There’s a different rhythm to Croatia when you arrive by sea.
The ferry crowds, marina bustle and famous island names fall away once the sails are up, and the Dalmatian coast begins to feel less like a destination checklist and more like a string of quiet arrivals.
A week aboard a crewed More Sailing catamaran from Trogir is built around that feeling, with enough comfort to make it easy and enough participation to make it memorable.
At a glance
- More Sailing runs week-long crewed catamaran voyages along Croatia’s Dalmatian coast from Trogir.
- No sailing experience is needed, with a skipper and host handling navigation, meals and the daily route.
- The classic Saturday-to-Saturday itinerary takes in islands including Šolta, Brač, Hvar, Vis and the Pakleni Islands.
Trogir makes a graceful departure point
The journey begins at Trogir Marina, a short taxi ride from Split airport and one of the simplest gateways into the central Dalmatian islands.
Trogir itself is a compact UNESCO-listed island town of pale Venetian stone, best appreciated as its bell towers and waterfront recede behind the stern.
More Sailing was founded in Sweden in 2009 by Einar Halldin and Malin Stom after a one-week sailing holiday in Croatia turned into a much longer attachment to life afloat.
The company has since grown into one of Scandinavia’s notable sailing travel operators, with more than 60 boats and its own marina operations in Croatia and Greece.
The appeal is its low-friction setup.
A professional skipper and host look after the boat, safety, routing and onboard meals, while guests decide how involved they want to be.
A sailing holiday that lets you take part
The most satisfying part of this kind of trip is that it doesn’t treat sailing as a spectator sport.
Guests can take the helm, help trim the sails, drop anchor and look over the day’s course at breakfast, but nobody is pressured into becoming useful.
That balance matters.
Sailing can sometimes feel guarded by jargon and clubby rituals, yet aboard a crewed catamaran the experience is deliberately open, whether you want to steer towards the next island or read on the trampoline nets at the bow.
A catamaran also suits nervous first-timers because it remains comparatively level under sail.
The arrangement works especially well for two families or a group of friends, with four cabins, bathrooms, two hulls and social spaces that allow everyone to gather without feeling crowded.
Lunch at anchor and dinner in harbour
Onboard life quickly finds its own order.
There’s usually a swim before breakfast, coffee on deck, a late-morning sail, then lunch at anchor in a clear bay chosen for its swimming.
Breakfasts lean generous and unshowy, with bread, cheeses, fruit, yoghurt, charcuterie and strong coffee.
Lunches are the kind of meals that make most sense in swimwear, often built around salads, grilled fish and the quiet satisfaction of salt still drying on your shoulders.
Soft drinks, wine and beer are included onboard, so the week avoids the creeping arithmetic of a bar bill.
Dinner is taken ashore and paid for separately, usually in small harbour villages where the crew can point guests towards a konoba rather than a tourist menu.
At its best, that means local wine, the morning’s catch cooked simply and tables set close enough to the water to hear the harbour move.
The islands unfold at sailing speed
The classic route runs Saturday to Saturday from Trogir and gives each island a distinct mood.
Šolta is the quiet opening act, olive-groved and still close enough to Split to feel like a local secret.
Brač brings the white stone associated with much of Dalmatia and the shifting shape of Zlatni Rat, the horn-shaped beach that moves with wind and current.
Hvar adds lavender, Venetian squares and nightlife if you want it, though the privilege of a boat is being able to step away when the evening becomes too loud.
Vis is the island that lingers longest in the memory.
Its decades as a Yugoslav military island kept large-scale development at bay, leaving a greener, slower place where vineyard dinners and the local Vugava wine feel more compelling than another crowded promenade.
The Pakleni Islands bring the return journey back into focus, with pine-covered islets and lagoon-coloured channels before the final sail to Trogir.
There’s also the pleasure of unscheduled moments, from dolphins appearing beside the hulls to water so clear that sea urchins can be seen on the seabed below.
What’s included with More Sailing
The format is designed to remove the usual complications of arranging a sailing week for a group.
The package includes the skipper and host, breakfasts, lunches, snacks and drinks onboard, bed linen and towels, plus marina charges, fuel and taxes.
Return flights are included from Stockholm, Gothenburg, Oslo, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and London Gatwick, with a checked bag and transfer to the boat.
Travellers booking without flights receive €320 off the price.
That completeness is part of the appeal, especially for guests who want the atmosphere of a private boat without managing provisioning, mooring fees or route planning themselves.
It’s also a relatively light-footed way to travel through a coastline that can feel overrun in high season, using the wind, local markets and family-run harbour restaurants rather than the machinery of a large cruise ship.
For travellers who like their luxury measured in quiet mornings, clear water and the freedom to leave the party behind, Croatia under sail still has a persuasive magic.
