My family makes an effort to take a European vacation every summer. We’ve done Spain, Turkey, Italy and so on. This year, we finally got it together early enough to plan sailing in Croatia. It’s been on our bucket list for a few years but we’ve been too busy with family obligations, work, school and so on to make it happen. So, our anticipation for Croatia was even greater than previous vacations. The planning started early with a boat booked just after the New Year. We booked through a company called Navigare. They are one of the larger charter companies in Croatia. If you have no experience chartering a boat, they might not be the best company to start with. While they always have beautiful boats and in the end provide an outstanding product, it takes a bit of patience to weed through the process and get the information needed. As a non sailer myself, I’ve booked sailing holidays for our family in BVI, Spain, Turkey and Greece so I at least know what needs to happen to get everything in place for a successful trip. By the way, my husband is the sailer in the family and always our captain.

We decided to charter our boat one way with pick up outside of Split, Croatia’s 2nd largest city and drop off in Dubrovnik. One thing that is critical when bareboating in Croatia is having the proper documents. Regardless of your sailing experience, you must have certain certifications to bareboat. Another thing that is unusual is the timing of the charters in Croatia. Like most charters, they go from Saturday to Saturday. We normally fly in the night before, get over to the marina by midmorning, have our briefing and we are off. Navigare does not release the boat to you until 5:00pm so you are stuck in the marina your first night. They also require you to bring the boat back to port Friday night. To optimize our time, we payed an extra fee to board the boat at 1:00pm.

Saturday morning, after shopping for provisions at the local framers market, we boarded our 50 ft Catamaran and took off from the marina in Seget Donji and headed to our first stop, Maslinica on the island of Solta. There is a gorgeous new marina and hotel there called Martinis Marchi. The hotel is an old castle that has been impeccably renovated with only 7 rooms and suites. martinis-marchi.com. We arrived just in time for a swim, cocktails and an amazing meal of grilled fish and vegetable. We were stunned with the color and clearness of the water everywhere we went. I don’t think I have seen water so clean and clear in my entire life. The next day we headed to Hvar, the most well known of the islands. There are limited moorings in Hvar harbor so most boaters get a slip in Palmizano which is just across the way from Hvar on a little island. There are water taxis running all day and into the night to shuttle people back and forth. On Palmizano itself, there is still quite a scene. A short walk to the other side of the island from the marina is a small beach with many restaurants. There are tons of boats floating off shore brining people from Hvar to enjoy the beach and restaurants.

After a night out in Hvar, we took off to a quieter destination on the island of Vis. We bypassed the main town and went along the south coast of the island and first stopped at Bisevo to see the Blue Cave. We were sadly disappointed to find out you can not swim in the cave and you must take one of their official boats and guides to see it. It was pretty non the less so we were happy to have seen it. We then backtracked to a small beach and town and anchored at Diamond Beach restaurant. In Croatia, you must either get a slip in a marina, usually through ACI Marina’s or you rent a ball to moor on that is usually associated with a restaurant. As long as you eat at their restaurant, you don’t have to pay. Rarely can you simply drop anchor and not pay, it is all very tightly controlled my the government.

Our next stop was the beautiful nature sanctuary and island of Lastova. We got a slip through August Insula restaurant in Zaklopatico. We had time to walk from the there over to the main town which looks like it has been lost in time. The town of Lastova from a distance looks like a Mediterranean Norman Rockwell painting, but up close, you see how dilapidated it has become. Clearly this part of Croatia has not been touched by the tourism. While crumbling, it was still so incredibly charming as were the people. The story goes that the town was intentionally built over the craggy rocks of the shore, hidden from sea views to protect them from pirates. That night, we finally got a chance to sample a dish Croatia is famous for, Plaka, or goat cooked for hours under a bell. It was fabulous however, you must order in advance as it takes time to prepare.

Onward the next day to the old city of Korcula built as a walled fortress to protect the small city from invaders. It’s a beautiful city and a great place to explore the old churches, Renaissance and Gothic architecture. After a city, we happily moved on to Mjet, another island full of nature and another wonderful family owned restaurant that provided a wonderful meal, great conversation and a place to moore our boat. The entrepreneurial spirit shone in the islands as we found many of the little restaurants and apartment buildings had been passed down to the younger generations who have renovated and and added on to them to make them modern and appealing.

Sadly it was Friday and we had to be back in Dubrovnik by 6:00. It was a full day of sailing but gave us plenty of time to reflect on our week, how peaceful it was, how simple it was. We all agreed it was one of our favorite sailing experiences. But, I suspect we say that every time we sail. Coming back into Dubrovnik was a treat. The scenery stunning as always and an extra treat of going into the old city of Dubrovnik for dinner. We look forward to returning someday to Croatia, more than likely by boat as I believe it is the best way to experience it!