River to the sea canoeing holiday in Croatia. Helping Dreamers Do

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5 Days excluding flights

More info:Included: 4 nights camping (two person tent), full board, use of kayaks and necessary equipment, 3 days activities, Velebit Nature Park entrance, Saturday and Wednesday transfers from/to Zadar and Split airport, English speaking guide and assistance

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“A five day canoeing and camping expedition along the Zrmanja and Krupa Rivers in Velebit Nature Park. Travelling in a small, guided group, camping along the way. If you thought Croatia was crowded, you haven’t canoed it. ”

Highlights

Description of River to the sea canoeing holiday in Croatia

This river to sea canoeing holiday in Croatia is a stunning five day adventure, during the summer months, following the Krupa and Zrmanja Rivers, following the latter to its mouth in the Novigrad Sea. This is a landscape of crystal clear waters, emerald river pools perfect for swimming in, vast canyons and forest covered plateaus overlooking the rivers.

Starting in the village of Zegar, we pitch camp from day one, and then take off down river where we are going to spend the next three full days, canoeing all the way. Until we reach the sea at Novigrad Bay, swap canoes for sea kayaks, and paddle proudly into the Adriatic.

There are four nights of camping on this trip, the first one in Zegar at a campsite with facilities and the other three being a bit wilder, so wild camping rules apply. Sharing twin tents, this trip is for a group of no more than eight adventurers, who should be a minimum age of eight years old.

Hello. If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. Rosy & team.

01273 823 700 rosy@responsibletravel.com

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For departure dates contact us on 01273 823 700

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Holiday type

Small group holidays

Small group travel is not large group travel scaled down. It is modelled on independent travel – but with the advantage of a group leader to take care of the itinerary, accommodation and tickets, and dealing with the language. It’s easy to tick off the big sights independently – but finding those one-off experiences, local festivals, travelling markets and secret viewpoints is almost impossible for someone without the insider knowledge gained from years in the field. If you’re heading off on a gap year your, perhaps – but for those with a two-week holiday, a small group tour will save valuable planning time.

The leaders are not guides – they’re not there to shepherd you around. Instead, they’ll let you know which local restaurant serves great value food – without running the risk of travellers’ tummy. They’ll allow you to avoid hour-long queues at train stations and attractions.

We like to think of small group travel as the Goldilocks option. It is independent travel without the fuss, worry and bunk beds – and organised travel without the coaches. And it’s cheaper than a tailor made tour. It’s sits somewhere in the middle – and we think it’s just about right.

What are the main benefits?

Big experiences
Have big, life-enriching experiences that would be impossible to organise without lots of time and insider knowledge.

Simplicity
Make the most of your holiday time by letting someone else do the hard work and boring logistics!

Peace of mind
Small group tours take care of the security aspects – and provide a safety net should anything unexpected happen.

Who is it ideal for?

Travellers who are short of time
If you don’t have three months to spend exploring, small groups trips let you cover more ground in less time. Your days are not spent queuing for tickets or finding hotels – so you can squeeze more into your holiday.

Solo travellers who’d like company
Likeminded travel companions plus peace of mind for those travelling alone. Single supplements are usually available – providing privacy if you want it.

Less confident travellers
Stray from the tourist trail without worrying about getting lost, and meet local people without dealing with the language barrier.

Mythbuster

“I won’t get any privacy!”
Couples and friends have private rooms, and you can choose to eat alone or not. Single supplements give solo travellers their own room.

“There won’t be any free time”
Free mornings or afternoons let you explore on your own, or just relax.

“The accommodation will be basic”
Trips are as high or low end as you like. Though off the beaten track destinations won’t have luxury hotels, this is all part of the adventure.

“I won’t like the other travellers!”
Tour operators try to create groups with a similar demographic – age, families, activity levels... Chances are, you’ll even make new friends.

“Will we be following an umbrella?”
No.

Meet a group leader

As well as taking care of all the day-to-day practicalities, your group leader is the one who will turn your trip into an adventure. Leaders are extraordinary characters – the kind of person who has spent 14 Christmas days on the slopes of Mount Everest, runs marathons wearing tiger suits to raise funds for their conservation and thinks nothing of leading an overland trip in Sudan or Afghanistan. Fearless and inspiring, group leaders are as important as the destination itself.

Meet a local guide

No matter how experienced your group leader, they can never make up for the knowledge gained from a lifetime in the destination. That’s why many of our trips work with local guides around the world – who invite you into their homeland with pleasure. As well as doing crazy things like climbing Kilimanjaro 100 times, they also donate their time to local projects supported by travellers – such as rebuilding Sri Lankan villages following the 2004 tsunami.

Responsible tourism

Responsible tourism: River to the sea canoeing holiday in Croatia

Environment

On our trips we bike on paved roads only, walk and hike on bitten paths and admonish our guests not to feed, fish, hunt and disturb animals. In our office we minimize printing actions and recycle paper. We work on developing responsible waste management by stimulating waste recycle. We also support an orphan bear shelter in Kutarevo. Most of all, we ensure that negative environmental impacts are drawn to a minimum.

Delnice is a town in western Croatia, the largest settlement in the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar, in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county. The town has a population of 4,451 (2001), total municipality population is 6,858. Delnice is Gorski Kotar's main town. It has many shops, bars and restaurants. By buying local products you are supporting this country’s economy.

When out on tour we encourage learning about the country, the local culture of the teams we work with and the areas we pass through. Our guides hold informal talks with groups to inform about and discuss with them all aspects of local life. We also use local transfer services.

Hiking through Nature Parks and several National Parks passengers can learn about the endangered species in the region and spot the native wildlife. Our tour leaders encourage passengers to behave in an eco-friendly manner at all times by ensuring no waste is deposited and advocating the 'take only photos and leave only footprints' philosophy at all times.

Community

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 mostly use family owned hotels or home stays with local family). We also use local transfer services.

By buying local products you are supporting this country’s 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 wooden detour bridges.

2 Reviews of River to the sea canoeing holiday in Croatia

5 out of 5 stars

SHOW

Reviewed on 17 Aug 2017 by Helen Castle

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

We loved all of it - the camping, kayaking, food, swimming. Hard to select one bit really.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Be flexible, plans sometimes change but its still a really good trip if you go with the flow.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Absolutely. We camped on a beautiful bit by the river, it was run by the Farmer's son, his brother cooked with the help of his mother (excellent), the ingredients were mainly local. It was a very basic campsite so we had little impact on the environment.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Excellent.

Reviewed on 31 May 2015 by Karen Day

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

The laughs we had & the friendship developed with our 2 guides right from the start of our trip! And whilst walking in Bosnia our Croatian guide received an invite from a local man who had lost 3 family members in the war, to share a glass of grappa with him! Very touching!

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Book a trip that covers as much of the country as possible, it really is stunning & so diverse, hard to pick a favourite part, so this way you get the best of both worlds!

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Definitely, locally grown produce used for our meals & Korana villagers renting out their houses to us on a rotational basis all get to benefit from an income during the season!

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

10/10 Absolutely fantastic, the guides went over & above the norm to give us the best experience, even phoning "cousins" around the area to locate the best weather conditions for our walking trips! Great to hear that our guides felt it had been more like a holiday for them than work, great guys & we had such a laugh! Already planning next years trip!