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Published: November 12th 2009
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Check-in;
Pax checked in: 13
Two pax didn't show up. We waited until about 2:30 for them, and I left a message with my mobile number on their phone. Dan Toebosch sent me an email saying they had missed their flight from London and would call me when they got to Croatia, but I never heard from them. Which is a real shame because they were 19-year old American boys and I wanted to see them go crazy in Croatia since they are allowed to drink here!
Day 1; Sipan
Pax for dinner: 13 (bbq)
Sipan is possibly the greatest island to stop at on the first night. It is super tiny, beautiful, peaceful, very traditional and real, and we all felt totally at home here. Everyone drank on the boat, sat on the dock and petted the cats, and then we went to a local nightclub. It was a great place for everyone to bond, and it would be great to stop there all the time.
Day 2; Mljet/Korcula
Pax for dinner: 13 (Caenazzo)
We stopped st Mljet only for about 3 hours or so, enough time for pax to see the national park, have a
coffee, then return to the boat for lunch and head to Korcula. I think that works well, as it felt like we were always on the go, and it never felt like too much time on the boat.
Pax aren't really too thrilled about St. Mary's island, because there isn't a whole lot there. It's better if they take a canoe/kayak there, so they feel they have done something fun.
Day 3; Hvar
Pax for dinner: 13 for picnic
Sasa at Kiva bar was, once again, a legend; the bar was empty except for us, and he gave the four pax who actually stayed there free drinks for the whole night. I think he is our best supplier, by far.
Day 4; Brac (Bol)
This was everyone's favourite island. We dropped anchor for several hours at Zlatni Rat and everyone swam and floated on lilos the entire time. Great photo opportunities and it's nice to sit on a beach for a change.
That evening, we all ate at a gorgeous restaurant called Topolino, with an acoustic singer and great food. I told Simon about it and I think he will check it out this
week and ser if he can work something out there.
Day 5; Makarska
Pax for dinner: 9 at Peskera (the others wanted to just hang out on the boat)
We didn't leave Brac until lunchtime, which was terrific because we had time to explore in the morning. We rented kayaks for 30 kuna/hr, and took them over to Zlatni Rat. Great fun! It's nice to have the morning on an island, as oftentimes we don't have enough time for active stuff like kayaking, etc, when we arrive somewhere in late-afternoon, because they need to get ready to go for dinner. In the morning, pax can get out and do something fun, then they have worked up a big appetite for lunch, and they have plenty of time on the boat to relax and get dressed for the evening.
Makarska was fantastic and they all loved the beach and markets there. Dinner at Peskera was good, but drinks at Marineta were a bit painful. The service was bad and a few of my pax waited ages for their drinks or their change. And they sometimes give guides free drinks, and sometimes charge us, so it's a bit awkward
when we don't know if we're supposed to pay or not.
Also, there was a very scary incident at the end of the night, which I'll also be sending through an accident report about; there was a massive storm, and one of my girls slipped and fell between the boat and the dock. Thankfully, the captain arrived like an angel and helped her out within a minute and she was unharmed, but it was pretty scary and it reinforced Gareth's messages about safety spiels! You can be sure I'll never forget to mention that point at the start of my trips and then everyday thereafter!
Day 6; Omis
Pax for dinner: 13 (Captain's Dinner)
Everyone enjoyed the Captain's Dinner and the pirate party afterwards, particularly when we ambushed Robbie and Simon's boats and stole the guides; Simon managed to get away, but there is some photo evidence of Robbie tied up in our boat's ropes and tattooed!
One of the crew on the Ika is a professional rafter in Omis so when I told my pax that I couldn't sell the excursion to them, he offered to take them, and they all went. The rafting was,
without a doubt, the highlight of their trip and it sounds as though this company does a much better job than the other one we used, as they took the group into caves and everything. Damn those insurance problems! 😉
Day 7; Split
Pax for dinner: 11 (2 had to catch a flight)
Everyone loved Vrtava restaurant; great food and prices.
(I LOVED this tour, it makes me smile just writing this report and remembering them!)
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