Klaus Pitter's Croatia vacation 2022
Klaus Pitter on his Croatia trip 2022
It's travel time and bosses need a vacation too. With a passionate sailor like Klaus Pitter, the gennaker should not be missing on a family trip. From the Pitter base in Trogir, this year we went south with a Wednesday-Wednesday charter trip on a Bavaria Cruiser 46 OD Sirius together with a family friend. Croatia is so diverse. Even if I sail here every year, the area is so big that I keep discovering beautiful new bays and places where I have never been before. You can't just have the most popular hot spots on the plan and follow the typical routes.
The diversity, variety and mixture of anchoring in bays, marinas, city ports or anchoring safely on a buoy are what make a sailing trip so appealing.
If you plan ahead at home and familiarize yourself with the area, you will have less stress on your holiday and see more. I always think in advance where I'm going and which islands I want to explore, then I look at the bays in this region and what wind directions they are sheltered from. So I create a small route with several possibilities. Depending on the wind and weather, I then decide where to go on site, so that I always know my boat is safe for the night. After all, nobody likes to keep an anchor watch, and certainly not in the summer when you're out with the family. If the wind is too strong or the weather is unclear, it is always advisable to call at a safe port or marina, after all, as skipper, I am responsible for the ship and crew. Better to settle down with the family in one place and do some shopping than restless in a bay, especially not with small children on board or an inexperienced crew. I had a particularly good time this time, my regatta buddy Josef was on board with his family and so we were able to sail a lot and even set the gennaker several times.
Arrival to Croatia
Even the journey to the trip during the week was stress-free, as there were no traffic jams at the border. Also in the bays there was less activity, because when we arrived the Saturday-Saturday sailors had already moved on, so there was less hustle and bustle and more space. I can recommend a Wednesday-Wednesday charter to anyone who can arrange it in time. Sometimes we had the bays to ourselves. With the exception of a few hot spots, the number of yachts in the bays was very pleasant. In the case of buoy fields and inns or fishermen with few buoys, we made reservations in advance via mySea to be on the safe side, so that we could make longer bathing stops.
Highlights from our vacation
Swimming stop in the passage between Solta and Brac
We anchor plus landline in the bay Livke, left side between two rocky incisions at 15m water depth.
Hvar, Jelsa
Jelsa is a nice lively seaside resort. Here you will find good restaurants, cafes, ice cream shops and nice little shops to stroll through. The harbor is adorned with the lavender stalls typical of Hvar.
Hvar, Bay Mrtinovik
The fisherman-run restaurant Gombo in Mrtinovik Bay offers simple cuisine. Fish bream and scampi buzara, with house wine and as a dessert there are grapes (yeast) with homemade limoncello in the "package" charged per person. For children you get spaghetti and grilled chicken breast on request. He keeps the bream in a brick tank connected to the sea. Every day in the morning he catches the fish for his guests in the evening. The number of its tables is limited to 4 and corresponds to its laid out buoys in the bay. A reservation is therefore recommended.
Variety of bays along the coast of the Peljesac peninsula
During our drive along the coast of Peljesac we discovered many small bays and by chance also the small hidden entrance to the Estravaganca restaurant (Duba bay on the west coast opposite Korcula). The restaurant's billboard barely stands out from the rock, it's easy to drive past here, because the entrance to the bay is very hidden. As soon as you enter the bay you can see a little paradise, a small tavern with attached guest rooms and a wonderful beach that you only have to yourself. There are only 3 buoys in the bay! A restaurant fisherman tip recommended to us by friends, which we definitely want to try next year.
Hvar (inside), Sviracina
We anchor plus land line completely alone in this beautiful bay. The water is crystal clear and there are some freshwater springs underwater. It is a snorkeling paradise. We discover a small cave that you can dive into on one side and out on the other side. The bay is a delight, especially the view and the feeling of having breakfast as the only ship in the bay is wonderful.
Korcula, Marina Lumbarda
A stop in the Marina Lumbarda is diverse. Right next to the marina there is a small but fine, clean beach with a nice beach bar and a large water trampoline for the kids in front of it. In the village you will find several small shops and restaurants, two supermarkets, a farmer's market and a small fish market.
Mala Kneza, passage between Peljesac and Korcula
Since we like the view of the small and only house on the island, we like to anchor here every time we pass by.
Mljet, Bay Saplunara
We like to come here again and again. There is a beautiful sandy beach. In the evening we eat, as we often do, in Ante's Place (Kod Ante). As always, we order octopus peka. From the terrace you have an amazing view of the sunset and the yachts lying on buoys.
Recommended tavern and area guides
Konoba Ante's Place and the two other restaurants described in this blog, Konoba Gombo and Restaurant Estravaganca, as well as many other good restaurant tips can also be found in Thomas Schedina's new MOMENTAS Konoba Guide. The new guide "Gourmet Stars along the Adriatic" presents 34 extraordinary restaurants, from rustic taverns to high-gloss restaurants, described in detail and with many pictures.
If you are still looking for some reading material about your cruise destinations, we can recommend Thomas Käsbohrer's REVIER-KOMPASS CROATIA North and South. The two books provide you with a lot of information and insider knowledge in the form of selected cruise destinations, nature and cultural experiences, restaurant tips and beautiful bays as well as, of course, detailed information on ports and marinas. Available in bookshops or directly from the publisher.
Have fun on holiday and when planning your next trip! 😉
Yours Klaus Pitter
