Charter Bare Boat with Skipper and Host

Try Katerina Line. Send them an e-mail through their website and ask. Before they owned their own small ships, they rented them from local, retired Captains. They may be able to Direct you.

Lori, do you and Russ happen to do any sailing on Colorado’s veritable puddles, like Boyd Lake or Horsetooth Reservoir? i’m sure you don’t have a hired skipper, if you do!

I can’t offer any Croat boat or captain suggestions, but we stayed just outside of Split, in Solin. It was close to Split for sightseeing, but Solin’s car parking, hotel, restaurant, and gelato location was perfect.

I have sailed a monohull in several places in Europe, but not in Croatia. I have always used Sunsail and have been pleased with their service, but we don’t need a skipper or crew as my husband has his Day Skipper qualifications. Monohulls are far more practical for Europe’s smaller bays and ports.

I have holidayed many times in Dalmatia - there is often not much wind until later in the afternoon, so you maybe motoring more than you want. Also, with only 7 nights, you are limited with how far you can get, as the first and last nights will be spent at the base. The summer season starts late on the islands - many places won’t open until mid/late May. Some hotels only open for 4 months - June to September!

For your second week, if your sailing has been based around Dubrovnik, Trogir would be a good base - close to Split and a pleasant place in its own right, plus you could get to Plitvice or islands such as Brac or Hvar.

If it's just two of you, you should have plenty of room to accommodate a captain and yourselves comfortably. I've only bareboat chartered (myself as Captain) and know less than nothing about about a "host". A three cabin boat would probably put you in the bow with your own head and the others in the two aft cabins sharing a head (depending on the boat you rent).

I think it's a good idea to plan part of your vacation with a rental car. A week with a boat is amazing but you won't cover many miles.

This month's Sail magazine has a story about chartering in Croatia. They chartered with sail-croatia.com. The article might give you some ideas/recommendations.

Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for your reply! I just read the article and sale magazine and have printed it. Thank you for helping me get the sailing terminology accurate – I will be looking for a chartered monohull for two guests plus crew. We are so excited to be embarking on this amazing trip of a lifetime that I have dreamed about for 40 years!

Cheers!

Lori

We chartered a monohull Bavaria boat out of Verudela (port of Pula in N Adriatic) some years ago. The company found us Marin our skipper who we had to pay separately. Double check that point. He took us to the supermarket to stock up for the week, and then we went off around the northern Kvarner islands of Iloviik, Cres, Rab and Pag. All wonderful. Northern Adriatic is still less busy than the south, although this has changed since people are driving to the closest coast in Europe, and we can expect that to continue as the Covid pandemic changes travel patterns. The Kvarner has many fascinating ports and islands. We explored in the Zodiac as well.
Docking in smaller ports is easy in a monohull and Bavaria makes gorgeous boats. We also ran out of wind after our first storm between Pula and Ilovik (Bura wind from the NE), and did more motoring than sailing, typical in the summer Adriatic. But we often had enough wind to tack around, and as non sailors enjoyed it all. The deal in Croatia was that the skipper would take you to the best local restaurant and you would pay his bill. This may seem odd, but it gets you to good places to eat. Skippers are all multilingual and have no need of a host as well. Young Croatians speak excellent English. Skippers know their region. Guides in Croatia have to pass a complex test, and are expensive as a result. Also limited to their own town/county by the license. No need on a sailboat.
A week in Zadar after any trip would be my choice, lots of local sites to visit (Nin) and a walkable town. Full of students.
Recommend reading Total Croatia News website from now until you go. Things change, and Croatia is struggling through Covid.

Thank you John! While we haven’t sailed like this before, we have traveled & had sherpas & guides and are totally thrilled when they accompany us to meals and or activities & our turn to “host” them...so many pluses to that scenario! We will definitely start reading the Croatia news right away...I feel like we can’t learn enough before our trip, which will be May 2022... We truly appreciate you sharing your experience with us!

Cheers!

Lori & Russ