This is our most popular trip - why do you think that is?
There are a number of reasons, first of all, it’s a really well-priced trip for an itinerary that does as much as it does. It really meets the budget expectations of our families. Croatia is also a very simple destination to travel to - just a two-hour and fifteen minute flight from London, for example, with plenty of regional airports across the UK also offering direct flights.
Croatia is also a really popular destination for families at the moment. It’s easy to see why - the weather is always terrific during the summer, the Dalmatian coastline is absolutely stunning and the Adriatic Sea is beautifully warm and crystal clear.
Destination aside, the itinerary for this trip is also really strong with a variety of fun and exciting activities. They don’t take up the whole day, so families also have plenty of time to explore independently. That’s in addition to the excitement of white-water rafting, ziplining, canyoning, canoeing, snorkelling and taking a speedboat cruise out to one of the neighbouring islands. This trip is the full package and ticks all of the boxes.
Another important reason for Active Croatia’s success is that we often have five or six families all on the same departure. It’s a great opportunity for children to make new friends.
To sum up, it’s a hassle-free, budget-friendly, fun week in the sun!
What was your favourite experience in Croatia?
The activity I personally enjoyed the most was ziplining - which my kids absolutely adored and my wife loved! My family unanimously thought it was one of the best activities that they did.
I also really enjoyed the white-water rafting. Not so much for the adrenaline rush (they're only grade II and III rapids), but for the incredible scenery and nature that we were passing through. There are sections where the river is very calm, it’s so beautiful and crystal clear, and we had the chance to get out and swim along beside the raft in our buoyancy aids. The birdlife was amazing and we saw kingfishers, which was thrilling! You could also do jumps from the higher rocks (around three to four metres). Lots of families were doing that.
My family really took advantage of the downtime as well, having done an activity it was nice to spend the rest of the day as a family, just on the beaches, chilling out, reading books, and snorkelling along the coastline.
The canyoning was great as well, I did that with both of my daughters and they loved it. The canyoning we do in Croatia is not the extreme kind many may think of - it’s more like advanced gorge walking. You follow the river - walking, swimming and clambering in and out of the water to avoid rocks. It’s a great experience in a beautiful area - quite tiring though it has to be said! This is probably the most physically demanding activity on the trip, but it’s really good fun.
Why did you choose to base the trip in this area of Croatia?
Given our research, we felt Omiš was the right place because it’s in the best location to experience all the activities. It’s only 30 minutes away from Split, and we felt it was important to make transfers easy for families on arrival. Lots of airlines fly into Split from the UK, so it made sense that Omiš would be the location and Split would be the hub we bring people into. If you were staying further away, you’d still have to come to the Omiš area anyway for white-water rafting, canyoning or ziplining.
Omiš is the perfect base in the ideal position - all the activities are close by, but it’s also the perfect town because it’s got a sandy beach that’s shallow and safe, as well as pebble beaches which are stunning, and a beautiful little Old Town offering an authentic experience of ancient Croatia, but with modern facilities. There are also supermarkets and great restaurants.
Can you tell me about the extension options and what you would recommend for families who want a longer holiday?
The options are almost endless! Here are just a few suggestions:
Dalmatian Island hopping
My family took a catamaran ferry from Split over to the islands, which are really close to the coastline. We chose the island of Brač and stayed in a town called Bol for four nights. Bol was a beautiful place to see and staying on the island a really nice way to explore. It also gave us a sense of how easy island hopping would be.
Split
Split is the hub for this trip, but it’s also a great place to start from if you want to explore more of Croatia. My recommendation (and what I did with my family) was arrive a couple of days early and have a couple of nights in Split to chill and do some sightseeing. Split itself has got an amazing ancient Roman citadel and beautiful city squares. Exploring the restaurants and walking around in the evening was delightful. There are also lots of nice beaches and some excellent local hotels (we can recommend places to stay if you're considering a Split extension at the start or end of your group tour).
Equally, there are fabulous spa hotels just outside Split, such as Hotel Plaža Duće. You can spend two or three days unwinding and pampering yourself, while the kids can make the most of the nice big swimming pool at the hotel.
Dubrovnik
If people have got a little bit more time, and they’re keen to explore other parts of the coast, then you can go down to Dubrovnik - it’s about a two to three hour drive. That’s perfect for people who enjoy history and culture. The city is particularly beautiful and you can also fly back to the UK from Dubrovnik.
Montenegro
If you want to go even further, you could cross the border into Montenegro and explore the coast there. That would be a really lovely two week holiday - we have a family doing that right now.
What’s the accommodation like?
We accommodate families in independent self-catering apartments, dotted around the town of Omiš. They’re in residential blocks, and in high season the owners vacate leaving them fully equipped for family holidays.
The properties vary in size, so we have some apartments in the Old Town that can accommodate eight or nine people, but we’ve also got plenty that take families of three or four and some designed for smaller families (e.g. one parent and one child). Some of the apartments are in the Old Town, some are just outside, others are close to the beaches and have sea views, so it works really well. By putting families into self-catering apartments, they're able to maintain a bit of independence. They can choose when they get up, have breakfast, enjoy evening drinks, make packed lunches - all that kind of stuff - with real ease. It just works really well.
The properties are really functional and comfortable. We feel it’s absolutely the correct style of accommodation for this trip. It’s also much more flexible and cost-effective than using hotels.
What kind of family is this trip suitable for?
As the name suggests, this trip would appeal to a family that enjoys doing activities. With many of the families who travel on these trips - and my family falls into this category - not everyone wants to do all of the activities. It may be that only one parent wants to do canyoning and the other only wants to do white-water rafting, which is fine. However, it wouldn’t make sense to book this holiday if you’re the kind of family that just wants a chilled beach holiday where you fly and flop.
This is a holiday for families who not only want to enjoy good weather in a great destination at an affordable price, but also to take part in safe and thrilling activities together.
Active Croatia is also designed for families with children with slightly younger children - generally in the bracket of eight to 14 years old. It’s perfect if you want a quick week away in May half-term or the summer holidays and don’t want to travel very far. It’s only a few hours from London. It’s a cost effective holiday as well.
What’s your vision for this trip? How might it develop further?
It’s difficult to improve on something that feels almost perfect! The feedback we get from our customers is that they love the trip as it is - see below for just a few of the comments we've received from this trip:
‘The guides and instructors of each activity made the trip most enjoyable - from zipwiring to white-water rafting; they made us feel safe and took the extra time to make it unique and fun. We loved ziplining so much we went back on the last day to do it all again!’ - Sandra
‘Ziplining was incredible … and white-water rafting was the perfect way to end the week. The balance of activities was excellent and it was very well organised from start to finish.’ - David
‘Omiš is perfect for families and the activities were excellent. My very active children adored every second.’ - Victoria
‘Omis and its people were all very friendly, the place felt safe and was clean. Rafting gets 10/10 particularly due to the enthusiastic guide and opportunity to leap into the river … The trip to Brac with snorkelling in Blue Lagoon was a firm family favourite.’- Helen
‘The kids loved getting up each morning and figuring what we were off to do. I enjoyed the ability to do such great activities whilst being immersed in the beauty of the Croatian landscape; I feel like I "saw" Croatia first-hand which was very enjoyable. The boys loved the water-rafting and I enjoyed the canyoning - the combination of jumping off boulders alongside waterfalls was great fun.’ - Clare
I think we’ve got the balance absolutely right - from the accommodation to the duration to the activities. Nevertheless, we don’t want to rest on our laurels. As more activities become available we want to offer those that are appropriate to our families.
For example, when I was in Croatia, I did a quick recce of ‘river cycling’ - imagine the small planes that land on water, it’s like that, but a bicycle. That was really good fun, so we might offer that as an optional extra.
Also, on our speedboat tour we visit a beautiful town called Pučišća on the island of Brač. It’s renowned as being one of the most beautiful towns in the whole of Europe - and it really is - but it’s also the home of the only stone masonry school in the country, and I’d like to organise a guided tour or masonry activity. I think that would be really fascinating.
But overall, the feedback from customers is that the itinerary is great. It’s just a case of keeping our ears to the ground for any other opportunities.
When is the best time to travel?
The best time to travel depends on the family and the weather! July and August are the best times for summer temperatures. The Adriatic Sea and the river get warmer in those months, making the rafting and canyoning all the more comfortable. You can also travel in the May half-term - it’s a bit cooler then and there are fewer tourists as it’s the shoulder season.
And when should families book?
This being our most popular trip, each of our departures do book up. It's important to bear in mind that the earlier you book, the better the chance that we’ll have availability.
Another good reason for planning and booking ahead is that flight prices are always going to be more expensive during the school holidays, and those flight prices are going to be lowest when the flight schedules are released. This is typically 11-12 months before travel. Low cost airlines usually release their summer schedules 8-9 months before travel. That’s when to book.
As you get closer to the holiday season, the cost of flights increases due to high demand. At the moment our message to all our customers is look ahead and book ahead. Regardless of which trip you choose, this provides great benefits to families in terms of financial budgeting, planning and having a stress-free holiday experience.
Interested in Active Croatia or one of our extension options? Check out our website to find out more, or get in touch with our friendly team of travel consultants on 01962 301 062.
