time at leisure, perhaps walk the harbourfront and old fishing port, follow stone lanes that climb towards the Church of St. Euphemia or step into small galleries and workshops along Grisia Street. If you’re ready for an early lunch, take a table in a harbor-side konoba to try grilled Adriatic fish, mussels cooked buzara-style or pasta with local truffles with a glass of Malvazija. In the afternoon, continue to Pula, Istria’s largest city, known for its Roman amphitheater and Augustan temple, and settle into the hotel.
Discover Roman Pula
Join a Local Expert to uncover Pula’s layered history, beginning at the Pula Arena, one of the largest and best-preserved Roman amphitheatres still standing. Built in the 1st century CE under Emperor Augustus, the arena could seat up to 20,000 spectators. From here, continue to the Temple of Augustus on the former Roman Forum and the Arch of the Sergii, a 1st-century BCE triumphal arch that marks one of the old approaches into town. The afternoon is at leisure in Pula; you might visit the local market, walk the waterfront around the marina or take a short trip to the Verudela peninsula for a coastal stroll.
Piran, Jewel of the Istrian Coast, and on to Venice
Leave Pula and travel north into Slovenia for a morning in Piran, a coastal town that spent centuries under Venetian rule. Spend the morning at leisure in Piran: walk around Tartini Square, follow narrow streets to the small harbor or climb towards St. George’s Church and the town walls for views over the bay. In the afternoon, cross into Italy and drive across the Venetian Plain to Venice, an island city built in a lagoon and long recognized for its role in Adriatic trade and politics.
Through the Canals of Venice
Start the day on Murano with a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience at a traditional glassblowing workshop. Watch artisans shape molten glass using techniques refined over centuries and hear how their work helps keep this local craft alive. Return to Venice for a gondola ride along the canals, gliding under small bridges and past historic facades. The afternoon is at leisure for final discoveries and souvenirs — perhaps visiting St. Mark’s Square and the Rialto area or stopping in a bacaro for cicchetti. In the evening, meet your Travel Director and your Small Group for dinner, marking the final night of your journey through the Adriatic.
Arrivederci Venice
Say goodbye to your Travel Director and your Small Group as your journey through the northern Adriatic – from Croatian ports and islands to Slovenian lakes and the Venetian lagoon – comes to an end.
Disclaimer: Prices listed are per person, based on double occupancy, and in USD. All promotions are valid for new bookings only, capacity controlled and valid on select dates and departures. Individual Terms and Conditions will apply to all promotions. Any promotion can be withdrawn at any time without notice. Please speak with your Pavlus Travel Planner for complete vendor terms and conditions, including eligible tour and cruise dates.
