Croatia Travel Blog

Archive for the ‘Croatia Cruises’ Category

Today’s Timesonline has a useful article about cruising the Croatian coast with kids in tow. Writer Mark Solomans cruised the coast in a gulet last summer and made some interesting points even if you don’t have kids. Here are the main points:

• There’s a mixture of nationalities on these small boats which adds an international flavour
• Cruising is informal; “there’s no need to pack socks or long trousers let alone a dinner jacket”
• Vegetarians can be accommodated but the main diet is seafood “including fish caught that morning yards from the boat, swimming in the sea,”
• It’s safe for kids with a “boat/ship (who cares?) small enough for the children to be able to jump off the sides into the sea”
• Costs are reasonable; “It’s still outside the Eurozone so you can still get a main course for under a tenner in the restaurants though the local wine tends to be pricey for anything decent”
• Tipping is practised; “allow for around 20 euros a head for the week”
• Watch out for nudity! “we had a yacht of naked men moor up alongside us near Bol beach”
• Croatia Airlines is better and cheaper than Ryanair

See more about travelling Croatia with kids.

It’s that time of year when you start dreaming about drifting from island to island, being governed by nothing but the prevailing winds and your own whims. Well, the Croatian Islands are there to satisfy your every nautical fantasy. No matter your level of experience and/or energy level, there’s a way for you to sail the Croatian coast.

Let’s say you don’t know tack from tick. Let somebody else do the work! You can take a surprisingly affordable gulet cruise holiday in Croatia that allows you to island hop, bike, hike or relax at sea with a congenial group. Lasting from seven days to two weeks, you can embark from Rijeka, Zadar, Trogir or Dubrovnik. Read more.

For more flexibility, consider yacht or sailboat charter in Croatia. For experienced old salts, you can do a “bareboat charter” choosing from among 140 companies specialized in Croatia yacht charters. Otherwise, there’s the skippered boat option which puts you in the hands of an experienced local to guide you through the Adriatic waters. Read more.

Where to go for the best sailing in Croatia? Read these accounts of Croatia sailing:

• All at Sea on Croatia’s Coast from the Belfast Telegraph recounts a luxury sailing holiday that covers the Kornati Islands and Krka Waterfalls National Park.
  
• Plain Sailing around Croatia from the Times Online gives a vivid description of bouncing around the southern Dalmatian islands on a yacht.

See more about Sailing Croatia and Practical Sailing Tips on Croatia’s winds, waves and sailing seasons.

It’s no joke. It’s Caulerpa Racemosa, an invasive subterranean menace that has already devastated parts of the Mediterranean seabed, and is now threatening havoc in the Adriatic, including the incomparable Croatian islands.  Picture a creeping green carpet of slime that replaces mollusks, coral, sea flora and everything else on the seabed.

“Who cares? I won’t see it!” If you were a fish, you’d care plenty. Some fish feed on the smaller marine life that will fade away under the algae; others require a sandy bottom to thrive, not a slimebed. So much for Croatia’s fishing business, not to mention Croatia’s scuba divers who prefer life and color underwater.

Croatia is not alone in facing this scourge. Italy, Montenegro and Italy have the same problem. That’s small comfort to the marine life around the Pakleni Islands, Mljet Island, Lokrum Island and, soon, other islands on the Dalmatian coast. Ecotourism anybody?

There are solutions. Posidonia seaweed acts as a natural barrier and there’s a variety of Australian snail that feasts on Caulerpa Racemosa. Bring ‘em on! More drastic methods include covering the algae with foil, which could have other undesirable consequences, or banning big cruiselines from anchoring in the Adriatic. The big anchors sink deep, disrupt the algae and let it spread further. A ban on cruise ships around Dubrovnik? Don’t hold your breath.

Source: Balkan Investigative Reporting Network

Dubrovnik has been on the eastern Mediterranean cruise circuit for some time. Now it seems almost obligatory to include a stop in Dubrovnik on any cruise sailing between Italy and, say, Greece. Recently cruise companies have discovered other Croatian ports of call. Split, Rovinj, Zadar, Korcula, Hvar and Pula are all scheduled to be graced by the big cruise liners. Yesterday, Windstar announced two brand-new Adriatic routes to start in 2008 and they do look enticing. From Venice to Dubrovnik, one route stops at Pula, Rijeka, Zadar, Split and Korcula and another route goes from Dubrovnik to Venice with stops at Kotor, Hvar, Sibenik, Rab and Trieste. This is great news for the many, many people that would like to cover the Adriatic coast between Venice and Dubrovnik without having to travel by land. See more on Croatia cruises.