Hello there,
Before my partner and I embark on our big backpacking adventure, we have taken a “mini” sailing vacation in Croatia for one week. I am usually a budget traveller but this trip is definitely one of those that can break the bank. I backpacked Croatia 7 years ago, and I think that there are tons of ways to travel in Croatia on a budget. So, this post will not be about staying on a budget. This is a trip that we have been planning for almost a year, and it required some saving up. Although this is, in my opinion, a luxurious trip, we still managed some ways to not go over-the-top with our spending. Our trio consisted of 2 boats, 8 people on one, and 12 on the other. I am going to write about our itinerary and what I should have packed for a one-week sailing trip in Croatia. If you are interested in what we did after this trip, then read my post about our time in Dubrovnik. So, let’s dive right in!
Go With The Yacht Week, Sail Croatia, or Hire a Boat?
The Yacht Week and Sail Croatia are two companies that allow you to either rent out an entire boat or be placed with random people. If you have enough friends who want to join, you can rent one of these boats which comes with your own skipper to sail for you and tell you which parties to go to. If you cannot sail, then this is a good option since I don’t think that learning to sail in Croatia’s high season is a smart idea. I do frown upon doing The Yacht Week or Sail Croatia a little bit since you are not getting a unique experience. If you go on Instagram, you will see that they literally do the exact same thing every single week. If that’s your jam, then book away; but I don’t like doing what everyone else has already done. I am not an experienced sailor, but lucky for me, my partner, Daniel, and some of his friends are. Of course, there are many people who don’t have this opportunity in their group of friends. If you do, then book your own boat. It is cheaper and, in my opinion, way more fun. Who wants to go to the exact same party with the exact same theme (e.g., White Party, Pirate Party) that happens every single week—and be like the rest of those tourists? Just make sure that you have a skipper that can handle the boat that you rent since if you make any damages to the boat, it will be costly.
We actually ended up meeting up with The Yacht Week one night in Bol. I expected them to be insanely into partying but I was really wrong. There were some Yacht Week participants at the club we went to, but they all went home quite early compared to our boats. So, I think that the Yacht Week is definitely a big party, but people get quite tired at the end of the week, which is nice if you also want some cozy time!
Boats
Since we were 20 people, we had to rent 2 boats. We divided ourselves into a group of 8 and a group of 12. We ended up being with the group of 12. We rented the following boats:
Lagoon 450 and Hanse 455
So, there is a picture we took with the drone of the two boats. Look at Google Images of Lagoon 450 and Hanse 455 for more shots of these two boats. It is also useful to look at the layouts of the boats so you can plan sleeping arrangments.
Itinerary
Here are all the places that we went to on a Google Map.
You usually rent boats Saturday to Saturday in Croatia. Since me, Daniel, and two friends had a wedding up in northern Sweden on Saturday, we actually flew down quite late on Sunday. Since our boat had to be back on Friday night for a mandatory check, we did not actually get that many days out at sea. My advice would be to make sure that you can actually travel the Saturday to Saturday or else others will have to wait for you in the harbour when of course they are wanting to just get out onto the ocean! As mentioned, we were 20 people on this trip, so there were a lot of people waiting on us. In this itinerary, I will include the extra night we had at Split after sailing.
Sunday: Arrived to Split Airport quite late. Taxied to Marina Baotić to pick up the catamaran. Sailed in the late evening to Šešula to meet up with the other boat.
Monday: Left Šešula and did a swimming stop at the Blue Lagoon. Then sailed to a bay right outside of Carpe Diem Beach.
Tuesday: Day stop outside of Hula Hula Beach & Bar (since we had to get our rib boat fixed). Anchored in a nature harbour near Calma Beach Bar.
Wednesday: Sailed to the Blue Cave (the one near Vis) and then Sea Monk Cave. We then did a quick stop at Rukavak to pick up my friend from Canada. We docked at Ex Yugoslavian military shelter for submarines overnight that is near Rogačić.
Thursday: Sailed to Vis for the morning. Then sailed to Bol (Brač) and took a rib boat to the Golden Horn. We docked on buoy right outside of the Port of Bol.
Friday: Sailed back to Marina Baotić to do our inspection that evening. We did some sightseeing in Trogir.
Saturday: We had to be out of the boat by 9 am. Daniel, I, and some friends headed straight out to Krka National Park to do some sightseeing. Then we went to Split to sleep at an AirBnB that night.
Sunday: Daniel and I headed out solo on a bus to Dubrovnik.
Route Summarized
Trogir→Šešula→Blue Lagoonè´Carpe Diem→Hvar→Blue Cave→Sea Monk Cave→Rogačić→Vis→Bol (Brač)→Trogir→Split
Route Very Summarized
Trogir→Hvar→Vis→Brač→Trogir→Split
But remember the best part is sailing. So, here are some pictures of the real captain and a pretend captain, hehe!
Food and Bars
Food
I also found the food a bit of a letdown. Due to increased tourism, the prices have skyrocketed in Croatia. I found the food wasn’t super amazing and it wasn’t like it was super cheap so I could overlook that detail. Also, don’t even look for a good salad. You are going to get very basic salads in Croatia.
However, there is one thing that I LOVE in Croatia, and thank god it has not changed since I was there last—burek! My favourite is the cheese flavoured. It is crispy and gooey. I love it!
Worst Place to Go Dancing
I was at Carpe Diem 7 years ago and I remembered it being amazing. We went when they had the “white party”. There were a bunch of people that were not dressed up and the music wasn’t very good. It was definitely a bit of a letdown. So, I think you could bypass this place and maybe just go out in Hvar!
Best Place to Go Dancing
585 Club Bol on Brač. I thought the music was really great here! There were lots of songs that I knew. Just don’t live in the area since the music goes on quite late and I would suggest pre-gaming before you go out since the drinks can be quite expensive.
Packing List
I am a terrible packer. I travel far too often to be as bad as I am. The only time I pack well is when I sail with Daniel’s family since I know that I don’t need to wear a stich of makeup the entire time and that living in my cozy sweatpants is as fashionable as it gets. When I sail with friends, I think it is a lot tougher since you are going out a lot more often to restaurants and clubs. It is definitely easier to pack when you know that you aren’t going to be doing any activities that require you to look pretty. Now that I am back from the trip, let me write what I SHOULD HAVE packed!
Clothing
- Underwear x 7 (you can wash them in the sink and let them air dry outside)
- Bra x 2 (one light pink/beige, one black)
- Socks x 4 (2 for runners, 2 for flats, you can also wash these in the sink)
- Bikini x 3-5 (I only had 3 but I lived in my bikinis while sailing. I definitely could have had more!)
- Skirt x 2 (one jean, one nice)
- Shorts x 2 (one black, one jean)
- Tank top x 3 (one black, one white, one coloured)
- Tight t-shirt x 3 (one black, one white, one striped)
- Blouse x 1 (one nice shirt to pair with a skirt for a fancier dinner or bar visit)
- Dress x 3 (2 summer dresses, 1 for going out clubbing in)
- Sweatshirt x 1 (we had good weather so I did not need this, but it could be good to have if it gets chilly)
- Jean jacket x 1 (good to pair up with a dress on a night out if it gets chilly)
- Pyjamas x 1 (think short shorts and a tiny tank top since it is hot)
- Work out clothes x 1 (one tank top, sports bra, and running shorts would work—I did not get to work out on this trip but I think it was because we were too many since I was just sailing with Daniel’s family a few weeks ago and I worked out on the islands there)
- Runners x 1(a pair that can be used for exercising, walking, but also cute enough to pair with a dress or skirt—think neutral colours!)
- Flats x 1 (for going out to dinners and the club in)
- Flip flops x 1 (to wear onto land quickly or at the beach)
- Water shoes x 1 (good to have on the rocky beaches)
- Hat x 1 (make sure you don’t burn your scalp)
Toiletries
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Glasses
- Contact lenses (bring extras!)
- Contact lens solution
- Night moisturizer
- Face serum (I have to fight that ageing!)
- Eye make-up remover
- Face pads
- Q-tips
- Menstrual products (if needed!)
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Hair elastics
- Bobby pins
- Headband (good for doing natural curls in your hair, exercising, or when it is hot and you want your hair off your neck)
- Dry shampoo
- Hairspray
- Curling iron (we had one between 3 girls and it was useful for nights out)
- Hair serum (to put into your hair after it has been in salt water and you don’t want it to dry out)
- Make-up (you won’t use any during the day while sailing, but handy at night—I also brought waterproof mascara just in case I wanted it during the day—also, think about bringing a limited amount since it can add up to a lot of weight to use only 3 times during the week)
- Portable mirror (the bathrooms are small, sometimes smelly, and then you are alone—I brought a portable mirror so I could sit out with the others while getting ready)
- Medicine (there is a first aid kit on the boat but make sure you bring daily medicine such as birth control and allergy pills, as well as cold medicine and anti-nausea pills)
- SPF 50 Face (I used this as my day moisturizer)
- SPF 50 Body (for the first couple days when you are still pasty white)
- SPF 30 Body (once you get a base tan)
- After Sun
- Eye mask (it gets bright in the mornings)
- Ear plugs (in case of other noisy boats—or noises on your boat)
Fun
- Travel towel (you get towels with the boat but they are better to use for showering, it would be smart to have a fast-drying travel towel for beaches and swimming)
- Snorkel gear (mask, snorkel, and travel fins which are small and light to carry—I liked having my own so I did not have to wait my turn to borrow someone else’s—I will warn you that the reefs were pretty dead but the water was clear)
- Headlamp (good for late night rib boat excursions to land, try to find a waterproof one so you can also use it for snorkelling in caves)
- Go Pro Hero 6 (to take pictures in the water)
- Selfie Stick & Tripod Combination (good for group pictures)
- Mavic Air Drone (excellent for pictures, just make sure you have tested it out before you use it near water)
- One-sentence journal (I write in this every day so it is a must-have! I find it is easy to write only a few sentences every day)
- Book (I love to read and even though this trip was “Vegas Style” so I did not get a chance, I would definitely make a trip where I could read at least one book during the week in the future)
- Puzzle book (we had one girl break a book with crosswords in it and it was a good group activity that a lot of people were interested in helping in—definitely a cozy activity during the day)
- Deck of cards (for chilling or drinking games)
- Board games (we did not have this but the next time I sail with friends I would like some more wine and board games nights—yes plural, NIGHTS)
- Yosh waterproof phone cases (good for the waterfalls or if you are only a few at the beach and you don’t want to leave your stuff)
See! I did not lie! I do pack a lot. Even reviewing my list, I realize that I could have suggested packing a lot less. Oh well, I like having a little bit of everything. I can tell you that I was sore from carrying my luggage at the end of the trip. Also, remember to use soft bags in the boat, like a duffel bag, since it is tough to travel with hard luggage on boats. I like this duffel bag from North Face.
Extra Things to Think About
Time of Year
After discussing with Daniel, we arrived at the conclusion that it would have been nice to be in Croatia in June or September when the weather was a bit more comfortable and there were fewer tourists.
Who You Go With
Think carefully about whom you are going to travel and share a boat with. 20 people were an insanely large group with many people wanting different things. I definitely think it is more cozy, easier, and quicker to go with a group of 8, especially if there are all couples since it makes sharing rooms easier. We had a very mixed group, which I think was good, but if 2 is company and 3 is a crowd, then 20 people is a rave party. I also think with fewer people, you get that cozy feeling of sailing a lot easier. I definitely missed not having some chill nights but it was hard not to join the others when at least half of the participants wanted to party it up. So, in summary, pick people that have the same outlook on sailing and their vacation as you do. I think next time we are going to aim for a more cozy holiday.
Take Your Time
Since we were so many people, it felt like we had to downtime. It would have been nice to have a few more days so we really got to chill out. It would have been nice to have chilled a bit and not rushed the itinerary so quickly. If you follow the same route that we did then I would suggest giving at least 1-2 more days to complete it so you can also do some sightseeing in the towns. Also, take time in the morning to eat a long breakfast and have a morning swim!
Plastic
For simplicity and also to avoid using too many plastic mugs and glasses, our boat actually brought a party mug from home. Can be a good idea to save time and be a bit friendlier to our planet.
Floaties
Buy them! They are great for swim stops as well as photo shoots.
xx
Jasmine
Photo Credit: here