Hvar You Ready For It?

Trip Region: Europe
Country(ies): Hungary, Croatia
Partners Trek? No
Cost: $2250
Airfare Estimate: $1500
Structure:   •   Lodging:   •   Nightlife: 7   •   Activity: 6

Hvar you ready for it? Our trek will take you to the exotic lands of Hungary and Croatia. Come explore the best of Eastern Europe with the best of Ross, from Lake Balaton, to bombed out bars in Budapest, to island life off the Dalmatian Coast, to doing splits in Split.

This trek has a bit of everything: forays into the great outdoors with hikes and swimming, local culture and cuisine, lots of boats, even more nightlife and a bit of historical blah-blah-blah so you have something to tell your grandparents. With an eye-watering seven MBA2 leaders who are ready, willing, and eager to show you the time of your life and become your new best friends, hope you’re ready to get up close and personal.

Day 1 — Friday, Aug 17

Ready, set, go! You are free to depart from Ann Arbor after orientation activities are over around 5pm.

Day 2 — Saturday, Aug 18

Congratulations on surviving Orientation, Impact Challenge, and (hopefully) your first Rick’s experience! We’ll tackle jet lag and celebrate you all earning your Ross stripes with a welcome dinner in the heart of Budapest which starts at 6pm local time.

Day 3 — Sunday, Aug 19

Widely known as one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the world, we will spend the day exploring the best that Budapest has to offer, from the thermal baths to caving in natural underground caves, to sprawling outdoor markets and more. At night, we’ll embark on a pub crawl through some of Budapest’s Ruin Bars, aka extreme and excessively cool dive bars where you can check your student loan worries at the door and get extra large beers for less than $2.

Day 4 — Monday, Aug 20

There’s something you need to know about your MBA2 leaders: we love boats. A lot. And this is the first day on the trek that we really lean into that. We’ll travel approximately two hours to Lake Balaton, aka the “Hungarian Sea” and the largest lake in Central Europe that is assured to be weird and wonderful. We’ll spend the afternoon boozing and cruising (Danielle and Steph may push Douwe overboard) before leaving Hungary behind and making our way to Croatia.

Day 5 — Tuesday, Aug 21

Welcome to Croatia’s capital city! We’ll start the day with a walking tour and spend the afternoon wandering through both upper town and lower town. At night, we’ll meet up for a group dinner, before heading out to explore some of the best nightlife that the city has to offer. Expect Jinny to challenge the locals to a battle on the dance floor. (Spoiler alert: Jinny wins)

Day 6 — Wednesday, Aug 22

The battle for the best MTrek Instagram is an unspoken but very real phenomenon, and today is your chance to enter the ring. We’ll spend the day exploring the stupidly beautiful Plitvice National Park, filled with lakes, waterfalls, and green hills galore. After hiking and picnicking to our little woodland heart’s content, we’ll make our way to Split.

Day 7 — Thursday, Aug 23

The second largest city in Croatia has it all: beautiful coastlines, great cuisine, and gorgeous architecture. The world is your oyster on this free day, so use your time wisely (or not…), before we meet up again for a night out on the town.

Day 8 — Friday, Aug 24

We told you Zack is fancy, so this is the day we indulge him. After spending the morning and afternoon on Split’s beautiful beaches, we’ll don our freshest threads and head out on a Dalmatian Wine and Dine tour, where we’ll sample some of the best Mediterranean food in the region, and MK will offer everyone a lesson on how to repack your suitcase in order to carry wine bottles back to the USofA (she somehow managed to transport half a case home after MTrek last year).

Day 9 — Saturday, Aug 25

We’ll hop on a ferry in the morning and cruise over to the island of Hvar (note: be sure to pronounce it “far” or Douwe will correct you with his Ivy League education). Spend the day exploring the island known as “the Queen of the Dalmatian Islands” (also Mike’s drag name) with a stroll around Old Town, a visit to the Spanjola Fortress, and an afternoon on the beach. Just make sure to save up some energy, because the nightlife on Hvar does not mess around (and neither do we).

Day 10 — Sunday, Aug 26

And we’re back to the boat thing… Get ready to set sail on the beautiful Adriatic! We’ll visit Hvar’s neighboring islands and cliff jump in the sweet sunshine before returning to Michigan winter in September (only half-kidding). This is our last night together (crying face emoji), with a last group dinner and turn up in Hvar. Be sure to leave it all on the field this time, kids.

Day 11 — Monday, Aug 27

Today we catch the ferry back to Split and bid a fond doviđenja to Croatia and the new friends (and perhaps lovers) we’ve made over the past 10 days. Trip ends at upon arrival at the harbor in Split. Remember, what happens on MTrek, stays on MTrek. On the plane ride back to Michigan, let’s braid each other’s hair and plan our first pre-Skeeps reunion.