| country: | Croatia |
| departures: | 2008: 5 Jul, 12 Jul, 19 Jul, 26 Jul, 2 Aug, 9 Aug, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, 30 Aug, 6 Sep, 13 Sep |
| price: | From €595 - €630 (8 days) excluding flights, depending on season. Single room supplement 20%. Price includes half board accommodation, activities, park fee, local taxes, transfers & guides. Min age 8 years, 10% discount for 8-14 year olds |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Hidden on the north east edge of Nature Park Papuk, on the slopes of mountain Krndija lays little town of Orahovica. Its history goes back as far as early 13th century but the legends around him go much farther, to the time of Romans and Celts. This tour will take you deep in to the part of Croatia that is really outside all mass tourist routes. The program is orientated around the hilly region of Nature Park Papuk and immense Panonic valley. Hiking, kayaking, cycling, archery and riding are included in the program as everyday activities and are suitable for all ages with normal fitness level. The lakes, rivers and hills are friendly with pleasant temperatures in summer and they are not dangerous or physically demanding.
The only hotel in town is situated in the very centre of Orahovica. It is a small, newly renovated 3 star accommodation which rooms are equipped with shower/toilet, telephone/Internet line and satellite TV. It has one of the best restaurants in the area with big variety of traditional meals and vines.
Please note: Itinerary is subject to change due to weather (wind and waves) conditions and special events or attractions.
The only hotel in town is situated in the very centre of Orahovica. It is a small, newly renovated 3 star accommodation which rooms are equipped with shower/toilet, telephone/Internet line and satellite TV. It has one of the best restaurants in the area with big variety of traditional meals and vines.
Please note: Itinerary is subject to change due to weather (wind and waves) conditions and special events or attractions.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Saturday arrival from Zagreb, Osijek or Budapest to Orahovica and accommodation in hotel. Meeting with your guide(s), presentation of the program and evening get together with the rest of the group. |
| Day 2: | Hiking trip to nearby mountain Krndija and visit Ruzica grad (Rose Town), the biggest preserved fortified town in Slavonija from 14th centaury. The legend says that town was named by one fairy named Ruzica (Rose) who…well, to hear the story to the end you’ll have to come here. After the picnic we precede to yet another old town Starigrad which ruins still remain a mystery for historians. Also, there is an option for continuing hike up to 16th century orthodox monastery of St. Nicholas |
| Day 3: | Cycling trip through picturesque Slavonic villages, forests and over small hills. This is far the best way to get in touch with local people and town surroundings. Length of the cycling is easily adjustable to group preferences and leaves many options. From relaxed strolling trough countryside to little more demanding mountain biking and uphill paths. On the way back to hotel we'll stop for a swim on a nearby lake and maybe a taste of a local ice cream. |
| Day 4: | Canoe safari trip on Drava River. River makes natural border between Croatia and Hungary and flows trough vast Panonic valley. Pleasant water temperature makes the river ideal for refreshing, swimming and its sandy beaches are perfect for volleyball. During the brake we'll have barbeque lunch on the bank of the river. We finish our day with the evening in Osijek, Slavonija's bureaucracy, economy and culture centre. Its history is a mixture of Croatian, Austrian and Hungarian culture which is specially shown in architecture. Centre of Osijek is an early 18th century town – fortress Tvrda, one of the candidates for UNESCO World Heritage sights. |
| Day 5: | For centuries people of Slavonija have shared their destiny with most noble of all domestic animals. Growing crops, transport or even weddings wouldn’t be possible without horses. Our adventure starts on a small horse farm with introductory riding lesson and journey trough forest and over hilly landscape. We'll keep the day in traditional tone and finish it with an archery competition. |
| Day 6: | Hiking in a Nature Park Papuk, highest mountain region in east Croatia. Slopes of Papuk are covered with beech and oak forest in which they hide the highest waterfall in Slavonija, many geological monuments, rich flora und fauna, interesting archaeological diggings from Iron Age and many small lakes and streams.Focal point of our visit will be romantic mountain valley Jankovac. Its beauty enchanted nobleman Josip Jankovic in early 19th century which draw him to make three small artificial lakes, hunting castle and finally his tomb in nearby cave. |
| Day 7: | A day to relax in town or take an optional trip to nearby vine road or one of the nature parks – Kopacki Rit or Lonjsko Polje. Have in mind that Nature Park Kopacki Rit is one of the biggest preserved swamp areas in the Europe and the best place for “bird watching” in Croatia. Here you can find over 280 different birds with dominant herons, gulls and turns. For more adventure guests we recommend rafting trip to Bosnia and Vrbas River, place of 2008 World Rafting Championship. |
| Day 8: | Depart Orahovica for the airport and flight home. |
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.how this holiday makes a difference
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By booking this trip you bring much needed income to the people who are still recovering from the war-torn years, as this was the area severely affected by war. This trip ensures that the local people benefit as much as possible in the form of jobs (we employ local guides and drivers) and provision of accommodation (we use family owned hotels or home stays with local family) and most of all that negative environmental impacts are drawn to a minimum. We also use local transfer services, buy food from the small farms and work on developing responsible waste management by stimulating waste recycle. On our trips we bike on pawed roads only, walk and hike on bitten paths and admonish our guests not to feed, fish, hunt and disturb animals.
By buying local products you are supporting this countries’ economy and helping Croatia to stand on her feet again! We consider it our responsibility to lead efforts to maintain and preserve the integrity of this fledgling sector by petitioning the introduction of tighter controls over the use of the country’s natural resources. As a company, we support the local community by building camps in partnership with local families, building bridges and accesses to the rivers. In order to preserve traventine barriers on Zrmanja River we have built a wooden detour bridges. We also support an orphan bear shelter in Kutarevo. In our office we minimize printing actions and recycle paper. Part of our staff is vegetarian and because of that we try to provide quality vegetarian meals on our trips. While Croatia is mostly known by its coastline and numerous islands, the inland was left mostly undiscovered. Such a focus made huge and uneven balance in development of coastal and east Croatia. At the same time towns and villages on the Adriatic are going trough phase of fast development while inland areas are still struggling. Luckily this means that even now you can find big untouched parts of nature where it's not unusual to run into dear or a boar. With this week adventure you will have a chance to see the area which is really outside all main tourist routs. Just your everyday activities like eating in a restaurant or shopping in a nearby store will make a huge difference. Big travel agencies don't own hotels or other facilities here. They are all in hands of local, hospitable people who know to appreciate guest in search of something really genuine. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |











