SAILING CROATIA

Brace yourself people, this post is going to be a long one. Months ago, Eric suggested the idea to hop on board a boat and sail through the islands of Croatia. It basically sounded like the dream. So, I agreed and we booked a week long trip through Croatia with Busabout.

There were so many incredible memories made on this trip, and plenty of ‘wtf’ moments as well. In no way is this post a review on the company we traveled with, but for reference we sailed with Katarina. I simply figured I would give you a run down on the week in case anyone was interested in the prospect of sailing through Croatia the same way we were.

Before we get into specifics, it is important to realize that different people are going to enjoy different things. For example, going on a week long booze cruise with your significant other and 18 other strangers may sound absolutely perfect, or a living nightmare.

If we are being honest, and we are here, this kind of thing is definitely more of Eric’s vibe than my own. Don’t get me wrong, there was a time that I would have thrived in this type of environment, but these days I simply don’t have the energy. I did my best to put myself out there and join in the fun, but I had my moments of ‘I’m going to jump ship and swim to Dubrovnik if I am forced to have another shot at breakfast’ more than once or twice. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

But let’s talk details.

1. Route

We stopped at some pretty incredible places on our journey from Split to Dubrovnik. The destinations included Omiš, Makarska, Jelsa, Hvar, Korčula, Mijet, and Dubrovnik. My favorite being Markarska. Eric and I found cliff jumpers and Eric attempted it himself, somewhat successfully {if a bruised tailbone is a success}. I was shitting myself as I attempted to capture the entire thing on the GoPro and not have a heart attack at the same time. Seeing as the distance between Spilt and Dubrovnik really isn’t that far, and our route only included a single destination per day, we were able to stop along the way in little coves for swimming. These were lovely and allowed us to cool off and work off our breakfast shots from the morning. You are given a decent amount of time on each island, of which should be fully taken advantage of.

2. Shipmates

We all know it is a gamble when it comes to the characters you will share your boat with for seven days. Again, being completely honest, we got so ridiculously lucky with our group. Yes, there were the boats along our route that would wake up {or just continue from the previous night without sleep}, pour the vodka bottle down their throat, blast trap music at eight in the morning, and be vomiting over the side of their boat by noon. But our boat vibe was a bit more mellow. And very Australian. #howthebloodyellareya. We had long nights, non-sleepers, people hitting each other with helmets on their heads while taking shots, and a pirate wedding, but the goal of the week was not to kill ourselves. People were respectful, friendly, and there for a good time. We did not encounter negativity in any way and participated in all of the group activities offered.

3. The Boat

Our beast of a boat was named The Plomin. She was three stories high and offered plenty of room to lay out, congregate, or have some privacy. Eric and I were in a room downstairs, aka the slums, and only slept in our bed for a few of the nights. It was hot, hot, hot out at sea. And our tiny little cabins downstairs were not the most ideal sleeping quarters. The upstairs cabins are well worth the extra money if you are debating between the two! {this goes for any boat}. They are more spacious and allow for you to keep your door open at night. A plus for every room on The Plomin was individual bathrooms for every room! Including the slums. It was hard to complain though, as Eric and I found ourselves on the roof of The Plomin sleeping under the stars and waking up to a Croatian sunrise every morning as an alternative.

4. Price

I believe Eric and I spent a total of $900 USD each, when we originally purchased the trip. This included accommodation, breakfast every morning, and a three course lunch every afternoon. The ‘hidden’ fees included port fees of about $40 USD, group dinners {optional, but not really optional}, bar tab on the boat which is calculated at the end of the journey {this can be dangerous, but also totally reasonable, depending on your self control}, tip for the crew, and extra fees in each destination. This totaled about $130 USD. So you are looking close to $1,000 USD for your entire trip. Overall, it was well worth it for the price.

I already miss the ease of waking up to a breakfast platter each morning to immediately go upstairs and lay out in the sun all afternoon, surrounded by the most beautiful scenery of the Dalmatian Coast.

It truly was a dream.

Check out our Croatia video here!