An early flight from Bristol took us to the Croatian city of Split, where we were to join our vessel for the next 7 days, the MS Adriatic Sky. Carrying only 38 passengers in total, she is a luxury modern yacht style cruise ship, with our itinerary covering the smaller towns and cities north of Split, and as far as Zadar. We enjoyed relaxing swim stops in quiet coves, with snorkelling, swimming and paddle boarding on offer. In between we were guided on short walking tours of the quaint small towns and resorts enroute.
Breakfast and lunch were included every day (including the captains dinner) with the freedom to dine and free time to explore ashore most evenings. Our itinerary was brought to life by our Riviera tour manager, Dario, who explained our daily schedule and gave us restaurant recommendations and tips, as well as some language hints and general assistance.
Our highlights were the crystal clear waters of the secluded coves, making for good snorkelling and the spectacular waterfalls of Krka National Park. After our visit to the city of Sibenik, a large resort with a high quality marina and home to a world famous children’s festival celebrating creativity in the music and art fields - it was our home port overnight and we were spoilt for choice when choosing a restaurant for dinner ashore. Again, an historic and attractive centre full of characterful cobbled streets and welcoming locals.
Our journey then took us to Vodice, a smart town with a marina popular with yacht owners and cobbled streets and squares with plenty of shops, bars and restaurants. Our approach to Zadar was through a beautiful, serene and for the most part, uninhabited archipelago where the best place to be was on a lounger or comfy chair on the sun deck. Docking right in the heart of the ports we visited was a great advantage: historical centres were always just a short walk away from our ship and a wide range of restaurants were always available with something to suit most diets and pockets.
Zadar was teeming with history both modern and ancient, with Roman remains and medieval walls to the modern, famous and rather unique sea organ and an astronomical clock that lit up at night along the Riva or waterfront area. Our swim stop at Vrgada island enroute to Rogoznica, was a highlight, snorkelling with small fish, sea cucumbers and small crabs and starfish. We were treated to a musical duo between courses at the Captains dinner that night and an impromptu fun quiz afterward.
We arrived at the island of Trogir, with its cobbled streets and picturesque alleyways full of local restaurants and shops and every flavour of ice cream imaginable. Our final day was a leisurely sail back towards Split and after another refreshing swim stop, and a three course lunch we arrived in the heart of the city for a walking tour of the historic centre and we especially enjoyed the Diocletian’s Palace tour, A farewell dinner ashore with new found friends marked the final night of our trip, with an early departure next morning for our home flight to Bristol.
