6 Day Private Tour Split to Dubrovnik: Hidden Gems of Dalmatia

Split’s Roman palace lanes, Trogir’s stone-built old town and Dubrovnik’s great walls are only part of this six-day route. Its quieter turn comes in the Neretva Valley, where you ride a traditional wooden boat along the Norin River before visiting an archaeological museum built over a Roman temple.

I like two things in particular: the private transfers link the coastal stops without leaving you to sort out each leg, and the mix of guided city walks with a wine tasting, river outing and local lunch gives the trip more variety than a string of old-town tours. Matilda, the company owner, has led trips herself and is singled out for warm, personal care.

The main consideration is cost: $3,329.72 for a group of up to two does not include hotels, most meals or several entrance fees. If you want a fully packaged holiday, check what lodging and tickets will add before you commit.

• Split starts with a two-hour guided walk through Diocletian’s Palace, including the Peristyle, Jupiter’s Temple and the Cathedral.
• Trogir gets its own local guide, followed by a tasting of five Dalmatian wines with cold cuts.
• Salona and Klis make a strong history pairing, one a Roman city site, the other a medieval fortress above Split.
• The Norin River outing is the route’s most unusual stop, with a ride in an old-style wooden ladja, an appetizer and a visit to the Narona Archaeological Museum.
• Dubrovnik’s guided old-town walk is followed by free time, including the option to explore the city walls independently.

Six days from Split’s palace to Dubrovnik’s walls

This private tour gives you a north-to-south introduction to Dalmatia, the coastal region of Croatia. It starts in Split and ends in Dubrovnik, with stops for Roman ruins, a medieval fortress, wine and a slower-paced excursion inland. You travel with your own group rather than joining a coach full of strangers, which makes the schedule feel more personal.

The format is a useful middle ground between a fully guided package and arranging every detail yourself. Private transfers and three guided old-town walks are included, while hotels, airline tickets, most meals and some entrance tickets are not. You can ask the operator to arrange hotels, but you can also book them independently.

The route is best for a couple or a small private group that wants help connecting the main stops, but still wants some freedom at each destination. The pace covers plenty of ground. There is little time for long stays in any one town, and the listed program does not include a full day at leisure until the afternoon in Dubrovnik.

Day 1: Split begins at Diocletian’s Palace

On arrival at Split Airport, a driver takes you to your hotel for check-in. The transfer is listed as about 45 minutes, though traffic and your hotel’s location can affect the actual ride. Your lodging is not included in the tour price, so confirm where you are staying before finalizing transfer details.

Later, meet your guide at Riva, Split’s waterfront promenade, for a two-hour walk through the historic center. The city grew around Diocletian’s Palace, a Roman complex now woven into everyday Split. Rather than standing apart as a distant ruin, its stone lanes and former palace spaces are part of the working city.

The walk takes in the Peristyle, Jupiter’s Temple and the Cathedral. It is a good first look at the layers of Split’s architecture, from Roman remains to later Gothic and Renaissance additions. Admission tickets are not included, so check with the operator or guide about any entrance charges that apply to the places you plan to enter.

I like this opening because it puts context around the streets you will pass through. You are not just checking off a palace; you are learning how a Roman residence became the core of a living city. Still, two hours is an introduction, not a deep exploration, so leave time to wander on your own if Split’s lanes catch your interest.

Day 2: Trogir lanes and Dalmatian wine

The next afternoon brings a trip to Trogir, an island town with a historic center enclosed by stone walls. A local guide leads a two-hour visit through its cobbled streets and Romanesque architecture. The town’s compact scale makes it well suited to a walking tour, and the guided time gives you a sense of how its buildings and defenses fit together.

You have two hours for the visit, which is enough for a focused look but not a leisurely day. If you want to browse, stop for a long meal or linger over photographs, you may need to use some of your free time rather than expect the guided portion to cover everything.

The day finishes with a 60-minute tasting at Kaštel Šikuli. You sample five wines from coastal Dalmatia and the hinterland, paired with a plate of cold cuts. That regional comparison is the point: Croatia’s wine is not one uniform style, and tasting wines from different parts of Dalmatia offers a quick introduction to those differences.

The wine tasting is included, as is the food plate. Other meals and drinks during the trip are not generally covered. If wine is not a priority for you, ask whether this stop can be adjusted; no alternative is specified.

Day 3: Roman Salona and Klis Fortress

Salona, near the present-day town of Solin, was once the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. It is also associated with Emperor Diocletian, who was born in the area. The visit lasts about an hour, giving you time to see remnants of a major ancient city and get a sense of its importance before returning to Split’s better-known palace center.

Salona’s remains are spread across an archaeological site, so expect a different experience from the close-packed streets of Split. You will be looking at traces of a city rather than a complete Roman town. Admission is not included, and the visit is relatively brief, so a guide’s explanations will matter in helping you read what remains.

Klis Fortress offers a change of scene and a high vantage point above the village of Klis. The fortress played a strategic role in defending Dalmatia against Ottoman forces. It is also a filming location for Game of Thrones, a detail that may add interest if you follow the series, though the fortress’s real military history is reason enough to go.

You get about an hour here, and the entrance fee is extra. The combination of Salona and Klis makes a sensible day: one stop looks back to Roman provincial life, the other to medieval defense. Both require you to pay separately for admission, so budget for those tickets as well as transport.

Day 4: A wooden ladja on the Norin River

The route leaves the coast for the Neretva Valley, about a 90-minute ride from the previous area according to the schedule. In Vid, you board a ladja, a small traditional wooden boat once used to carry people and goods through local waterways. Some boats are said to be around 120 years old, and today they serve a gentler purpose: taking visitors through the river channels.

The photo safari on the Norin River is listed as a 45-minute boat ride. An appetizer is served on board as you pass through the natural surroundings. This is a more relaxed stretch of the trip than the city walks, with room to watch the waterways and take photographs rather than follow a guide through a tight schedule of landmarks.

After the boat ride, visit the Narona Archaeological Museum in Vid. The museum was built directly over an ancient temple dedicated to Augustus, making it a site museum rather than a collection housed apart from its archaeological setting. That connection between the building and the remains below it gives this visit a distinct focus.

A traditional lunch at a local restaurant is included. It is the tour’s clearly specified lunch, while other meals and drinks in the destinations are not included. Ask about dietary needs in advance, since the details of the menu are not provided.

This day is a good reason to choose the tour over a simple Split-to-Dubrovnik transfer. You get a pause from the major coastal towns and a glimpse of a different side of Dalmatian life. The trade-off is another long driving day, and the total time spent on the boat, in the museum and at lunch is not fully spelled out.

Day 5: Dubrovnik’s old town and city walls

After breakfast, a transfer takes you to Dubrovnik’s Pile Gate, the meeting point for a two-hour guided walk through the old town. Dubrovnik’s history has been shaped by shifting powers and maritime rivalries, and the guide can help make sense of that dense past as you walk through the UNESCO-listed center.

The city walls are a major part of Dubrovnik’s appeal, but the tour’s guided walk does not include a guided wall visit. You can explore the walls on your own, and the entrance ticket is not included. If walking the full circuit is important to you, set aside time and budget for it rather than assuming it is covered in the two-hour tour.

The remainder of the day is free. That is useful after several days of scheduled stops: you can decide how much more sightseeing you want, or simply take a break. The tour does not specify additional activities or meals for the afternoon.

Dubrovnik can feel like a very different place from the quieter Neretva Valley, especially around its main streets and walls. A local guide helps you get oriented, but the independent time is valuable too. Consider using it for the walls if you want the broadest views over the old town and surrounding coast.

Day 6: Departure from Dubrovnik

A driver meets you for a transfer to the airport or bus for your onward journey. The transfer is listed as about 45 minutes. If you are staying longer in Croatia, a private transfer to another destination may be arranged, though the details and any added cost are not specified.

The tour ends in Dubrovnik, so it works best if that is where you plan to depart or continue your trip. If you need to return to Split or reach another city, arrange that connection separately or ask the company about onward transport before booking.

What the price includes, and what it leaves to you

At $3,329.72 per group of up to two, the tour works out to about $1,664.86 per person if two people share the cost. The price is easier to assess when you separate transport and guiding from the expenses you will still pay on the road.

Included are private transfers described in the schedule, guided two-hour tours in Split, Trogir and Dubrovnik, the five-wine tasting with cold cuts, the Norin River photo safari and lunch in the Neretva Valley. These arrangements save you from coordinating several connections and finding local guides in each town.

Hotels are not included, nor are airline tickets. You also pay separately for entrance to Klis Fortress, the Salona ruins and Dubrovnik’s city walls. Meals and drinks in the destinations are generally extra, apart from the specified lunch, appetizer and tasting plate. Build those costs into your budget before comparing the private tour with a self-planned trip.

The price may make sense if you value a private vehicle, a set route and local guiding without having to arrange each segment yourself. For a solo traveler, it is a steep price for one person. For two people, it becomes more reasonable, but the added cost of lodging and tickets is still significant.

Matilda’s personal approach, and who should book

Matilda, the company owner, is the guide named in accounts of past trips. She is described as taking time to get to know the people in her group and making a family birthday feel special. Another group of 20 also described her care and organization, although this particular experience is priced for up to two people. Because the tour may not always be led by Matilda, ask who will guide your dates if that matters to you.

The strongest praise centers on personal attention, warm guidance, organization and the chance to see places beyond the best-known coastal towns. That fits the trip’s design: it links familiar stops such as Split and Dubrovnik with Trogir, Salona, Klis and the Neretva Valley. The trip also includes food and wine, rather than treating every day as a march through monuments.

I would consider this tour if you want a private, guided framework and do not mind paying extra for hotels and selected admissions. It is less suitable if you want long, unstructured stays, a fully inclusive price, or several days at the beach. The schedule favors seeing a broad stretch of Dalmatia over settling into one place.

Before booking, confirm the hotel plan, the exact transfer arrangements, which guide will accompany you and how much free time is available around each stop. The listed operating period is May 1 to October 31, 2026, Tuesday through Sunday, with opening hours shown as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free cancellation is available up to 24 hours before the start time; poor-weather cancellations are offered a new date or a full refund.

FAQ

Are hotels included in the tour price?

No. You book hotels yourself, or you can ask the operator to arrange them.

Which guided city walks are included?

The tour includes two-hour guided walks in Split, Trogir and Dubrovnik’s old town.

Is the Dubrovnik city wall visit included?

No. You can visit the walls on your own, but the entrance ticket is not included.

What is included in the wine tasting?

The 60-minute tasting includes five wines and a plate of cold cuts.

Is lunch included?

One lunch is included, at a local restaurant in the Neretva Valley. Other meals and drinks in the destinations are not included.

How large can the private group be?

The listed price covers a group of up to two people.