CRUISE HOLIDAY: Cruise the beautiful Dalmatian Coast in style onboard a Premium cruiser. Travel from sensational Spit to Medieval Dubrovnik. Stopping off at some of Croatia's most picturesque islands, national parks and historic towns en route.
- Inclusions
- Itinerary
- Premium Ship South Prices
- Premium Ship North
- Premium Plus Ship
- Premium Plus Ship North
- Ship Categories
- COVID Safe Guide
- Reviews
Trip Highlights
Included
Not Included
Itinerary
Our ‘Adriatic Explorer’ holiday offers 2 different comfort levels. Choose from Premium Ship or Premium Plus Ship. Additionally, you can choose a below or ondeck cabin.
Welcome to Croatia
Saturday. Split - Makarska. Welcome to Croatia! Departure from Split Harbour is at 1 pm, as we begin our cruise along the Dalmatian coast towards the Makarska Riviera. After lunch we take a swim stop in one of the beautiful bays before arriving to Makarska, a popular destination for visitors, with many restaurants and bars as well as a beautiful promenade along the famous beach.
Overnight: Makarska - onboard | Lunch
Beautiful Brac and Stari Grad
Makarska - Bol (Brac) - Stari Grad. This morning we continue our cruise towards our next destination - the island of Brac. We’ll stop at Bol, a typical Dalmatian fishermen's town. Bol is known for its famous Zlatni Rat Beach (Golden Horn), a natural phenomenon that dominates the other beaches of Bol. A walk along the promenade (approx 2 hours) takes us to the highest peak of all of the Adriatic Islands - Vidova Gora, which towers over the town. After a swim break and lunch, we continue our journey towards Stari Grad on the island of Hvar, the sunniest Adriatic island. This afternoon is free to explore the town and the famous UNESCO-listed Stari Grad Field, the best preserved example of an ancient Greek agricultural landscape in Dalmatia.
Overnight: Stari Grad - onboard | Breakfast, Lunch
Hvar and swimming by the Pakleni Islands
Stari Grad - Hvar. Today we sail around the island of Hvar to the town of the same name. Hvar Island is the longest of all the Adriatic islands and a favourite destination for jet setters from around the world. En route to the town, we stop for a swim at the Pakleni Islands. Take some time to relax and enjoy he refreshment of the clear, crystal blue sea before we arrive into Hvar this afternoon. Hvar’s town offers many cultural and historical sites including the Renaissance Cathedral, the oldest community theatre in Europe and the Franciscan Monastery, as well as the Spanjola Fortress, which towers high above the town. There are also many restaurants and bars that open late into the night.
Overnight: Hvar - onboard | Breakfast, Lunch
Picturesque Vis and optional Blue Cave visit
Hvar - Vis. The ship sets sail early this morning as we cruise towards the little island of Bisevo to visit the Blue Cave (weather dependant). We then continue to the island of Vis which was a strategic harbour for the navy because of its unique geographical position. As such it was closed to the public until recently. Because of its isolation, Vis has a special charm - ‘the Mediterranean as it once was’ which makes it really interesting to see. We spend the night moored by the town of Vis, on the northern side of the island. The settlement was developed near the remains of ancient Issa, the first urban centre in Croatia. If interested, opt to visit the remains of the Roman Thermal Baths, City Museum or simply take a walk and enjoy the views of the beautiful Roman styled villas along the coast.
Overnight: Vis - onboard | Breakfast, Lunch
Medieval walls of Korcula
Vis - Korcula. Before breakfast we depart towards Korcula, the birthplace of the famous explorer and adventurer Marco Polo. Surrounded by medieval walls, Korcula resembles a miniature Dubrovnik when approaching from the sea. It has more legends, tales and monuments than you can find anywhere else. Today, Korcula is the only place in the world where the Spanish medieval knight's game, Moreska is still performed. Upon arrival, enjoy a walk through the streets of the old town built in the shape of a fish bone. Explore the numerous konobas/taverns, restaurants, cocktail bars and night-clubs located within and around the city walls.
Overnight: Korcula - onboard | Breakfast, Lunch
Mljet National Park
Korcula - Mljet and Slano/Sipan. We continue our journey towards one of the greenest Adriatic Islands - Mljet. This afternoon we take time to enjoy the beauties of the National Park, two salt lakes connected by a narrow channel to the sea and a boat ride to the St Mary Isle in the Great Lake, where the old church and monastery are situated. You can cycle around, and swim in the lakes. We continue our cruise towards Sipan, part of Elaphite Islands, or towards Slano on the coast, both small fishermen's villages where we will overnight in the port and enjoy the Captain's dinner on board.
Overnight: Slano/Sipan- onboard | Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
The pearl of the Adriatic
Slano/Sipan - Dubrovnik. In the early morning hours we depart towards our final destination, Dubrovnik. Arriving after lunch, we enjoy a guided tour of this “paradise on Earth”, as the famous writer George Bernard Shaw described. Later, there's an optional cable car ride up to Srd Mountain where you can enjoy spectacular views of the old town. We recommend a stroll along the 1940 metre long city walls which offers magnificent views of the old town of Dubrovnik and the surrounding islands.
Overnight: Dubrovnik - onboard | Breakfast, Lunch
Farewell Croatia
Saturday. Dubrovnik. After breakfast, say goodbye to the crew and fellow travellers and our holiday comes to an end - Dovidjenja!
Breakfast
Choosing your comfort level!
Travelling on a cruise ship with a range of facilities including dining area and plenty of deck space to enjoy the spectacular views and sea breeze, you'll be in the company of like-minded travellers. Relax as you let the captain and the support crew look after your needs. An onboard cook prepares breakfast and lunch each day, whilst in the evening, offers the chance to explore different dining options at each port of call. Dalmatian food is very good indeed!
Individual ship design varies slightly from craft to craft, but all ships offer a range of cabin types (some top deck, some on main deck and some below), comfortably accommodating 2 persons.
Premium Ships and Premium Plus Ships
Offering spacious cabins with en-suite bathrooms on newly built or fully renovated ships. Accommodation is mostly twin or double cabins, with hair dryer and a safety deposit box. Exclusive features of the Premium and Premium Plus ships include; air-conditioning, buffet breakfast, three course lunches, a delicious Captain's feast, English speaking tour manager on board, plenty of hot water with a mid-week fresh set of towels and bed linen, olive oil and wine tasting on board, afternoon tea and coffee, water dispenser. In the communal areas, there is a TV and sound system in the reception area, board games and extensive sun and shaded deck space as well as complimentary Wi-Fi.
Premium Ships
Ships are from 29 to 35m in length with cabins 8 to 14m2 in size and includes one guided sightseeing tour in Dubrovnik or Split (dependant on chosen northbound or southbound itinerary).
Premium Plus Ships
Ships are from 38 to 41m in length with cabins 8 to 14m2 in size and includes three guided sightseeing tours, in Hvar, Korcula and Dubrovnik or Split (dependant on chosen northbound or southbound itinerary).
Upper deck or below deck cabin
On all of our Croatia cruise holidays, you have the choice of an on deck (upper) or below deck cabin. Below deck cabins are located below the main deck or in the hull of the ships. They do have windows or port holes that allow in natural light but these generally do not open. On deck cabins are either on the main deck or top floor of the boat. These all have opening windows that allow in the breeze. There is a supplement for upgrading to on deck cabins, please see the ‘extra prices’ section located at the bottom of the ‘prices and departures’ tab for details. Choose your option at time of booking to secure your place.
For further information about best time to visit, visa's, top travel tips and more, please see our Croatia travel guide.
Prices & Dates
'Twin Share' prices are per person when there are 2 people sharing a cabin. 'Single Room' prices are applicable to those who don’t have anyone to share a cabin with or anyone wanting the privacy of their own cabin.
Read MoreExtra Prices
Hotels
The hotels listed below are ones which we frequently use on this tour. We reserve the right to substitute these hotels to ones of a similar standard.
Premium Ship, Croatia Sailing
Premium ships are a class above our traditional ships and are bookable as an upgrade on most sailing trips. The Premium ships are fully renovated, with slightly larger en suite cabins (8 – 14 square metres, twin share or double). All cabins have air conditioning and most common areas do too. Cabins also benefit from hair dryers and safety deposit boxes. Towels and bed linen are changed twice weekly and all premium ships include a tour of Dubrovnik with an English speaking guide. Additionally, premium ships offer plenty of hot water, towels, linen, a TV and sound system in the reception area, board games, WiFi in common areas (when in port) and extensive sun and shaded deck space to lounge about!
Premium Plus Ship, Croatia Sailing
Premium Plus ships are recently built mini-deluxe vessels with all the features of our Premium ships but they are larger in size offering ample deck space. Premium Plus ships are used as an upgrade (from Premium) on our cruises and include all of the above plus two more guided tours.
Reviews
Travellers have rated this tour as 4.57 out of 5 based on 7 recent reviews
Tour was well organised, interesting and very enjoyable. Good balance between own time and scheduled events. The tour guide and walking tour, tour guides were amazing. All tour guides were informed, passionate, friendly and made every walking tour something special. ”
The tour was AMAZING - the scenery, the boat, the food, the crew, and the other guests made our first ever cruising holiday just so amazing.
The tour captured many of islands around Croatia and really gave us a good overall feel for the country, we were pleased with how much information that Roco gave us each day, very informative and helped that he was local so could point us in directions for specific restaurants if needed.
The crew onboard the recently refurbished "lupus mare" were great, and really tried to go the extra mile for all of us. The food 3 course lunch was stunning, as well as the captains dinner. The cabins were spacious, and glad that we booked the rooms on the higher deck as gave us a beautiful view each morning.
Fabulous and well organised trip - thank you ”
The trip was amazing and our guide was really good and very friendly. My only feedback for the On The Go would be to have a better description of where to meet the ships and the correct check in time. The documents say that it departs at 1pm so there were multiple people who showed up a few minutes before 1 which caused the ship to leave later. They wanted people to check in at 11am which was not seen on the documents anywhere. It was a little stressful not knowing who would be checking us in and which boat we are on as there were many many boats there when we arrived. ”
The cruise was great. There was just the right number of guests so as to get to know them all. The cabin was spacious. The food was well done. We enjoyed swimming in the sea every day. We also enjoyed the additional activities.”
Very good standard of ship,nice & service minded crew.”
Hi the Katarina Lines cruise was manned by Captain Ivo and his crew. They were very friendly and their service on board was just fantastic, our cabins were maintained every day . Marion the chef was the best cook every day we had a full breakfast and a 3 course lunch before we docked for the night so that we could explore the next island. I really loved that we had so much time to discover each island at our own pace, so much history and all the islands were beautiful. It was my first time on a cruise and loved that with 26 people on board we got to know everyone. We all had such fun meeting up on the islands and having dinner together and learning about each other. I will encourage my friends to go on this cruise and would go myself again. Thank you ”
Great week - would do it again ”
Prices & Dates
'Twin Share' prices are per person when there are 2 people sharing a cabin. 'Single Room' prices are applicable to those who don’t have anyone to share a cabin with or anyone wanting the privacy of their own cabin.
Read MoreExtra Prices
Prices & Dates
'Twin Share' prices are per person when there are 2 people sharing a cabin. 'Single Room' prices are applicable to those who don’t have anyone to share a cabin with or anyone wanting the privacy of their own cabin.
Read MoreExtra Prices
Prices & Dates
'Twin Share' prices are per person when there are 2 people sharing a cabin. 'Single Room' prices are applicable to those who don’t have anyone to share a cabin with or anyone wanting the privacy of their own cabin.
Read MoreExtra Prices
In Brief
Extra Tour Info
Tour was well organised, interesting and very enjoyable. Good balance between own time and scheduled events. The tour guide and walking tour, tour guides were amazing. All tour guides were informed, passionate, friendly and made every walking tour something special. ”
