Family Yachting in Croatia
Family yachting onboard gulet Nautilus
Travelling with small children can be a challenge. A very delicate relationship between children’s safety and fun for parents is necessary and we just believe we found a perfect combination.
I will describe my personal experience of this family holiday in Croatia and maybe it will convince you to try the same.
Main facts about this cruise:
- We had 3 small kids on board that were all around 2 years old (give or take a few months)
- We had 2 x teenagers aged 12 and 17
- The rest of the group was made of parents and friends that joined the cruise
- We cruised on a route Split – Split. Emphasis was on escaping crowds and making stops in bays, that had smaller beaches
- Safety was paramount. Calm sea and safe spots were ultra-important
- We had full board accommodation, so we did not need to go to restaurants.
- We had 8 cabins to use, which meant parents had the flexibility to use extra cabins to get some sleep, for extra luggage and other urgent arrangements (diapers ETC).
- We needed to organize the cruise in a way, that also the parents had lots of fun
Overview of the entire holidays – In a video
Instead of telling you how much fun we had, we prefer to show you. Check out the video of our Family holidays below. It includes some special events (baby sharks, turtles, deer,…)
Why we selected Gulet Nautilus for a family cruise?
Gulet Nautilus was a perfect option for us, due to several reasons:
Size of the gulet - a must for small children
Gulet is more than 30 meters long and 7 meters wide. This makes this vessel very stable, safe, and comfortable, even when running after children around the deck. We never felt we have too little space.
Salon - extra safety
Salon on this gulet is also very spacious and kids could play inside all the time. This is useful while the gulet is cruising or if it gets a bit windy.
Lots of cabins - lots of flexibility
It is hard to put 2 x parents and a small baby in one cabin on a yacht (even if it is a triple cabin). Nautilus was perfect, as due to a large number of cabins a family that had a small baby could take 2 cabins (next to each other) and use them however they wanted. One night it could be a combination of father + a baby, and the mother gets good sleep in a single cabin, while the next night it could be the other way around. For us, it worked perfectly.
Jacuzzi - great for parents, but from a different reason you might expect
To be honest, we did not use it much but this is a nice option as well. While most people think jacuzzi is a great thing for romantic endeavours, the truth is, it is mostly used by children.
Jacuzzi can be filled during the day (it has to be emptied while gulet is cruising from one destination to another) and then in the late afternoon, the kids use it to have some fun.
And more the kids will use it. The more tired they will be in the evening. They will get to sleep faster and the parents will get to have a nice glass of wine earlier.
Tender boat
Gulet Nautilus has a huge tender boat and we used it a lot for transportation. The crew did transfer the group and the kids all the time either to nice small beaches, to explore towns, and to do some family-friendly hiking.
Kids loved it. It was safe. And when it was not used for transfers, it was used for water sports for adults.
Water sports
Nautilus has 2 stand up paddleboards. She also has 2 canoes. Waterskiing option. Donut ride. Wakeboard. Lots of masks and snorkels. More than enough options to keep the entire group busy.
Babysitter idea
We did not use a babysitter, but this could be the best ROI (return on investment) you can have on a family yachting holiday. Nautilus has extra cabins which could also be used to bring 1 (or more) crew to watch out for your kids and play with them and this is something that can be organized if the group is interested.
The crew
The crew was awesome. Kids got special attention during meals. Nothing was hard for them. Gulet was kept very tidy (a huge challenge with so many kids). We did lots of water sports. The route had extra flexibility. And they all liked kids and were happy to lend a hand if need be.
DISCLAIMER: the crew can not babysit your kids as they have too much other stuff to do – but their attitude to help every time we needed them, was an amazing plus during the entire charter.
A family-friendly route
We had a couple of things in our mind when we were discussing the perfect family cruise route in Croatia:
- SHORT CRUISE DISTANCES (To cruise for less than 3 hours/day on average)
- PROTECTED SEA (avoid high waves and make it as safe as possible)
- SMALL BEACHES (when we get to bays, are there some smaller beaches nearby for kids)
- ESCAPE CROWDS (avoid mass tourism)
- SEE SOME HIGHLIGHTS (still wanted to experience a couple of nice Croatian towns & islands)
Here is what we checked and how we cruised
Day 1: Split Boarding and cruise to Island Brač (Bobovišče) – Saturday
We embarked on the gulet and instantly started the engines to sail to Island Brač.
The first night we stayed at Bobovišta Village, which is nice, small, with no crowds, amazing nature, and great to just relax after the hard trip to get to the gulet.
Day 2: A trip to Island Vis – Sunday
First, we stopped in bay Stončica. This bay had it all.
- Parents and small kids when to the beach which was great
- Fathers got a small break, as there is a nice restaurant there, where they serve a cold beer
- Teenagers and adrenaline junkies did some water sports
After that, we had a 20 minutes cruise to get to town Vis. We had a bit of an early dinner. Kids went to sleep tired. Some of the people stayed on the gulet to babysit, have some wine and take it easy, while the rest of the group went for a nice walk to town Vis to have some ice cream and a drink.
Day 3: From Vis to Hvar (Pakleni Islands) – Monday
The first plan was to check also the other side of Vis (Blue Cave, Stiniva Bay, Komiža), however, the weather did not allow us to do that, so we opted for Hvar, which was great as well.
We anchored in Pakleni Islands in a nice protected bay, which was close to Palmižana bay, Carpe Diem beach, and several other interesting places where you can go with kids. This area really does provide you with a lot of flexibility.
- There are very famous restaurants nearby
- Marina Palmižana offers a nice option to take a walk in the shade, have a beer in the marina or have a DELUXE experience in Laganini bar and have some lobster
- Carpe Diem beach is very close
- And all of the bays in this area are so nice, you can just stay on the gulet as well and swim, relax and enjoy
In the evening you can stay on the gulet or go on a tender boat to Hvar town. As we were a bit tired that night, we actually did something else. We stay on the gulet and relaxed in the evening and we visited Hvar town the next morning for an easy walk and some coffee time.
Day 4: From Hvar to Island Ščedro – Tuesday
In the morning, we visited Hvar town and then started engines for Island Ščedro.
Ščedro is not really famous as there is nothing to see there – BUT AMAZING NATURE.
This day was all about:
- Water sports
- Swimming
- Paddleboards and canoes
- Snorkelling
Kids did go to bed in a reasonable time and the rest of the evening was pure magic, with no other yachts around, no city lights nearby…just nature, peace, and relaxation. This is what the gulet cruise is all about.
Day 5: From Ščedro to Island Korčula – Wednesday
Another magical day. First, we stopped in a bay called Kneža, which is very popular with yachts in Croatia due to the “Caribbean like” sea. It also has a great beach bar, which we usually visit. This time we opted in just for some swimming and relaxing.
After lunch, we went to a nice bay, that was close to Korčula town and to Badija island.
We first visited Badija Island (with a plan to go to Korčula in the evening) and took a longer than expected walk around the island. The ultra-mega highlight was when we run into some domestic deer.
Not sure if the kids feeding them had more fun, or us watching the kids feed them. Just an awesome experience we will all remember for life.
We were all very motivated to visit Korčula, however, after a nice dinner, we all decided to stay on the gulet and relax. Captain Jure told us he would have to put extra water in gulet tanks and that we could visit Korčula in the morning and take a walk, while they do this and it was a great idea.
So we were up to another magical evening on the gulet on anchor.
Day 6: From Korčula to Pelješac (Lovište) – Thursday
After breakfast, we went for a walk around the island of Korčula. It was a great stroll. A nice coffee in town. Kids got a chance to run around a bit. We took some pictures and were happy to move on to the next destination, which was peninsula Pelješac.
As the last 24 hours was very active with a hike in Badija and a walk around Korčula, we decided this is another day for relaxation and to take it easy.
We did some water sports, swimming, relaxing and just did what a person should do on a holiday. Fill with batteries.
Another night on anchor and another perfect experience.
Day 7: From Pelješac to Hvar – Friday
While we were returning towards Split, the captain did realize there is a free spot in one of the most beautiful bays in Island Hvar (Vela Grška near Hvar town).
We used the opportunity to drop an anchor and we were happy to stay there for the whole day long. Again we had a chance to visit Hvar (by night) and again we opted in to stay on the gulet and relax.
Day 8: From Hvar to Split – Saturday
We had the luck that the gulet was not booked after us, so had some checkout flexibility and could depart a gulet a bit later. The cruise from Hvar to Split did take around 3 hours, so we had breakfast on the way and disembarked at around 11:00 am.
Some more highlights of our cruise in the photo gallery below
Nautilus Family Cruise
Nautilus Family Cruise
Nautilus Family Cruise
Nautilus Family Cruise
Nautilus Family Cruise
Nautilus Family Cruise
Nautilus Family Cruise
Is this for you? What is the next step?
For me personally, I think that chartering a private yacht for your family and a group of close friends is the best possible holiday in the world.
You escape mass tourism.
You see different places every day.
The crew takes care of all your wishes.
No need to cook, clean, drive, plan activities.
As I and my wife have to put most of the energy to make our 2-year-old daughter happy, our other teenage kids tend to get bored.
Not on this type of holiday, when there is so much to do all day long.
Gulet Nautilus is part of our gulet fleet for a long time now and this was the first time we did such a Family cruise on this gulet – and it was even better than what I imagined it to be.
If you have children in your group and you are interested in a holiday that will exceed all your expectations, send us an inquiry and we will plan an itinerary for you, with the food organization you prefer more along with all the other parts of your cruise, that will take the entire experience from good to great.
Pura Vita
