Croatia · Central Dalmatia
Split Hvar Vis Komiža Brač Šolta Split
Seven days of island hopping, swimming stops, old harbours and enough time under sail to make the journey part of the holiday.
The experience
Central Dalmatia is one of the few places where a week of sailing never turns into a delivery trip. The islands sit close enough that most days are three to five hours under sail, which leaves the rest of the day for a swim in a bay you can only reach by boat, a long lunch, and an evening walk through a town that was built around its harbour.
The route runs south from Split to Hvar and Vis, turns back through Komiža and Brač, and finishes with a quiet night on Šolta before the short hop home. Mornings are unhurried. Afternoons are for sailing. Evenings are usually ashore, occasionally at anchor with dinner cooked on board.
Marko has run this route for nine seasons. He knows which bay is sheltered when the maestral fills in after lunch, and which harbour to skip in August. If the wind does something unexpected, the week bends around it — that is the point of sailing with a skipper rather than a schedule.
Highlights
Five islands, six nights, and short enough passages that nobody spends a holiday staring at the horizon waiting to arrive.
01 / Hvar
Arrive in the afternoon, moor stern-to on the town quay, and watch the marble streets fill up as the light goes. Dinner in the old town, a drink on a terrace above the harbour, and the Pakleni islands ten minutes away when you want the quiet back.
02 / Vis
The longest passage of the week, and the best one. Vis sits far enough offshore that the mainland disappears behind you and the sailing becomes the point. Closed to visitors until 1989, the island still feels a generation behind the coast — in the best way.
03 / Komiža
A working fishing village on the west side of Vis, with stone houses stacked around a harbour full of small wooden boats. It is also the departure point for the Blue Cave on Biševo — an optional morning excursion, weather and swell permitting.
04 / Between the islands
Almost every day has a swimming stop written into it. The channels between Šolta, Brač and Hvar are full of bays that stay empty on a weekday, and the water is clear enough that the anchor chain is visible on the bottom from the deck.
05 / Brač & Šolta
The last two islands slow the week down. Bol and its long shingle spit on Brač, then Maslinica or a quiet cove on Šolta for the final night — close enough to Split that the last morning is a short, easy sail rather than a rush.
The route
Pick a day to trace its leg on the chart. The published route is the plan — the skipper adapts it to the weather you actually get.
Meet the boat in the afternoon in the Split marina area. Marko runs the safety and yacht briefing, the crew provisions together at the market or supermarket nearby, and the first evening is spent in the old town — Diocletian's palace is a ten-minute walk from the pontoon.
Lines off mid-morning and south through the Split channel. The wind usually fills in around midday, which makes the second half of the passage the better half. A swim in one of the bays on the north side of Hvar, then in to the town quay in the late afternoon.
The longest crossing of the week and the one that feels most like sailing: open water, a steady beam reach if the maestral behaves, and the mainland out of sight astern. Vis town is quieter than Hvar — a harbour, a waterfront, and dinner where the boats are tied up.
A short hop around the south of the island, with time in the morning for the optional Blue Cave excursion on Biševo — a local boat takes small groups in when the swell allows. Komiža itself is the reason to come: a fishing harbour that never turned into a resort, and konobas serving what came in that morning.
A swim before breakfast, then the long leg back north-east towards Brač. It is an early start and the biggest mileage of the week, broken by lunch at anchor along the south coast of Hvar. Bol has a very different feel — a wide bay, the Zlatni Rat spit, and windsurfers in the channel.
The most relaxed cruising day of the week. West along the Brač channel with the sails up and nothing to hurry for, then into Maslinica or one of the bays on the south side of Šolta. The last night on board is usually the one people remember — dinner in the cockpit, swimming off the stern, no marina noise.
Most crews sail back into Split the evening before and spend the last night alongside, which makes the final morning unhurried. Check-out is at 09:00, bags off, coffee on the quay, and the airport is 30 minutes away.
On board
A week on a boat has its own rhythm. These are the parts of it people talk about afterwards.
Coffee in the cockpit at eight, reading on deck through an easy passage, and a shower that you appreciate far more than the one at home.
Activities
Some of it is simply part of the week. The rest is optional, usually costs extra, and depends on where the boat ends up.
The yacht
A well-proven 46-foot monohull: forgiving under sail, easy to move around on deck, and with enough room below that eight people are not living on top of each other.
Two aft, two forward. Each takes two people; the aft cabins are the roomier pair.
Shared between cabins, each with a shower. Water is limited — short showers, and the cockpit shower for after swimming.
The saloon table seats everyone; the cockpit is where the week actually happens. Storage is limited, which is why soft bags matter.
Your host
“The route on the page is the plan. The week is whatever the wind and the crew make of it — my job is to make sure both work out.”
Marko grew up in Split and has skippered in Dalmatia for fourteen seasons, nine of them on this route. He runs the boat and the navigation, decides where it is sensible to be each night, briefs the crew, and hosts the week — which in practice means teaching whoever wants to learn, and knowing the konoba in Komiža that does not appear on any map app.
Booking with Malaka
Government ID checked against the profile before any experience goes live.
Certificate of competence, radio certificate and insurance are read by a person, not a checkbox.
Payments are taken through Malaka, never by bank transfer to an individual.
Each departure states its own cancellation and change terms before you pay anything.
Route, yacht, inclusions and meeting point are recorded per departure and kept in your Holiday Hub.
Someone to contact before departure and while you are away, in English and Croatian.
The price
Sailing holidays have running costs that are paid as you go. Here is the honest split, so the number on the departure card is the number you plan around.
Booking modes
The same week works three ways. What changes is who else is on board and how much of the boat is yours.
The boat is yours. You decide who comes, and the skipper works around your group.
From €6,400 per week
A private double cabin for two, sharing the boat and the week with the rest of the crew.
From €1,780 per cabin
One place on board, joining a mixed crew put together for that departure.
From €850 per person
“Space is shared, routines are communal, and the best weeks work because the crew treats the boat as a shared home rather than a hotel with a mast.”
This route suits
Available departures
Each departure is a dated week with its own yacht, skipper, price and availability. The experience stays the same; the boat and the crew are what change.
Bavaria Cruiser 46 · Monohull · 8 guests · 4 cabins
Marko Kovačević Verified
Dufour 430 · Monohull · 6 guests · 3 cabins
Ivana Baraka Verified
Bavaria Cruiser 46 · Monohull · 8 guests · 4 cabins
Marko Kovačević Verified
Lagoon 42 · Catamaran · 8 guests · 4 cabins
Toni Miloš Verified
Bavaria Cruiser 46 · Monohull · 8 guests · 4 cabins
Marko Kovačević Verified
Hanse 458 · Monohull · 8 guests · 4 cabins
Ivana Baraka Verified
Bavaria Cruiser 46 · Monohull · 8 guests · 4 cabins
Marko Kovačević Verified
No departures match those filters. Try a different month, or clear the booking filters.
Prices are per person for an individual berth unless stated. Whole-yacht prices cover the boat and skipper for the week.
See all 14 departures for 2026Paying for it
A deposit holds your place. The rest is split into two payments before you leave, so a summer holiday does not have to be paid for in one January afternoon.
STEP 01
Confirms your place on that departure and opens your Holiday Hub.
€255STEP 02
Usually around 90 days before departure, once the crew is settled.
€300STEP 03
Typically 30 days before you sail. Nothing left to pay at the boat except the shared costs.
€295After you book
Booking opens a Holiday Hub for your departure. It holds the trip as it actually stands — the yacht assigned to your week, the route, who else is on board, what has been paid, and where to be on Saturday afternoon.
If you book the whole yacht, you become the group leader: invite your crew by email and each of them fills in their own details rather than sending you passport photos on WhatsApp.
Split → Hvar → Vis → Komiža → Brač → Šolta · Bavaria Cruiser 46
Crew readiness
Payments
Meeting point
Before you fly
Practical information
Packing
A week on a boat needs surprisingly little. Storage is a locker, not a wardrobe, and most days are spent in swimwear.
Reviews
“Six of us took the whole boat and none of us had sailed before. By Wednesday two of the group were helming into the anchorage. Marko never made anyone feel useless, which I think is the hard part.”
Whole yacht · 6 guests“Booked a single berth and worried about it for a month. Completely unnecessary — by the second dinner we were a crew. The Komiža night was the best evening of my summer.”
Individual berth · solo“Honest note: August is busy and we couldn't get into Hvar town on the first attempt, so we anchored off the Pakleni islands instead. It turned out better. Just don't come expecting the exact printed route.”
Cabin · couple“We took our two teenagers. They spent seven days swimming off the back of the boat and learning knots, and asked to do it again on the flight home. The Hub made the paperwork painless.”
Whole yacht · familyQuestions
Anything else, message Marko directly — he answers most questions the same day.
Ask a questionNo. Most guests on this route have never sailed. The skipper runs the boat and the navigation; you can help with lines and sails as much or as little as you like. If you want to learn, say so on day one — plenty of people leave able to helm and trim.
Yes, on departures that offer individual berths. You join a mixed crew for that week and share a cabin according to the departure's setup — same gender by default unless you are booking with someone. A cabin booking gives the two of you the cabin to yourselves.
The skipper adapts it. That might mean sailing the route in reverse, swapping Šolta for another bay, or staying an extra night somewhere sheltered. Safety and sea state decide, and the plan for the next day is agreed with the crew each evening.
No. Mooring and marina fees, fuel and tourist tax are shared by the crew and paid as you go. They vary by night and season, and nights at anchor cost nothing. Your departure page gives an indicative range for the week.
Most crews run a shared kitty. You provision together on day one for breakfasts, lunches and drinks, and eat ashore several evenings. Budget roughly €25–40 per person per day including dinners out. Dietary requirements are easy to work around — tell the skipper in advance.
Yes, when the departure still shows it as available. You book as group leader, invite your crew through the Holiday Hub, and each person completes their own details. The skipper works to your group's pace rather than a mixed crew's.
On berth and cabin departures, a mixed crew of up to eight. You can see the crew make-up — how many people, rough age range, languages — in your Holiday Hub as the departure fills, and the group chat usually starts weeks before.
A valid passport or ID card for the crew list, which is a legal requirement in Croatia. You upload it once in the Holiday Hub. Travel insurance is strongly recommended and, on some departures, required — the departure page says which.
On whole-yacht bookings, yes — this route works well for families with children who can swim, and teenagers tend to love it. Mixed-crew departures are adults-only unless the departure states otherwise. Child lifejackets need to be requested in advance.
Typically 30 days before departure, after a second instalment earlier in the year. Each departure sets its own schedule and shows the exact dates and amounts before you pay the deposit; reminders arrive by email and in the Holiday Hub.
Each departure has its own cancellation terms, shown in full before payment. They generally become stricter as the date approaches. If a departure is cancelled by the skipper or the platform, you are offered an alternative date or a refund.
Your Holiday Hub opens immediately with the yacht, route, crew, payments and meeting point. You complete your crew form and upload your ID, message the skipper with anything you need, and get arrival details and a packing list well before you fly.
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