Guide to Sailing Croatia

Spending a week sailing Croatia has become a right of passage for many young travellers, Australians in particular. However, finding the right company to do it with can be the difference between an amazing experience and feeling like you wasted your money.

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Still not convinced? Well, I took one for the team and tested it out for myself to investigate.

What to expect when sailing Croatia

A lot of people have a bad impression of what sailing Croatia really entails. It is often portrayed as a young bunch of hooligans causing a ruckus on these week-long booze cruises.

You are probably picturing tiny sweatbox cabins that you’re sardined in with god knows how many other people, trying to share one shower between the entire ship where you eventually accept defeat and become accustomed to the fragrance of last night’s alcohol and sweat not to mention nothing more than drinking your days away in the sun. That sounds about right, right?

WRONG, very wrong! At least if you pick the right cruise. Sure, that might sound fine to some but why put yourself through that when a little bit of research can give you everything you expect from a tour sailing Croatia.

How I found out about cruising Croatia.

As with the majority of things nowadays, I came across the idea while browsing social media.

I was doing the usual, mindlessly scrolling through my feed, when something caught my eye. A friend had shared a video from LBW Yachtlife Facebook page entering their competition to win a spot on the upcoming trip sailing Croatia. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that! After all, you gotta be in it to win it.

Well, I didn’t win it but from sharing that Facebook post I had another one of my friends get in contact with me, sharing her unbelievable experience on a Croatia cruise a year or two prior.

She had asked me if I knew much about the whole idea and I explained it had never really been something I considered.

However, the more she told me about her experience it didn’t take long before it officially made it onto my bucket list!

By the time I was ready for my first ever European summer adventure, sailing Croatia was my top priority.

I harassed my FB pal again and read a bunch of blog posts about sailing Croatia, learned everything I could, and by some miracle that I like to call hard work before I knew it I had scored myself a spot on the August 2018 Yachtlife Croatia trip as a travel creator!

Expectations.

Ever since that first conversation with my FB friend, my expectations for sailing Croatia were quite high. Once I had finally locked in my place on board for 2018, a year or two after that initial conversation, my expectations skyrocketed.

It was more than a Facebook video now, it was going to be REAL LIFE!

What I was most excited about.

I had been on group tours before, even hosting my own roadtrip in New Zealand but a tour sailing Croatia was like nothing I had ever done. Seriously, I hadn’t even been on a cruise yet!

Croatia was a destination that I had never put much thought into but once I did, I don’t know why I hadn’t been sooner. Plus, experiencing it for the first time on a luxury yacht, who wouldn’t be excited!?

What I was most concerned about.

Within that excitement came concern. Besides the little worries that come with joining any tour like What if I don’t like my tour group? Or what if they don’t like me?  The major concern was…

What happens if I get seasick?

It is a cruise which means you are on a yacht… sailing… on the sea. To make things that pinch more worrisome, alcohol was being thrown into the mix and I don’t know about you but as much as sipping cocktails on a luxury yacht seems like a dream, a hangover + seasickness on the other hand does not sound all that appealing.

If you have spent any time with me, stalking my socials, or simply read my about page, you would know that I am allergic to life but something that I don’t mention too often is being prone to motion sickness.

From long drives on winding roads to sitting backwards on a train, I had no idea how I would survive a week on a yacht.

I was over-prepared if anything, stocked up with anti-nausea tablets, electrolytes, you name it I had it with me. I was expecting to have to live with them all by my side the entire week.

However, I was not expecting to get through the whole week with no need of seasickness tablets at all due to the simple fact that I, and every other person on board, were not seasick.

Hungover? now that may be a different question!

The reality of sailing Croatia

The itinerary

Split

I was the first one at the meeting point probably because of excitement but also my annoying tendency to arrive too early for everything just in case I miss it… seriously, not even the guide was there yet.

It wasn’t too long before I noticed a few more people awkwardly waiting with luggage and knowing they had the same thought process of “is this the right place?”.

I finally built up the courage to ask if they were with LBW Yachtlife and within a couple of minutes I had already made new long distance friends and picked myself up some free accommodation in New York!

It wasn’t too long before the whole crew rocked up (guide included), all checked in and we were on our way to the yacht. With every man and his dog also checking out/in on their sailing adventures it was a little more overwhelming than I ever imagined but once we made it onboard, there was not a care in the world.

Bol

I dumped my luggage and may have become a little distracted by how comfortable the bed was, but orientation was waiting so I had to drag myself away.

Up on the top deck, reality had not yet set in that this was our life for the next week, even after being ‘serenaded’ by our tour guide while sipping on our welcome drinks.

The Yachtlife party had begun as we set sail to Bol! Not a particularly long trip yet still flies by when you are groovin’ in the Croatian sunshine, but it was long enough for it to be dark upon our arrival.

All dressed up and ready to party but not before finding some food. To be honest I don’t remember what I ate that night (mustn’t have been that good) but I do remember heading out for our first night on the town!

It will never get less weird going out to the club close to midnight and still seeing families out having dinner. Speaking of weird, the first bar was situated in the middle of the street, alongside the water and had the coolest DJ/Violinist keeping us entertained.

The feeling of luxury didn’t stop once we were off the yacht as we were treated to a VIP table.

What was normally my home time on a night out back in Australia, was only the beginning of the night as we jumped on a choo choo train to tonight’s club at around 2 am. WARNING: Don’t be a dick on the train or the driver will kick you off, leaving you to fend for yourself in the wilderness. Save those extra steps for the dancefloor!

A couple more hours of dancing later the post-party train took us back for our first night, or should I say, morning sleep on the yacht.

Markarska

I woke up this morning surprisingly fresh and even more surprisingly, not seasick.

The sunshine was tapping me on my face inviting me to come outside and play but again, not before food. I won’t go into too much detail about the food yet otherwise this itinerary will turn into a novel so, after polishing off breakfast and downing all the caffeine we could, it was back down to the room to swap out PJs for swimwear!

We had pulled up just offshore at Markarska. Beaming blue waters with a mountain backdrop so unbelievably beautiful it looked like a movie set.

The beach was already filling up but we were parked far enough away that our morning swim stop felt like it was just for us and our floats. I could have floated around there all day but plenty of fun beach activities were patiently waiting for us onshore so one little boat trip at a time we were dropped onto dry land.

Beach bungy jumping, tubing, parasailing… this was going to be one of the craziest beach days I have ever had that is if I wasn’t absolutely terrified of bungy jumping, the parasailing wasn’t canceled and it turns out I absolutely despise tubing.

There did happen to be a few brave souls on our trip taking on the dodgiest bungy jump set up I have ever seen which I got enough of an adrenaline rush just from watching. Would you be brave enough to bungy from a crane?

There was only one regret from my Yachtlife experience and that was tubing; the most intense 10 minutes of my life. Don’t get me wrong, some people had a blast and it may be your cup of tea but it definitely is not for me. I was hanging on for dear life, so tense that my body hurt for days but nonetheless, I survived. And I also live by the rule that I would rather regret having done something than regret missing the opportunity.

It is a good thing I did survive because otherwise I would have missed out on my daily donut and the wild cave rave that night.

The boat had redocked a trek and a half away from the beach but at least it was scenic.

After a much needed shower and all-round freshen up, we were out for a cute family dinner at a reasonably priced restaurant then it was time to get our glow on! Getting things started with some warm-up party games on the top deck until we made our grand appearance at the cave.

There were a few things I learned from this cave rave:

• Caves are bloody hot and things get sweaty real fast
• I am a limbo champion
• Drunk people are quite stupid
• I should get my friends to wear glow sticks clubbing more often (more on this later)

Korcula

A new day, another breakfast, and more swim stops! Little did we know that it would be our last day with most of our beloved floats.

We were all pumped for the white party and beer pong tournament on the yacht today but the wind did not agree with our plans. Instead of ruining all of our hopes and dreams we ended up having one of the best days on the yacht with an improvised water fight and pizza party (the best kind of party).

During all of this we were sailing all day, except for the swim stops (duh), but post water bomb war we realised that someone had not tied down the floats properly and they went off to explore Croatia all on their own. RIP my overpriced inflatable donut.

After a long day out at sea, we made it to Korcula just in time for my favourite sunset of the trip. The sky was on fire and the quaint castle city was embraced by a warm glow. After letting the pizza coma settle I was eager to explore this magical place.

Although the sun had gone down the water remained a fluorescent aqua and the city kept its warm, inviting feeling. I really wish I had more time here.

The last couple of eventful days and nights had well and truly caught up to most of us, leaving only a couple of brave souls to soldier on to the Korcula party scene. I was not one of them so unfortunately, I can’t tell you too much about it but I can let you know that the yacht bed seemed to become more comfortable every night.

Vis

I am convinced I have a curse on me. So convinced that I bought myself a ring from Greece that was supposed to protect/rid me of any and all curses but now I am convinced that it is just a ring of LIES.

Anyway… Vis; the Island had looked forward to most while sailing Croatia, but it seemed like the weather was back out to get us with a huge storm sweeping in just as we arrived. This storm canceled everything from our plans to hire convertibles, fancy dinner in a castle, and our one and only chance to party in the said castle.

Despite all of the cancellations, we did get a quick break in the rain to explore some of the Mamma Mia 2 shooting locations and more importantly, find my daily donut and gelato.

With dinner still on the fence, our tour guide had been on the phone all day trying everything he could to lock something special in for us. I am very happy to say he did, not only one but two!

Although the rain had returned we were able to stay dry on a war bunker wine tour. This wasn’t the original wine tour stated in the itinerary, which was set in for the day after, but this intimate experience in such a historic location was pretty unbeatable. It is worth going for the rose alone.

Last-minute we were off to a mysterious location. We pulled up in the middle of the mountains immediately drawn to the gorgeous restaurant in front of us. It wasn’t overly fancy but as soon as we stepped through the door it felt like home. The heat radiated from the cast iron pot in the kitchen carrying with it countless smells that ran through your nostrils.

The chef playfully introduced himself and got straight down the business, what we were going to be devouring that night… Octopus, veal, steaks, Calamari (my personal favourite), veggies, french fries, salads and we can’t forget about the wine!

When each meal came out we thought it must be it but the plates kept coming and somehow getting better with each bite.

Mama Mia, here we go again Vis!

This day deserves an entire blog post on its own!

We woke up still in Vis… This was all fine and dandy except we were supposed to be on the other side of the island. You see, because of that extremely rude storm we were stuck. However, there are worse places to be stuck.

In fact, it truly was fine and dandy because the sunshine was back meaning it was convertible time. After that dream already being crushed yesterday, we were more eager than ever to fit in it while we had the chance.

However, finding a convertible to hire, especially one of the perfectly Instagrammable VW beetles, is almost impossible. Tour Guide, Matty came quickly to the rescue helping us secure one of the last convertibles of the day and the Mamma Mia, here we go again, location tour was up and running again, with a few extra surprises along the way.

I will save all the juicy adventure details and tips for another time but let’s just say, it was out of VIS world!

The biggest surprise of the day wasn’t convertible related at all… it was even better! Matty had worked his magic again to get out fancy castle dinner up and running again. NO storm was going to stop us this time.

Being chauffeured to the castle in military trucks was a little intimidating yet so cool.

Trying not to be too distracted by a litter of stray kittens greeting us at the front gate as one of the most insane sunsets was putting on a show and I wanted a front-row seat. Honestly, this felt like the best date I had ever been on and the romance was only getting started. From there we took a candle-lit walk leading us through the castle straight into Pinterest goals.

After all the chaos from the past 24hrs, there was not a care left in the world, except whether you should have the swordfish or lamb for dinner but really, you can not go wrong with either.

Although the conversation and wine was flowing it was another ‘early’ night for me meaning, no nightlife review for you (sorry to disappoint but I do still love ya)

Hvar

Breakfast and swim stop, you know the drill by now!

Sometime in the afternoon we were quickly dropped off the yacht onto the famous island of Hvar. We wouldn’t be seeing the yacht for a couple of hours as this island is so busy they have to follow strict docking rules but enough of the boring details, it was donut time.

Within minutes I had already sniffed out the best bakery on the island for my daily donut, refuelling myself for the hike ahead to the fortress.

One mild asthma attack later, I had made it to the top. I was exhausted, so sweaty and had certainly eaten too much but my ‘do it for the gram’ attitude took over as soon as I saw what is undoubtedly the best view of Hvar.

The town itself is stunning from any angle but it was so fascinating observing all of the yachts. Most notably the superyachts that are more accurately personal cruise ships. We later found out that one of these unnecessarily large monsters belonged to Mick Jagger. That was enough sightseeing for one day.

Back down to sea level I was still feeling pretty rough but we still didn’t have access to the yacht, so it was straight into party mode.

The beach club was a little too much for me to handle and I knew my body wasn’t ready to handle the alcohol so a couple of us escaped as soon as we could to find the yacht. I make it sound like a disappointing place and at the time, for me, it was but I am sure in the right mood and health I would have loved it and appreciated it so much more. Now that is a travel truth bomb for ya.

Rehydrated with vitamin water and vodka, an oddly tasty combination, my body was back on track for another wild night with my LBW family. This time partying on a private island, the Carpe Diem Beach Club only accessible by water taxi.

I had never seen a club like it with the lights bouncing around the canopy of trees being utilised as the club ceiling and the regular spritz of bubbles over the dance floor bringing out that child-like sense of joy. Not to mention, the crazy tricks the show the bartenders themselves put on, from shaking up a storm to setting the bar on fire which I am still convinced is giving themselves a temporary break from obnoxious drunk people. It was a sensory overload in the best way it is just a shame we got stuck with a below-average DJ for the night.

I already moaned that I am not much of a wild child so for me to literally party until sunrise was a big deal. Even my parents jokily asked, “Who are you and where has the real Dana gone?!”

Postira (I think!)

I desperately needed sleep in but my body was like… NOPE. AT least this meant I didn’t miss breakfast.

Once again, our plans didn’t go to plan with getting rejected by our original spot as our yacht was too big. SO RELATABLE right?!

Once again, the crew came to the rescue hunting down an ideal backup swim spot to relax. It didn’t take long because Croatia is full of gems including where we ended up in Postira (maybe.. Honestly, I am not sure of the name but I know it was stunning). It seemed fitting finding our way back onto Bol, just on the opposite side this time, to bring Yachtlife full circle (Split doesn’t count).

We weren’t here too long but it was long enough to soak up some sun, feel the uncomfortable rock beach beneath our feet, and let the refreshing water cure all of our sins. OH, and pick up some gelato too!

I had hit a wall, you know the one where you are so tired you no longer feel like a human? yeah, that one! But it was the last night of the craziest week of my life so I was determined to push past the sleep deprivation to spend as much time with my new family while I could.

We were set for another Yachtlife onboard party to remember kicking off with one final swim stop backed by one of the most radiant sunsets I had ever had the pleasure of seeing with my own eyes.

As things were throughout the week, just when you think life couldn’t get any better…it does! Being treated to a brilliant boat barbecue was the energy boost I needed to stay up for our LBW Yachtlife Awards Ceremony.

Still don’t think it could possibly get better? wrong! penguin onesies and champagne, the ultimate combo.

Time to Split!

Early morning wake-up call to pack up and leave luxury behind.

We were all emotional wrecks today, some more so because of their bar tab expenses, many of us overly sleep-deprived/hungover/exhausted but mostly because saying goodbye to each and every person from our Yachtlife family left my heart so full yet broken.

The week felt like it last forever yet was gone in a flash. We had managed to pack so much in to make it beyond extraordinary despite the hiccups along the way.

The Yacht

I had seen videos and a few Insta snaps here and there of the LBW Yacht. I had even tried to find it the night before with some friends in Split but with no luck which I later found out was because I had been looking in the completely wrong area.

It wasn’t with all of the basic boats, oh no, we were LUXURY. It is hard to say luxury after seeing Mick Jagger’s Yacht in Hvar that had its own helicopter but regardless, we were in the big boy part of the port and I was ready to live the suite life on deck.

None of those photos and videos compare to seeing the yacht the first time in person. Despite having to climb over a couple of boats, that were obstructing our view, to get to ours, not allowing the full effect to kick in It was somehow everything and nothing at all of what I expected.

Four levels of fun; two floors of rooms, the next for kitchen, dining and bar and the very top sundeck with another bar ( you can never have too many), DJ set up and party zone.

My Room

Before I got lost exploring the yacht, I made a mad dash to check out my room for the week.

I was lucky in more ways than one with my room because it was above deck with the ocean breeze knocking on my door and meant I didn’t have to carry my enormous suitcase down any more stairs.

As soon as I opened the door I was pleasantly surprised, especially by my ensuite! Extra shoutout again to my main man, air conditioning!

I didn’t know where to look because every time I moved I would find something new. They really made the most out of the space they had with so many hidden storage compartments, cupboards, and tables.

You would think it wouldn’t take too long to get to know a small yacht room, yet mid-room tour rambling on my Insta story, my roommate wandered in who then kept finding even more exciting features that the room had to offer. Oh, but it didn’t stop there with the yacht PA system startling me for one second but amazing me the next with the loud, and iconic words of our LBW Tour Guide, “YO, YO, YO” echoing throughout our rooms.

The Tour Guide

A tour guide can make or break a trip.

For us, we knew we were going to be just fine the moment our guide introduced himself via the most amazingly ridiculous raps ever. The Matty Moore legend was born! It may or may not have been an ongoing joke/challenge for the rest of the week too haha.

People tend to underestimate the difficulty and responsibility that comes with being a tour guide. I’ve even come across other tour guides that still don’t understand it and in turn, are quite honestly rubbish at their job. Yet Matty went above and beyond with his already demanding job. (I am making it seems like it must be the worst job in the world but don’t forget he gets to travel around, living the dream on this luxury yacht too…It’s not all bad!)

Despite not everything going to plan he made sure that we were still able to make the most of everything that came our way. Always working his magic to ensure Yachtlife was still as epic as possible and I can safely safe, it was pretty damn epic. It also helped that he has made connections all around the islands to help out with anything from free club entries to last-minute banquet dinners.

One thing that I largely appreciated was his honesty with recommendations. Unlike many other guides I have come across who will only recommend places that are so obviously mentioned because the guide is getting something out of it for, usually overpriced might I add. Particularly when it came to dinner, Matty catered for everyone (not literally, although breakfast and lunch are on board!). There was always a cheaper option for us stingy/budget travellers yet also something for those wanting to splurge.

The Meals

Once I start talking about food I just can’t stop so, it looks like it is time to see what’s cooking good lookin’?

As per a couple of sentences ago I mentioned that breakfast and lunch were included every day on board but now I must warn you, I am about to make us all very hungry going into further detail.

Breakfast

Our Tour Guide certainly underestimated our enthusiasm for breakfast and our much-needed morning swim stops. It was assumed most of us would sleep through after our late-night shenanigans however, included breaky with tea and coffee was essential for our survival.

We were greeted daily with a banquet of cereals, bread, fresh fruit salad, yogurt (packaged suspiciously similar to the milk and resulted in many chunky coffees), and the crowd favourite…. the eggs.

A true nightmare happened one morning when we all stumbled in to find there were no eggs. We waited and waited until what felt like a riot was forming.

It is still a mystery why the kitchen staff didn’t cook the eggs as usual that day but this story does have a happy ending, for us eggthusiasts anyway, as we did eventually get our long-awaited scrambled eggs and all was right in the world again. I think they felt pretty bad about it too and treated us to crepes the next couple of days too!

Lunch

I had read that lunch was included from the itinerary and welcome packs but by the time I made it to Yachtlife I must have been too excited that it came as a complete surprise.

However, even when I had remembered, I was not expecting a three course sit down meal!

Dinner

From the itinerary you would have noticed that even though dinner was not included we still ate together as a family almost every night.

No matter if it was our onboard barbecue or pizza party to fancy dinners in castles or traditional banquets, the food never disappointed and I promise you it is worth splurging on. Plus, I actually think eating so much helped us avoid being seasick!

Extras

We can’t forget about the most important meal of the day (also included)… the post-party snack! What can seem like the most amazing little sandwiches of your life, depending on what state you’re in at the time, were always appreciate and certainly missed.

In saying that my most important meal was a little different from everyone else’s and if you haven’t guessed it already, I would be shocked. Yep, I stuck to my donut-a-day diet. Nothing too extravagant like many of my donut adventures take me to, usually a simple chocolate/Nutella filled lump of goodness at each stop. They were never too hard to find as almost every bakery had a stack calling my name.

Party… and Party… and Party!

I had to work off all that food somehow and my exercise of choice happened to be dancing and oh my, there was a lot of it!

I’ve found myself in some crazy parties all around the world but Croatia has one of the funkiest party scenes I have ever stumbled across (usually literally).

Although we had our personal DJ onboard making Yachtlife a constant party (shoutout to Bruce Danger), on top of the pre-organised nightly parties, it was nice to not have the pressure to constantly party. I hope that makes sense.

I may be in the prime party years of life but believe it or not, I am not a crazy party animal. Sure, I can when I want to be (can’t we all) but for me drinking isn’t a regular occurrence so coming into what even I unfairly presumed may be too ‘booze cruisy’ was fantastic to see that my boundaries were respected and I could still have just as much fun.

It was extremely helpful that our tour guide marked days worth saving yourself for, encouraging (if needed) to have an earlier and calmer night to make the most of the next. He was not wrong, those nights 110% were worth saving myself for and now I can say I have raved in a cave!

I particularly loved our themed days such as:

• our windy disaster of a white party/beer pong tournament that ended up turning into an insane water fight
• Glow party #goals , going absolutely overboard (not literally, thank god) with the glow sticks and aggressively vibrant clothing. This was extra successful as every other group tour on the Island at the time were having pirate parties so by the time we all got to the cave rave not only was it so easy to find a friend by simply putting your glowstick in the air (like you just don’t care!…sorry couldn’t help myself) but we were getting a lot of positive attention that a lot of us became quite business savvy with managing to exchange glow sticks for crazy pirate hats and special mention to Kenzie, who managed to sell a single glow stick for $20!
• Although it may have been way too sweaty at the time for a penguin onesie party, it was so worth it to keep the party going at home with what may be my favourite piece of clothing ever.

My Yachtlife family

Earlier I said I was a little concerned about liking my tour group/them liking me but I didn’t expect them to become family. We may have only been together for a week but it feels like I have known these people for a lifetime.

As epic as this entire Croatia experience was, it would not have been anywhere near as extraordinary if it hadn’t been for the people that put up with my nonsense for a whole week. Plus, playing beer pong alone would have been quite sad.

We were from all around the world, varied in age, completely different careers yet Yachtlife had brought us together and it made the wait for my own Yachtlife Croatia experience so worth it.

Extra special shoutout goes to my roommate, for somehow putting up with me haha but really, Emily, our personal Yachtlife photographer is one of the most hardworking and lovely people I have ever met who also happens to take incredible photos. She worked her butt off, nonstop snapping and editing to make sure we had something special to help remember this already unforgettable week.

In fact, a lot of this blog post is filled with her glorious captures. I am not only so thankful that Life Before Work provides an onboard photographer going above and beyond what a tour company would usually do but to Emily for everything she did for us. Check out more of her work at HERE and/or HERE

Things to know before you go

• This may just be the best week of your life
• Yachtlife is about so much more than just partying
• Prepare to meet your new bestfriends
• Bring your own water bottle. It will save you so much money!
  You can usually fill up on the boat (check with the bartender first in case of any plumbing issues) and Croatian tap water happens to be some of the cleanest in the world meaning you can fill up almost anywhere.
• Pace yourself. Remember it is okay to take a night off when you need to.
• Watch Mamma Mia, here we go again.
• You can buy floats at Split but they can be quite overpriced. Depending on how long you are travelling beforehand or if you are like me and your luggage is probably already overweight, you should consider buying a cheap one at home and packing it with you.
• The same goes for water shoes however they are cheapest on the first stop in Makarska for about $10. You will regret not having them!
• If you are wanting to hire a convertible in Vis, you are going to have to wake up bright and early.
• It is so worth buying the photography package. Seriously, how cool is it that you get a personal Yachtlife photographer to take professional photos of you all week?
• You’re probably going to be a better, more tanned person afterwards!

So, there you go, my wild week with sailing Croatia with Life Before Work Yachtlife! Even writing this has made me a little emotional and my Yachtlife withdrawals have well and truly kicked in.

As weird as it sounds it was worth the wait and I am so glad that I didn’t win the spot a couple of years ago because I may never have met all of these amazing people and done so many of these amazing things.

I ate a lot, saw a lot, did a lot, drank a lot, surprisingly, didn’t spend a lot, danced a hell of a lot, took a lot of photos and learned a lot from sailing Croatia. Yachtlife truly exceeded my expectations and even now that I have set your exceptions of sailing Croatia with LBW very high, I am sure Yachtlife will find a way to exceed them too.