5 Day Continental Croatia Yoga and Trekking Holiday in Karlovac County

Facilities

If you crave some time out, away from the buzz and grind of daily life and have a love of yoga, trekking, and nature; then you are in the right place. This 5-day package set in the heart of Continental Croatia will give you a complete mind, body, and soul reset.

Do enjoy the simple countryside life, the local products from nearby farms (such as homemade jams, fresh cottage cheese or organic fruits, and vegetables), and most importantly – morning yoga sessions, yoga sessions in nature, pranayama breathing exercises, stretching exercises, meditation, and a purposeful combination of conscious trekking and walking in nature (hand picked canyons, rivers and hill ranges).

Sandra's yoga practice is a combination of hatha and vinyasa styles with a therapeutic approach. Morning sessions might include hormonal balance yoga as well, with a purpose of stimulating the metabolism.

Yoga sequence is always carefully prepared, respecting age and health limitations of all participants. Yoga in nature, during treks and hikes, starts with warm-up asanas, followed by warm-up pranayamas. During outdoor activities, a walking meditation will be included. Each trek and hike ends with cooling and stretching asanas. Evening yoga sessions include relaxation and yin asanas, a meditation as well as a short session of face yoga to enhance the-end-of-the-day relaxation and calmness.

During each day trip, the yoga instructor will use additional methods to direct your attention to the present moment, increase conscious experience and relaxation (meditation while trekking and during breaks, use of essential oils, message cards).

Excursions and day trips have been carefully selected for people who are moderately active, with average physical aptitude and abilities and those that have relatively little mountaineering experience but have a passion for nature and hiking. The aim of this yoga retreat is to improve the quality of life, promote stays in nature and in the mountains and to carry out a mix of activities that deliberately connect nature and the human being.

Itinerary

Day 1: Introductions to your estate and yoga retreat

After your arrival at the Franjo Tuđman Airport (ZAG) or the Zagreb centre, your private group transfer awaits to take you and the other participants to Ekodrom Estate, your base for this retreat with its bucolic scenery and cabins a bit to the higher end spectrum of the accommodation comfort level.

Depending on the arrival, you will have a late afternoon walk and an inception yoga session in nature. Short walking tour around the property follows, in addition to the breathing exercises (pranayama) and stretching sessions on one of the surrounding meadows. You will have dinner on the estate and an overnight stay.

Day 2: A yoga and a trekking combo along the Kamačnik canyon

An hour-long morning Hatha yoga (on the terrace or in the hall, pending weather conditions) is the first thing to get your day going. After a homemade breakfast, there will be a transfer to and a hiking day tour to Gorski kotar region and the Kamačnik canyon. Your group and the yoga instructor-cum-guide will take a walk from Vrbovsko along the canyon to the Kamačnik spring at the 410 metres above the sea level.

You will tread through a tourist-built path through the forest, with yoga exercises during the trek. In one of the breaks, you will take a time-out for refreshments i.e. packed lunch. Upon returning down to Vrbovsko, your private minivan will transfer you and the group back to the Ekodrom estate. You will have dinner on the estate and an overnight stay.

Day 3: Enjoy the local Mrežnica River coupled with relaxing yoga and meditation intervals

An hour-long morning Hatha yoga (on the terrace or in the hall) is there to relax you just before a rich breakfast takes place. Enjoy next the excursion to the Mrežnica River and its lush, green banks, some 30-40 minutes away from the estate. River walk ensues, with a guided yoga (a combination of Hatha and Vinyasa) and meditation sessions.

If the temperatures and weather permit, you can take a swim in the crisp and very clean waters of Mrežnica River, and afterwards enjoy your packed lunch box with organically prepared food as per your dietary choosing. The minivan will transfer you all back to the estate just in time to freshen up, change, and head for homemade dinner. You will overnight stay at the estate.

Day 4: Petrova Gora hills and yoga sessions

Start off your day right with a morning Hatha yoga (a combination of Vinyasa) on the terrace or the studio hall depending on the current weather conditions.

Fuel up during a scrumptious breakfast before your half-day trip to Petrova Gora/hillside, at some 20-minutes’ drive in your minivan from the estate. There, you will trek along the educational forest trail encumbering conscious walking and meditation on the fly with guided instructions.

A 15-minute yoga stretching at the end of the tour will circle down the whole outdoors experience. Transfer back to the estate for a lunch there in great company of the estate hosts, your instructor, and other participants. Late afternoon free and on your own - you can walk around the estate, enjoy the garden there, take some plum slivovitz (schnapps) or just relax with a book, meditate, or even mingle with the rest of the group. Dinner will be served at the estate followed by an overnight stay there.

Day 5: Departure from the estate to Zagreb

Final morning yoga session before your breakfast and a check out. Say bye to your friendly estate hosts. The group will gather to be transferred back to Zagreb or Franjo Tuđman Airport (ZAG) depending on the group’s flight schedules and departure plans. You get to enjoy the green pastures and the surrounding nature on your way to Zagreb before saying farewell to Croatia.

• Privately guided day trip to Gorski kotar and Kamačnik canyon with an English-speaking yoga instructor and trip manager along with a minivan transfer on Day 2
• Privately guided day trip to Mrežnica River and surroundings with an English-speaking yoga instructor and trip manager along with a minivan transfer on Day 3
• Privately guided day trip to Petrova Gora hillside with an English-speaking yoga instructor and trip manager along with a minivan transfer on Day 4

There are many interesting places to visit and fun things to do near Ekodrom Estate. The city that “lies on four rivers”, Karlovac is half an hour away by car. Rivers Korana and Mrežnica offer many locations for swimming and water sport activities. The very popular national park Plitvička Jezera is just an hour away by car. Also, there are places close by where you can go horse riding or biking if you wish to extend your stay. The ones you will visit during the retreat:

Kamačnik

This protected landscape can be found near Vrbovsko, in Gorski kotar mountainous region on the way from Continental Croatia to the coast. The Kamačnik River canyon is a 3,200-meter long water course with a hiking trail that follows the crystal-clear rivulet surrounded by lush vegetation and a large number of protected animal species.

A walking trail, wooden bridges, and galleries were all made in 1961. Kamačnik cut its gorge into the Velika Kapela massive. It cascades down the river Dobra since it was at its entrance turned into a lake by a dam.

Mrežnica River

The Mrežnica River is one of the four rivers that meet in Karlovac. Flowing in its green canyon and dammed by the natural waterfalls, it is perfect for swimming, paddling, and relaxing in nature. It springs near Slunj and flows through karst terrain until it joins Korana River.

Petrova Gora

Petrova Gora is a hill range in central Kordun region of Continental Croatia, administratively part of the Karlovac County. It extends northeast-southwest, some 25 kilometers along the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a wooded and hilly area above Vojnić, with various points marked by historic importance, from king Petar Svačić’s grave, the underground partisan hospital from WWII, to the great monument on its top. Today, the main attraction is the Muljava hunting lodge and picnic area.

Distances

• Topusko, 36 kilometers
• Slunj, 45 kilometers
• Franjo Tuđman Airport (ZAG), 85 kilometers

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The available food types include vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, and meat. You can have a maximum option of 2 combinations.

• Plitvice Lakes National Park day tour

• Free use of hot tubs

• Daily morning yoga sessions at the estate
• Yoga plus meditation sessions during day trips
• Private minivan transfer for the retreat participants from the Franjo Tuđman Airport (ZAG) or Zagreb city centre with an English-speaking driver to your Ekodrom Estate accommodation and base on Day 1
• Privately guided day trip to Gorski Kotar and Kamačnik canyon with an English-speaking yoga instructor and trip manager along with a minivan transfer on Day 2
• Privately guided day trip to Mrežnica river and surroundings with an English-speaking yoga instructor and trip manager along with a minivan transfer on Day 3
• Privately guided day trip to Petrova Gora hillside with an English-speaking yoga instructor and trip manager along with a minivan transfer on Day 4
• Private minivan transfer for the retreat participants from Ekodrom estate to the Franjo Tuđman Airport (ZAG) or Zagreb city centre with an English-speaking driver on Day 5
• English-speaking yoga instructor and trip manager throughout the retreat
• 4 nights accommodation at Ekodrom Estate
• Full-board (breakfasts, lunches or lunch boxes during day trips, and dinners)
• Hot tubs (year-round), WiFi, AC, A/V surveillance, and additional external showers
• Tourist tax
• Trip preparation fee
• VAT

• International airfare to and from Croatia
• Meals, drinks, and services other than those specified in the itinerary
• Personal expenses
• Entrance fees
• Travel insurance
• Gratuities (tips are always appreciated but not mandatory)

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• A reservation requires a deposit of 45% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.