Sipping Through Croatia
Sipping Through Croatia custom tour — 8 day wine tour through Croatia’s two great wine regions by Juniper Tours. Istria (Rovinj, Malvasia and Teran tastings, Motovun truffle hunting, olive oil producers) and Dalmatia (Split, Plavac Mali, Korčula island Grk and Pošip wines, Pelješac peninsula Dingač vineyards, Mali Ston oysters, Dubrovnik). Private driver-guide, family winery visits, 4-star or higher accommodations, daily breakfast. Designed by Taryn Harrison and Lexi Blade. IATAN accredited (22-787413). 4.9★ · hundreds of verified Google reviews. Custom Croatia wine itineraries from $2,500 per person. Sample itinerary — all trips custom designed by our top travel specialists.
Sample Itinerary · Croatia
Sipping Through Croatia
Rovinj · Istria · Dalmatia · Dubrovnik
Duration
8 Days · 7 Nights
Accommodations
4-Star or Higher
Transport
Private Driver-Guide
Best For
Wine · Food · Adriatic Coast
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← All Croatia Itineraries
8 Days · 7 Nights
4-Star+ Accommodations
Private Transfers Throughout
Daily Breakfast Included
Sample — Fully Customisable
This is a sample itinerary — for inspiration only. Every Juniper trip is designed from scratch around you. Many clients travel a very similar route — if this resonates, book a free consultation and a specialist will build something just like it (or better) specifically for your travel style, dates, and group.
1
Day One
Arrive in Rovinj
Rovinj · Istria
Welcome to Istria — Croatia’s northwestern peninsula, where the Adriatic meets Italian-influenced culture, truffles, and olive oil. Your driver meets you at Pula Airport (PUY) and transfers you to Rovinj (approximately 40 minutes) — a pastel-colored fishing town on a hillside peninsula, often called the most romantic small town on the Adriatic.
Afternoon: explore Rovinj’s old town — the Church of St. Euphemia at the summit (climb the bell tower for 360-degree views), the narrow cobblestoned lanes cascading to the harbor, and the waterfront Grisia art street. First Istrian dinner — fuži pasta with truffles, Istrian olive oil, and a glass of local Malvasia. Welcome to Croatian wine country.
Arrive Rovinj
Old town + St. Euphemia
Truffle pasta + Malvasia dinner
Overnight: Rovinj
2
Day Two
Istria Wine + Truffle Day
Istria
Full day exploring Istria’s wine and food landscape with your private driver-guide. Morning: Malvasia and Teran tastings at two family wineries in the Istrian interior — Malvasia (the signature Istrian white, mineral and herbal) and Teran (the local red, deep and earthy, grown on the distinctive red terra rossa soil). The wineries are small, family-run, and the tastings are private.
Afternoon: truffle hunting in the Motovun Forest — a guided hunt with a trained truffle dog through the oak forest above the Mirna River valley. Black truffles are available year-round; white truffles (the prized tartufo bianco) are October through December. Finish with a truffle lunch in Motovun — the hilltop medieval town overlooking the forest where the truffles grow. Optional: olive oil mill visit (Istrian olive oil regularly wins international awards). Return to Rovinj by evening.
Malvasia + Teran tastings
Truffle hunting + Motovun lunch
Olive oil mill optional
Overnight: Rovinj
3
Day Three
Rovinj → Split
Split
Morning at leisure in Rovinj — a final coffee on the harbor or a swim at Lone Bay. Afternoon: fly from Pula to Split (approximately 1 hour, or scenic drive via the coastal highway, approximately 5 hours with stops). The landscape shifts from Istria’s green rolling hills to Dalmatia’s dramatic limestone coast.
Arrive Split late afternoon. Check in to your hotel near Diocletian’s Palace. Evening: first Dalmatian dinner — the cuisine shifts from Istria’s truffle-and-pasta tradition to Dalmatia’s grilled-fish-and-olive-oil Mediterranean style. Paired with your first Dalmatian wine — likely a Plavac Mali red or a Pošip white.
Fly Pula → Split
Arrive Split
First Dalmatian wine dinner
Overnight: Split
4
Day Four
Split + Dalmatian Wine
Split · Kaštela
Morning: Diocletian’s Palace walking tour — the Peristyle, the basement halls, the Cathedral. Then the Kaštela wine region — a strip of coastal villages between Split and Trogir where Crljenak Kaštelanski (the Croatian ancestor of Zinfandel) was rediscovered in 2001. Private tasting at a Kaštela winery — this is where Zinfandel began before Croatian emigrants brought it to California.
Afternoon: at leisure in Split — Marjan Hill, the Riva, the fish market at the eastern wall. Or a visit to Trogir (UNESCO old town, 15 minutes from Kaštela). Evening: dinner paired with Dalmatian wines.
Diocletian’s Palace tour
Kaštela Zinfandel tasting
Trogir UNESCO optional
Overnight: Split
5
Day Five
Ferry to Korčula — Island Wines
Korčula
Morning: catamaran from Split to Korčula (approximately 2.5 hours). Korčula is the wine island of the Dalmatian Coast — two indigenous grape varieties that grow almost nowhere else. Grk (a white grape cultivated in the sandy vineyards of Lumbarda, just yards from the sea) and Pošip (a fuller white from the Smokvica area in the island’s interior).
Afternoon: private tasting at a Korčula family winery — Grk and Pošip with the winemaker, paired with the island’s goat cheese and cured meats. Walk the medieval old town (Marco Polo’s reputed birthplace, herringbone streets designed to channel summer breezes). Evening: dinner in the old town — fresh fish and Korčula wine.
Catamaran Split → Korčula
Grk + Pošip tasting
Marco Polo old town
Overnight: Korčula
6
Day Six
Pelješac Peninsula + Ston Oysters
Pelješac · Korčula
Morning: ferry from Korčula to the Pelješac peninsula (30 minutes). Pelješac is Croatia’s most important red-wine peninsula — the steep south-facing hillsides produce Dingač (Croatia’s first protected-origin wine, a Plavac Mali grown on near-vertical slopes above the Adriatic). Private tasting at a Dingač producer — the vineyard views alone justify the visit.
Afternoon: drive to Ston at the base of the peninsula — the ‘Croatian Great Wall’ (3.4 miles of medieval fortification) and the oyster farms in Mali Ston bay. Fresh oysters pulled from the Adriatic, paired with Pošip or Malvasia. Continue to Dubrovnik (approximately 1 hour from Ston). Check in. Evening at leisure.
Ferry Korčula → Pelješac
Dingač vineyard tasting
Ston oysters + wine pairing
Overnight: Dubrovnik
7
Day Seven
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Morning: Dubrovnik city walls walk (timed for early morning). Then explore the Old Town at ground level — the Rector’s Palace, the Franciscan Monastery, the Stradun. Afternoon: Dubrovnik wine bar crawl — your specialist has a curated list of wine bars in the Old Town and Lapad that pour rare Croatian wines by the glass (including vintages you won’t find outside the country).
Farewell dinner: your specialist has the restaurant where the sommelier pairs each course with a Croatian wine from the regions you’ve visited — Istrian Malvasia, Kaštela Crljenak, Korčula Grk, Pelješac Dingač. The meal is the summary of the trip.
City walls walk
Wine bar crawl
Farewell wine-paired dinner
Overnight: Dubrovnik
8
Day Eight
Depart Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
A final Croatian morning. Transfer to Dubrovnik Airport (DBV) for your departure flight. Eight days sipping through Croatia — Istria’s truffles and Malvasia to Dalmatia’s Plavac Mali and Adriatic oysters, the green hills to the limestone coast.
Your Juniper specialist remains reachable throughout departure day. Safe travels home.
Transfer to DBV
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Love this itinerary? Make it yours.
This is a sample luxury custom route — a starting point, not a fixed package. Many clients travel something very close to this, customized for their travel style, group, and dates. Book a free consultation and a specialist will build from here.
Accommodations
Boutique hotels, charming B&Bs, or historic castle stays — chosen based on your preferences and travel style.
Transportation
Private driver-guide, self-drive rental, or a mix of both — all transfers confirmed before you travel.
Experiences
Pre-arranged tours and activities built around your interests — entrance tickets sorted, no queuing.
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Activities on this itinerary
Your specialist pre-arranges the right luxury experiences based on your interests and travel style. These are the custom experience types available on this route — specific choices are made with you, not for you.
Istrian Malvasia + Teran TastingsFamily wineries · terra rossa soil
Truffle Hunting Motovun ForestTrained dog · oak forest · truffle lunch
Istrian Olive Oil MillAward-winning producers · tasting
Kaštela Zinfandel TastingAncestor of California Zinfandel
Diocletian’s Palace Split1,700-year-old UNESCO Roman palace
Korčula Grk + Pošip WinesIsland whites · family winery
Dingač Vineyard PelješacCroatia’s first protected-origin wine
Mali Ston OystersFresh Adriatic · wine pairing
Dubrovnik City Walls1.2 miles circuit · early-morning timing
Dubrovnik Wine Bar CrawlRare Croatian wines by the glass
Farewell Wine-Paired DinnerAll regions in one meal
Rovinj Harbor TownIstria’s most romantic fishing port
Activities are selected and pre-booked with your specialist based on your interests — not all activities are included in every trip version. Availability varies by season.
The people who will design your Croatia trip
You work directly with a specialist who knows Croatia deeply — not a call center or booking agent. Every consultation is with someone who has been there, knows which Istrian winemaker pours the Malvasia that doesn’t leave the peninsula, which Pelješac hillside has the Dingač vineyard with the Adriatic view worth the steep drive, and which Mali Ston restaurant serves the oysters still cold from the morning harvest.
Ireland · Scotland · Iceland · Portugal · Croatia
Taryn Harrison
Juniper Tours’ most tenured specialist with 25 years of experience. CMSC certified and a former Peace Corps volunteer. Taryn brings the same detail-orientation to Portugal that she’s known for across Ireland and Iceland — she knows which Lisbon neighborhood hotel has the best terrace view, which Sintra entry time avoids the coach-tour peaks, and which Douro Valley quinta pours the reserve that doesn’t appear on the standard tasting menu.
25 Yrs
CMSC
Croatia & Adriatic
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Italy · Portugal · Spain · Switzerland
Lexi Blade
Florence and Salzburg-based with 8 years of experience across Southern Europe. Lexi covers Portugal, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland with the same firsthand knowledge she brings to every destination — sourced from living there rather than visiting. Her Croatia itineraries are built around the konobas that require a local’s recommendation, the Dalmatian wine producers who don’t export, and the island beaches that haven’t been found by the yacht-charter crowd yet.
8 Yrs
Florence Based
Southern Europe
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About this itinerary
Two distinct regions. Istria (the northwestern peninsula) produces Malvasia white wine and Teran red — Mediterranean-influenced wines with Italian character, paired with the region’s famous truffles and olive oil. Dalmatia (the southern coast and islands) produces Plavac Mali red (Croatia’s most important red grape, related to Zinfandel) and Posip and Grk whites from the islands. The contrast between the two regions — Istria’s rolling green hills versus Dalmatia’s limestone coast — is as dramatic in the landscape as in the glass.
Not at all. Croatian wine is genuinely unfamiliar to most travelers, which makes it more engaging — you are discovering rather than comparing. The winemakers are family operators who tell the story of the grape and the terroir in personal terms. Your specialist selects producers who are generous with their time and knowledge, not the commercial operations running tourist conveyor belts.
Istria is truffle country — black and white truffles from the Motovun Forest, shaved over handmade pasta (fuzi) and paired with Malvasia. Istrian olive oil is world-class. Dalmatia is Mediterranean — grilled fresh fish, octopus salad, peka (meat or seafood cooked under a bell-shaped lid), and the oysters from Mali Ston bay on the Peljesac peninsula. Korcula has its own goat cheese tradition. Every wine stop on this tour includes food pairing.
The island-hopping itinerary starts in Split and hops between four Dalmatian islands by ferry — beach and culture focused. This wine tour starts in Istria (a completely different region in the northwest) and works south through Dalmatia with wine as the primary thread. The overlap is Korcula island and Dubrovnik. If you want both islands and wine, the Complete Croatia itinerary at 13 days combines elements of both.
Other trips worth considering
Island Hopping the Dalmatian Coast
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Beach and culture focused — four islands by ferry without the wine emphasis.
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Highlights of Croatia
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Mainland to coast — Zagreb and Plitvice plus the Dalmatian cities.
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Complete Croatia
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Everything in 13 days — mainland, islands, wine, and coast.
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“Great planning and experience — the trip provided everything we asked for and more.”
Melanie D. · Croatia Wine Tour · Verified Google Review
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