The engine cuts out. The sails fill. The boat tilts simply rather to 1 facet and starts to flow. Quietly, easily via water so transparent you’ll be able to depend the rocks six meters down. That second, someplace between Brač and Hvar, is why you come back to Croatia on a crusing commute.
We spent 5 days on a catamaran with Extra Crusing, a Swedish-run operator that hosts skippered crusing journeys out of Trogir, simply out of doors Cut up. It wasn’t my first time on a sailboat and no longer my first time in Croatia, but it surely was once the primary time I felt like I in spite of everything understood the rhythm of Croatia.
Right here’s the way it went and what you’d wish to know to plot one thing equivalent.
Evaluate
Attending to Cut up
The airport sits around the bay from the town, however entering into is easy. Two buses run the direction. The Platanus airport trip (which changed Pleso Prijevoz in February 2026) departs proper out of doors arrivals and prices €10 in top season, €9 low season; the adventure is 40 mins to 1 hour relying on site visitors and drops you on the teach station and harbor. Should you’re looking at the finances, the Promet Cut up town bus (Line 37) forums from the principle street about 100 meters from the terminal and prices €3 in keeping with individual on board, despite the fact that it takes longer and forestalls extra ceaselessly.
A taxi or Uber from the airport recently runs round €35–50 (metered, with a hard and fast airport beginning price).
One Day in Cut up
We arrived the afternoon prior to the boat commute and had a couple of hours that day, plus a brief morning the following. For a unmarried in a single day, you don’t want anything else fancy.
We stayed at Perfect Location Rooms (Ul. Vlahe Bukovca 11), within the Bačvice district. It’s a few 10-minute stroll to Diocletian’s Palace and the previous middle, and handiest steps from Bačvice seashore. We took the smallest and least expensive room. Tiny, however blank, and precisely what you wish to have for one evening. Should you’re staying longer, their better rooms are value a glance.
The foods you take into account in Cut up gained’t be those you grabbed at the Riva out of comfort; they’ll be those the place you sat rather off the principle drag and let the night time stretch. Ask the group of workers at your lodging for pointers. They’ll know who’s cooking one thing value consuming that day.
And we’ve got lined the ones two subjects as smartly, with further two go back and forth pointers:
Boarding the Catamaran
Test-in at the catamaran is normally between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m., relying on how temporarily the cleansing group finishes after the former workforce. If climate and timing cooperate, the skipper most often will get shifting instantly.
We headed without delay to Mala Luka Bay at the island of Drvenik Veli for the primary evening, a quiet anchored bay, a mild welcome meal, and a sundown that didn’t want any lend a hand from us. That is how to get started: no the city, no noise, simply the boat rolling softly whilst you watch the sky move darkish.
Truthful caution about that first evening: your frame isn’t used to the boat’s movement, and the general public have strangely vibrant goals. Via morning, despite the fact that, you get up to silence, an open bay, and somebody already making espresso. Julia, the group member who sorted foods on our commute, was once most often up round 7 a.m., had breakfast able prior to maximum visitors had correctly opened their eyes, and became on tune round 8 a.m. to ease everybody into the day. That element by myself is underrated.
Existence on Board: What a Standard Day Seems to be Like
If you’re within the rhythm of it, the times observe a lovely development:
- Get up, have breakfast on deck
- Sail for 2 to a few hours
- Anchor in a bay for a swim and lunch
- Sail on (or motor if there’s no wind)
- Arrive at a harbor with an previous the city within the overdue afternoon
- Pass out for dinner, have a drink or two, get again prior to nighttime
Meals ashore is ruled through Dalmatian and Balkan requirements: grilled meat, fish, fries, the occasional salad. Pizza is all over the place. That’s all high-quality, but when you wish to have one thing a step above, no longer pricey simply higher, it takes some native wisdom. That’s precisely the place the group earns its position. Practice their eating place suggestions with out query; we weren’t let down as soon as.
Stomorska, Šolta — First Prevent
Our first lunch prevent was once the village of Stomorska at the island of Šolta. Skipper Julian anchored within the bay and ferried us ashore within the dinghy. We had about an hour to discover.
About Stomorska: Stomorska is the oldest coastal agreement on Šolta, situated within the northeastern a part of the island, 12 km through street from the principle port of Rogač. A small fishing village with an everlasting inhabitants of round 250, it may possibly host kind of 500 vacationers in summer season, which assists in keeping it pleasantly calm in comparison to the larger Dalmatian locations. The harbor is coated with conventional stone homes and a couple of cafés; previous wood fishing boats take a seat a couple of meters from fashionable yachts.
The village has a protracted maritime historical past: its sailors as soon as owned shipment ships and transported wheat, lime, and different items around the Adriatic to Cut up. Amongst sailors, Stomorska could also be recognized for a richer and extra various meals scene than different Šolta villages.
Milna, Brač — Harbor The city Definitely worth the Prevent
From Stomorska, we sailed a brief distance to Milna, at the western facet of Brač.
About Milna: Milna sits at the northwest coast of Brač and is regarded as the most secure herbal harbor at the island. The title is assumed to derive from the Venetian-era word Valle di mille navi (the bay of one thousand boats), which offers you a way of ways lengthy sailors had been pulling in right here. Based on the finish of the sixteenth century across the Cerinić family members fort, the city has a small previous middle of stone structures organized round a harbor that draws the entirety from native fishing boats to huge yachts.
There are two marinas (together with ACI Milna), which in combination be offering over 200 berths. A number of pebble coves (Pasika, Osibova, Lučice) take a seat inside simple dinghy achieve of the bay.
We ate at Eating place Bago (Bijaka mala 13), a brief stroll alongside the harbor towards the seashores. We had fish and red meat. Each conventional dishes, however the location makes it. Two terraces glance out over the water, and the seafood most often comes from the landlord’s personal catch. Bago is administered through a running fisherman, and the wild fish at the menu is most often no matter got here in that morning.
The group additionally really useful two choices value noting:
- Kantun Meals & Wine — a wine cellar with over 25 years of historical past, providing native fish from their very own catch, home made pasta, and wines from native manufacturers.
- Pizzeria / Konoba Slika — a forged, no-fuss possibility for pizza and Croatian convenience meals, persistently ranked a few of the most sensible eating places in Milna.
Uvala Smrka — Chilly Conflict in a Bay
One of the crucial extra surprising stops was once Uvala Smrka, a quiet bay at the south facet of Brač. As you stroll via one of the most coastal cities in Croatia, you continue to realize the marks left through the Nineties warfare. Smrka has its personal model of this, within the type of the underground Yugoslav naval tunnels reduce without delay into the rock.
Concerning the Smrka tunnels: The tunnels at Uvala Smrka had been constructed all through the Yugoslav period as a secret base for submarines and speedy assault vessels. The tunnels are round 80 meters lengthy and the seawater within is kind of 10 meters deep. The doorway was once designed to be hid from aerial reconnaissance. Since being decommissioned within the Nineties, they’ve been utilized by native fishermen for safe haven all through storms and feature develop into a vacation spot for sailors, historical past fanatics and divers. Access is loose.
Our skipper introduced the dinghy and we went in. It’s eerie and oddly stunning. The water within is similar darkish blue-green because the Adriatic, the tunnel ceiling shut overhead. After that, we had lunch at the boat and Sarah jumped into the water from the highest of the catamaran. In Might, the water is noticeably cooler than in summer season, however that didn’t prevent her.
The Perfect Section: In reality Crusing
After Smrka, we set the sails once more. And this, for me, is at all times the spotlight.
Whilst you flip off the engine, the entirety adjustments. No vibration, no noise. Simply the boat tilting gently and the sound of water shifting alongside the hull. The skipper let me take the wheel, and we talked via find out how to in finding the best perspective into the wind, find out how to learn the tools, and what it takes to carry 6–7 knots in mild stipulations. Ask the entire questions you’ve. It’s precisely the type of hands-on enjoy that’s laborious to duplicate anyplace else.
We had been heading for Stari Grad on Hvar, looking at the sails and the compass, adjusting for the wind.
After which: 3 dolphins, monitoring in opposition to us for a couple of mins prior to disappearing.
Stari Grad, Hvar — One of the crucial Oldest Cities in Europe
About Stari Grad: Stari Grad (that means “previous town”) is without doubt one of the oldest steadily inhabited cities in Europe. It was once based in 384 BC through Greek colonists from the island of Paros, who named their agreement Pharos; that title is the foundation of the island’s fashionable title, Hvar. Town was once later held through the Romans, then settled through Slavs, and remained the island’s primary middle till the Venetians moved the seat of energy to Hvar The city within the medieval length. The encompassing Stari Grad Undeniable, an agricultural panorama of fields, stone partitions, and shelters laid out through the unique Greek colonists within the 4th century BC and nonetheless in large part intact these days, was once one at a time inscribed as a UNESCO International Heritage Website in 2008. Town itself is quiet in comparison to Hvar The city: narrower alleys, fewer crowds, extra stone and extra historical past.
My fair tip: don’t come right here or to Croatia in July or August. Past due Might via June, or September and October, are while you get the ambience with out the hundreds.
Wander the alleys, move slowly, and if you happen to’re on the lookout for a small memento that’s in reality fascinating reasonably than generic, search for Num Atelier (Ul. dr. Ante Starčevića 2), a small gallery store a couple of steps from Tvrdalj Sq. appearing the paintings of native artist Jovan Brajović, founding father of the Moria Affiliation.
The place to Consume in Stari Grad
Jurin Podrum (Ul. Duolnjo Kola 11) is the place I’d ship any individual with out hesitation. It’s a family-run eating place that has been cooking Dalmatian meals since 1917, set on a slender medieval alley within the previous the city with each stone-clad indoor seating and tables squeezed out of doors. They develop their very own natural greens and bring their very own olive oil.
I had the wild boar with home made gnocchi, slowly braised for hours in candy wine and rosemary sauce. One of the crucial proprietor’s signature dishes.
There’s a amusing facet notice to that: the wild boars on Hvar swam over from the mainland years in the past, fleeing a wildfire. The island now has its personal small inhabitants.
The landlord additionally really useful the cuttlefish stew, which I didn’t do that time, but it surely’s at the record for subsequent time.
A couple of different choices value figuring out:
- Restoran Marko (Pizzeria & Spaghetteria) — Open all yr, dependable for pizza, pasta, and broader Dalmatian dishes, proper on Trg Ploča sq.. Just right if you wish to have one thing constant and unpretentious.
- Eating place Albatros (Ul. Jurja Dalmatinca 1) — A family-run seafood eating place in a centuries-old stone space simply off the principle sq. and 50 meters from the harbor. Robust on grilled recent fish and standard Dalmatian dishes; the landlord makes his personal olive oil, bread and space wine.
- Tramonto Bar – Lanterna — For a sundowner, that is where. A few 10-minute stroll from the middle alongside the waterfront, on Put od Lanterne, with the most productive sundown view in Stari Grad and a comfy setting. Rated the highest nightlife spot on the town.
Again to Trogir
The following morning we set sails one ultimate time, heading again towards Trogir. At the method, we stopped for lunch within the bay of Nečujam.
About Nečujam: Nečujam sits within the biggest bay at the island of Šolta, about 9 nautical miles from Cut up. Its title comes from the Latin Vallis Surda (“the Deaf Bay”) a connection with the extraordinary acoustic stillness of the vast, sheltered inlet.
The bay has two distinct characters: the japanese shore has a seashore, an inflatable water park and the standard summer season infrastructure; the western and deeper portions are virtually silent, with small coves and virtually no construction. Snorkelers and freedivers come for the Kontesa, a 25-meter wood vessel at the start in-built 1943 as a WWII shipment send, later transformed to hold vacationers alongside the Croatian coast, that rested simply part a meter underneath the outside after sinking all through a typhoon many years later.
The bay has a historic footnote too: Emperor Diocletian reportedly used the smaller internal coves as fish ponds whilst his palace was once being in-built close by Cut up.
Native citizens round Nečujam have introduced a petition for the safety of the bay’s sea and seabed, with the village council caution that some coves had been overrun through out of control anchoring, sewage and gasoline discharge, and waste dumped without delay into the water.
The sunken Kontesa is now flagged as a danger in addition to a interest. None of this implies you will have to skip Nečujam, but it surely does imply the way you behave on board issues.
Should you’re crusing in Croatia: anchor on sand, no longer on posidonia meadows (the darkish patches you’ll be able to see from above); by no means discharge maintaining tanks or bilge water within a bay; raise your garbage again to a marina; tip the dinghy ashore reasonably than tying off to timber; and make a choice operators who do the similar.
Croatia’s coast holds up as a result of maximum sailors deal with it like somebody’s lounge, as a result of for the folk in those villages, it’s.
We arrived in Trogir overdue afternoon and timed it completely. We were given the catamaran to the pier, and about 3 mins later a rainstorm rolled via. An hour after that, the sky was once transparent once more and we went to discover the previous the city.
About Trogir: Trogir is a small island town within the Cut up-Dalmatia area, hooked up to the mainland and to the bigger island of Čiovo through bridges. Its origins return to the third century BC, when it was once based through Greek settlers. What makes it exceptional is the density of intact structure inside its tiny footprint, about 500 meters east to west, starting from Romanesque church buildings to Renaissance and Baroque structures amassed over centuries of Venetian rule. UNESCO identified this in 1997 and indexed Trogir’s historical middle as a International Heritage Website. Strolling it at nightfall, after the day-trippers have left, is a in reality other enjoy.
For dinner we went to Franka (Šubićeva ul. 30), which is pricier however delivers. As of Might 2026 it’s ranked #1 of 120 Trogir eating places on Tripadvisor with 1,183 evaluations and a 4.8 score, and it holds a MICHELIN Information checklist for its recent Mediterranean meals. It’s tucked into the alleys close to the bridge at the mainland facet.
Word: Franka closes all through the low season (normally November via Might), so test prior to you move. The meals is a step above the standard konoba fare… correct execution, just right native wines.
Different forged choices in Trogir:
The Final Day: Scooter to Primošten
Checkout from the catamaran is at 8 a.m. The cleansing group arrives, the galley group heads out to resupply… and also you’re left with a complete day prior to your night time flight. Should you’ve already noticed Trogir and Cut up, that is the phase the place a plan is helping.
My resolution: hire a 50cc scooter from Comic story – Motorbike & Scooter Apartment (Put Dragulina 13B, Trogir). I paid €28 for six hours, however test present costs while you guide. The advice were to discuss with Primošten, however public buses there are rare, and a taxi again from Primošten to the airport ran €90–120 a method. With the scooter, it took about 45 mins each and every method and we had whole flexibility and extra amusing.
About Primošten: Primošten is a small the city in Šibenik-Knin County, between Trogir and Šibenik. The previous the city sits on what was once at the start an island, now hooked up to the mainland through a causeway. The title itself comes from the Croatian phrase primostiti, that means “to bridge”. The historical past is going again to the sixteenth century, when a fortified agreement was once established there all through the Ottoman invasions. Nowadays the previous the city keeps a maze of cobbled alleys and standard stone homes at the slender peninsula, surrounded through vineyards, olive groves, and transparent water. The seashores Mala Raduča and Velika Raduča, simply out of doors the previous the city, are a few of the maximum delightful pebble seashores in this stretch of coast.
We drove as much as the lookout reverse the bay and walked as much as the statue of Our Woman of Loreto, which sits at the hill of Gaj, round 173 meters above sea stage. The mosaic-clad statue is kind of 17 meters tall, was once unveiled in 2017, and represents a bond between Primošten and the Marian shrine of Loreto in Italy. On a transparent day, the view stretches around the islands of the Šibenik archipelago. It’s an extraordinary aggregate of spiritual monument and bold standpoint over the coast.
We returned the scooter, stuffed the tank (about €6 of gasoline), and made the airport with time to spare.
About Extra Crusing — If You Need to Check out One thing Like This
Should you learn this and suppose the structure feels like what you wish to have, the operator I went with is Extra Crusing. I’m writing about them as a result of I had the commute, no longer as a result of we’ve got any business association.
Two issues cause them to other from the usual Croatia constitution marketplace. First, you guide a unmarried cabin reasonably than the entire boat. Maximum constitution corporations will handiest hire you all the yacht. That is high-quality you probably have 8 or twelve buddies and a fats workforce finances, awkward if you happen to’re a pair or travelling solo and don’t need to arrange a small crowd to make the mathematics paintings. With Extra Crusing you flip up with one or two other folks, get a personal cabin on a catamaran or monohull, and percentage the typical spaces with seven or so different visitors plus a skipper and host.
2d, the journeys can also be absolutely hosted: a Swedish-trained, English-speaking skipper handles navigation and protection; a bunch prepares breakfast and lunch on board; dinners are ashore within the harbor cities each and every night time. You don’t want any crusing enjoy to step on board.
The corporate was once based in 2009 at the west coast of Sweden through sailors who sought after to make this type of commute available to those that’d differently by no means constitution a ship. They perform from Trogir (subsequent door to Cut up airport) and run routes via Šolta, Brač, Hvar and Vis, which is kind of what you’ve simply examine. Otherwise you set sail with them within the Caribbean, in Greece, in Italy, or in Sweden.
Sensible Guidelines
- Perfect time to move: Might–June or September–October. Higher climate for crusing, fewer other folks ashore, and more uncomplicated eating place bookings. July and August are stunning however crowded and dear.
- Attending to Cut up airport: The €10 Platanus airport trip is the straightforward default; the Promet Line 37 town bus is the €3 finances possibility. A taxi or Uber recently runs €35–50.
- What to deliver on board: Layers for the night time even in June, sunscreen, a hat, grip sneakers for the deck, and movement illness drugs if you happen to’re no longer positive the way you’ll deal with it.
- Meals technique: Believe the group’s eating place pointers. For on a regular basis foods ashore, the usual konoba fare is dependable. For a memorable dinner, ask for the precise native advice. The group will know the place the kitchen is in reality just right.
- Crusing time: On a commute like this, be expecting 2–4 hours of tangible crusing in keeping with day. The remainder is anchored in bays or docked on the town.
- Swimming in Might: The water is noticeably cooler than in July or August, nonetheless swimmable, however deliver a brief wetsuit if you happen to’re delicate to chilly.
- Final day making plans: You probably have a protracted airport wait on the finish, believe the scooter technique to Primošten. It’s round 45 mins from Trogir, unbiased of any bus time table, and a long way less expensive than taxis for spherical journeys.
- Checkout is at 8 a.m.: Be able to move. The cleansing group doesn’t wait and the following workforce has a time table too.
Incessantly Requested Questions
How a lot does a week-long catamaran crusing commute in Croatia value?
Costs range significantly through operator, season, and boat kind. A hosted catamaran commute with a skipper and a group member protecting foods normally runs within the vary of €1,000–€2,500 in keeping with individual for five–7 days, relying at the cabin kind and the way a long way upfront you guide. You’ll additionally wish to finances for dinners ashore, beverages, and any front charges; kind of €30–60 in keeping with day further.
Is crusing enjoy required to sign up for a catamaran commute in Croatia?
No. On a hosted commute with a skipper, no crusing enjoy is wanted. The skipper handles navigation and the boat; you’re loose to take part as a lot or as low as you favor. Maximum skippers are glad to let visitors take the wheel and be told the fundamentals all through the crossing.
What’s the very best time of yr to sail in Croatia?
The crusing season runs from Might to October. Might–June provides delicate temperatures, fewer crowds, and just right wind stipulations; the ocean is cooler however nonetheless swimmable through mid-Might. July and August are top season with stunning climate however crowded anchorages, upper costs, and packed harbors. September and October deliver heat, calmer seas, and a noticeably quieter setting ashore.
How do you get from Cut up Airport to the town middle?
Take the Platanus airport trip from out of doors arrivals. It prices €10 (€9 low season) and takes 40–60 mins to the teach station and harbor. The Promet Line 37 town bus forums about 100 m from the terminal and prices €3 in keeping with individual. A taxi or Uber runs €35–50 and takes 20–half-hour relying on site visitors.
Is Stari Grad on Hvar value visiting as an alternative of Hvar The city?
Sure, particularly if you happen to’re arriving through boat and touring out of doors top season. Stari Grad is without doubt one of the oldest cities in Europe, based through the Greeks in 384 BC, and is a long way quieter than Hvar The city. It has just right eating places, walkable medieval alleys, and a UNESCO-listed agricultural simple out of doors the city. Hvar The city has extra nightlife however is considerably extra crowded in summer season.
Are you able to discuss with Primošten as an afternoon commute from Trogir?
Sure, however test the bus time table sparsely, as connections are rare. Renting a scooter from Trogir (I paid round €28 for six hours; test present charges) is a a lot more versatile possibility, takes about 45 mins each and every method, and leaves you loose to discuss with the lookout above the city and the Woman of Loreto statue at your individual tempo.
