Hvar, Croatia

After a disappointing lack of boats on the so-called “Lago” di Garda, we have finally taken to the sea in Dalmatia. Specifically, the Adriatic Sea. Here are our top 5 boats.

5. The Split » Hvar Ferry

⭐

This is more of a necessity than anything else, given that it is way too far to swim and we don’t own a helicopter. But at least it’s a boat!

4. The Hvar » Korčula Ferry

⭐⭐

Slightly more luxurious than the last ferry, but nothing really to write home about. Had a coffee, it wasn’t great.

3. Split Pedalo

⭐⭐⭐

Our journey around the Lago di Garda frequently featured the thrill of finding a pedalo place for rent, followed by the immediate disappointment of realising that the pedalo guy hadn’t bothered coming to work that day.

But not in Split! We found the pedalo guy, arrived promptly at opening time, and… he wasn’t there. But then we WhatsApped him, and an hour later he bowled up!

Stuart

What did you like most about the pedalo?

Miles

The slide

Jake

The slide

Sonia

The quest to find a pedalo guy who was open has finally ended

2. Vis boat tour

⭐⭐⭐⭐

We booked a spot on a 12 person tour out to Vis. For more information you can check out Jake’s post.

1. Paklinski islands self-drive tour

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The best day of all, courtesy of David. We picked up our 20HP tinny at 8:30 and headed out to Paklinski, map in hand.

The boat crew assembles

Captain Miles takes us out of port

After checking out a few different bays, we tied our boat up at a convenient berth and headed overland.

Plenty of Cacti on Sveti Klement (but no parrots)

Jake checks out a bay on the Northern side of the island

After a quick wine sample and a cleansing beer, we headed back to the mainland via the spectacularly overpriced Carpe Diem bar. Top tip: you can just bring your own €1 supermarket beer and swim in the same bay with the same view as if you paid €20 for a watery cocktail.

Cheers!

Our final stop of the day was a late lunch back on the mainland at the secluded Robinson Bay. A pricey but delicious seafood gnocchi, seafood salad and a plate of olives was perfectly complemented with a glass or two of the local white wine.

All in all, a successful day of boating.

Verdict from the rest of the crew

Stuart

What was your favourite boat trip?

Jake

The tour to Vis

Miles

The pedalo

Sonia

The organised one

Well, you can’t win them all.

We pause our regular programming to bring you a special interview segment.

Jake

Next up on the show is Sonia. How are you today?

Sonia

Good thanks!

Jake

How’s your drink?

Sonia

Very nice

Jake

So we have been on holiday for about three weeks now. What has been your favourite place so far?

Sonia

I don’t have any specific favourite. There have been lots of nice memories, like meeting Scott in Malmö and seeing the family in Italy. The big mountains and just seeing all the different sceneries and towns has been very nice.

Jake

What was your favourite accommodation?

Sonia

Our apartment in the Dolomites was a pleasant surprise, and the Adlers Hotel in Innsbruck was also very fancy.

Jake

What was your favourite thing to see?

Sonia

I’m not sure. Maybe the north part of Lake Garda.

Jake

Why?

Sonia

It had beautiful big mountains next to the sparkling lake. It’s nice to see it in real life after looking at so many pictures.

Jake

What would you do if you could change one thing about the trip?

Sonia

Remember to pack my eczema cream

Jake

Has this trip been better or worse that our trip from two years ago?

Sonia

It has been very different. We have moved around more, seen a lot more stuff and visited more places, but that has made it way more tiring!

Jake

Thanks for joining me on the show!

Today we went on a boat tour across some islands in Croatia.

First we went to the blue lagoon (Budikovac) for a dip and it was beautiful, then we went to Stiniva where you had to swim to the beach! This beach was voted most beautiful beach in Europe in 2016. It was where a part of Mamma Mia was filmed.

Soon after that we arrived at the Green Cave where there was a hole in the ceiling and there was a ray of light poking in and it would usually cost 12 Euros per person but they weren’t there. We had to skip the blue cave because of rough tides.

After that we went to Vis town where we had lunch and I got a piping hot lasagne.

Then we went to find a geocache which was successful. By the time all that was done we arrived back at the boat with minutes to spare.

Then we went to a military submarine tunnel… it wasn’t deep enough to fit a submarine and it was rarely used. Boatman taught us some stuff about WW2 and about Yugoslavia.

Then we went to our final destination - Milini - which is in an archipelago of 16 to 20 islands depending on the tide.

Sadly all good thing must come to an end and that’s how it felt saying goodbye to boatman.