Southern Dalmatia & Montenegro

 1 week ex Dubrovnik – departures on Sundays

 1st day: Embarkation in Dubrovnik (the port of Gruz) during the whole day. Depending on the arrival of your flight you will have the whole day and the evening available to discover Dubrovnik’s old town, which resembles an open air museum. The distance from the port to the old town is a good half hour’s walk or a few minutes by bus, leaving from the immediate vicinity of our ships. The bus departs every 15 minutes; the fare is 10 kunas, last bus around 2:00 am. Stroll through the famous “Stradun”, take a walk along the massive city walls and visit the countless attractions. Dinner and overnight stay on board.

 2nd day: After breakfast, we weigh anchor and leave for Cavtat where the customs formalities will be taken care of. After about two more hours of sailing we will reach the southern end of Croatia and leave the Croatian territorial waters, heading towards Montenegro. We turn into the Kotor Bay, which, surrounded by high mountains, extends 25 km into the mainland. After the passport control in the city of Zelenika, we will sail deeper into the Kotor Bay and arrive to the city of Kotor. The city walls of Kotor are certainly unique – they embrace not only the small triangular city centre, but also the mountain Sveti Ivan (260 m) right behind it. The city walls are 5 km long; they are 3-15 m wide and up to 20 m high. Overnight in Kotor.

 3rd day: A tour guide will accompany us on a fullday bus trip into the beautiful “Land of the Black Mountains”. From Kotor, we will drive on a narrow and meandering road into the Lovcen Massif, from where we will have an incredible panoramic view over the whole bay of Kotor. We will stop in the village of Njegusi, best known for its airdried ham. Enjoy a culinary break with ham, cheese and freshly baked bread (included in the price), accompanied by a glass of red wine “Vranac”. We continue to Cetinje, Montenegro’s former capital and former seat of the Montenegrin kings. During the city tour we will also visit the castle of King Nikola of Montenegro, which was turned into a museum. You may be surprised to hear about the great power of his political relations, which gave him the nickname “Father in law of Europe”; he knew how to marry his beautiful daughters to the European royal courts. We drive to the coast and make a photo stop overlooking the little island of Sveti Stefan, a former pirate’s nest, which is nowadays an exclusive hotel. We then continue on to Budva, the main holiday destination on the Montenegrin coast. Guided tour around the picturesque Old Town, which was completely destroyed in 1979 by a severe earthquake, and rebuild truetodetail only in the late 1980s. Now you will have plenty of free time to stroll through the town, enjoy a cup of coffee or an ice cream. And if you’ve brought your bathing suit, we recommend a visit to the beautiful beach of Mogren, just five minutes from Budva’s Old Town. Return to the boat which will await us in the small town of Perast. Perast had its period of highest prosperity in the 17th and 18th century, owing to seafaring and shipbuilding – the Perast merchant fleet at that time counted about 100 ships. Overnight in Perast.

 4th day: Only a few minutes away by boat is the small island “Gospa od Skrpjela” (“Lady of the Rocks”). The island has been artificially created from stones that were piled up on an underwater reef. Don’t miss the baroque church, built in 1630, with more than 70 oil paintings from the second half of the 17th Century and the museum of Greek and Latin inscriptions, as well as weapons and votive images of the sailors from the 16th to 19th century. After sightseeing, we will leave for Zelenika to go through passport control and leave the Kotor Bay and Montenegro. About four hours later, we will reach Cavtat. Another passport control and we will head to a nearby bay for a swim, before continuing our journey to the Elafiti Islands. Overnight stay at one of the Elafiti Islands – Sipan, Kolocep or Lopud.

 5th day: Our today’s first destination is Pomena on the island of Mljet. A part of the island was declared a National Park – two saltwater lakes (in the larger one, there is a small island with a former monastery) are connected to the sea only by a narrow channel. You will have the opportunity to visit the National Park (entrance fee, including boat ride to the monastery: approx. € 15, to be paid onsite). Afterwards we will set sail and move on towards the island of Korcula. Korcula has one of the most beautiful old towns of Dalmatia and is known for its fortresslike appearance, often called “Little Dubrovnik”. In ancient times the island was also called “Black Island”, due to its vast pine forests. Overnight stay at the birthplace of the famous sailor and explorer Marco Polo.

 6th day: We will sail along the mountainous peninsula of Peljesac (the highest peak is Sveti Ilija, 961 m), and after a swim, we will head to Slano, a picturesque fishing village, which lies in a deep bay north of Dubrovnik. Dinner and overnight aboard in Slano.

 7th day: After anchoring for the last swim in a bay, during the early afternoon, the sailing boat will bring us back to the port of Dubrovnik. Upon arrival, our tour guide will pick you up from the boat for a guided tour through the old town (guiding in German and English language included in the price, transfer by city bus, fare to be paid onsite). Afterwards, you will have free time to enjoy your last night in Dubrovnik’s unique atmosphere. Dinner and overnight stay on board.

 8th day: After breakfast, at around 9:00 am, disembarkation.