I was lucky enough to spend a week cruising the Dalmatian Islands on a charter of a yacht. See my detailed description of the trip here. Below are some tips from my trip for those that might be planning a similar adventure.
How long to go for
Most organised group sailing tours of the Dalmatian Islands off Croatia take around a week and some travel one way Split to Dubrovnik or Dubrovnik to Split. Yacht charters in the area usually require that groups book for a week minimum.
We spent a week on our yacht charter and that was a nice amount of time to explore the islands of Vis, Hvar, Solta and Brac. However, you just as easily spend two weeks in the Dalmatian Islands (or even more) and travel further than we did without running out of things to do or see. Some popular stops we didn’t visit include the islands of Mljet and Korcula and the coastal towns of Dubrovnik and Makarska. Mljet is known in particular for its natural beauty and the other three are known for their nightlife, history and architecture.
The limit to how long your sailing trip might be may depend on how long you think you can sleep on a boat and whether you enjoy sailing as a form of transport, rather than how much there is to do in the region. To be honest, you could easily spend the whole summer there. A picture of our living quarters inside the boat is shown below.
The main area inside one of the yachts – there were three bedrooms coming off this living and kitchen area.
When to go
We went in mid May, so I don’t know first-hand how busy it gets at each port in the height of summer, but I have heard it’s pretty hectic. That said, it would have been nice if the water was a little bit warmer than when we visited. It was warm enough to swim, but not the temperature in which you want to lounge around on an inflatable flamingo.
If I had to suggest to someone the best time to go and they were after a similar holiday experience, I would probably say it might be better to go in June, when the water has warmed up a little, but it’s not yet too crowded. Alternatively, September and October would mean that the summer crowded have waned, but the water would still be warm, so that would provide a good option – it does apparently get a bit windier later in the season though.
If a big party scene is what you’re there for (and the party scene is definitely a drawcard to the region), it would be best to go mid-Season, between June and August, when the clubs are open and the vibes are high. We were a little too early for the clubbing scene to have ramped up, so didn’t get to incorporate that into our trip.
On our trip, we focused our drinking on board rather than on shore
What to bring
Apart from all the usual suspects for a sunny holiday, some specific items you’ll want to bring for the Dalmatian islands / Croatian coast (particularly if sailing around) include:
- Reef shoes or waterproof shoes of some description. Parts of the Dalmatian Coast are littered with spiky and painful sea urchins and other parts are very rocky or pebbly underfoot. If your swimming close to shore or walking on beaches and shorelines, these will keep your feet safe. Sea urchin spines are PAINFUL.
- Clothes that dry quickly. Your clothes may get wet if things get windy on deck and the spray is high. Drying space will also be limited on board a yacht. I found summery dresses in materials that dried quickly became my go-to daily wear.
- Clothes that are a bit ‘nice’. Both locals and tourists tend to dress up a bit in Croatia, and you don’t want to feel out of place in a nice restaurant or beach club. In Europe it’s generally expected that activewear is only for when you are actually being active.
- Two pairs of bathers. You will likely be in bathers a LOT and no one likes to put on a wet pair.
- A beach cover up. I used a long lacey cardigan as a beach cover up basically every day in Croatia. It doubled as a cardigan for evenings and also covered my shoulders for religious sites (alternatively you could use a scarf in a pinch). Something that can take you from beach to beach-bar and will protect you from the sun between dips in the ocean on board your boat is your best bet.
- Ginger tablets or other seasickness tablets. Definitely bring these just in case you meet high seas and get a bout of seasickness.
- A good sunhat, good sunscreen and good sunglasses. It’s not always easy to avoid sun exposure on a yacht. Cover yourself accordingly to avoid sunburn and dehydration.
Don’t bother packing high heels, as the streets are mainly cobbled and many of the towns are hilly. Bring some nice flats instead.
My go-everywhere cover all strikes again
Yacht Sailing as Transport
It might be obvious, but you only want to embark on a bareboat yacht charter if you have people in your group who know how to sail!
Make sure you have someone in your group with an adequate international skipper’s license before you book a trip like this. Also ensure they are happy to take on the responsibility of skipper for the duration of the trip and that everyone on board is happy to help them out as required.
Another option is to book a yacht inclusive of skipper or skipper and crew. This will have an increased cost, but means you don’t have to BYOS (that’s bring-your-own-sailor!).
Another probably obvious statement – a boat is not a bus, or a train, or a plane, or a car. You might get seasick if you are prone to it.
The waters in the Dalamatian Islands are usually fairly calm, but you can still be thrown about a bit on a windy day, your stuff will still need to be adequately secured during sailing (or you’ll end up with food, crockery and drinks flying everywhere) and when you’re sailing from place to place, you may not be able to do much but sip on a beer and take in the view as your boat navigates the swell and the breeze.
This suits some travelers, but it doesn’t suit everyone. Ginger tablets and water can go a long way but if the thought of spending a few hours on boat per day doesn’t appeal to you, you may be better off island hopping through the region with ferries to take you from place to place every few days rather than sailing.
This would provide a different experience as you won’t:
- Get to sail into secluded bays and beaches that you have to yourself
- Be as likely to be able to choose your itinerary each day (you may need to pre-book accommodation and ferries in high season if not on a boat)
- Feel like an explorer on the high seas as you sail from island to island with your sails high
- Be able to enjoy watersports or swimming straight of your boat
- Spend as much time on the water
- Bond with your group over cooking and cleaning and sailing etc. and having a truly shared experience
However you may instead:
- Have more time to explore the inland areas of the islands and get to know each place you visit a little better
- Not have to worry about the logistics of getting back on board your boat after a late-night port visit
- Not have to worry about port fees, weather, wind directions and fuel costs
- Not have to worry about seasickness
- Have the comfort of a real bed and access to a ‘real’ shower and toilet
- Have more opportunity to do different things to the group you travel with. This only matters if you think you will have different interests.
I wouldn’t say one experience is necessarily superior or inferior to the other, but they are definitely different. A hybrid way to travel that somewhat combines the two is going on a bigger cruise boat as part of a tour, and this is definitely a popular way to travel through the Croatian Islands as well.
For me personally, I am super grateful to have had the opportunity to sail around the Dalmatian Islands in Croatia as I am not a sailor and don’t know if I would have the chance to do a bareboat yacht tour again. The Dalmatian Islands are beautiful, however you chose to explore them.
