Trip Report - Croatia Charter Yacht

I couldn't wait to get my group onboard the yacht!

I had seen charter yacht cruises first on the Bravo show Below Deck but that show certainly makes it look like you have to be quite wealthy to afford one.   Then, a few years ago, I started receiving travel advisor emails about Croatia and yacht cruising.   At first I didn't pay much attention, thinking it wasn't something I could really sell.   Then a few agents I knew were doing them and I talked with them and found out that this is actually a very reasonable way to have a very special experience.   I connected with an advisor friend whom I've known for many years and she was working with Lastavica.   As soon as I heard what she had to say about them I knew I wanted to work with them.   I was a bit nervous about signing my name to a contract to charter a whole ship, even with just 18 rooms, it was still a lot of money to be on the hook for if I couldn't sell enough rooms.

I have a group of clients that have been traveling with me for the past 7 years on some river cruises so I had a feeling this would be something they would enjoy.   I pitched it and right away I had a handful of rooms booked, so I felt very good about jumping into this new way to travel.

Lastavica Swallow docked in Sibenik waiting for us to board

I chose an itinerary that went from Split (Sibenik) to Dubrovnik.  Lastavica helped me with the itinerary and many of the details for the whole trip which is very much appreciated.   I loved learning more about each stop we would go to and planning out what my group might enjoy doing.

Sibenik

We flew into Split airport and I arranged a car service to pick everyone up and take them to the hotel I had selected in Sibenik for the pre-cruise stay.   The Hotel Armerun was amazing and everyone loved it.   I stayed 3 nights but most guests stayed only two.  It was a great way to recover from flying and also get into the Croatian vibe before boarding the ship.   I arranged a winery visit so we could try some of the wonderful Croatian wine we would be enjoying all week.   The winery we visited supplies a good bit of the wine onboard the yacht so I figured this was a good way to get everyone ready for the week.   A bonus was that a Medieval festival happened to be going on in Sibenik the weekend we were there, which added another layer of fun for us.

The Hotel Armerun had amazing views!

Skradin

We boarded the ship on Saturday and lunch was ready as we pulled off the dock to head to our first stop.   Along the way to our stop we passed some Oyster and mussel beds. One of the surprises for my group was having fresh oysters and mussels delivered right to our ship directly from the water.    That night, we had a special happy hour that night where we enjoyed these tasty shellfish.   When we arrived in Skradin, I had a planned visit to Krka National Park for everyone.   Krka is famous for its beautiful waterfalls.    The group could choose to do a short walk or the whole loop.  I led the group that did the whole loop, and we all enjoyed the scenic views along the trail.   Once back onboard we got to enjoy the happy hour special.   While we were enjoying the oysters and mussels a wedding party paraded through town.  It was so cool to experience that.  Skradin is a cute little town on the Krka river right at the entrance to the National Park.    Some of the guests went into town to shop and eat some more.  I wasn't too hungry so I opted to go find some gelato.  While in town we also happened to catch the performance of a local group of women walking through town singing some traditional songs.  I felt so lucky that we kept stumbling upon these wonderful, small local experiences.

Delicious mussels fresh from the water to our yacht and prepared right on deck by our wonderful chefs!

Primosten

We left Skradin in the morning to head to our next stop.   Along the way we had a wonderful swim stop.   I originally had Split as our stop for today but after meeting with our driver last year he mentioned this place was his favorite, so I swapped out Split for Primosten.   I am so glad I did because this might also be my favorite stop too.   It is the cutest little beach town that is easily walkable and we had a gorgeous sunset!   I was on a mission to find the best gelato and since today was a rather warm day I ended up getting gelato from 2 places today.  Both were good but I really liked the Blueberry Crumble the best.    Then on the way back to the ship we just so happened to find out that the local symphony was performing its last summer concert in the town center.  It was so much fun dancing in the street with so many locals. 

Lovely sunset off the coast of Primosten

Bol

We left Primosten in the morning and had another fun swim stop on our way to Bol.    When we arrived in Bol our Cruise Manager, Sanja, gave us a tour of the House within a House.   The story behind the house within a house was fascinating and centered entirely on karma.   After that tour most of the guests headed over to the Golden Horn beach.   The aerial view of this beach is picture-perfect, and it is a very popular spot.  This was a nice relaxing day.

So many lovely little streets to wander in each town

Stari Grad

We left Bol in the morning and our swim today was twice as fun because we anchored together with our sister ship.   Both ships rolled out the slides and we had a bit of dueling slides going.   Our ship won because we had way more people use the slide than the other ship.  We arrived in Stari Grad and had some shopping time.    A bunch of the ladies onboard all went out together and we had so much fun shopping together!   We all found something we liked and there were also some nice sales since it was nearing the end of the season.  

Sanja was able to take us on a quick tour of Tvrdalj Castle which was the summer home of Petar Hektorović.  The story behind this house was also such a heartwarming one.   We then headed out to our traditional Croatian Peka meal out at an ancient farm that dates back to 384 BC!   Peka is a meal cooked under an iron bell and buried in hot coals to cook.  It was delicisous and the wine was good too.  This was a farm to table experience, and just about everything we ate or drank came from the farm.

Everyone enjoyed the daily swim stops - the water is so crystal clear and there are lots of water toys available

Korcula

We left Stari Grad and headed for another fun swim stop on our way to Korčula.   We had a fun excursion planned here where we got to explore the area in buggies.   The buggies were like dune buggies and the trail we rode along was so picturesque.    We had a pit stop halfway at the cutest beach cafe!    We grabbed a refreshing drink and relaxed a bit before hopping back in the buggies to head back.   When we returned to the owner's house we parked the buggies and were invited inside to enjoy some snacks and wine all of which he and his wife also make themselves.  It was such a wonderful experience, and everyone said it was their favorite.   We still had the evening in this cute town that has Venetian roots and is the home of Marco Polo. Sanja showed us her favorite jewelry shop, so I thought this was the perfect place for me to pick up something silver in honor of my 25th celebration!   I chose a really cute silver ring that has two filigree butterflies.  I think of it as 1 butterfly for my first 25 years and the other for the next 25 years doing this amazing job!

The slide was so much fun and even better with our sister ship next to us and we could do dueling slides!

Slano   

Unfortunately, some iffy weather was forecasted, so we had to adjust our plans a little.   We were supposed to anchor in a National Park but since the weather called for high winds our Captain opted to take us into the safe harbor of Slano.  None of us minded the change in plans as that is just part of cruising.   We were still able to have our Captain's dinner that night even though we were docked.   Ideally they prefer to hold the Captain's dinner at anchor so we are not tied up next to other ships disturbing them with our music.   In this case there were so many ships seeking a safe spot for the night that there were quite a few parties going on so no one minded.  We were tied up next to one of our sister ships, which was nice.   We even had a few guests from that ship hop over to dance with us.

Captain's dinner group photo

Gruz (Dubrovnik)

Sadly we had to skip our swim stop today and head right to our last stop a bit early due to the weather.   We were all a little bummed that our week was just about over.   We docked earlier than planned so some guests headed out to explore while the weather was still good.  We were in Gruz which is just outside of Dubrovnik.  Sanja contacted a tour guide friend who gave us a really nice tour of Old Town Dubrovnik.  I have been to Dubrovnik before, but even still, it is such an amazing city to explore; I could never get tired of it.   There were two big ships in port that day, though, so the crowds were a bit crazy.  Thankfully the big ships leave in the early evening so the crowds thinned and we got to enjoy Old Town after dark with fewer people.   Back onboard it was time to pack up and get ready to disembark in the morning.   None of us were ready to say goodbye to the wonderful crew.  They took such good care of us all week.   By the end of the trip, we were like one big family.

This was my favorite spot to start the day

Disembarkation went smoothly because I had planned to have all the luggage sent to the hotel where we were all staying for a night or 2.    I had set up a nice day tour of the greater Dubrovnik area so vans arrived to pick everyone up from the dock and start our day.   Our tour took us to so many scenic spots, including one with the best view of Old Town!    We visited Cavtat, a cute little waterfront town where we of course did some more shopping.   Then we had a great lunch stop at a place along the river.   By the time we got back to the hotel we were just in time to enjoy the Gruz festival which is like a big block party along the main street in town.   There were lots of people, music, and food.

Our tour guide took us up to this amazing view point that gave us a birds eye view of Dubrovnik

Some guests left today, but the rest of us enjoyed a day exploring on our own.  Some opted to do an early morning walk along the walls of Old Town.   I had done that before so I knew it involved many steps but was totally worth doing at least once.    Most of us hopped on the ferry over to Lokrum Island.  I am so glad I did this because it was such a nice quiet day away from all the crowds in Old Town.  

The next day was the last for most of us and we all headed to the airport for our flights back home or some traveled on to other countries.   Even though most of us didn't know each other before the trip started we had become very good friends by the end.

It was a wonderful trip and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate 25 years in this business!

I am already looking forward to 2028 when I have my next charter in Croatia!    For that one I will be doing a round trip from Sibenik and heading north to visit new stops.   If you think you might want to join me please let me know right away as I expect this to fill up fast.