A Typical Day On A Croatia Yacht Charter
- Coleen Bolton
- May 21
- 5 min read
Can you picture yourself cruising the crystal clear water of the Adriatic Sea onboard a yacht? Believe it or not you don't have to be rich and famous to do it. You could set sail on this amazing adventure for about the same price you would pay for a premium cruise. You might be wondering what the typical day on a Croatia Yacht Charter cruise is like so that is what I am going to tell you all about today. I will also have a ship report posted soon too.
If you are a fan of Bravo's Below Deck like I am you might thinking are all yacht charters like that? I can say that while they are similar, the ones you see on TV are less like a cruise and more like a very expensive excursion. Getting to stay onboard for a week has a different feel. I was onboard Lastavica Cruising's Yacht Swallow (Lastavica is the Croatian word for the bird Swallow). It is an 18 cabin yacht. As a travel agent I can charter the whole yacht to offer to my clients. It can either be set up for just one group of people that all know each other or it can be set up for me to book like a regular cruise where any of my clients could book a room and meet new people. Since we are chartering the whole boat I can customize a lot of things. Either way the experience on Lastavica is going to be similar. We will sail along the coast of Croatia visiting some of the many island and coastal towns.
Here is what a typical day is like onboard a Croatia Yacht Charter:
Wake up in the morning as the ship pulls away from the dock (usually around 7 am). This is opposite what the big ships do where you are usually arriving in port in the early morning The yachts will start sailing in the morning since they are not cruising during the night. I enjoyed this since it meant you don't have to wake up and go, go, go. You will smell breakfast cooking as soon as you walk out of your room. Wander up to the top deck to enjoy the sunrise if you are up early enough or just enjoy the sound of the water and take in the scenery if you are like me slept past sunrise. I do love that quiet time in the morning when it seems like the world hasn't gotten started yet. Even though the ship is small it is still very easy to find a spot all to yourself. I liked to stand at the front of the ship and just take it all in before starting my day. You can wave to the Captain as your make your way down to breakfast.
Breakfast is set up buffet style but you can also order things like omelets and things like that. You can choose to eat in the dining room or out on the back deck with the open air. Shortly after breakfast the ship would anchor at a swim stop (weather permitting). Swim stops are part of what make a yacht charter in Croatia so much better than a regular cruise. You can jump off ship and swim, hop on SUP or kayak, or just float around. If the water is a bit chilly the hot tub onboard is a nice way to warm up after swimming. After some fun in the water the ship would start to make it's way to the port stop for the day.
On the way to the next stop lunch will be served onboard. The Croatians like to have a big lunch so it is usually a 4 course meal.
You do order your entree choice the day prior which is nice so that there isn't a lot of waste. After lunch Croatians like to enjoy fjaka, which is the art of doing nothing (similar to a siesta). The ship will usually arrive in port shortly after lunch. Your cruise director will give a little talk as you are finishing up lunch to tell you about the port for the day and offer some suggestions. The cruise director can help with a lot of things similar to a hotel concierge. The nice part is you are staying in port overnight so you have lots of time to explore. Some days you might have a pre planed excursion or other stops might just be an explore on your own. You might head out to a winery, or wander the walls of the old fortress, check out the town, or explore nature.
Generally dinner will not be served on the ship which is nice since that allows you to really enjoy the port to the fullest and try some local hang outs. Since the ship is docked overnight you are free to come back as late as you want but one thing to keep in mind is that after 11 pm is quite time. The bar on the ship is closes at 11 and you need to keep noise to a minimum. This is because you are docked right in some small towns and marinas with other boats around. You might even be tied up right next to other boats and have to walk through them to get off and on (sort of like river cruise ships). I was usually back on the ship with enough time to enjoy the bar and sit around to chat for a bit. You can also hop in the hot tub if you would like. It was a great way to end the day. Then you get to wake up the next morning and do it all again! Can you picture yourself on a Charter Yacht in Croatia now? We can make it happen for you!
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