Sailing Croatia: best sailing spots

Towards the southern end of the coast lie the Dalmatian islands. They differ from the tiny islands of northern Croatia. These are larger affairs altogether, dotted with villages and towns whose old walls whisper tales of invasion, occupation, counterattack, and re-occupation going back almost as far as history is recorded. Islands like Hvar and Vis draw in thousands of tourists every summer.

This means that now, more than ever, a yacht is the best way to explore the area if you want to evade the crowds as, despite the popularity of these islands, there remain many hidden spots, secluded coves, and sleepy villages off the beaten track. It’s just a question of finding them. If you succeed, you’ll find yourself enveloped in a world of limpid crystal-clear waters; coves flanked by whispering pines, and rugged, sunburnt slopes where the cicadas crackle like live electricity from among the rocks.

I spent two seasons working out here as a charter skipper, so I know the area well and have a few tips on where to go but also what to avoid.

You can generally expect wall-to-wall sunshine from April, but things don’t get really balmy until June. Until then, the water can be chilly. From hereon, the weather is uniformly clear and sunny right through to September. The coast benefits from being cooler in the evening, so you generally sleep undisturbed.

Winds are generally light until the sea breeze, or Maestral, kicks in around midday when it can build but rarely exceeds 20 knots and dies off in the evening. The only thing to look out for is the Bora. This is an NW wind prevalent in the off-season but can still catch out the unsuspecting yachtsman in summer.

It is worth noting that, like most of Southern Europe, Croatia gets insanely busy in August. The ports are not spared, with big flotillas of party boats often creating havoc. Avoid them at all costs. Perhaps the optimum time to go is mid-September when the seawater remains warm for swimming, but the tourists are gone.

The island of Hvar is an excellent place to start, as it is something of a honeypot with sailors. Hvar Town itself is heavily marketed as a party town – no idea why, as it’s just a charming Venetian port with a decent selection of restaurants. Anyway, it gets so full in summer that most have to moor at the Palmizana marina in the neighboring Pakleni islands and take a water taxi over. From personal experience, I’d say give it a miss.

The Dalmatian Islands are crammed with charming Venetian ports, so why jostle with lots of boats and human traffic at the busiest? Personally, I was always much more taken with the Pakleni islands. I would generally usher guests off to Hvar and then take a walk from Palmizana along a path that followed the ridge of the island of Sveti Klement – the largest island in the chain. Here you can enjoy real peace and tranquility. A half-hour walk brought you to the sleepy village of Vlaka, where you could get a cold beer and, with any luck, Konoba Dionis, the small restaurant, would be open. You could enjoy a simple but delicious meal before strolling back in the twilight.

If I were to recommend a town to visit, I’d probably go for Stari Grad, on the eastern tip of Hvar. This is a very ancient town, dating back to 348 BC, and one that is just as beautiful as Hvar Town but somewhat less blighted by mass tourism.

Korcula Town is one of those iconic spots that often appear on tourist brochures. It’s a pretty walled town – a sort of mini-Dubrovnik and claims to have been the birthplace of Marco Polo. There is a marina here, and you can moor on the harbor wall. I generally visited by anchoring at a spot called Gradina Bay at the southern tip of the island and taking a taxi down to the town. That sounds like a faff, but Gradina Bay is a lovely tranquil spot, and what you spend on taxis, you save on mooring fees, so it balances out.

The other benefit is that Gradina Bay is a couple of kilometers from my favorite anchoring spot in the Dalmatian Islands; Proizd is more of an afternoon stop-off anchorage just off the southern tip of Korcula. It’s essentially a narrow strait between mainland Korcula and the small island of Proizd. I imagine it would be a dodgy spot if there were much wind or swell. Sailing through is quite unnerving as the water is so clear you feel certain you must touch the bottom even though there is actually plenty of depth.

I used to drop the hook here, prepare lunch, let the guests swim in the limpid water, and take a nap while the cooling breeze fanned through the channel. After that, I can sit back and let myself be soothed into sleep by the lapping water and the rhythmic hum of the cicadas.

Korcula Town is one of those iconic spots that often appear on tourist brochures. It’s a pretty walled town – a sort of mini-Dubrovnik and claims to have been the birthplace of Marco Polo. There is a marina here, and you can moor on the harbor wall. I generally visited by anchoring at a spot called Gradina Bay at the southern tip of the island and taking a taxi down to the town. That sounds like a faff, but Gradina Bay is a nice tranquil spot, and what you spend on taxis, you save on mooring fees, so it balances out.

Solta is an oft-overlooked island, the slightly vacant, less glamorous sister of Hvar, Korcula, and Vis. The island comprises mostly of splendidly inhospitable rocks and cliffs with few houses. This has ensured it retains a certain raffish charm, particularly if you head inland a bit.

This was my favorite island. In the era of Tito, it was a military base and off-limits to civilians, giving it a crumbling charm mixed with a strange and very Balkan feeling of menace.

The main port is Vis Town, which I liked very much – not least because, in my time at least, The Yacht Week had been banned from the harbor wall on the grounds of causing a public nuisance.

The town is lively but not overrun with tourists, and you can take a stroll along the waterfront to Grandovac, a small pebble beach.