My husband and I are looking for suggestions for a trip to Croatia in the shoulder season. We have looked into several different small 35 person cruises however, they all seem to be party cruises and have a really bad rap for being a lot of young college kids partying. We would really like to travel with like-minded individuals and we don’t think these party cruises are for us. However, it seems that these other boats that are not party cruises are all an older generation (not that that is bad! We are just looking to meet other people or couples around our age that enjoy traveling as well.) Does anyone have any recommendations of how to do Croatia with individuals who are in their late 20s to early 30s? I have been doing a lot of digging but hard to tell based on company reviews the age ranges of other cruise lines or travel groups.
We have also considered not going through a small cruise line and doing a tour by land and just going to see the Croatian islands separately. Any thoughts or opinions on what is best?
Posted by
882 posts
You sound rightly concerned about finding the right vibe for this trip. My advice then would be to just do it on your own. The vibe is totally in your hands this way. There’s no requirement to do this via a group cruise/tour, particularly around the coast. Plenty of people use only public ferries, which are easy and affordable. In the cities/towns themselves, you’ll find localized tour operators who can arrange excursions. Croatia is very easy on tourists, ground transportation inland is the only thing that may be a little lacking. Shoulder season is bound to have fewer options across the board though. Of course, planning this yourself requires work and research, but then the decisions are all yours.
From the social aspect, Croatia was easily the most friendly, sociable trip ever. I met so many folks. The locals are super friendly and amazing. Rightly proud of their country and eager to engage, especially if you show interest in the local specialties. On top of that, everyone else around you is just having the best time, and it seems impossible to not chat up total strangers when everybody is in such a good mood.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
267 posts
In 2018, we faced a similar dilemma. The small boat cruises all seemed to be Party Hearty or Sedate & Sherry.
So, we chose a guided bike tour which was great, though spendy. We quite liked the company, Meridien Ten, out of Split. Since then, we did other cycle tours in France, self-guided rather than guided. And, we have another self-guided tour coming up in Puglia.
Meridien Ten - https://www.meridienten.com - does have self-guided as well as guided trips. A lot less expensive. E-bikes, as well as cross bikes and road bikes all available.
So the toughest question is whether you may want a guided group tour or just the two of you on your own, The guided group tour includes local guides and lovely mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks and cold drinks, plus lunches and pampering and other diversions along the way. For a price.
Another benefit was a small group experience, with mostly 50 year olds. Meridien Ten seems to cater to mostly English speakers. US, Canada, UK, Australia and NZ.