Kayaking on the Edge of Empires, Croatia (10 Days)

If you were to look out to sea from anywhere in Croatia, it would be unusual for you not to see a green speck in the distance! One of the chief delights on any visit to Croatia is hopping between the islands, enjoying the food, culture and of course the hidden remoteness, and kayaks are one of the most intimate ways to do this.

(c)Worldwildadventures-3675

NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED only 10 Places.

More than one thousand dazzling islands speckle the coast of Croatia, Magnificent islands that range from tiny, verdant and unpopulated to massive, arid and sporting ancient towns and villages. If you were to look out to sea from anywhere in Croatia, it would be unusual for you not to see a green speck in the distance! One of the chief delights on any visit to Croatia is hopping between the islands, enjoying the food, culture and of course the hidden remoteness, and kayaks are one of the most intimate ways to do this.

Orange paypal button

$3150 USD incl Tax

  • Kayaking in Sibenik Croatia

    Join us on an ancient journey along the coast of Croatia, here you will paddle on the edge of empires.

    Precariously poised between the Balkans and Central Europe, this land has been passed between competing kingdoms, empires and republics for millennia. If there’s an upside to this continual dislocation, it’s in the rich cultural legacy that each has left behind. Venetian palazzos snuggle up to Napoleonic forts, Roman columns protrude from early Slavic churches, and Viennese mansions face off with Socialist Realist sculpture. Excellent museums showcase treasures from most key stages of Europe’s history, telling a story that is in equal parts fascinating and horrifying.

    We will spend 9 days paddling from the Venetian city of Biograd through the islands of Kornati to the city of Sibenik, this journey will take us to Numerous destinations, many far off the beaten tourist path. We will camp on beaches, dine over open fires, sleep in modest coastal guest houses, and feast on local fare, not to mention visit ancient ruins, stroll through roman alleyways and listen to the banter and chatter of ancient Venetian city’s as we sip on wine beneath statues that have witnessed empires come and go.

    The trip will be guided by WWA Co Founder Jaime Sharp, Marco Venturini (Italy), and with guest Trip Leader Tara Mulvany (New Zealand) . Explore Ancient cities, and stunning islands, eat amazing food and meet maritime Croat’s. “breathtaking natural beauty, great swimming, summertime sun, oodles of history, interesting architecture, incredible wine, delicious seafood… I could go on. True, Croats don’t always present the sunniest face to complete strangers, but break through that initial reserve and you’ll discover the friendliest, most hospitable people you could hope to meet.” By Peter Dragicevich, Lonely Planet Author

    This expedition is open to everyone and will particularly appeal to people who wish to connect the country on a more subtitle and intimate way, and get of the beaten path while sleeping in tents or staying in small home stays, as we work our way along the dazzling coast, floating upon some of the clearest waters on the planet.

    Photographers will have plenty of opportunities to shoot spectacular landscapes and portraits of the interesting sights and people we encounter along the way.

    Bonus
    Ice Bears and Islands LogoAs an added bonus people attending this trip will get the very first public stories of Jaime and Tara’s epic world first sea kayak journey through the high arctic islands of Svalbard in Norway. Their expedition will be finishing mere weeks before this journey starts, and the lucky few on this trip will be treated to tales and photos of a kayaking world first. 3 people, 2000 km’s, 3000 polar bears and 3months. ICE BEARS AND ISLANDS, read more on the expedition here.

    Includes

    •       All Accommodations and Meals from the night of Day o (arrival day in Zadar) to dinner on Day 10
    •       All Kayaks, paddles, spray skirt, life jackets, and Safety gear
    •       Tents and sleeping pads
    •       All cooking equipment for camping trip
    •        Local Guide and WWA Trip Leader
    •        Sea Kayak Instruction

    Does Not Include

    •     International flight (we can advise)
    •     Breakfasts, Lunches on day 0 and meals from day 11 onwards.
    •     Airport exit taxes
    •     Alcoholic beverages
    •     Other optional off-site activities and tours.
    •     Gratuities for Trip Leaders/Guides

    Cost per Person

    US $3150(Taxes included) 10 days, 11 nights (9 days kayaking)
    Accommodation is in Double tents and Shared Rooms at Guesthouses, If you would like your own tent and Guest Room a single Orange paypal buttonsupplement can be paid or you can bring your own single tent.

    Single Supplement is $600 USD extra per single

    What next….

    Book your spot electronically here or under payments, or Contact us to reserve your spot on this unique Kayak trip, and we will send details on depositing money into our bank account. Once a deposit is received we will send out an information package with more on what to bring and other useful tips to prepare for this exciting adventure.

    Trip will be led by

    WWA Co founder:  Jaime Sharp

    Picture of Jaime Sharp

     

     

     

     

     

    WWA Guide: Marco Venturini

    Picture of Marco Venturini

     

     

     

     

     

    Guest Trip Leader: Tara Mulvany

    Picture of Tara Mulvany

     

     

     

     

  • Dates
    Oct 15th – 24th 2015
  • Sunset over Dubrovnik CroatiaCroatia is located in Central and Southeast Europe, bordering Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the southeast, Montenegro to the southeast, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest and Slovenia to the northwest. It lies mostly between latitudes 42° and 47° N and longitudes 13° and 20° E. The territory covers 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles), consisting of 56,414 square kilometres (21,782 square miles) of land and 128 square kilometres (49 square miles) of water. It is the 127th largest country in the world.Elevation ranges from the mountains of the Dinaric Alps with the highest point of the Dinara peak at 1,831 metres (6,007 feet) near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina in the south to the shore of the Adriatic Sea which makes up its entire southwest border.

    Insular Croatia consists of over a thousand islands and islets varying in size, 48 of which are permanently inhabited. The largest islands are Cres and Krk,[81] each of them having an area of around 405 square kilometres (156 square miles).

    Natural resources found in the country in quantities significant enough for production include oil, coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt and hydro power. Karst topography makes up about half of Croatia and is especially prominent in the Dinaric Alps. Croatia can be subdivided between a number of ecoregions because of its climate and geomorphology, and the country is consequently one of the richest in Europe in terms of biodiversity.

    There are four types of bio-geographical regions in Croatia—Mediterranean along the coast and in its immediate hinterland, Alpine in most of Lika and Gorski Kotar, Pannonian along Drava and Danube, and continental in the remaining areas. One of the most significant are karst habitats which include submerged karst, such as Zrmanja and Krka canyons and tufa barriers, as well as underground habitats. The karst geology harbours approximately 7,000 caves and pits

    There are 444 protected areas of Croatia, encompassing 9% of the country. Those include eight national parks, two strict reserves, and ten nature parks. The most famous protected area and the oldest national park in Croatia is the Plitvice Lakes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Velebit Nature Park is a part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme.

    Croatia has unpolluted marine areas reflected through numerous nature reserves and 116 Blue Flag beaches.[146] Croatia is ranked as the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world.

    Climate

    Most of Croatia has a moderately warm and rainy continental climate. Mean monthly temperature ranges between −3 °C (27 °F) (in January) and 18 °C (64 °F) (in July). The warmest areas of Croatia are at the Adriatic coast

    Mean annual precipitation ranges between 600 millimeters (24 inches) and 3,500 millimeters (140 inches) depending on geographic region and prevailing climate type. The least precipitation is recorded in the outer islands

    the coastal area prevailing winds are determined by local area features. Higher wind velocities are more often recorded in cooler months along the coast, generally as bura or less frequently as sirocco. The sunniest parts of the country are the outer islands, Hvar and Korčula, where more than 2700 hours of sunshine are recorded per year, followed by the southern Adriatic Sea area in general, northern Adriatic coast, and Slavonia, all with more than 2000 hours of sunshine per year

    Politics

    Croatia has had a turbulent Political past spanning thousands of years, with few times of piece, or even recognition as a country, though now it is a celebrated and recognized Republic, and Croatians have their own passports.

    The Republic of Croatia is a unitary state using a parliamentary system of governance. With the collapse of the ruling communist party in SFR Yugoslavia, Croatia adopted its present constitution in 1990 and organized its first multi-party elections. It declared independence on 8 October 1991 leading to the break-up of Yugoslavia and the country was internationally recognized by the United Nations in 1992.

    Languages

    Croatian is the official language of Croatia, and became the 24th official language of the European Union upon its accession in 2013.Minority languages are in official use in local government units where more than a third of population consists of national minorities or where local legislation defines so. Those languages are Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Ruthenian, Serbian and Slovakian.

    According to the 2011 Census, 95.6% of citizens of Croatia declared Croatian as their native language, 1.2% declared Serbian as their native language, while no other language is represented in Croatia by more than 0.5% of native speakers among population of Croatia. Croatian is a South Slavic language. Most Croatian vocabulary is derived from the Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family. Croatian is written using the Latin alphabet. Croatian has three major dialects, with Shtokavian dialect used as the standard Croatian and Chakavian and Kajkavian dialects distinguished by their lexicon, phonology, and syntax.

  • (C)JaimeSharp--7In order for this trip to flow smoothly you must meet us in Zadar on Day 0 and be prepared to be left in Split to the south on day 11, both city’s have international airports so we recommend flying into Zadar and then have a flight out of Split for the end.

    We recommend booking flights through Google Flights or SkyScanner

    Google flights

     

     

     

     

  • Kayak in the KornatisWe limit group sizes on all of our adventures, Group sizes limited to 10 on this adventure. Pay your initial deposit below Via PayPal to reserve your spot or contact us and make a deposit in our Barclay’s Bank Account by clicking here. We will then send you a detailed itinerary and booking forms.

    PayPal Options Below (3.5% Convenience fee already Added to amounts below)

    Payment Options


        *You can adjust how many seats you are booking at Check out.

    Your booking will only be confirmed when your deposit clears in our bank account in full.

    Deposit amounts vary depending on the trip and are non-refundable as they cover our payments in advance for vehicle hire, hotel bookings etc.

    Failure to remit your advanced payment on time will result in an automatic change of status of any confirmed space to a provisional basis and the possible inability to reinstate your reservation. Once your deposit is received you will immediately be informed and your reservation confirmed in writing. Remaining balances are due no later than 90 days prior to expedition start date.

    Any reservation made within 90 days of the commencement of a trip may be accepted provided space is available and payment in full is received. World Wild Adventures Ltd will not accept responsibility for bank wire fees or rush mail delivery.

     

    Cancellation & Refund Details

    Remaining balances are due no later than 90 days prior to date of program commencement. If the balance has not been received 90 days prior to trip commencement, World Wild Adventures Ltd shall be entitled at our discretion to treat your reservation as cancelled, and the deposit shall be forfeited.

    Important
    All requests for cancellations must be received in writing. Cancellations received up to 90 days prior to program commencement are refunded less the deposit amount.

    If cancellation is received within less than 90 days prior to departure, all deposits and tariffs are forfeited. For these and other reasons mentioned below, you are requested to obtain trip cancellation insurance.

    MORE INFO ON CANCELLATIONS HERE

    We look forward to sharing our world with you.

    The World Wild Adventure Team

  • (C)JaimeSharp--4

    Croatia, land of the gods and oceans clear. We will paddle the best part of the Croatian coast, starting in a remote area from Biograd, through the archipelago of Zut, Kornati, the islands of Zirje, Kaprije, Privic, down to the city of Sibenik in the Krka bay. This trip will be unique in the fact that we create a rough itinerary and allow room for adapting the group, the weather and needs. The trip will be a 9.5 day itinerary set up loosely though we always recommend you arrive on day 0 (the day before we start) and plan to fly out on the day after we are scheduled to end, this way we reduce issues due to time restraints.

     

    Oct 14th Day 0

    Arrive in Zadar a glorious Roman city in the middle age and a important Venetian logistical base for the control of the Adriatic sea. We will meet for a group dinner and briefing and walk in the old town, discovery the monuments of this ancient city. Accommodation and dinner included.

    Day 1 – 5

    In the morning we will travel to Biograd where we will have breakfast, load our boats and paddle off to enjoy the best kayaking of the whole Mediterranean Sea: the Bay of Telascica and the Kornati National park. This is a wild, fantastic area with smooth hills islands and vertical cliffs on ocean side. Small villages of fisherman’s, olive grows, ancient Venetian towers, a salt lake, a nice lighthouse from which enjoy the magnificent landscape, some small authentic Konoba (fisherman restaurant) sea side are the highlights of this capturing part of the Adriatic sea.

    Day 6 – 9 we will paddle our way through the islands to the area of Krka Bay and its beautiful city of Sibenik; a Venetian style town with narrow streets and superb old buildings like the Unesco Cathedral of San James. Once here we can visit the charming village of Skradin and the Krka river, famous for its unique landscape of waterfalls. Tonight we will celebrate the kyaking trip with a group dinner in front of the Cathedral tasting modern Dalmatian gourmet.

    Day 10

    Today we will drive to and explore the city of Split. We will visit the famous Diocletian Palace, a Unesco site, and after visiting the palace and surrounding city sites, we will settle in our rooms to repack for our departure the next day, and then all meet for a final group dinner.

    Oct 25th Day 11

    Departure Day, you are all on your own today, either you are catching Flights out or continuing on to other adventures in the area.

    Highlights:

    4 venetian style cities: Zadar, Biograd, Sibenik, Split

    2 areas of kayaking: 1) Telascica bay and Kornati Archipelago 2) Sibenik bay and the surrounding islands

    2 Unesco sites: Sibenik – Split

    2 National water parks: Kornati – Krka

    4 fee entrances (Telascica park – Kornati Park – Krka Park – Diocletian Museum)

  • Here is a video Jaime produced that features his trip along the coast of Croatia in his Folding Kayak, Croatia has always remained dear to Jaime since this 14 day journey.

 

Wide image of Sunset in Kornati Craotia