CROATIA

CROATIA: 
We wanted to spend our time in Croatia simply relaxing and enjoying ourselves. We had spent the last month and a half so busy every day so we deliberately tried to do as little as possible. Instead of trying to capture moments 24/7 with our camera, which we had done so far all trip, we spent more time just enjoying those moments, rather opting to for the go pro when the time called for it. Check out Trent’s video he made using the go-pro footage on one of our Facebook pages, particularly if you like flips, there’s about 3million.

Dubrovnik, Croatia:

Day 39: Today we arrived in Dubrovnik. We weren’t able to check into our accommodation until 11am and had arrived at 8am so we sat at a coffee shop and waited. Once we had checked in we just relaxed and got things organized ready to set sail the following day. Our host was a fruit engineer and had a whole terrace covered in grapes which we took full advantage of. So yummy! In the afternoon we walked from our accommodation into the Old Town. We found a bar that was on the outside of the city walls that overlooked the sea and had a few drinks here watching people jump off the rocks, and others struggle in what was advertised as a ‘sea kyaking adventure’ but looked like more like a fight to stay alive. Would definitely recommend a visit to this bar and definitely deter anyone from sea kayaking. We had dinner at Jelovnik, a small restaurant that offers 20% off between 5 and 7, would recommend it as a cheap, easy meal. We were in bed by 7.30pm ready for 7days of sailing fun, but not before Trent ate the 1kg worth of lollies he had purchased earlier in the afternoon!

Day 40: This morning we boarded our boat for our sail in Gruz Harbour, Dubrovnik. After a short orientation and a particularly toxic celebratory shot of grappa (a local drink that taste like poison) we had the afternoon free to explore Dubrovnik. We boarded the bus toward the Old Town and the jump rock we had seen the day before. We spent about 2hrs here in the most crystal clear water. Afterwards we wandered through the Old City and watched a local game of water polo. We saw some familiar Game of Throne settings including the steps where Cersei began her walk of atonement. We returned back to the boat on the bus, accidentally taking the scenic route, turning a 10minute ride into well over an hour. There was an annual street festival in the harbour so we had dinner there with a couple we had met on the boat. Locals were cooking lamb on the spit on giant trailers so we started with that. It was beautiful, and definitely an experience, but it was weighed including organs and bones and whatever other crap you get so definitely not value for money but worth it for the experience. We followed our entre of lamb with cevapi burgers (a local mini sausage type thing, so so yummy!).

Highly likely that I will purchase this boat later in life purely for the name. 

Mljet, Croatia:

Day 41: Each morning we were provided with breakfast and lunch on the boat. Our chef was seriously amazing, lunch was definitely up there in my favourite things about Sail Croatia lol. We stopped for a swim stop in the Elephite Islands where we were all able to jump off the boat into crystal clear water. We arrived in Mljet early in the afternoon then headed off to the National Park to spend the afternoon swimming and relaxing. Would definitely recommend visiting here(entry is about 20AUD), the water is beautiful and there’s a cool channel that goes under a bridge that has a current strong enough to pull you through. For dinner we had a BBQ on the boat.

Korcula, Croatia:

Day 42: Today we travelled from Mljet to Korcula. Each day we stopped the boat(usually before lunch) for a swim stop in the most beautiful secluded bays, each one more beautiful than the last. When we arrived in Korcula we went for dinner with our new besties, James and Celeste. With our Sail Croatia wrist bands we had access to discounted restaurants and clubs so opted for 50kuna pizzas in the Old Town. We then shared a bottle of vodka on the rocks near the port, reminiscent of our youths when drinking by the sea was just a regular Friday or Saturday night. Everyone on the boat went out to a club called Boogie Jungle which was really fun!

Hvar, Croatia:

Day 43: Today Trent and I were relatively hungover. Trent particularly. It’s pretty obvious that being on a boat hungover isn’t ideal but we made it through. I mean, Trent vomited 12times. #record! But whatever. After a swim in the ocean and some delicious lunch we had gotten ourselves together and boarded the water taxi to head into Hvar with the rest of the people on the boat. We climbed up to Spanjola, a fortress that overlooked the entire harbor, so beautiful! For dinner we had 10% off at Merinero, a seafood restaurant, so a big group of us went there for dinner. We had one of the best meals of our trip here and would 100% recommend a visit. However, we ordered the ‘mini bruschetta’ for entre and you really have to be prepared for bruschetta the size of a 50cent piece, but our main meals made up for it in size, that’s for sure! After dinner we went to Hula Hula Bar, a club on the beach that has an amazing view of the sunset. Would definitely recommend coming here, so much fun!

Stari Grad, Croatia:

Day 44:

Stari Grad is TINY so today we just relaxed on the boat. Trent got pretty drunk on the boat, but that happens when you’re ammeter, at best, at drinking games. For dinner we went to a beautiful restaurant in the town called ‘Zvijezda mora’, double dating with Celete and James, something which was just a daily ritual by now. If you’re struggling for a good salad, which we struggled to find anywhere so far in our travels, this place will give you your fix. 

Markarska, Croatia:

Day 45:

Markarska was our favourite place out of our whole cruise. There are the most amazing steep mountains overlooking the town plus there’s those cool inflatable obstacle courses in the water! We’re on a budget so didn’t get to test them out but they look SO fun. It’s really touristy place, lots of families and kids, but still amazing! We walked through the markets looking for pirate outfits to wear to the pirate party being held tonight, then walked out to the point Sv. Petar. You can buy locks here and attach them to a chain railing and appartently it ensures you a good relationship, or a protected one or something. We went to buy one but of course the store was closed so just wandered through the track then back down to the beach. Everyone pre-drank together on the boat ready for our pirate party at Club Deep. Club Deep is a must! It’s SO SO cool! It’s inside a natural cave right on the beach. We had the best night here! However woke up with an entire un-touched pizza in our bed the following morning... 

Split, Croatia:

Day 50:

This morning 31+ hungover under 30s sailed from Markarska to Split. Everyone was feeling pretty worse for wear, some had unbelievable strength and continued partying on our last night but most of us laid very low. We went for dinner at a nice restaurant in the Old Town. Split is pretty gross and dirty. Like, there was a poo in the water at our swim stop just outside the harbor. Probably wouldn’t recommend visiting here unless you’re using it as a base to travel to surrounding national parks/ sites.

Day 51:

Today we said goodbye to all our beautiful new friends. Most of us couldn’t check into our accommodation until later in the day and delayed getting off the boat as much as possible. We couldn’t check into our accommodation until 11.30am and had to leave the boat at 9am so a group of us went to a nearby gaming lounge and watched the Bledeslow Cup. We did absolutely nothing in the afternoon. We had chicken breast and cereal for dinner? Sail Croatia exhausted us even though we felt like we did nothing. 

Day 52:

A lot of people from the boat had at least two nights in Split before they headed off to their next destination, so a bunch of us met up to hire a car and head to Krka and Plitvice National Parks. After nearly 2hrs of stuffing around, trying to find a car big enough and available, the 9 of us finally hit the road.  Our first stop was Krka National Park. We ended up at the wrong end of the national park, which wasn't so bad because was a beautiful look out over the lake. We headed back toward the right entrance and the waterfall. Despite the rain, we all had the best time there. It was so nice to swim in fresh water for a change and it is easily the most beautiful national park I've ever been to. There is a track winding through the park which is really pretty as well. We had intended to leave Krka and head to Plitvice National Park (about 2.5hrs away) but the rain looked like it was set in and by the time we got there it would've been later afternoon so we decided to give it a miss and head back to Split. 

Day 53:
Today we flew to Greece. Trent booked my ticket as Rebecca Long which was funny until we had to purchase a brand new ticket because no one would change the name for us. Such a joke. We had a 7hr stop over in Belgrade but after being stuffed around with the ticket for so long neither of us wanted to do anything. We arrived in Athens at 3am and couldn't drop our bags off to our accommodation until 10am so slept for 6hrs intermittently in the airport. It wasn't a good 24hrs. 

TIPS:

SV. VID.: If you’re intending to do a trip with Sail Croatia, if you can, and I don’t know whether it’s possible, try to book on this boat. It is one of the only boats with aircon, which is absolutely paramount if you intend to sleep in your cabin and not on the roof (many resorted to this option on the last night when the aircon wasn’t working). Another thing that set this boat apart was the food supplied. It is up to the Captain how much is spent on the food included and what is provided, which means that you can end up with some pretty crappy options if your captain isn’t feeling generous. Mario, our captain, was extremely generous with his food allowances. We had complimentary bacon and eggs every morning on request along with a variety of cereals, juices, yoghurt, coffee, cold meats etc. Every lunch was three course including a main meat dish. We had one vegetarian on the boat who was accommodated for well. Mario owns Sv. Vid. (along with two other yachts we sometimes docked with) which almost guarantees that him, or one of his sons, will be on the boat. Overall, the whole crew is really good and made the experience so amazing.

TIPPING: At the end of our sail we were ‘advised’ that tipping 200kunas/pp is ‘customary’. It’s already a really expensive week, costing over $3,000 so we only left 100kunas, explaining that our trip was long and we couldn’t afford to leave a large sum of money. They’re really understanding and we definitely weren’t made to feel bad.

BEES: The whole of Croatia has a serious bee/wasp/flying insect issue. This only proved to be an issue for us when we had sugary drinks but for those that are highly allergic,

BLACKBERRY SOMERSBYS: we need these in Australia. They’re amazing! Probably $400 of our $420 bill from our time on the boat was because of these drops of heaven. 

FLOATY YOYS: lots of people purchased floaty toys for their trip with Sail Croatia. The only way they’re going to stay yours for the duration of your trip is if you store them in your room with you. This goes for almost anything you leave outside your room. We found the people on our boat weren’t the issue, rather when we docked up with other boats of a nighttime things went missing.
RELAX!