Hvar town and harbour from the fortress at sunset, the Pakleni islands offshore

Croatia

Yacht charter in Croatia

Stone towns, pine islands and short, sheltered hops.

A week in Croatia

Croatia has more than a thousand islands, islets and reefs, most of them close together and close to the mainland. Distances are short, the water is calm more often than not, and almost every evening can end in a stone harbour town.

The choice is less about where than how busy. Hvar in August is lively, while Mljet or the Kornati in June feel empty. I start with the pace you want, then the base, Split or Dubrovnik, then the yacht.

When to go

May and June: Green islands, quiet harbours, sea warming through June.
July and August: Hot, bright and busy, especially around Hvar. Berths go early.
September and early October: Warm sea, calmer towns and long golden evenings.

The bora and the maestral

The maestral is the good wind of summer: a steady northwesterly that builds in the late morning, gives a fresh afternoon breeze and usually dies at sunset. The bora is different. It is a cold northeasterly that falls off the mountains in sudden, strong gusts, most often outside summer, and it is fiercest in the north.

A summer bora rarely lasts more than a day or two, and it is usually forecast. When it comes, I keep the yacht in a harbour or on the sheltered side of an island. The jugo, a warm southeasterly, brings cloud and swell, more often in spring and autumn.

Korčula's walled old town, terracotta roofs and a bell tower on a channel of deep blue water — Korčula old town.

Three ways to spend a week

Starting points, not fixed plans. The final route follows the people on board and the forecast.

Split to Hvar and Vis
The lively week. Hvar for the evenings, Vis for quiet coves and clear water, and the beaches of Brač in between.
Islands and harbours: Split · Brač · Hvar · Pakleni Islands · Vis · Biševo · Šolta
Stiniva, Vis
Dubrovnik and the southern islands
Gentler and greener. The Elaphite islands, the national park on Mljet and the walled town of Korčula, all within a short run of Dubrovnik.
Islands and harbours: Dubrovnik · Koločep · Lopud · Šipan · Mljet · Korčula · Ston
Split to Dubrovnik also works as a one-way week, with the islands in between.
Mljet
Šibenik, Krka and the Kornati
The quiet north of Dalmatia. Bare, sculpted islands in the Kornati national park, and the river up to Skradin for the Krka waterfalls.
Islands and harbours: Šibenik · Skradin · Krka · Kornati · Žut · Primošten
Skradin sits up the Krka river. Whether a larger yacht goes up depends on its size, so I check with the captain.
The Kornati, from Žut