Want to take your own global adventure like the “Today” show’s Matt Lauer did during his “Where in the World” tour? “Today” travel editor Peter Greenberg discusses some cool and easy ways you can plan your very own trip into the wild blue yonder!
Dubrovnik
What makes Dubrovnik so special is that you have the beach along the beautiful Mediterranean sea mixed with a town full of Old World character. It looks like a quaint, romantic European city where you could spend hours wandering around, enjoying the museums and monuments or lingering at a cafe. The centuries-old Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque architecture make it a medieval city that is European in its own right, but — mixed with the coastline — seemingly unlike any other European city, giving it a unique beauty.
The city walls are a symbol of Dubrovnik and offer amazing views from the guard's walkway. Built around the 10th century, the wall is full of defensive structures with many bastions, towers and a huge fortress. (There are also two fortresses on either outer side to protect the city.) For just a few dollars, you can take a 90-minute tour along the walls, taking in the glorious Old Town on one side and the Adriatic Sea on the other.
Cruises
There are multiple cruise lines that make stops in Dubrovnik, but this takes place mostly throughout the summer months. The cool thing is that these itineraries also include stops in Italy and Greece along with Croatia, so you get to bookend your cruise. Some cruises also make stops at small islands (or include shore excursions to small islands). MSC cruises starts at $1,900, and Windstar is $2,800.
If you're getting to Dubrovnik by land, you can take whole or half-day tours of the Dubrovnik Riviera by boat and sailing vessels that regularly run from April till the end of October. You can book these excursions in town and learn about the history and present life on the islands by boat or spend your day bathing and lying on the sandy beach.
Croatia and Italy
For less than $2,000, a 13-day affordable Italy-Croatia tour includes round-trip airfare from New York, 11 nights of hotel accommodations, 13 meals and guided tours of various cities and landmarks throughout Croatia and Venice, Italy. Experiences include visiting Pula's ancient Roman amphitheater, swimming in the waterfalls of Sibenik and taking a walking tour through the "Old Town" of Dubrovnik. The price is $1,369 to $1,579, depending on departure date.
Hiking Tour
Adria Adventures offers an eight day hiking/walking tour through the mountains of Dubrovnik. The tour includes long hikes through the Montenegrin mountain range, local Mediterranean forests, and small local villages. Long daily hikes along old mountain pathways will prepare travelers for the highest peak of Konavle mountain. The tour includes accommodations in private pension houses, lunches at local taverns and guide services. Transportation from town-to-town is made by minivan. The hiking tour is offered October through June for $695 per trip.
Round-the-World Map
Airtreks.com is a very cool site that you can go on and plan your very own around-the-world trip! You just go to the site, plug in the destinations of your choice and get two itineraries — one is a lowest cost itinerary and one is a more for your money itinerary. Both itineraries may include additional stops. The additional stops on the lowest fare option are to reduce the overall cost or alert you to possible free stopovers. The more for your money option, which is what I chose when I made my sample itinerary re-tracing Matt's trip this week, added some cool cities for only $500 to $600 more. The estimated price of the trip was $3,962 to $4,754. Price depends on seasonality, the availability of flights and how far in advance you are making reservations.