Name: The Euphoria Friends and Family Croatia Experience
Start: 2022-10-02T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2022-10-09T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Croatia

Chef Richard Gruica

Email address verified
Twitter verified

11 reviews

Oct 2 - 9, 2022

Group size: 1 - 16

The Euphoria Friends and Family Croatia Experience

Croatia

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Chef Richard Gruica

Email address verified
Twitter verified

11 reviews

Oct 2 - 9, 2022

Group size: 1 - 16

The Euphoria Greenville Team cordially invites you to join them and our host, Chef Richard Gruica, the founder of Captivating Croatia Tours to escape with us to exotic Croatia for a week-long, food-centric vacation of a lifetime. Come, experience the ultimate culinary adventure which will take place from Sunday, October 2nd to Sunday, October 9th, 2022. Get ready to explore one of the most beautiful places in the world, as we visit Dubrovnik and the areas surrounding Croatia’s most storied city, brimming with history and lore, while enjoying the very best food, drink, and sights. Experience a luxury holiday unlike any other in the style you deserve.

DAY 1
DAY 1
WELCOME TO DUBROVNIK
Welcome to Dubrovnik, one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the host location for your amazing adventure with the Euphoria Team and Chef Richard Gruica with Captivating Croatia. Feel the warm Dalmatian breeze and sun on your face, let it refresh you. Relax and put your thoughts of home away. We will be staying at the famed Hotel More (pronounced Morehh, meaning Sea in Croatian), which is a boutique 5-Star property built on the seaside of Lapad Bay, just outside of the walled Old Town of Dubrovnik. The Hotel More is special in several ways, not only is it an amazing hotel, but it has a Cave Bar that was voted one of the top 50 bars in the world, but Chef Richard happened to spend his summers just down the street at his family house and the area is very near and dear to him. We can’t think of a better way to start, other than with a wonderful cocktail from the famed Cave Bar. Relax and enjoy before the group departs for a truly special day in the lesser-known and lesser frequented Konavle Valley, just south of Dubrovnik. Before that, we will visit Cavtat for a walk around the charming sleepy seaside town near Konavle, with a stop for a light lunch at one of our favorite spots before heading out to a fully functioning stone mill in the countryside, where we will step back in time to see how things used to be. We will view how water was used to operate the mill in many ways and sustained the local community for ages. Then, we have arranged for one of the top young winemakers making waves in the wine world to join us for a dinner where he will pair and discuss his wines over the meal, with a couple of special treats from him to boot! You will get to experience Peka, the famed Balkan dish of lamb and veal cooked under coals, at an ancient countryside stone house before making our way back to the hotel for a peaceful night’s sleep. What a wonderful way to start the Taste Croatia Tour!

Overnight Stay-Hotel More 5-Star

http://www.hotel-more.hr/
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DAY 2
DAY 2
THE PEARL OF THE ADRIATIC…SEE THE SIGHTS & SAVOR THE BITES
Our day begins inside the famed walls of Dubrovnik, where we have arranged for a walk along the famed walls of the Old Town. Be prepared to take the BEST selfies ever! Afterward, you will experience another project of our founder, Chef Richard Gruica on his “Sights and Bites” food and wine/history walking tour, where you will be expertly guided through a tasting of the Old Town of Dubrovnik by our Foodie/History Guide. Prepare to be seriously wowed by the city’s fairytale-like setting enjoying its shiny white limestone streets, and enchanting narrow alleyways all while you eat and drink your way through the otherworldly Old Town. Enjoy some free time after the foodie tour to explore Dubrovnik further on your own or come back to the hotel to relax before we head out for a short trip to the top of Srd Mountain for a view of the sunset overlooking Dubrovnik and a Sparkling Wine toast to the trip. Please bring comfy walking shoes/sneakers/sandals!!!

Overnight Stay-Hotel More 5-Star

http://www.hotel-more.hr/
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DAY 3
DAY 3
WINE COUNTRY AWAITS
WINE COUNTRY AWAITS

Check-Out

Get ready to head out to wine country, along the way we will enjoy an amazingly scenic drive along the coastal highway. We will be staying on the Peljesac Peninsula, one of Croatia’s most superlative spots for wine sipping and stunning scenery. Our hotel for the stay is the Aminess Grand Azur Hotel, which is a 4-Star property situated along the Adriatic Sea in Orebic. On our way, we will stop at The Arboretum, the oldest one in Europe, for a brief tour of the scenery and to indulge in some light bites prepared by a food historian that specializes in keeping the old Dalmatian traditions and recipes alive, before heading to Peljesac (this will be the longest drive of the trip, about 90 minutes). After settling into our hotel, we will gather for a private wine tasting and homemade dinner with one of our favorite winemakers.

Check-In and Overnight Stay-The Aminess Grand Azur 4-Star
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DAY 4
DAY 4
FROM WATER TO WINE
FROM WATER TO WINE

Today, we will venture through the wine region of Dingač, exploring the area and visit one of the most idyllic spaces in Croatia, where we will savor stewed octopus and black risotto, two Dalmatian specialties, and enjoy a relaxing meal under the trees while sipping on wines produced by the owner and his family. After the meal, we will return to the hotel to take some free time and refresh before we head to the peninsula’s top winery for a sunset toast of bubbly. We will then take part in a tour of the winery. Today concludes with a degustation dinner at the winery’s gourmet restaurant, followed by a beautiful surprise.

Overnight Stay-The Aminess Grand Azur 4-Star

https://www.aminess.com/en/aminess-grand-azur-hotel
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DAY 5
DAY 5
KRAZY FOR KORCULA
KRAZY FOR KORCULA

This time we will hop onto a car ferry as we head to the historic island of Korcula, the ancestral home of Marco Polo, and you thought he was Italian! Our adventure in Korcula begins with a guided tour of the city and its narrow streets, followed by lunch at the famed one Michelin starred LD Restaurant, showcasing the fusion of the finest gastronomic products available in Croatia and the gourmet stylings of Chef Marko Gajski, one of Croatia’s top chefs. After, we will then visit one of the island’s most famed wineries for a tasting. Our visit to Korcula concludes with some free time for shopping and grabbing a bite on your own before heading back on the ferry back to the hotel.

Overnight Stay-The Aminess Grand Azur 4-Star

https://www.aminess.com/en/aminess-grand-azur-hotel

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DAY 6
DAY 6
ONE WITH THE LAND
ONE WITH THE LAND

We are very excited to be able to offer wonderful new experiences for our guests now that mainland Croatia is now connected once again due to the opening of the Peljesac Bridge. Today, we will venture to the agricultural heartland of Southern Dalmatia and experience the Neretva Valley. We will visit the famed mandarin groves and have a rustic lunch along the Neretva River before experiencing a wine tasting at one of the top wineries in the area. Our night will be capped off with a pizza/pasta meal under the stars before heading back to the hotel!

Overnight Stay-The Aminess Grand Azur 4-Star

https://www.aminess.com/en/aminess-grand-azur-hotel
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DAY 7
DAY 7
OYSTERS AND MORE...OH MY!
OYSTERS AND MORE...OH MY!

Check-Out

We begin the day with a visit to Mali Ston, a seaside village that is famed for its oysters and mussels. We will ride on a boat along the pristine waters, taking in the rustic villages and tall craggy mountains, where we will get a demo on oyster farming and production, a tradition that has been happening here since antiquity. The oysters here are so good, even ancient Roman emperors used to put in delivery orders! Afterward. we will visit the oldest still operational salt harvesting in the world and see the famed Walls of Ston before our return to Dubrovnik. We will check back into Hotel More our previous home in Dubrovnik and we will gather for a short trip to the top of Srd Mountain for a view of the sunset overlooking Dubrovnik and a Sparkling Wine toast to the trip. Cheers to an amazing week or as they say in Croatia…Zivili! We will end our trip at one of our favorite restaurants in Dubrovnik for our farewell dinner.

Check-In and Overnight Stay

Hotel More 5-Star

http://www.hotel-more.hr/

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DAY 8
DAY 8
TILL THE NEXT TIME...
Guests will gather for breakfast at their own leisure, before departing for the Dubrovnik Airport (DBV) via private transfer to the airport.
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DAY 1

WELCOME TO DUBROVNIK

Welcome to Dubrovnik, one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the host location for your amazing adventure with the Euphoria Team and Chef Richard Gruica with Captivating Croatia. Feel the warm Dalmatian breeze and sun on your face, let it refresh you. Relax and put your thoughts of home away. We will be staying at the famed Hotel More (pronounced Morehh, meaning Sea in Croatian), which is a boutique 5-Star property built on the seaside of Lapad Bay, just outside of the walled Old Town of Dubrovnik. The Hotel More is special in several ways, not only is it an amazing hotel, but it has a Cave Bar that was voted one of the top 50 bars in the world, but Chef Richard happened to spend his summers just down the street at his family house and the area is very near and dear to him. We can’t think of a better way to start, other than with a wonderful cocktail from the famed Cave Bar. Relax and enjoy before the group departs for a truly special day in the lesser-known and lesser frequented Konavle Valley, just south of Dubrovnik. Before that, we will visit Cavtat for a walk around the charming sleepy seaside town near Konavle, with a stop for a light lunch at one of our favorite spots before heading out to a fully functioning stone mill in the countryside, where we will step back in time to see how things used to be. We will view how water was used to operate the mill in many ways and sustained the local community for ages. Then, we have arranged for one of the top young winemakers making waves in the wine world to join us for a dinner where he will pair and discuss his wines over the meal, with a couple of special treats from him to boot! You will get to experience Peka, the famed Balkan dish of lamb and veal cooked under coals, at an ancient countryside stone house before making our way back to the hotel for a peaceful night’s sleep. What a wonderful way to start the Taste Croatia Tour!

Overnight Stay-Hotel More 5-Star

http://www.hotel-more.hr/

Chef Richard Gruica

11 reviews

From an early age, Chef Richard Gruica saw how food and drink could unite people, regardless of their backgrounds, making everyone happy. With his passion for gastronomy, he decided to create the most incredible of edible journeys. Through extensive research, he presents some of the finest examples of tradition, craft and small producers from across the globe to the guests of his tours. More significantly, guests get to meet and enjoy the people that have a true passion for what they do. Forget ordinary, experience extraordinary!

Excellent food and wine knowledge. Chef Gruica was a great guide. Chef Ricky Moore is amazing and curated a feeling of togetherness in a tour of what was primarily strangers. Over that week we became friends. Many stepped outside of their comfort zones and tried (and loved) food that they'd never before imagined. Croatia is beautiful! I look forward to the next food & wine (and Pepsi!) tour!!

By Felice G for The "Kroatia Kool" Thousand Island Food & Wine Tour w/Chef Ricky Moore on Nov 07, 2023

This was not just any ordinary trip. It was a culinary adventure in a beautiful country with amazing people unlike anything we have ever experienced. Every day Chef Richard curated unique tasting experiences off the beaten path. His delicious collections blended the freshest local food from small wineries, local eateries, and farms in stunning surroundings. Every day presented unique activities exploring the real people and places that most tourists never see. I would have never imagined eating a spectacular meal in a charming winery that was prepared by the owner and his family or hunting for truffles out in the woods and having an al fresco dinner prepared right there at dusk. Day after day, the combination of food, wine, and activities was unique and different from the previous day. We absolutely will be returning for more tours with Chef Richard and definitely this Croatia tour is one of a kind and not to be missed!

By Joseph M for A 'Taste of Southern Grace' Croatia Tour w/ Chef Steven Greene on Oct 14, 2023

Beyond what we had anticipated! The immersion in the local culture made this a very special trip! We would definitely travel with Richard again!

By Karen F for The Chef Chris Coleman Taste of Croatia Tour on Aug 01, 2023

I will literaly remember these countless experiences for a lifetime. Richard's genuine enthusiasm for food, wine, and culture shined bright. My wife and I truly experienced what it means to be a world traveler. We would do another trip in a heartbeat. Thanks Richard!

By David W for Chef Sam Diminich Back to Roots Slovenia & Croatia Tour on May 06, 2023

Thank you so much for those super kind words. I love doing what I do and crafting wonderful experiences for my guests. It was a pleasure having both of you guys. Peru in 24!

By Chef Richard Gruica on May 08, 2023

I met 12 Fantastic people who have become friends and Richard was fantastic, well informed and not a "boring tour instructor". The buses that we had were extremely comfortable and classy. We were able to take our time at each spot which was important to me. Excellent time.

By Diane E for Chef Sam Diminich Back to Roots Slovenia & Croatia Tour on May 04, 2023

Thank you Diane...it was wonderful having you and so appreciate you for coming on the tour. He re is to a great trip, to new friends...loads of memories and to what the future has in store for us.

By Chef Richard Gruica on May 08, 2023

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