Dubrovnik

1. 8:00a✦Walk the City Walls at opening

   The 2 km of medieval ramparts the moment they open — before the heat and the cruise crowds — for the full circuit over the terracotta roofs and out to the blue Adriatic.

2. ~10:00a◆The Stradun & the monasteries

   The polished limestone main street, Onofrio's Fountain, and the Franciscan Monastery's cloister with one of the world's oldest working pharmacies.

3. ~12:00p✦Cable car up Mount Srđ

   Up to the fortress lookout for the aerial view of the whole walled city against the sea — and the Homeland War museum at the top.

4. ~1:30p●Seafood lunch by the harbour

   Black risotto (crni rižot, inky with cuttlefish) or grilled Adriatic fish with blitva (chard and potato) and a glass of Pošip white.

5. ~4:00p→Backstreets & a cliff bar

   The stepped side lanes away from the Stradun, then a drink at the Buža bar — a hole in the seaward wall with tables on the rocks above the water.

6. 8:00p✦Restaurant 360 (Old Harbour)Anchor table

   Dubrovnik's standout fine-dining room, set into the city walls above the old port — refined modern Mediterranean with a harbour view. Book ahead as the trip's fixed point (the marquee table; Croatia's stars sit elsewhere).

The walls are the one thing to do at opening — they bake by midday and clog when the cruise ships dock. Wear sun protection; the circuit is shadeless and takes a good two hours with photo stops.

1. ~9:00a✦Boat to the Elaphiti Islands

   A day cruise to the car-free islands of Šipan, Lopud, and Koločep — pine-shaded coves, sleepy harbours, and swimming stops in glassy water.

2. ~11:30a✦Swim & a sea cave

   Anchor in a hidden bay for a swim, snorkel a sea cave, and laze on the deck — the Dalmatian coast at its most idyllic.

3. ~1:30p●Island konoba lunch

   A family-run konoba on Lopud — fresh-caught fish under a peka bell, or grilled squid, with house wine and olive oil from the garden.

4. ~4:00p◆Or Lokrum Island

   Closer in, the lush islet a ten-minute ferry away — botanical gardens, peacocks, a monastery, and a salt-lake swim, all wild and green.

5. ~7:30p●Sunset dinner back in town

   A terrace above the water for octopus salad and a whole grilled fish as the lights come on along the coast.

The Elaphiti island-hop is the day to slow down and swim — sun, sea, and a long konoba lunch. Prefer to stay close? Lokrum is a quick ferry and an easy half-day of green calm.

1. ~9:00a✦Drive up the coast to Ston

   An hour north to the little town behind Europe's longest fortified walls after China's — the 'Great Wall of Croatia,' built to guard the medieval salt pans.

2. ~10:30a✦Mali Ston oyster beds

   Out onto the bay where the famous oysters grow — a boat to the beds and oysters shucked straight from the sea, eaten with a squeeze of lemon and a glass of white.

3. ~12:30p●Oyster & mussel lunch

   A waterside table for buzara mussels and just-pulled oysters — about as fresh as seafood gets — with Pelješac Pošip.

4. ~2:30p✦Pelješac red-wine cellars

   Into the peninsula's steep vineyards for the great Croatian reds — Plavac Mali, the parent grape of Zinfandel — tasted at family cellars in Dingač and Postup.

5. ~7:30p●Dinner back in Dubrovnik

   A relaxed Old-Town dinner — lamb or fish under the peka, and one more glass of Dalmatian red, after the day on the peninsula.

Pelješac is the great food-and-wine day — Ston's oysters are world-class and the reds are Croatia's finest. A driver lets everyone taste; the peninsula's cellar roads are steep and winding.