The following options are available for organized day trips on Saturday, July 21st. The application deadline for day trips is May 30th. Day trips are not mandatory. You can apply your delegates for day trips through the online registration system (it is possible to register members of the same delegation for different day trip options). Once you do, you can generate a day trip invoice. Please make sure you cover the day trip fees together with the rest of your WSDC 2018 registration fee. If you already covered the full registration fee, you can cover the day trip fees on arrival. Please bear in mind that there will be no refunds for cancellations made after May 30th.
The following options are available for 55 participants each at minimum. If your day trip of choice is cancelled due to a lack of participants, you’ll be notified in advance and offered a different option or a refund.
Krapina Neanderthal Museum and Grgos Cave
Today, Krapina is the cultural, political and administrative center of the Krapina-Zagorje County. It is located next to the small river Krapinčica, after which the city got its name. With the Krapina Neanderthal Site being among the most significant ones in Europe, Hušnjakovo was included on the list of Europe’s most populous caveman sites. The Museum, which opened its doors in 2010, presents the mysterious course of human evolution in an interesting way.
“Grgos cave” is the most beautiful cave in this part of Croatia; it was declared a precious geomorphological monument of nature in 1974. It remained hidden until 1973, when Josip Grgos discovered a large cave with two spacious halls filled with flowstones of different sizes (which grow by 1 mm over the course of 30 years!) and remarkable shapes. The cave is furnished with corridors, footpaths and lighting, and is open for visitors who truly wish to enjoy its beauties. In 2007, a new cave was discovered, which contained three 130 m long halls.
TOUR PROGRAMME:
Meeting and departure is in front of the Panorama hotel at 10:00 AM. Following is a pleasant ride to Krapina. A tour of the Krapina Neanderthal Museum at 11:00 AM with audio-guides available in 8 languages (Croatian, Slovenian, English, German, French, Italian, Hungarian and Czech). The tour starts off with a 16-minute-long movie about the life of the Krapina Neanderthal, followed by a trip to the past with the audio-guides, which provide a unique experience. The tour is followed by a trip to Samobor and “Grgos cave”. The cave’s countless stalactites developed drop by drop over the course of thousands of years, and are a breathtaking sight, to be sure. The tour of the cave is followed by lunch at around 3:00 PM in the restaurant “Gostionica kod špilje,” which boasts a wide variety of autochthonous meals prepared with local ingredients. Departure to Zagreb will be at 4:30 PM, arrival is expected at around 5:00 PM.
Varaždin and Trakošćan Castle
Old Town Varaždin is a beautiful feudal fortress believed to have been founded in the 12th century. Even though the correct date of its existence is not known, it has been well preserved throughout its violent history and numerous wars, and today it is an integral part of the Varaždin City Museum. The Varaždin cemetery was created by the visionary soul of Herman Heller and is not just a resting place of the dead, but also a jewel of garden architecture and a monument of nature. The historical core of the city is what distinguishes Varaždin from other cities. The rich urban environment consists of numerous palaces and villas from the Baroque and Secession era, and has one of the oldest city halls.
Castle Trakošćan, with its forest park that has a lake, is a unique example of a preserved architectural heritage. The permanent display is in its original function. The objects date from the 18th to the 16th century. The immediate surroundings of the castle are shaped like a landscaped park in which a lake, meadows, trees and bushes make a harmonious horticultural whole.
TOUR PROGRAMME:
Meeting and departure is in front of the Panorama hotel at 8:00 AM. Following is a pleasant ride to Varaždin, and a tour of the Varaždin cemetery, which was protected in 1966 as a monument of garden architecture and cemeteries as a whole. Following will be a visit to the Old Town Varaždin- and a visit to the City Museum, where there will be a tour of the Cultural-Historical and Entomological structure (Insect World). After the museum there will be a walk around the old town core, and then at 1:00 PM there will be lunch at the restaurant “Verglec” where you will enjoy the scents and flavors of the indigenous Croatian cuisine for which it first got its license in Croatia. The pleasant ambience of the restaurant is garneted with the “verglaces” (street entertainers), who with their traditional musical instruments entertain guests. After lunch a bus will leave towards Castle Trakošćan. Upon arrival, there will be professional museum guides that will take us on a tour around the castle. After sightseeing there will be free time to enjoy the scenery until 5:30 PM. Arrival at Zagreb is expected at 6:30 PM.
Plitvice Lakes National Park
Plitvice Lakes National Park is located in the region of Lika, on the southern slopes of Mala Kapela, 100 km from Zagreb. It is Croatia’s most beautiful and most visited National Park, encompassing the mountainous region’s 16 blue-green lakes. These draw their water from several smaller streams and sources, and are connected through a series of cascades. Due to its “extraordinary natural beauty and the seamless formation of travertine barriers through chemical and biological processes” the Park was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.
TOUR PROGRAMME:
Meeting and departure is in front of the Panorama hotel at 8:00 AM. Following is a pleasant ride through Karlovac to the National Park, with short stops to rest. Arrival at the Plitvice Lakes National Park is expected at around 11:00 AM, followed by a sightseeing tour of the natural beauty until 2:00 PM. The tour also includes a ride in an eco-friendly train and a boat ride across the Kozjak Lake. The boat ride lasts about half an hour and follows the same schedule as the train, departing approximately every 20 minutes. The Park also has several souvenir shops, stores and cafés for those in need of refreshment while enjoying nature’s beauty and the calming splashing of the cascades. The tour is followed by a bus ride to the restaurant “Borje”. Departure for Zagreb will be at 4:30 PM, and arrival is expected between 7:00 and 8:00 PM.
Zagreb Walking Tour
Explore Zagreb during a half day tour with a little help from our volunteers. Take a walk through historical Upper Town’s narrow streets, explore Zagreb’s parks and gardens, enjoy some architecture, visit our most popular museums and, let’s face it, unavoidably take a Balkan style coffee break on a café terrace in the street.
Price: fee of charge