Croatia is a beautiful country and a quickly growing tourist destination. The number of visitors increases yearly – the number that visited between 2010 and 2017 increased by 64 percent! There are many charming villages to visit, and some of the best villages are on the islands. While you can take ferries to most of the islands, a great way to get around is by yacht. I chose to use Sail Croatia, a well-established yacht company that not only does charters but also will put you on a boat and pair you up with a roommate of the same sex. These are my thoughts on the best time to Sail Croatia – why you should do Sail Croatia in October.
A Typical Day on Sail Croatia
Breakfast was a set one hour each morning. I would typically get up early (usually when the motors were turned on in the morning) and have some coffee while watching the boat start sail for the day. Breakfast would be a small buffet with both cold and hot choices. We would continue sailing, and you could relax on the sun deck and watch the views of islands go by or take a nap. By late morning, we would stop near and island or a cove for a swim – we would usually stop for an hour. There would be time to dry off and shower followed by a three-course lunch. Our guide would give us tips on things to do for the upcoming afternoon and evening, and showing points of interest on the town maps (we were provided a booklet of activities and maps on the first day). Depending on the island we were visiting for the night, we would dock either by mid to late afternoon, and then we would be set free. You could stay with the group or set out on your own. Some evenings, the guide would coordinate a group dinner or group time to meet up to hit one of the bars in town. Since we were docked in the towns, we were free to board at any time so you could go to bed early or stay out as late as you want, as long as you were back on the ship by the sailing time (typically 7 am). The next day we’d do the same and visit another amazing village or island and this continued for seven days.
Why You Should Do Sail Croatia in October Reason #1 – Much Smaller Crowds
Tourism in Croatia is booming. The number of tourists visiting Croatia has doubled in the last 10 years. It’s popular with Europeans, Chinese, and Americans alike. The latest boost came from Game of Thrones tourism – there are many GoT filming sites are around Split and Dubrovnik. October is a lovely time to visit Croatia because the crowds are way smaller than the peak time of July to August. That being said, don’t plan on having the walls of Dubrovnik to yourself – large cruise ships continue to visit until the end of October – there are days in October that have 1000’s of day-time visitors from cruise ships.
Why You Should Do Sail Croatia in October Reason #2 – Mild Weather
The temperatures in high season – July and August can be downright HOT! The weather in October was my perfect touring weather – warm in the day, warm enough to wear shorts or work on our tans by laying out on the sundeck as we sailed from island to island. Cool evenings, but perfect to sit outside with a light jacket or sweater enjoying some Croatian wine in a restaurant. October does have a slightly higher chance for rain when compared to the summer, but it is not typical to rain all day. On our one-week cruise, it only rained twice – once in the morning while we were motoring from island to island and once for a short time in the late afternoon. However, that storm crated some really cool views, a rainbow, and unique colors in the sea when the sun came out after a short flash storm.
Why You Should Do Sail Croatia in October Reason #3 – It’s still possible to swim!
One of the main draws of sailing in Croatia is the ability to swim in the amazing coastal waters directly from your boat. I won’t lie – the water is a little chilly in October, but it is still bearable and after the initial shock of getting in the cool water, it becomes quite comfortable for swimming.
Why You Should Do Sail Croatia in October Reason #4 – Fall Colors
I love the colors of autumn – red’s, yellows, and oranges. It’s lovely to visit the vineyards and see the change of leaf colors on the islands and mainland of Croatia. If you add a trip to Plivitce Falls onto your Sail Croatia trip (super easy to get there from Split by a day tour or overnight trip using public transportation), October is an awesome time to visit with fewer crowds and great fall colors if you visit in the right week – the leaves fall really quickly here – I visited at the start of the autumn colors and the trees were nearly bare when my friend visited only a little over a week later.
Why You Should Do Sail Croatia in October Reason #5 – It’s still OPEN
Croatia is very much a seasonal destination. Many hostels, guesthouses, restaurants, and tourist sites close down for the winter. While some of the hostels may already be closed in October, most of the restaurants, bars, and attractions stay open until the second week of October, perfect timing to coincide with your Sail Croatia cruise. Several shops and restaurants said they were on their last night or week during my visit, but you will not have trouble finding a place to visit, eat, or drink when you do Sail Croatia in October.
Why You Should Do Sail Croatia in October Reason #6 – Dock in the Towns
There are many more boats sailing the Croatian coast from June-September each year. So much that sometimes you will have to dock out of town requiring one or more of the following ways to get into town – longer walks, busses or shuttles. There’s even one island that in busy time, the boats have to dock on a nearby island and you need to take water taxis into town. Although the boat company may pick up the ride into town, since everyone is coming back at different times, you may have to pay your own water taxi back. In October, we were able to dock in town every day, meaning no extra cost in time or money to get into town. Sometimes we were docked only steps away from the town square, shops, bars, and restaurants. The other cool thing about docking in town is being tethered to the other boats, so you get to walk thru other boats and check them out. One night there was a party on another Sail Croatia boat and I crashed it!
Why You Should Do Sail Croatia in October Reason #7 – Save $$$
You can save some real money by traveling in October. For example, in the summer of 2019, on the 7-day Navigator Cruise, the cheapest trip in a lower cabin in late July/early August is 829 British Pounds. The October departures are 469 British Pounds. The savings can be even more if you’re traveling on an Explorer or Elegance Cruise. So the savings are at least 360 British Pounds, or $458 for a week long yacht cruise. That’s over $65 per day for what? Warmer water to swim in? I’d take smaller crowds and mild weather and this HUGE amount savings over a few degrees warmer water any day!
Sail Croatia Review – What I liked about Sail Croatia:
1. The boat – I was on the Magellan in 2018, a ship that Sail Croatia was going to “retire”. We saw some of the other Sail Croatia boats like the Cristal and they all looked amazing!
2. The crew – even though we were the last departure of the year and the crew was looking forward to going home to spend time with family, they treated us well. The crew consisted of a captain, 2 deck hands, a chef, waiter, and a guide who planned events, coordinated optional activities, and gave us ideas of what to do in each town. If the chef likes you there might be an extra chocolate pancake in it for you. Wink. Wink.
3. The food – all the meals on board were great. Breakfast and lunch were hearty enough, it would be possible to just snack or have a salad at dinner time (but most of the time we wanted to try Croatian cuisine so we ended up eating dinner anyways).
4. The optional activities – nearly each day had one or more optional activities. I did a few of these and they were all good. I especially liked the dinner in the village – handmade pasta, lots of salad, and homemade wine. While at first it seemed expensive, it really wasn’t much more than you’d pay for dinner in town and it came with free-flowing wine and multiple courses.
5. The fellow passengers – I was looking for a small ship Croatian cruise for older people, not the “party” Navigator type and the Sail Croatia Explorer class boat was perfect – a mix of ages and a group that liked to go out on occasion but didn’t feel the need to drink from the moment they woke up to sunrise!
After visiting Croatia, I highly recommend visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina or Montenegro, these much less visited countries are beautiful and cheap.
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All sail Croatia cruises depart from Split or Dubrovnik- (Check rates and availability of Split hotels) or (Check rates and availability in Dubrovnik).
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