Croatia: Treasure of the Adriatic Coast

If you go on a RS tour in Croatia, schedule it when you can have Darko as the tour leader. He is everything we could want to lead the group.

This trip was varied and interesting. Our guide, Darko, provided information that enriched our experience. His good humor and patience set a very positive tone for the trip. There were no negative surprises-he kept us fully informed regarding the logistics which sometimes needed some flexibility. Darko talked about growing up in Croatia and attempted to teach us some Croatian. He obtained cello concert tickets for people who were interested. He is a treasure. Anna at the fig farm went beyond showing us a fig farm. She was so generous about sharing the story of how they built the business and the struggles. Her daughter was interesting and fun to chat with.

This tour through Croatia really exceeded my expectations. The itinerary was thoughtfully planned and all the locations we visited were interesting and fun. We were well-pampered with good food and accommodations, and our motor coach was really nice (and Ivan, our driver, was highly-skilled). We enjoyed every one of our fellow tourists and hope to keep in touch via our WhatsApp group. Best of all, our trip leader, Petra, was wonderful and full of all sorts of insights about her homeland and the neighboring countries (meeting her husband and dog was a bonus). We came home feeling great about our trip and Road Scholar. Highly recommended!

The scenery was beautiful; I learned a great deal; and I never had to worry about the logistics as Road Scholar and our guide handled everything.

Darko was a delightful leader. We loved the Croatian food, people and the beautiful country. Visiting Bosnia was a world we have heard so much about and good for us to see. Understanding the wars Croatia has been through was an important reminder to us. I hope to see Croatia again.

This is a great itinerary. Hits all the highlights of Croatia. The hotels were beautiful! Loved all the food and Croatia has great pizza! Our guide Ivan was awesome! His knowledge and recommendations were perfect. Would highly recommend this tour. Croatia is a beautiful country.

Croatia is a true treasure with an excellent itinerary (May 15,2024) with an enthusiastic excellent leader Dejan. The destinations were well planned to provide an opportunity for a survey of the multiple attractions in Croatia from ancient cities to national parks, seaside resorts and cosmopolitan Zagreb. Recommended for free dinner in Zagreb is the Croatian specialty restaurant Vinodol just off the main square at 10 Nikola Tesla. City Museum is well worth a visit considering most other major museums closed due to 2020 earthquake damage. You may consider arrival a day early for additional exploration of Zagreb. Adjacent to Hotel Academia is an excellent Konsum Market in the Mall. There is a spectacular city gallery adjacent to St Marks in the Old City. Our group of 22 was closely knit and welcoming with a good mix of couples and singles. Those not Olympic athletes should be beware of high tub slippery showers in hotels in Solin and Dubrovnik; the ADA has not reached Croatia. Walking sticks advisable for hikes and cobblestone streets. Early spring is recommended to avoid both heat and tourist crowds; both Diocletian Palace and Dubrovnik are overrun with tourists. The local guides were informative although the Dubrovnik guide was perfunctory. Shoppers should explore Trogir, small and compact. Highlights include a local farm,water visit with lunch, a mill visit (serving some excellent flavored brandies, outstanding wine tasting and accompanying food near Dubrovnik, and the model farm visit/dinner the last night. Enjoy the contrasts with open eyes and the welcoming kind Croatians especially if you get Dejan for your tour leader. Five stars!

My husband and I have always travelled on our own, but our Road Scholar trip was fantastic. We learned so much more than if we'd been on our own, and the various guides were interesting and helpful. We had experiences we would not have found on our own, such as the visit to the small family farm or the wine tasting dinner at a regional vineyard. We enjoyed meeting our fellow travellers, and found the whole trip to be well balanced in terms of variety of activities and adventures, and also free time vs "tour time". Our main tour guide was fantastic - organized, insightful, wise, wonderful, enthusiastic and a joy to be with.

There needs to be improvement on the travel agents used. We missed flights going to Croatia and going home. There wasn’t enough time to catch flights very stressful.

Beautiful country and beautiful people with a lot of history!

Overall, a very good trip. Croatia is a fascinating country with lots to offer for tourists. Our guide Darko was truly outstanding and was a definite highlight of the trip. More choice in meals would be appreciated.

I am so happy I took this tour, even though it was a bit difficult for me, physically. I sat out 2 afternoons, happily ensconced at a café, while the others climbed a few more stairs! The beauty of Croatia is absolutely breathtaking; I couldn't stop taking photographs! And I was astonished to find myself in Bosnia, standing on the Mostar Bridge. I remembered with clarity the terrible wars that were going on the region in the 1990s and I was hit by an intense emotional reaction to finding myself in that location. That side trip to Mostar was an unexpected, but very welcome, experience.

An excellent and comprehensive look at a beautiful country -- it's history, scenery, and culture. Zvonimir was an excellent guide, bringing knowledge, enthusiasm, and energy to our group. Our group was one of the best parts of a trip that exceeded our very high expectations for Road Scholar.

This is an amazing tour! Croatia is a beautiful country with a fascinating and complex history. The islands, mountains, and historical sights are magnificent. We learned so much about Croatia’s struggle to become the independent country that it is today. A wonderful trip with delightful companions! Outstanding field trips, group leader, Nasrin, and guides.

Increased my knowledge of our world! Croatia is a beautiful and interesting country to tour and invites you to come back.

Croatia is a very beautiful country. The program selected locations from the North to South. It provided participants the opportunity to learn about the culture, history and economy.

This was an excellent introduction to Croatia. The entire trip was well-planned, professionally conducted, and a lot of fun!

This was a wonderful trip. Petra, our tour guide was very knowledgeable and provided us with lots of historical and current day information about Croatia. The local guides were excellent. The country is beautiful! We visited the three sizeable cities as well as half a dozen towns. The hotels were all good, some better than others. The bathrooms in Zagreb were small but the breakfasts were great. In Louvran, the bathroom was slightly better however the bedroom had a weird layout. The hotel in Split was better and the one in Dubrovnik was the best. The staffs were good in all of the hotels as were all of the breakfast buffets. There was good shopping in Zagreb and also in some of the smaller villages. Lots of tourist type stuff but good quality and reasonable prices on gold jewelry in some of the small shops. Most of the food and restaurants were good to very good. The bus and driver was very good, same for the luggage handling. We had a very nice group of people on our tour. All in all, it was a great trip.

It's hard for me to believe that other tour agencies could provide, at such reasonable cost, the overall experiences that Road Scholar offers.

This program captured the essence of the country and its people. I'm in love with Croatia!

What a wonderful, beautiful surprise Croatia turned out to be! The coastline views were spectacularly beautiful. Our tour guide, Nasrin, was extremely knowledgeable, caring and thoughtful about the group's needs, and she has a wonderful sense of humor. Our subject matter guides were very well informed and fully answered the group's questions. Our accommodations were lovely, especially the former Hapsburg Mansion in Opatija and Kompas Hotel in Dubrovnik. The bus driver, Tomo, was wonderful as he navigated us on some very twisty roads along the coast. I absolutely loved this trip! One highlight was dinner at a 1500 year old family home/restaurant in the outskirts of Dubrovnik -- the meal was one of the best, the organic garden so impressive and farmhouse kitchen and dining room so inviting.

I highly recommend taking this trip to visit Croatia. The country is beautiful and the people are very friendly. Our tour leader, Nasrin El Gharni, was exceptional. Her knowledge of her country that she shared with our group gave me a new found appreciation for Croatia and the struggle it has gone through for its independence. Croatia is only the second country I have visited that I've felt, "I could live here." (Ireland being the other!)

Croatia: Treasure of the Adriatic Coast was a wonderful adventure and learning experience. I had always wanted to visit Croatia, and was not at all disappointed with the beauty of the country. But I also learned a great deal about the history, culture, and challenges faced by Croatians. I went a few days before the program started in order to visit Slovenia and other sites near Zagreb. Road Scholar was great about helping with those arrangements. I especially want to state my appreciation and fondness for our superb trip leader, Nasrin! I highly recommend this trip!

Croatia is a wonderful place to explore especially if Nasrin El Gharni is your guide. She made the trip exceptional for us while exploring a new culture with an interesting history.

First, Croatia has stunningly beautiful and varied landscapes, seascapes, and towns that will not disappoint you--I enjoyed every minute of this tour! The itinerary was excellent: every single location was full of beauty, historical interest, great food, and friendly local people. I found our tour director Nasrin to be very kind, efficient, hard-working, and full of humour: a genuinely exceptional person! I highly recommend this program. My only criticism is this: oftentimes the local guides, very pleasant and knowledgeable, had the group standing in one place on town visits for too long at a time, which got both a bit fatiguing and a bit dull. (One can of course choose to step away from the group for a bit to wander around, which I did.) Much better in my opinion would have been for them to have given information while walking onward at a leisurely pace. But this is really a minor criticism, and overall I absolutely loved this trip!

If you wish to learn and enjoy "old Europe" this experience is for you. Great food, great sights and great people.

I think we all expected Croatia to be beautiful, but we didn't know it would be stunningly environmentally green, mind-blowing gorgeous, clean, clear, friendly, modern, rich in world history, and so courageously successful.