Magical One Week Croatia Cruise Experience - Part I

A WEEK ONBOARD: CRUISING CROATIA

I had the most incredible week of my life! 7 days sailing the Adriatic Sea in a great travelling company, visiting lovely Croatian coastal towns, exploring breathtaking nature and making swim stops in the most spectacular lagunas you will never get to see by yourself! 

Our mission was to see the most beautiful islands in South Adriatic in a very short period, and for that purpose, a 7-day cruise is the best option. Stopping in a new destination every day sounds like a pretty exhausting and tough schedule, but it’s not! For 7 days we were accommodated in a perfectly equipped, modern and extremely comfortable floating mini hotel with another 20 fellow-travelers, making it a totally relaxing and enjoyable sea adventure!

I am so happy to be sharing this experience with you and will go on the similar cruise again in the future! Next time I'll probably doing the northern part of the Croatian coast which is also stunning and less crowded.

THE BEGINNNING

Our adventure starts on Split! 2 days in Dalmatia's vibrant capital before the embarkation were amazing. Split has it's all: unique historical heritage, active outdoor life, festivals and shopping. The one can never get bored in Split. Especially preparing for holidays full of action – we were very intrigued to see how our week-long journey would go. It's time to go and find our boat in Split harbor! 

You feel so privileged sailing along one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world with hustle and bustle of your everyday life left behind on the mainland – now it's just all about the endless sea, the blue sky and peace. No need to bring any fancy outfits and act serious - just be yourself. 

The crew on board really made us all feel spoiled. Great team and bunch of people! Everybody worked fast and effectively, making sure the guests have everything they might ever need for a great holiday. You won’t even have to waste time worrying about meals, as they’ll be also taken care of. Just for the record: out cook Miloš was a magical, making our cruise a real gastronomic adventure!

HVAR ISLAND

Today is a very exciting day! Finally, we'll get to see the famous and fashionable island of Hvar everyone is raving about, including some worldwide known celebrities.  But on the way to Hvar we will first make a short swimming stop on the spectacular Golden Horn beach, that dramatically sits on the southern coast of Brač island. Its distinctive shape has become one of Croatia's trademarks. Surprisingly the place turned out to be very windy, the current is quite strong too – so do not swim too far away from the ship.

Now off we go to the Aromatic island: the island of rosemary, lavender and huge wine culture. We took a short-guided tour first and then clambered all the way up to the Fort. Just be warned: you need to be at least moderately fit to make it all the way up. The path is zigzagged which makes it easier to walk. Speaking of walking: Hvar is known as the sunniest island in Croatia. It's blazing hot here, with very little shade available, so you will inevitably end up taking a break in one of local cafes knocking back a few refreshments. 

The authorities of the port of Hvar Town are incredibly strict when it comes to mooring: due to the town's growing popularity, the number of ships, speedboats and catamarans wishing to stay in Hvar town has grown so dramatically in the past couple of years, that all they allow us to do, is to quickly disembark and then board again later to head onto Stari Grad where we were supposed to spend the night. Stari Grad, a medieval settlement, pretty much untouched by mass tourism compared to its more popular wealthy brother. While Hvar Town being heavily packed and touristy, Stari Grad is more laid back and relaxed, with charming narrow streets and stone houses backing on to the harbour. You are going to love this place, especially after the scorching heat and crowds in Hvar town. However, if you are still interested in Hvar town's legendary night life, the two settlements relate to a paved road, so getting a taxi or a bus there is not that difficult.

THE CROATIAN CAPRI 

Another beautiful morning in the sea. Today is a very special day of our adventure: the plan is to go to Vis. I must admit that for me personally the island of Vis was the main highlight of the cruise. I was so excited to get there, constantly hoping for a spell of good weather that day, as strong wind and waves can make your journey there impossible. The romantic and mysterious island of Vis is in the outer Adriatic Sea, way farther from the mainland than any other of Croatia's inhabited islands. The place has long and vibrant history that takes us back to the fourth century BC, when the Greeks settled here. It's crucial to mention that for several decades the island served as a Yugoslav military base – the reason why it was closed for tourists for quite a long time. The center is indisputably Vis town - an elegant settlement with a long palm-sprinkled promenade, that’s where we docked for the night. But we couldn't wait to hop on the local bus to get to another tiny settlement on the western side of the island: 20-minute picturesque bus ride will take you from Vis town to the fishing port of Komiza. The place is intriguing, with local people fiercely trying to maintain their culture and lifestyle. Boasting traditional stone facades from the sixteenth- and seventeenth- century, a couple of great beaches and a whole string of cafes, Komiza is totally worth a visit.

Now when the sun has gone down, it's time to get back to Vis town for a quick bite in any of the local eateries. Not that we are hungry though, but you do get slightly seduced by so many cozy cafes along the Vis's lovely waterfront. 

BIŠEVO BLUE CAVE VISIT

The island of Vis is a great base for travelers going farther to Bisevo – a tiny island just outside Vis that really sticks out. At first sight this narrow ribbon of land in the outer sea is quite unfriendly looking and greyish. Bisevo is very well known for giving its visitors a quite harsh welcoming to say the least, if you are not lucky with the weather. 

Tourism has exploded on the island in the past few years, all thanks to its unique natural phenomenon: In 1880s when an Austrian painter Eugen von Ransonnet-Villet described a modestly-sized grotto which acted slightly unusual: when the sun is at its height, the light reflects through the water coming from the white floor of the cave and bathes the grotto in aquamarine blueness. 

Small boats take tourists inside the cave. We were lucky to be among the first that morning – the volume of tourist traffic gets crazy on Bisevo in high season. 5 minutes in heaven – the best and easiest way to describe a short visit to the grotto. The shimmering effects underwater were spectacular. The verdict is: the place absolutely deserves the hype: an incredible feeling of being surrounded by the shiny blueness of the water.

Find out more next week about this magical trip in the second part of the cruise!