Hvar, Dubrovnik and the Bay of Kotor

Nine nights down the southern Adriatic, much of it by private motorboat with a skipper. Hvar, where Benedictine nuns still make lace from agave thread, a winery estate in the sea captains' town of Orebić, Dubrovnik seen from a kayak below its walls, and three last nights on Montenegro's Bay of Kotor, with lunch in a Konavle family home on the way.

Length: Nine nights
Pace: Four stays
Style: Islands, boat, wine, coast
Route: Hvar to Orebić, Pelješac to Dubrovnik to Bay of Kotor, Montenegro

HvarTwo nights
Orebić, PelješacTwo nights
DubrovnikTwo nights
Bay of Kotor, MontenegroThree nights

Days 1 to 3 · two nights

Hvar

Met at Split airport and taken by private motorboat to Hvar, by way of the Pakleni islets. A day on the island with a private guide, taking in the Arsenal and the theatre of 1612, which the town counts as the first public theatre in Europe, and the Benedictine convent, where the nuns make lace from agave thread, a craft on UNESCO's list of intangible heritage. If you wish, an afternoon in an organic garden, picking vegetables and herbs with the chef before cooking gregada or brudet together. Or a four-course lunch or dinner with an island olive oil producer, cooked the Hvar way and served in an olive grove above the Stari Grad Plain, the 2,234-year-old field inscribed by UNESCO.

Where you stay

Palace Elisabeth, Hvar Heritage Hotel

Palace Elisabeth is a historic palace on St Stephen's Square, the main square of Hvar town. Its pool looks out over the town, the spa takes its lead from Empress Elisabeth's devotion to natural skin care, San Marco is the restaurant, and guests have access to a private beach.

The walled town of Korčula on its peninsula, with the mountains of Pelješac across the channel.

Days 3 to 5 · two nights

Orebić, Pelješac

On by boat to Korčula for a walk through the town, then across the channel to Orebić. A morning bicycle ride on the peninsula with an instructor and a visit to a working oyster farm on Pelješac, to watch the harvest and taste. In the evening, the estate's five-course wine and food pairing at the Korta Katarina winery, by reservation.

Where you stay

Villa Korta Katarina & Winery

In Orebić, the old sea captains' town on the Pelješac peninsula, Villa Korta Katarina is a restored former hotel with eight suites looking over the Adriatic or the vineyards. Interiors are by Marie Meko, and the estate's own wines come from the Dingač, Postup and Čara slopes.

Loungers on a timber sun deck above the Adriatic, potted palms at the glass rail. — Photo: Villa Dubrovnik

Days 5 to 7 · two nights

Dubrovnik

South along the peninsula by way of Ston, and into Dubrovnik. A private walk through the Old Town and around the city walls, then a guided sea kayak below the ramparts and round Lokrum, stopping to swim at a cove reached only from the water. In the evening, a private concert can be arranged in the small 16th-century church of St Rosario, behind the Dominican Monastery. For a full day instead, a private boat with a skipper to Mljet, the island where legend keeps Odysseus captive with the nymph Calypso. In a village near the city, by appointment, a local craftswoman shows how silk is made by hand from silkworms, the old Dubrovnik way.

Where you stay

Villa Dubrovnik

Villa Dubrovnik is built into a cliff in the Sveti Jakov area, looking across to the island of Lokrum and the Old Town. Mladen Frka designed it in 1961, Studio Arthur Casas did the interiors, and there is a rooftop bar and the Villa SPA.

Two small islands with churches in the still water of a bay enclosed by steep mountains.

Days 7 to 10 · three nights

Bay of Kotor, Montenegro

Through the Konavle valley to Montenegro, stopping at Kameni Dvori, where a family with 500 years of stories bakes bread, gathers eggs from the garden and cooks lunch with you. A private boat day around the bay to Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks, and lunch in Kotor. A last day at leisure, or on the Luštica peninsula with a village family and a meal from their kitchen.

Where you stay

One&Only Portonovi

One&Only Portonovi sits on the shore of Boka Bay in Montenegro, about an hour from Dubrovnik, with villas, suites and rooms facing the water. Chenot Espace runs a detox programme of science-led treatments, and there are four restaurants, among them Sabia, La Veranda and Caminetti.

Arranged on request

Agave lace at the Benedictine convent

In Hvar town the Benedictine nuns make lace from agave fibre, a craft passed down inside the convent and inscribed by UNESCO as intangible heritage. A visit can be arranged with the sisters.

Garden to table on Hvar

Harvest vegetables, fruit and herbs in an organic garden, then cook Hvar dishes such as gregada or brudet with chef Mario.

An oyster farm on Pelješac

A visit to a working oyster farm on the peninsula, to see the harvest and taste from the water, arranged from Villa Korta Katarina.

Lunch at Kameni Dvori

Six hours in Konavle with a family that tells 500 years of its history: knead bread, gather eggs, cook the lunch and taste their wine.

Dubrovnik from the sea

A private sea kayak with an instructor below the city walls and round Lokrum, with a swim at a cove reached only by water.

A concert in St Rosario

A private concert inside the small 16th-century church of St Rosario, tucked behind Dubrovnik's Dominican Monastery, arranged on request.

Subject to availability.

Ways to make it yours

A full day by private boat with a skipper to Mljet, for the national park, its saltwater lakes and St Mary's Island.
On Orjen above Herceg Novi, a walk through its stone villages or, for strong walkers, the climb to the Subra Amphitheatre.
Two nights in Split before the boat to Hvar.

This is a sample. The hotels, the pace and the order are where we start, not where we finish: every journey is designed around the people taking it.

Made around you

Most travel is bought. This is designed.

Before anything is booked, we talk: who is travelling, how you like to spend a morning, and the hotel preferences below the obvious, from the kind of bath you like to the time you wake and how much daylight you need in a room. You see options where options matter and clean recommendations where they don't.

The same person remains your point of contact from the first reply to the trip after next. No handovers. No team.