my feet don't want to go to sleep

My friend decided to celebrate his 40th birthday on a luxury yacht for a week in Croatia. This is the way to experience the country. With over 1,000 islands and the perfect green blue water you won’t believe it.

Fly into Dubrovnik or Split, boat charters leave from either city. We left from Split and had this itinerary.

Split

Worth a couple extra days on either side of the trip. Separate post coming as this is also the best spot for day trips around the country. Game of thrones fort tours, Plitvice lakes, Zadar, Zagreb, all accessible from here.

Vis – The Blue Caves

Home to blue caves, which many of the islands can boast, but more importantly where Momma Mia was filmed. We had a tour take us from Stiniva beach to Smokova beach to the blue lagoon. This lagoon is large enough for you to drive the boat in. The island is huge and they charted us all around. The highlight was a secret beach fit with a bar hidden in the cliffs. We jumped from the cliffs and same from the boat to the bar. The water is so salty that your body mostly floats. The water here is some of the prettiest I have seen in the world. Those who didn’t want to swim could get pulled in a dingy. The rocky beach shaded from the cliffside gave us a breat from the strong sun.

The tour ended on a small island right outside of Vis. There as a beach club there. We danced and watched the sun dip down in the sky. They took us back drunk and salty. We went straight to dinner were we ordered tons of wine and watched the golden hour coat the old buildings.

Tours: https://boattourvis.com/tours/south-side-of-vis-3-caves-tour/

Meals: Restaurant Vatrica

Mljet – The National Park

This was my favorite island. Well Solta and this one battle for number one. The entire island is a national park. We dropped anchor and were taken ashore in the tender. Which we started calling a chicken tender. There we rented ebikes while some decided to walk or hire a car. There were bike paths around the lake which had an opening to sea. We did the loop going in and out of the tree line. Thankful for the electric part of this bike as some of the hills were steep. There were two areas where the water would pull you with a natural current. The people on bikes went to the further one.

To get there we had to pull our bikes over a bridge. We heaved and then hoed ourselves into the water. Crossing under the bridge with the current multiple times. We ended the ride passing 4th century ruins where kids swung on swings. How was this real? The afternoon was spent swimming around the boat with impressively deep waters.

Explore: Veliki most – the bridge at the lake, Rimska palača – the Roman ruins

Dubrovnik – The Capital

Worth a separate trip all on its own. I spent a week there after this yacht trip. In our short time there we had a Game of Thrones tour and sunset cocktails watching daredevils jump from insane heights. More to come with this spot.

Korcula – The Luxury

This felt like the fanciest and most expensive island. We had planned for a Michelin start dinner to celebrate the big birthday. Before I found the best way to see this island is on the boat taxi. Instead of spending time on land in a car, get on the easy and frequently stopping boat. We hopped down to where the vineyards were for the afternoon leaving the city for the night.

The vineyards sit right on the main road and are your pathway to the beach. The calm inlet waters allow you to sit and drink and enjoy the warmth. We met a woman solo traveling and adopted her into our group for the afternoon. We walked to the ferry along the coastline and headed back to change for dinner.

The trees with twinkle lights and the stone streets give you the feel of Europe while being waterside. Olive trees and the sorts cover the sides and make for the most romantic pathways. In the stone archways performers sing and dance using the natural acoustics to their benefit.

Explore: Bilin Zal Beach, Popić Winery, Bire winery

Eat: LD Restaurant

Hvar – The Party

This island gets a stereotype to be mostly for partying. We spent the afternoon walking around it and honestly there is more than that. There are shops and restaurants, little narrow alleyways to explore, rock pools, and seaside restaurants with types of carpaccio you have never heard of. The clubs get all the attention though.

We boat anchored far enough from the island where the day clubs are so it was not a noise issue but close enough that we could tender there easily. There are two major clubs Carpe Diem Beach Hvar or Hula Hula Hvar. We chose Carpe Diem and took the tender there for the afternoon. The day time DJ sets are such a vibe. We drank and drunk swam along to the beats. We ordered bottle service and food. For most of the group that was the end. The rest of us returned after dinner for the night. While the tender took us there we’d have to negotiate our own way back.

That night was our last with a little masquerade dinner party. I had pushed this theme because I had a masque from Cartier from the event I worked in Vienna. Plus it is easy to pack and fun.

The club scene set in and we realized Europeans drink way less than we do. The bar was cash only and the drinks weak. We danced amongst the trees with the lights cutting through the leaves. Thankfully some people had cash so we could get the 100 euro boat ride from shore to our yacht. Annoyingly close and from a drunk POV seemingly an easy enough swim. We paid up though and made it back quickly. The night ended with us jumping into the warm clear water right behind the boat and staring at the stars.

Solta – The Wine, Honey, Oil

The hangover was heavy for this last day. My tie for first place as this is known as the red wine island. We had a tour take us to a small winery, bee farm, and olive oil production. Our cute driver took us through the sharp turns and we all held our heads. The wine helped with the pain, delicious glasses of rose and red, then the cheese and meats completed the process. The olive oil sipped was so delicious we all bought bottles. Finally the bee farm, where we were educated on the importance of bees and shown the wall of honey where he marks where his visitors are from. The tender took us back with all our shopping bags.

Explore: Olynthia Olive Oil, Marinac Winery, Tvrdic Honey

Spending this week swimming around the coast line of endless islands, eating the freshest seafood, drinking incredible wine, had me realizing the Mediterranean may be my favorite place in the world.