Life Across the Globe

Sail Croatia is a boat tour company offering sail holidays for a range of ages and budgets. In recent years (from what I’ve seen), Sail Croatia has become extremely popular for young travellers, known for its ‘party boat’ style and group travel. In the cold Dunedin winter of 2024, my flatmate and I would scour the internet for videos, photos and posts about Sail Croatia, dreaming of a European summer on the water. A year later, myself and two friends stepped onboard Penelopa, one of the ‘Sail Croatia Navigator Cruise’ boats. Sail Croatia was a highlight of my travels in the summer and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

ONE: Add On Activities

Sail Croatia offers a number of ‘add ons’ which you can select and pay for when you are on the boat. You can read about the add ons on the Sail Croatia websites, and they have promotional videos showing a quick glimpse of each of the activities. There are different activities offered on each of the routes I had checked out all the available add ons on the website, and although they all looked amazing, I had only picked out a few I thought I’d like to do, as a lot of them were relatively expensive. However, when I got onboard, and the activities were all explained to us and everyone got talking, it seemed that the large majority of people were doing most, if not all of the add on activities. I’m not one for peer pressure, but our tour guide really sold us on these activities, explaining that they were often the highlights of trips for people. I ended up doing most of the add ons, and I don’t regret that at all. Those activities really did end up being a massive highlight for me. Some of these included: Croatia Canyoning, Buggy Safari and Stari Grad Wine Tasting. I would definitely recommend doing at least some of these activities offered. The costs for the add ons are available on the website, but most range from around €35 euros to €80, so it does add up a bit, if I could go back I would add a bit more to my budget for these.

TWO: Tipping and Bar Tab

The bar tab on Sail Croatia has become a bit infamous on social media. There was a TikTok trend going around for awhile where people introduced themselves on the first day of the week and predicted their final bar tab, and then at the end of the week, reintroduced themselves and stated their actual bar tab. My bar tab was probably my biggest worry in terms of budgeting. How it worked was we were given wristbands at the beginning of the week, and every time we ordered a drink we had to scan the wristband. It can understandably be a little hard to keep track of how much you’ve spent on the bar. However, I actually found that a lot of us seemed to get cheaper supermarket drinks on land, and I only ended up buying a few drinks over the course of the week from the boat bar (during happy hour of course!). The hidden expense that got me more than my bar tab, was the tips. As most of us on the tour were from Australia or New Zealand, tipping is not really customary at all back home so it wasn’t something I had thought to budget. However in some European countries, hospitality staff rely on tipping for proper wages, so this would be another thing I’d add into my budget if I was to do it again. There was also a €30 tourist tax, this was added onto each individual bar tab at the end of the week.

THREE: Daily Routine

Something I really liked about the format of Sail Croatia was how the routine of each day was very similar. Generally we would sail in the morning, leaving from our overnight port at around 6am-7am, with everyone usually still asleep at this time! Breakfast (included in your cost!) would be served from 7am-10am, and most people would eat and then head up to the top deck to laze in the lounge chairs, tan, read and chat. The skipper would find a spot to stop around lunch, and we called this the ‘swim stop’ of the day. Swimming off the anchored boat was the best feeling, no overcrowding, not having to worry about finding a spot for your towel, and being able to swim freely without the hoards of people flocking the main beaches. Next up would be lunch, which was three courses (yes, THREE!) and also included in your cost. In my opinion, the lunches were fantastic. They also seemed to cater well for those who had preferences or intolerances. After lunch we would dock, and then either head out for our activities or have free town to explore our new location. Happy hour would begin on the boat at around 7, and then usually we would all head out to see the clubs and bars on offer. Dinner is not included, however the tour guides would often give recommendations, and on a few of the nights we all went out to eat together. The only thing I’d say about all of this is that if you’re doing an add on activity it gives you less time to see the town you’re in that day, so spend your time wisely!

FOUR: Which Route?

Sail Croatia has three different routes to choose from when you book. Split to Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik to Split and Split Return South. This isn’t more of a ‘wish I knew’ and more of a recommendation for the Dubrovnik to Split route, which I did. I stayed in Dubrovnik for a couple of nights before getting onboard, and found Dubrovnik to be such a beautiful old town to explore. Walking the walls of Dubrovnik was a highlight, even in the scorching heat. Split I found slightly less enchanting, very crowded and busy, and the beaches much more packed and not quite as nice. Of course you could do the Split to Dubrovnik route and explore Dubrovnik after Sail Croatia. However in my experience (and most of the others on my boat), I was exhausted after a big week on the boat, and I know if I was in Dubrovnik at the end, I wouldn’t have had the energy to see as much as I did going there first. Of course it also depends how you are travelling in and out of Croatia, as for some it might be easier to book return flights to Split and do the Split return South. My friends and I found that getting to and from both Dubrovnik and Split proved slightly difficult, with expensive and limited flights for where we came from and where we wanted to go next. If you’re planning to travel several European countries before and after Sail Croatia, it’s important to check out possible flights and/or bus routes to and from the other countries before you book your Sail Croatia dates.

FIVE: Packing

To be completely honest, I’m quite happy with how I packed for sail Croatia. The only thing I wish I brought was a pair of jandals or slides for the showers and bathrooms. I had sandals, which I wore most days, but weren’t the best for the showers. The bathrooms onboard are tiny, and they do get dirty and not so nice with many people using them all day long. I also could’ve brought more bikinis and swimwear, as I only had a couple of bikinis with me (I lost my favourite bikini at a hostel one week prior!). You swim every day on Sail Croatia, so you can’t have too much swimwear. The day before we got onboard, my friends and I bought a couple of inflatable rings and I also purchased a cheap mask and snorkel. I genuinely can’t recommend both these things enough. With the swim stops every day, it was the best feeling ever to relax on an inflatable while everyone else treaded water. Some of the boats have a few inflatables, but not enough for everyone onboard. The mask and snorkel was also a lot of fun, as the water is so clear and there are some cool fish out and about. In saying all this, I would not recommend bringing an extortionate amount of stuff if you are on the navigator cruise. The rooms are not big by any means.

The Best Week of Your Life!

If you love being on the ocean, exploring islands, and group travel with likeminded people, Sail Croatia could be a dream for you! More information and bookings can be found on the Sail Croatia website.