Q. My wife and I are interested in doing an extended walk for around two weeks in Croatia in late June, July or August 2018.
We are both quite fit and not looking for five-star or upmarket accommodation but are rather going for the overall experience. Are you aware of any organised or individual or private walks that might suit us? - Dave & Megan Lowe
A. A much wiser and better-travelled man than I once told me that there are only three proper ways to travel - by horse, by canoe or on foot.Each method offers its own rewards, be it sharing your journey with another sentient creature, drifting along with the current on a lovely river, or travelling at the same pace our ancestors once did on their incredible migrations.
They also all share the same seductions, which are simply to travel slowly and peacefully at a pace that our minds can comprehend so we might absorb our surroundings.Then there are "slackpacking" tours, where you get to walk from place to place while your bags are transported to your overnight stop.
These tours will take in the various delights of the Dalmation Coast, the vineyards of Istria and rambles around the islands of Brac and Hvar.
The islands offer the Croatia that you see in travel brochures - beaches and coves hemmed in by turquoise seas and rugged hills studded with pines.
My research turned up three operators with interesting options. Inntravel offers a self-guided seven-night supported walk across the Istrian Peninsula, from the Adriatic Sea to Lovran.
The hike is rated moderate with a few long days as you hike along tracks through fields and forested hills. Rates start at ₤875 (about R15,700) per person and include accommodation in three- and four-star hotels, breakfast and some dinners and lunches.
Scottish cycling and walking tour operator Macs Adventure offers an exploration on foot of the beautiful port at Split before you catch the ferry to Brac for two-and-a-half days of hiking around the island. The seven-night tour concludes with two days of hiking on Hvar island. From ₤840.
The company also has a seven-night tour starting with a walking tour of Dubrovnik, day hikes on Lokrum and Lopud islands and then three days of hiking through vineyards and villages in the countryside around Dubrovnik.Rates start at ₤730 per person and include accommodation - and breakfast - in guesthouses, a few dinners and wine-tastings, baggage transfers, boat tickers and a private guided tour of Dubrovnik.
Sail Croatia has a unique trip, which combines walking with exploring the Dalmatian Coast by yacht. The seven-day cruise departs from Split and visits the islands of Solta, Vis, Hvar, Bol and Korcula. You sleep on the boat and hike during the day, covering 10-18km a day. Rates for 2018 start at ₤399 per person.
If you would rather deal with a local agent, you can arrange a tailor-made, private walking tour via Thompsons Holidays' operators in Croatia.This would be more expensive than the options listed above but would offer more flexibility. For more, contact Wendy Schulze on 011-770-7677 or e-mail travel@thompsons.co.za.
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