Exploring Croatia – Near and Hvar

Annie Clougherty, Senior Travel Consultant at our Ipswich travel agents, enjoyed an island-hoping tour or Croatia on board M/S Captain Bota. Read on to discover which islands she visited and which were her favourites.

Destination: Croatia
Operator/Host: Classic Collection
Airline: Easyjet
Accommodation
(Hotel names/Ship name): Captain Bota Ship
Duration: 3 nights

Flight

The flights with Easyjet were pleasant and the legroom was good. We had 20kg per person luggage allowance and the duration was only 2.5hrs. There were refreshments served and a drinks service.

Accommodation

We boarded M/S Captain Bota and the ship was small and modern. There are only 15 cabins, but the public areas are very well equipped, including a bar and main restaurant with round tables which was a nice way to meet other people on the cruise. There is a comfortable lounge area with sofas and the top deck has a Jacuzzi and enough sunbeds for all the passengers.

There is an area at the back of the ship where you can easily get into the sea for snorkelling and swimming.

The cabins are well-equipped too, with either double or twin beds, port holes if staying on the lower deck and small windows which open if staying on the main deck. All the cabins have en-suite bathrooms with good, powerful showers. Towels are also provided.

Breakfast is served on board and there is a good selection that includes scrambled eggs, toast, fruit, croissants, yogurt, cereals, tea, coffee and juice. The lunches, which were served on board, are three courses and cater for all dietary requirements.

What Was Included?

As this trip was a Dalmatian Island Small Ship Cruise, the main purpose was to see some of the islands. We visited Brac, Hvar and Korcula.

Brac

We arrived in the morning and docked alongside two other ships (you have to walk through the other ships, but it is quite nice to see the other styles). We then walked to the famous beach of Zlatni Rat (Golden Cape), which regularly hits the top lists of the most beautiful European beaches.  There is also a few nice, little shops in the town to look around. We stopped for a coffee and ice cream and soaked up the views. The beach was shingle but the water was crystal clear.

Hvar

We arrived in the evening and experienced a lovely dinner at the Adriana Hotel in the Harbour, overlooking all the little boats; it was so picturesque. Hvar is the sunniest Croatian island and one of the country’s most attractive tourist destinations. I absolutely loved it here.

Korcula

This is a very pretty town, which has many cobbled streets with many shops and bars, backed by great views around the town. There was live music in some of the cafés and plenty of places to get a drink or coffee and ice cream. It’s a great place to while away an afternoon wandering around this gem of a town.

The cruise started in Split, a fantastic small city with lots of life, shops, restaurants and the very impressive Diocletian’s Palace. This former fortress forms at least half of the city now.

The cruise also went on to Dubrovnik, Mljet, Markarska and back to Split, but we disembarked in Dubrovnik. We did have a couple of hours to look around Dubrovnik, another great city, but it was very busy with tourists.

Trip Highlights

My favourite part of the trip was walking around Hvar Harbour and dining on the terrace of the Adriana hotel overlooking the harbour. All the twinkling lights and fishing boats bobbing around created a perfect scene.

Recommendations

I would definitely recommend this to some of my clients. It’s a fantastic way to see the islands whilst making new friends and is great for swimming opportunities.

Must see? Hvar Island Harbour
Must do? Swimming at Zlatni Rat
Must try? The Ice Creams in Korcula

If you would like to experience something similar to Annie’s trip, visit your nearest branch to speak to the team. We have travel agents in Lymington, Westbourne, Bournemouth, Christchurch, Dorchester, Hythe and across East Anglia.