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I love being on water. Mind you, I didn’t say I love being in the water, that’s a completely different story. There’s something about being near a body of water or sailing on it that makes me feel like I can accomplish anything. As my friends can attest, I’m prone to seeking out a sailing tour on most of my vacations. What better way to relax than to bask in the sun, listen to the sounds of the waves, enjoy a drink or two, and meet new people?
I only had 48 hours in Split, Croatia so I had to maximize my time and I knew one of my activities would involve a boat tour. Split boat tours are quite popular. As the largest city in Dalmatia, Split sits on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea and is a great jumping-off point to the Adriatic Islands. Travelers can book a sailing excursion, private or with a group, and sail around smaller islands off the coast of the city.
As a solo traveler, a boat tour is one of my favorite activities. It’s a great way to meet people and experience adventure with a group. The tour I originally planned was canceled due to bad weather so I decided to go to Trogir, a UNESCO World Heritage Site 40 minutes west of Split. While in Trogir, the weather cleared up so I decided to look into options after all. Since I was running out of time in the day, the easiest thing for me was to start searching through my Airbnb app and filter through tours that would be leaving in the afternoon. That’s when I found Ivan. Not only did Ivan respond to me so quickly but he was completely accommodating of my last-minute request to join the tour that day which had one spot left.
The experience with Ventos-Nautic seemed perfect. I booked the ticket and ran to a nearby shop for a bathing suit and towel and made my way to the meeting point at Kamerlengo Castle. The boat was a small speedboat and there were only 10 of us on the boat. Mostly, there were couples, but also a family from Germany with a young daughter visiting Croatia for the first time. Our captain, Ivica, introduced himself, told us to follow his rules, have fun, and we were off.
Pulling away from Trogir, for the next five hours we basked in the sun and swam in the sea, making stops at Krknjasi Bay and along the coastlines of two islands, Šolta and Čiovo. After a 20-minute speedboat ride, we arrived at Drvenik Veli., also known as the Blue Lagoon. We pulled into crystal clear waters where we got off the boat and got a chance to walk around, visit the shops, or grab a snorkel (which was provided on board) and try to find the slippery fish that occupied the bays. Our second destination was a fishing village called Maslinica on the island of Šolta dating back to the 15th century. The village received an award for the best tourist destination in the Adriatic in 2012, and in 2017 won a national award as the best authentic coastal destination. While we only had 45 minutes in the village, I wandered the streets picking up an ice cream along the way and hiding from the intensity of the sun so the dessert wouldn’t melt too quickly in my hand.
Afterward, we took a 20-minute boat ride to Duga Bay, a lesser-known spot situated on the south side of Čiovo island. It’s a small island with a rocky beach. There is also a restaurant on the island. It was so quiet that I actually took a nap. As we headed back to Trogir, another 20-minute boat ride, the hazy colors of the sun were turning pink and purple as it prepared to start setting for the day.
The experience only cost me a little over $65 per person (the price has now risen to $71 but stays the same year-round) for five hours. You could book the entire boat for up to 11 guests starting at $778. With over 560 reviews and a near-perfect average rating of 4.92 stars, this was exactly what I wanted for my last full day in Croatia. The spontaneity of the day couldn’t have gone any better.