Island Hopping in Croatia
Our cabin was on the main deck near the back so with some engine noise, but as we didn't sail at night this wasn't a problem. It was very modern, double bedded cabin with a spacious bathroom. There was enough wardrobe space and plenty of storage under the bed where the life jackets were stored.
The dining room was gorgeous with 5 tables so everyone mixed together. You could sit where you wanted, which was perfect - a great way to make new friends with your fellow sailors. The food which was prepared and cooked in a very small galley kitchen was amazing! Breakfasts were a choice of hot and cold. The usual bacon, sausages, eggs etc. Toast, danish pastries, croissants, cold cheese and hams and always a lovely fruit platter as well as cereals. Hot drinks from a machine, so help yourself which was great - pretty good considering it was a machine. Lunch and dinners were 4 courses - again couldn't fault any meal, plenty of variety each day. Included were 4 dinners and 4 lunches with a glass of wine with your meal.
The top deck was perfect for relaxing on the mornings sail to each destination. There was a hot tub (not hot water though) and plenty of either loungers or chairs with both shade and sun. We'd usually stop for a swim from the back of the ship, tied up against a beautiful island in the lovely clear sea with the option of being taken to a beach if there was one in the ships rib, or one day he took us for an exhilarating spin around the bay, great fun!
Lunch was generally before we arrived at each destination finishing in time to be up on deck to see ourselves glide into port and have great views from the top deck.
Our first stop was Korcula, preceded by some olive oil tasting before arrival and a talk about the process of making olive oil. Korcula was very pretty. When we arrived, we'd opted to join a walking tour of the island, which was the reputed birthplace of Marco Polo, the famous adventurer! The guide was very informative and we were pleased that we'd joined the tour. This was followed by dinner in the village of Zrnovo. The tour was guided by a 17 year old whose family ran the museum and the local restaurant. It was amazing, helped by his grandfather who spoke no English, but it was clear he wanted us to try his home made brandy! Anyway, dinner followed which was just as entertaining - a really enjoyable excursion.
The next day we sailed to Dubrovnik where we were having a 2 night stay, so we had plenty of time to explore the city either with a guide or on our own - we did both. It was helpful having the guide to get our bearings and tell us about the different buildings and the war back in the 90's and of course show us where Game of Thrones was filmed. We then headed off on our own to explore. We walked part of the city wall, the views were amazing! You have to pay to get on the wall, but worth it! We were hoping to take the cable car ride up to Srd Hill, but unfortunately we'd had a thunderstorm so for safety reasons the cable car closed. A must do for another time!
Our 2 days passed quickly with so much exploring and then it was ready to sail to our next port of call - Mljet. Another very pretty island, where we visited the National Park to see the saltwater lakes and dense forest. We took a lovely boat trip on the lake to a very small island which had a Franciscan Monastery and a lovely little church. Everywhere is so pretty!
We'd been told that we must not miss approaching Hvar Island, so on deck again we went, and they were right, the views were stunning as we approached the lovely port of Hvar Town. This is the beauty of a small ship, the large cruise ships can't get into these smaller islands, so not the masses of people that normally arrive off of the big cruise ships! Hvar is definitely somewhere we want to return too, it had a really magical feel to it, buzzy but quiet at the same time - loved it! Sadly, we didn't overnight here, we sailed off to another island to spend the night - an Island called Solta, this was very quiet here. Not somewhere I'd rush back to, but to be fair didn't have much time to explore as it was just for mooring for sleeping.
We are almost at the end of the trip as we sail back to Split for a day and an overnight stay. Split, the second largest city in Croatia is very much an up and coming place - a great place for a weekend break. Pretty much everything was centred around the old Diocletian's Palace. But both inside and outside the old city there is plenty to see. Hundreds or bars and restaurants, not particularly expensive for a city either. Again we did a guided walking tour, but if you buy the hop on hop off bus ticket, you get a walking tour included in that too. On doing our own exploring we decided to climb the bell tower - not for the faint hearted; but great views once you get to the top! A city worth a second visit for sure.
The day came when we had to check off of the ship, sadly it was time to go home. Checking out was easy, we just left our suitcases outside the cabin and the crew carried them off the ship and then escorted us to a storage place where we could store our luggage for the day as our flight home wasn't until later in the day, so we had a bit more time to explore. When we returned to collect the luggage at our agreed time, there was someone there from the ship helping us and directing us back to the pick up coach for the transfer back to Split airport. All very well organised.
The week went so quick! I think if I was recommending this to someone I would suggest staying on in Split for another couple of nights. But with Split being only just over a 2 hour flight from London, it's a great getaway destination.
On the whole a great way to see a few places to enable you to decide where you'd like to spend some more time. It certainly helped me and I've come away falling in love with a wonderful country.