The Holiday
For a thousand years Venice ruled the Adriatic, and the ports she built along its eastern shore still wear the winged lion of St Mark above their gates. This holiday follows that old maritime empire by tall ship, then carries you home in the grandest style there is.
The Classic Adriatic Sail brings together two of the most romantic ways to travel in Europe. You fly to Venice and step straight aboard Royal Clipper, the five masted tall ship that is your home for the next seven nights. From Venice she sails south to Pesaro on the Italian coast, then crosses to Croatia for Šibenik, a swim stop in clear Dalmatian water and the walled city of Dubrovnik. The Bay of Kotor in Montenegro follows, then the fishing town of Komiža on the island of Vis and the Istrian harbour of Rovinj, before the ship returns to Venice.
Rather than rushing home, you then spend three nights at Hotel Concordia, right beside St Mark's Basilica, with time to see Venice properly. On the morning of the eleventh day you board the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express at Santa Lucia station and travel through the Dolomites and the Austrian Alps overnight to Paris, where two nights at Hotel Monsieur and Spa in the 8th arrondissement close the holiday before Eurostar takes you home.
Departs Saturday 17 July 2027, returning Friday 30 July 2027
13 nights 7 on Royal Clipper, 3 in Venice, 1 on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and 2 in Paris
Price From £8,399 per person, two sharing, including £26 per person in charges payable locally
Travel Flight to Venice, Eurostar home, private overseas transfers and port charges included. ATOL protected
Day by Day
Fly to Venice and Embark Royal Clipper
Fly from London to Venice, where a private transfer takes you to the port to board Royal Clipper. Once you have settled into your cabin, head up on deck for the sail away. Leaving Venice by sea, past the Doge's Palace, the Campanile and the dome of Santa Maria della Salute, is one of the finest departures anywhere in the world, and on a tall ship it feels as it must have done for travellers centuries ago.
Full board on Royal Clipper begins.
Pesaro, Italy
Pesaro, on the coast of the Marche, is a relaxed seaside town that most international visitors pass by, which is part of its charm. It is the birthplace of Gioachino Rossini, born here in 1792, and every August the town hosts the Rossini Opera Festival. His birthplace is now a small museum. The Ducal Palace on Piazza del Popolo, a long sandy beach and the hill town of Urbino, a UNESCO listed jewel of the Renaissance, about an hour inland, give plenty of choice for the day.
Šibenik, Croatia
Overnight the ship crosses the Adriatic to Croatia and sails up the narrow channel into Šibenik, past the fortress of St Nicholas. The town is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Cathedral of St James, built entirely of stone and famous for the 71 carved heads around its walls, and St Nicholas Fortress itself, part of the Venetian defence works of the 16th and 17th centuries. The waterfalls of the Krka National Park are a short drive away.
Swim Stop and Dubrovnik, Croatia
The morning begins at anchor in the waters near Dubrovnik, weather permitting, with the marina platform lowered at the stern for swimming, snorkelling and kayaking. Later Royal Clipper arrives in Dubrovnik itself. Once the independent Republic of Ragusa, a rival to Venice for centuries, the city is ringed by almost two kilometres of medieval walls that you can walk right round. Inside, the polished limestone of the Stradun leads past the Rector's Palace, the Sponza Palace and one of the oldest working pharmacies in Europe, in the Franciscan Monastery. The whole old city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kotor, Montenegro
Few arrivals by sea compare with the slow passage into the Bay of Kotor, where the water winds deep between mountains that drop straight into the sea. On the way you pass Perast and its two tiny island churches, Our Lady of the Rocks and St George. Kotor's walled old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a pleasure to wander, and the fit can climb around 1,350 steps up the city walls to the Castle of San Giovanni for a view down over the bay and the ship far below.
Komiža, Island of Vis, Croatia
Vis is the most distant of the inhabited Dalmatian islands, and because it served as a military base it was closed to foreign visitors until 1989. That long isolation has kept it beautifully unspoilt. Komiža, on its western shore, is a fishing town of stone houses beneath a steep mountain, known for the falkuša, a traditional sailing fishing boat, and for its local wine. From here boats run to the Blue Cave on the neighbouring islet of Biševo, where sunlight through an underwater opening turns the water an astonishing blue.
Rovinj, Istria, Croatia
Rovinj is perhaps the most picturesque town in Istria. Its old quarter crowds onto a small peninsula that was an island until the 18th century, and the bell tower of the Church of St Euphemia, modelled on the Campanile of St Mark's in Venice, rises above the rooftops. Venice ruled here for more than five centuries and Italian is still spoken alongside Croatian. Spend the day in the artists' studios of Grisia Street, then enjoy a last evening on board as the ship heads back towards Venice.
Return to Venice
Royal Clipper arrives back in Venice in the morning. After breakfast you disembark and a private transfer takes you to Hotel Concordia, a hotel right next to St Mark's Basilica, overlooking the little Piazzetta dei Leoncini. You are now right at the centre of Venice, a minute from Piazza San Marco and the Doge's Palace.
Breakfast on board. Overnight at Hotel Concordia, Venice.
Venice
Two full days give you time to enjoy Venice at its own pace. Start early in the Basilica of San Marco, when the golden mosaics catch the morning light, then take the Secret Itineraries tour of the Doge's Palace through the hidden offices and prison cells of the old Republic. In the afternoon take a vaporetto down the Grand Canal, past more than 170 palazzi, to the Rialto Bridge and its markets. See our guide to Venice for more ideas.
Bed and breakfast at Hotel Concordia, Venice.
The Lagoon Islands
Today you might head out across the lagoon to Murano, where glass has been blown since the 13th century, and on to Burano with its brightly painted houses and lacemakers. Torcello, the quiet island where Venice began, has the oldest building in the lagoon in its cathedral, founded in 639. Back in the city, finish with a spritz on the Zattere or a gondola ride through the back canals at dusk.
Bed and breakfast at Hotel Concordia, Venice.
Aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
After breakfast a private transfer takes you to Venice Santa Lucia station, where the blue and gold carriages of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express wait at the platform. Your steward shows you to your Historic Cabin and the train departs at around 11:00, heading north through the Veneto.
Lunch is served as the train climbs into the Dolomites, and this is the direction to travel if you want to see the mountains, because you cross the Alps in daylight. After the Brenner Pass the line runs down into Austria past Innsbruck, and afternoon tea arrives in your cabin. In the evening dress for dinner, take an aperitif in the Bar Car and then enjoy a four course dinner in one of the restored restaurant cars, before the pianist plays on into the night as the train carries you west towards France.
Lunch, afternoon tea and dinner on board. Overnight on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express.
Arrive in Paris
Breakfast is served in your cabin as the French countryside slides past, and the train arrives in Paris around lunchtime. A private transfer takes you to Hotel Monsieur and Spa on the Rue des Mathurins in the 8th arrondissement, a few minutes on foot from the Madeleine, the Opéra Garnier and the great department stores of Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, whose rooftop terraces have some of the best free views over Paris.
Breakfast on board. Overnight at Hotel Monsieur and Spa, Paris.
Paris
A free day in Paris. Walk down the Rue Royale to the Place de la Concorde and through the Tuileries to the Louvre, or climb to Montmartre and the Sacré-Cœur for the view over the rooftops. The Musée d'Orsay, the Île de la Cité and the restored Notre-Dame, reopened in December 2024, are all easy to reach. Our guide to Paris has plenty more suggestions.
Bed and breakfast at Hotel Monsieur and Spa, Paris.
Eurostar Home to London
After breakfast transfer to the Gare du Nord for Eurostar back to London St Pancras. If you would rather fly home from Paris, we can arrange that instead.
Transfer and Eurostar from Paris to London.
Royal Clipper
Royal Clipper is the flagship of Star Clippers and one of the most beautiful ships afloat. Inspired by the Preussen, a great German five masted windjammer of 1902, she is recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest square rigged sailing ship in service. Five masts carry 42 sails with a total area of about 5,200 square metres, and when the wind fills them and the engines fall silent, the only sounds are the rigging, the sea and, at the moment of raising sail, the stirring music played across the deck.
She carries a maximum of around 227 guests, looked after by more than 100 crew, so there is always room to find a quiet corner. The sun deck has three swimming pools, and below are the Tropical Bar, a piano bar, a library and the three level Clipper Dining Room, where dinner is à la carte with open seating, so you sit where and with whom you like. Down on the lowest deck, the Captain Nemo lounge and spa has underwater portholes that look straight out into the sea. At anchor a marina platform opens at the stern for complimentary watersports.
You are welcome to get involved with the sailing as much or as little as you like, helping to haul a line, learning the ropes from the crew or climbing to the crow's nest in a harness. Or simply lie in the netting under the bowsprit and watch the bow wave below.
Your Cabin on Board
The lead in price is based on a Category 6 cabin, an inside cabin on the Commodore Deck with a double bed and a private bathroom with shower. If you would like more space or a window, the ship has several grades of outside cabin, deck cabins whose doors open directly onto the deck, Deluxe Suites on the Main Deck with a private verandah, whirlpool bath and room service, and two Owner's Suites. We will happily price an upgrade for you.
Video: Sailing with Star Clippers
The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
The name Orient Express dates back to 1883, when Georges Nagelmackers first ran his luxury train from Paris to Constantinople. The train you board in Venice is made up of original sleeping cars, restaurant cars and a bar car from the 1920s and 1930s, which were bought at auction and from sidings across Europe and restored at enormous expense before the service relaunched in 1982. Every carriage has a story of its own, and all have been returned to their Art Deco best. Our history of the Orient Express tells the full story.
Historic Cabins are panelled in polished marquetry with a washbasin, a sofa by day and upper and lower berths by night, and washrooms at the end of each carriage. If you would like your own bathroom, ask us about upgrading to a Suite, each of which has a private en suite with shower. More detail on every category is in our accommodation guide. The menus are created by Chef Jean Imbert and served in three restaurant cars: L'Oriental, with its black lacquered panels, Étoile du Nord, with its fine marquetry, and the Côte d'Azur, famous for its glass panels by René Lalique. Gentlemen often wear black tie for dinner and ladies cocktail or evening dress, and nobody ever regrets dressing up.
The Alps by daylight, one of the joys of the Venice to Paris direction
Video: Belmond Legends, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
Your Hotels
Hotel Concordia, Venice
It would be hard to find a more central address in Venice. Hotel Concordia stands right beside St Mark's Basilica and looks over the Piazzetta dei Leoncini, named after the two red marble lions that children have been climbing for generations. The hotel claims to be the only one in Venice with windows looking onto St Mark's Square. Rooms are decorated in classic 18th century Venetian style with traditional furniture. Three nights, with breakfast.
Hotel Monsieur and Spa, Paris
A stylish boutique hotel at 62 Rue des Mathurins in the 8th arrondissement, between the Madeleine and the Opéra Garnier and close to the Gare Saint-Lazare. There is a small spa with a hammam in the basement for unwinding after a day on foot. Two nights, with breakfast.
Departure Date and Price
| Fly to Venice | Sail | Venice & VSOE | Return to London |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 17 July 2027 | 7 nights on Royal Clipper | 3 nights in Venice, 1 night on the VSOE | 13 nights totalFriday 30 July 2027 |
| Holiday | Accommodation | From |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Adriatic Sail and the VSOE | Category 6 cabin on Royal Clipper and Historic Cabin on the VSOE | £8,399 pp |
| Cabin upgrades | Larger Royal Clipper cabins and suites, and VSOE Suites | On request |
| Single travellers | 50% supplement for Categories 6 to 2, 100% for Category 1 and above | On request |
Price per person based on two adults sharing. The price includes £26 per person in charges payable locally, which are subject to exchange rate changes. Early booking savings are available on summer 2027 sailings booked by 31 January 2027, and past Star Clippers guests may qualify for a further repeat passenger discount, so please ask us for the latest price. Solo cabins are limited and on request. All prices are subject to availability and may change or be withdrawn.
What Is Included
- Flight from London to Venice
- Seven nights full board aboard Royal Clipper in a Category 6 cabin
- Three nights with breakfast at Hotel Concordia, Venice
- One night on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express from Venice to Paris in a Historic Cabin, with all meals on board
- Two nights with breakfast at Hotel Monsieur and Spa, Paris
- Eurostar from Paris to London (a flight home can be arranged instead)
- Private overseas transfers
- Port charges