Croatia

If your idea of a perfect location for a relaxed activity holiday features sandy beaches, strings of unspoilt islands, terraces of vines, the clearest of azure seas, Roman ruins, Franciscan monasteries and Venetian palaces, then Croatia is just for you. It's amazing that the country isn't overrun with tourists. Yet with 2000km of coastline, over 1,000 islands, and 8 national parks, it's hard to imagine it ever becoming crowded.

Walking in Croatia

On our guided walking holidays in Croatia you'll find un-crowded coastal paths, tourist free fishing villages and barely visited historical sites making you want to shout about it to everyone you know on your return home!

The fact is that most people still seem confused as to what the country has to offer. Our old fashioned perception of it as Eastern Europe confuses the Croatians who see themselves as Western. And rightly so. Founded by the Greeks, the country became part of the Roman Empire in 59BC and was prized by them as a trade route. Sold by Naples to Venice for 100,000 ducats in the 14C, you'll still find Venetian loggia in many towns and the cuisine retains an Italian flavour. Conquered and re-conquered, many of its towns have a 'hand me down' feel with churches built on top of Roman temples and palaces a mix of Gothic and Renaissance styles.

Its cultural heritage is matched only by its natural beauty: cascading Krka waterfalls, dramatic limestone Paklenica Gorge, emerald green Plitvice Lakes, stunning Mt Velebit whose karst hillsides and primeval beech and black pine forests are home to Croatia's only UNESCO biosphere with masses of endemic flora - all perfect for exploring on a guided walking holiday.

Cycling in Croatia

The Istrian Peninsula at the top of the Adriatic, (just below Trieste), was Italian until 1945 when it became part of Croatia. People still speak Italian here, and it is even taught in schools - in fact, the region is known as 'Croatia's Tuscany'. Istria is home to a treasure trove of antiquities, including a vast Roman amphitheatre in Pula, and exquisite Baroque and Byzantine basilicas in UNESCO Rovinj and Porec. Inland, tiny frescoed country churches and trulli style stone beehive huts called kazuna are sprinkled over oak forested countryside. Along the routes, sleepy villages with peeling shutters soak up the sun, producing olive oil and wines among the finest in the Mediterranean.

Our cycling holiday in Istria explores the west coast. The first three nights are spent on Fazana's pretty harbour, where fresh fish is landed on the dock opposite the hotel terrace. From here you can explore Pula, loop inland to Vodnjan, (Istria's ancient capital), and visit the amazing Brijuni Islands National Park offshore. Two nights are spent in Rovinj, a coastal hilltop town of marbled, boutique-lined alleys, before two final nights in Porec, where yachts line a waterfront of arty bars and restaurants serving exceptional seafood.