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High Five to Croatia

Lucky as I am to travel for my work - and I do get to some really amazing places - the trips I look forward to more than any other are my family holidays.

I guess that’s no surprise, after all, there will only ever be a limited number of holiday that any of us can take with a full complement of youngsters, and in my own case that time has now (very sadly) passed. It seemed to pass in a flash, almost without being noticed…but it was a full 18 years. My eldest daughter has spent the last two years working in Zambia’s Luangwa Valley - a chip off the old block perhaps!

This year my wife and I went with our two younger daughters (aged 18 and 14) to Croatia for our summer holiday - to Trogir and the Dalmatian coast to be precise - and it’s a holiday that we will remember for years to come. I’m not sure if it will be the warm welcome we received everywhere, or the beautiful views, or the absolutely fantastic activities that we did, but there is ‘just something’ about a Croatian holiday and I would highly recommend it.

Our first activity was canyoning on the Cetina River: this was new for all of us and couldn’t have been more fun. Supplied with all the gear we needed, and fully briefed on what to expect, we trekked down into the canyon, our guides leading the way. At the bottom we freshened up with a drink from the crystal clear water of the river and then headed on our way. We walked, swam, scrambled and climbed and enjoyed some optional rock jumping (which was amazing) as we made our way down river. What a day, and what a way to start our holiday.

Sea kayaking was next, in two-seater kayaks. Now that’s something I have done before, but never in water so crystal clear and turquoise, a Croatian bonus, and I’ve never begun a kayaking excursion with a speedboat ride to get to the kayaks! Tomo, our guide ensured we all knew what to expect on our adventure and that was it, we were off, and the kids led the way…

A hike across a nearby island a day or two later with an outstanding guide was followed by a refreshing swim from the rocks. Our final day’s activity was rafting, and it proved to be yet another highlight. There are a lot of boats rafting on the river but we were able to avoid almost all of them. We ‘high-fived’ when we got to the bottom of each rapid, we swam in the river to cool off, we showered in ice-cold waterfalls and even had an adventure through some spectacular limestone caves. We got back to our apartment in the early evening absolutely exhausted, but what a day!

There was a great mix of doing things with like-minded families and doing stuff together, just us. We had plenty of time being busy and just enough time to relax and read a book. We swam together, we ate great food, saw wonderful things with entertaining guides and had some fabulous family adventures… and with any luck we can do it all again next year!

Experience the thrills of a multi-activity holiday with your family in Croatia.