Does anyone out there know if there are small cruise lines that travel the coast of Croatia?

I know about the ferries, and am not interested in those.

I'm looking for boats where you can settle into a cabin just one time travel along the coast for about a week.

As an alternative, are there any cabin cruiser type rentals?

We are in Croatia now and we took a one day island hopping cruise and I could have sworn I was in the Turquoise coast again as there appeared to be very large sailboats doing cruises similar to the " Blue Cruises" in Turkey.

They were very large sail boats that appeared to be motored a lot and stopped near islands and the small group of people on board would sometimes be swimming nearby.

I also met a friend in Turkey from New Zealand who had rented a sail boat with a friend for a week in Croatia that had a crew, who really enjoyed it and said it was cheap ( not as cheap as Turkey).

We also considered something another RTW friend suggested, which might interest you. There are people who teach you to sail here and you get your own boat. Once everyone gets down the basics you sail together as a group of boats to different islands. She said it was easy to learn and lots of fun and excellent price in Croatia.If you have any problem you always have contact with the teaching boat and the group becomes close.

I hope this helps a little! It is the kind of place where small sail boat cruising is popular and a great way to enjoy all the islands.

Odyssey Unlimited runs a trip that goes along the Croatian coast to Venice, but I don't think it is a cruise. You might check out some of the tour companies.

Deborah, I don't think you'll have a problem finding a cruise you'd like - a quick Google turned up numerous examples like this one. I remember talking to a sailor in Hvar about the increasing availability of such cruises now that Croatia has been "discovered."

Two companies I can think of offhand that offer Dalmatian cruises, at rather different ends of the scale, are Explore Worldwide and Voyages Jules Verne. There are quite a few others, though.

There are also several flotilla sailing companies with groups of crewed boats, which seemed to be absolutely everywhere. The ones I recall seeing the most were Sunsail and Sail Croatia, but there are others, as well as some motorboat flotilla operators.

If you don't want to hassle with Google searches, you could start with the links on AdriaticaNet. The Rough Guide to Croatia also has lists of tour operators, including those offering cruises and sailing.

Sorry, I have no personal experience with any of these companies--I got around by bus and ferry and spent most of my tinme on the mainland.

Thanks, everyone. I'm off to do some more Googling. But first I'll start with KT's suggested link.

I just dug this site with links out of my bookmarks. It mayt be better than the other one. I can't vouch for either when it comes to cruises and sailing, since I was using only them for other things like accomodations.

Deborah, here is another excellent site with info not just about sailing but about almost everything connected to Croatia.

WOW
KT that link was perfect. I found several cruise options that are exactly what I'm thinking of.
And, Ann your link has so much information, I'm not sure I would need to buy a guide book.
Thanks!

There are plenty of 4-10 room "cruise" ships that operate in the waters of Croatia. It's a chance to take a cruise with just a few other people and stop in rather small ports away from the more tourist scene.

Deborah, we just returned last week from sailing the British Virgin Islands on a 47 ft. catamaran, with Captain and chef, chartered through The Moorings. They are worldwide and do charters in Croatia. I can wholeheartedly recommend them. We had a fabulous time!

We're leaving for Croatia September 15 for two weeks and I can't wait!

Gail

Here is the link for the cruise my parents enjoyed, katarina-line.hr sailing from Opatija and Dubrovnik

While planning Croatia, don't forget to include Bay of Kotor as it is really fabulous and close to Dubrovnic. It is gorgeous ( saw some nice yachts there,so seems possible for your cruise) and Kotor is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Montenegro ...who knew??? Kind of a cross between Yosemite and Lake Tahoe with French/ Italian stone village charm and its own special flavor.


We have been in Croatia for several weeks now and finding it very hard to leave.

WT-- Thanks for your post. Lucky you, in Croatia right now!

Our trip is shaping up to be June 18 - July 21:
Fly into Dobrovnic;
Pick up rental car for a week in the Tara river valley area of northern Montenegro;
Return rental car to Dobrovnic and board a small cruise for a week of island hopping;
Take ferry to Bari and pick up second rental car for a week in Puglia;
Drive to Latina for our fourth week somewhere along the coast between Nettuno and Gaeta (probably Teracina area);
Turn in rental car and fly out of either Rome or Naples.

Along with finding the best way to island hop for a week in Croatia, I'm researching Montenegro week.

We are looking for a vacation rental or small inn somewhere along the Tara between Zabljak and Kolasin.

I have a feeling that there are many more small Inns and vacation rentals than the internet indicates. I've got several travel guides on order, but I don't know how current they will be.

If you meet anyone while you are in the area who can offer some potential web sites, I'd be grateful.

Hi Deborah,


We have been here 22 days now and really love this area, but I have not met anyone so far who knows about the websites.

I mostly meet other vacationing Europeans or people that work here. Croatians and people from Montenegro really dislike one another, so probably not the best place to fet the info.

I am no expert on Montenegro, but we did love it. My sense is it is very much like a less built up and poorer Croatia( and Croatia is not built up).

Even in high season it was not busy and most of the tourists seemed to be Russians and Serbs. I would think it would be very easy to book as you go.

It is dirtier than what we have seen in Croatia ( litter on streets and beaches) which is part of what leads me to call it poorer. When we were in Kotor, the electricity was down for all the hours that we were there. I do not know how common that is, but imagine it is even worse for service in the smaller towns.

We found it VERY charming and VERY old world, but just be prepared that you will most likely be dealing with a more Eastern European kind of country that is still catching up.

I am not familiar with the the towns that you mentioned, but when we passed thru Perast, I thought that would be a lovely place to stay for a little while.

None of the beaches were crowded when we were touring Kotor Bay area and we found plenty of people who spoke some English. The area is beautiful, but do know that the beaches consist of a concrete slab and can be quite primitive. We kind of liked the primitive, old fishing village atmosphere, but it is more primitive than any of the other countries that we have been to except Morocco. There are police everywhere, so do be careful as we were warned, but did not have any problem ( even tho our car had crotian plates).

I do hope that you do not miss Dubrovnic as it was not clear on your itinerary. Perhaps you have been here before? It is such a wonderful city and area that I would make sure that you book some time for that and walking the wall,Buza cafe, music and such. We are really loving this area.

WT-
Your comments are confirming what I've been surmising from my research. And it is encouraging to our goal for Montenegro.
We could go to one of the "staged" resorts that have been developed by outsiders (Sveti Stefan is the poster child for this).
But, then we might as well just go to Capri.

We like to have at least one week of hiking and nature immersion with each trip. That is why we are looking to the interior. Durmitor is the northern most national park in Montenegro and contains the upper portion of the river Tara. The Tara River Canyon is the second deepest in the world.

Just today, I found an absolutely AMAZING site:
Balkanology
Amazing depth of information about all of the Balkan countries, and more usable info on Montenegro than I've found anywhere else.

Deborah, I just pulled up this thread and can't believe how much your plans are like what we are beginning to work on now. I just need to follow what you have learned, your itinerary and then fill in the blanks. We are going to start in Puglia (I think) at the end of June then to Croatia and back into Italy. Actually, I haven't done any research yet to know if that will be the best way. Now I will check some of the links given to you. Maybe we will cross paths.

Deborah,

Check out the Fodor's forums on Montenegro. I was surprised but some people are really hassled by the police there who I guess are corrupt.

We had no problems, but I just heard of some Americans who had a bit of a nightmare with two stops by corrupt police. They are all over the place.

Just something to get informed about...just in case.

Jane, We will HAVE to try to make sure our paths cross. Dan needs to meet your guys, and I could use a Casey fix!

If you haven't checked out my blog yet, I have some really cool picture of the place we will be on the first week of our trip.

Thanks for the warning, WT. We are low profile travellers. No flashy jewelry; no overt consumerism; no loud, push demands. So, we don't usually find ourselves on anyones radar. But, we will be extra careful.

Still trying to figure out the island hopping thing and getting pretty frustrated.

The problem is not with the availability of options. The problem is with our desire to depart from Dubrovnik and return to Dubrovnik while only spending 5 nights on this portion of our trip. All the ones we've found are 7 night cruises.

I'm about to give up on the whole thing; just do a land-based week; and take ferries to the islands we want to see.

Deborah, I'm doing these things backward tonight--so as you find them, just piece it all together beginning with Puglia.

I just read your blog and your itinerary sounds wonderful. I agree with you and Ann and Gail, this seems to be a very difficult trip to plan--or I'm getting older and tired of planning.

I tried to find a small boat cruise but have given up on that. Then I started looking at small group tours thinking that maybe in our doddering years we would do the unthinkable. I have found one that looks to be a "maybe" but don't know if we can get over the hurdle of bad thoughts about tours.

So--today I spent the day trying to find accommodation options in Dubrovnik and a couple of the islands. I've also been trying to figure out Puglia.

I really hope that we can work out a time when we can meet and do some things together; although we're leaving Casey in Greve with our landlords so no Casey fix. Sorry about that!

One more thing: Several years ago I read a book that has stayed with me over time. You may know it but if not, I really recommend finding it--Montenegró by Starling Lawrence. Since you will be traveling in Montenegro, it will be meaningful; although the borders and boundaries have changed dramatically in intervening years.