<p>My H has come up with the last minute idea of doing a sailing trip to Croatia. He would like to go late Sept. Has anyone gone and have any suggestions.
I think we would fly into Dubrovnik and go sailing for 7 nights. Come back to Dubrovnik, return the boat and stay on land another 3 or 4 nights. We could also sail out of the mid adriatic from around Split.
Places to stay in Dubrovnik?
(I thought we would go to Kauai this fall!)</p>
<p>My husband is there now and doing just that: bare boating out Split. They have not set out yet but he says it is beautiful and sounds very happy. We have friends who have been and they universally loved the experience. Not Hawaii of course, but it is beautiful, friendly and happy as far as I know so far. (I am not a sailor so happy to be staying on land while he does what he loves.)</p>
<p>Alas, I have no specifics for you, either, but have generally heard great things. Please share your experience upon return.</p>
<p>Old Town Dubrovnik–Pucic Palace.</p>
<p>Pretty hotel in Dubrovnik right on the water. Public bus which stops right outside hotel will take you to Old Town. </p>
<p>[Dubrovnik</a> President Hotel: First-Class Holidays in Croatia | Valamar](<a href=“http://www.valamar.com/luxury-hotels-dubrovnik]Dubrovnik”>Valamar Dubrovnik President Hotel 5*, Croatia - Luxury holiday)</p>
<p>My 2 D’s were on a self guided tour of Croatia 1 year ago and stayed at a hotel called the Berkeley hotel. They absolutely loved it. It was not a 5 star but the owners speak perfect English (from Australia) and they bent over back wards to help my D’s out. The hotel was newly renovated and was just outside the main walls of Dubrovnik. They could walk everywhere. They spent 14 days touring part of Croatia but home base was this hotel. They would definitely go back, they loved the people, the country, and the way they were treated.
Hope you have a great time
<a href=“http://www.berkeleyhotel.hr/[/url]”>Berkeley Hotel in Dubrovnik | Hotel Berkeley;
<p>Mmaah- hope your husband has a great time. I am not the sailor in our family but I am willing to compromise and go some of the time. If my H had his way all of our travels would be via boat.
Thanks everyone for all the feedback. It seems like Croatia is a great place to visit. I will look at some of the links.
Now I am trying to figure out how to turn my FF miles into an upgrade. It is a long flight from the west coast!</p>
<p>We did a week-long, bare-boat charter (The Moorings) and sailed from Split to Dubrovnik. We tootled around and explored many of the islands enroute. We stayed at two different hotels in Split, both of which I loved. I’ll get back to you on the details. After Dubrovnik, we went to Mostar in Bosnia for a couple of days, while not exactly fun, was definitely an eye-opener. I would go back in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>Split; we stay for two nights at the Hotel Peristil (charming hotel built into the ancient walls), then had to transfer to Hotel Vestibul Palace; modern hotel, also built into ancient walls, but with a pretty awful restaurant. From Split, we sailed to Brac, Hvar, Korcula & Mljet (I remember tales of honey & Odysseus). We’d usually set sail in the morning, anchor in a harbor by mid-day, (the harbors can get crowded early), then go ashore and forage for lunch (actually, seek out markets for treats), in the evenings we’d go back to the islands for dinner in a restaurant. By the time we reached Dubrovnik, we were ready for a hotel and stayed at the Hotel Imperial Dubrovnik.</p>
<p>Jg0339- Thanks for the great information. We were having a hard time deciding whether to go out of Split or out of Dubrovnik. I hadn’t thought of starting in one and ending in the other. We are looking at chartering with Sunsail. When we sail we like to leave in the AM and get to our destination and explore. I am not looking for long passages. I don’t love the sailing part but love being able to see places that you can only reach by boat.
My H has been sailing since he was a young child including several ocean crossings. For him sailing is 2nd nature. Unfortunately the first order of business is that he needs to take the test for a basic keelboat certificate since it is required in most of Europe.</p>
<p>Mom60 - D was in Dubrovnik the summer after her freshman year and keeps nagging us about going there. The pictures were just spectacular. She stayed in college housing so I can’t help there - but please report back!!</p>
<p>There is a heat wave in that area at the moment and people have been dying (no air con of course). It’s been on the news in the UK.</p>
<p>We went to Croatia this summer with UK friends and stayed in a house on Ciovo island, near Trogir. We went on an excursion to these islands - Solta, Hvar and by far the best, Sveti Klement in the Pakleni Islands. It was yacht week (whatever that is), so it was a huge party everywhere. We spent our last night in Split at Hotel Marmont, very nice and close to everything. Split was very fun on a Saturday night.</p>
<p>We discovered these light green peppers (like a bell pepper, but lighter in color and more flavor), so we cooked these almost every night. People were very friendly. The market in Trogir was great, lots of fresh veggies, hams, cheeses, breads. We did not make it down to Dubrovnik, but next time, we will want to see that.</p>
<p>Pulled the trigger this AM. Tickets purchased and boat booked. We will sail in and out of Dubrovnik. It was a hard decision. H decided that with only 7 nights on the boat it wasn’t enough time to sail from Split to Dubrovnik without being rushed.
I had no idea Croatia was such a “hot” destination.</p>
<p>Hey Mom60, so glad that you decided to go to Croatia after all! Sunsail is really popular in Europe. BerneseMtn mentions Sveti Klement; I totally agree, really pretty. I think we took a ferry from Hvar, wandered up a hill, had a lovely meal in the colorful restaurant enroute, and took a water taxi back to Hvar and our boat. I don’t blame your husband for not wanting to rush, this way, you can explore islands more at your own pace.
Per Cupcake’s post above, I’m so sorry to hear that people have been dying from the heat, there has been nothing about it in the news in my part of the US.<br>
As for it being a popular destination; wait 'til the cruise ships from Italy arrive at Dubrovnik! Not very many American tourists in Croatia, but we were made to feel very welcome.</p>
<p>jg0339- I am considering the Hotel Imperial. Do you remember if you had the standard room? I am also considering the Argentina. The rooms at the Argentina have sea views but look very small. Prices are similar. I figure I don’t really have to have a sea view since I will have just spent 7 nights out on the water.
Also money- Did you just bring a debit card and take cash out of the atm? From the what I have read many of the places on the islands only take cash. Adding to the confusion some places only take Kuna and others take both Kuna and Euros.</p>
<p>Hi Mom60; Hotel Imperial; we probably did get a standard room; I don’t remember anything special about it (except great English tv shows)! Hey, we were on a boat for a week; we earned our “Fists of Zen”! We had no trouble with using our debit cards to get cash at atms. As for cash being prefered; true at the smaller markets; think of farmers markets in the US; they definitely prefer cash too. I don’t remember any restaurants not taking a major credit card. Don’t be confused about the kuna/euro stuff; many menus/stores etc have prices in both currencies to accommodate travelers from Europe. If you pay only in Kunas, you don’t get hit with the arbitrary and fluctuating exchange rates on the euro.</p>