8-Day Private Sailing Tour from Split with Meals and Pickup

Croatia is best seen from two angles: from a motorcycle on a winding coastal road, and from the deck of a yacht at anchor in a quiet cove. This private eight-day trip combines both, taking you from Split through Croatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. I like the no hotel hopping arrangement, since your yacht carries your belongings while you ride. I also like the mix of famous places and local stops, from Krka Waterfalls and Dubrovnik to an oyster farm, a village winery, and a Bosnian mountain restaurant.

The main drawback is the price, listed at $10,909.64 per person. That makes sense only if you want a private, high-service trip with a captain, chef, yacht, motorcycles, transport, and several countries folded into one itinerary. You also need to be comfortable switching between long sailing days, motorcycle rides, border crossings, and an active schedule.

The trip’s unusual formula: yacht by water, BMW by road

This is not a standard sailing holiday. It is part yacht charter, part guided motorcycle tour, and part food trip. You meet the Desmo Adventure team in Split, receive transportation from the airport or another convenient location, review the route, and meet the motorcycle fleet before setting off.

The yacht becomes your base after the first day. That matters. Instead of packing and unpacking in Šibenik, Hvar, Korčula, Dubrovnik, and elsewhere, you return to the same floating accommodation each evening or rejoin it at the next harbor. You can swim from the boat, relax on deck, and let the crew handle meals and sailing while you focus on the road.

The group is private, so only your party takes part. That gives the route more flexibility than a large coach tour, though the schedule still depends on weather, ferry times, road conditions, and border crossings.

Day 1: Split, Krka Waterfalls, and Šibenik

Your first day begins with pickup from Split Airport or another agreed location. At the Desmo Adventure office, you meet the team and go over the route. You also receive an introduction to the motorcycles, which is useful if you are new to the particular model or have not ridden recently.

The opening ride heads toward Krka Waterfalls National Park on country roads and curving coastal roads. You spend about two hours walking through the park, seeing the famous falls, with a possible swim if the water is warm enough. The swim is not guaranteed, so treat it as a pleasant extra rather than a fixed part of the day.

From Krka, the route continues to old Šibenik and then to Mandalina Marina, where the yacht waits with your belongings. This is a smart first day: you get a taste of inland Croatia, a national park, a historic town, and your first night aboard without trying to cover a huge distance.

Day 2: Blue Lagoon and a night near Hvar

After breakfast, you sail for roughly five hours toward Hvar. The point of this day is not simply to get from one port to another. You have time for swimming, relaxing, and a stop at Krknjaši Bay, often called the Blue Lagoon, near Mali Drvenik.

The boat’s chef or hostess prepares meals and drinks according to the preference list you provide. Breakfast and lunch are generally included on the days specified, while dinner is planned each evening. The onboard food is a major part of the value here, especially since the schedule often puts you far from a convenient restaurant at lunchtime.

By late afternoon, the yacht anchors in a cove in the Pakleni Islands near Hvar. Beach bars and restaurants such as Laganini, Hula-Hula, and Carpe Diem are nearby, and you can also visit Hvar Old Town later in the evening.

This is one of the more relaxed days, but the eight-hour stop means you should be ready for a social beach setting rather than total solitude. You can swim from the yacht, visit the bars, or head into Hvar, depending on your group’s mood.

Day 3: Hvar’s gravel roads, wine, oysters, and Korčula

Day three shifts firmly back to motorcycles. You begin in Hvar Old Town, then ride toward Sveta Nedjelja on a gravel road. The route includes an off-road section, so you should be comfortable handling a large adventure motorcycle away from smooth pavement.

In Sveta Nedjelja, you visit the Plenković winery and its underwater wine cellar. This gives the ride a strong sense of place. Hvar is not only beaches and nightlife, and the vineyard stop adds a local agricultural side to the island.

From Sućuraj, you take a roughly 45-minute ferry to Drvenik on the mainland. You then ride the curving coast toward Ston on the Pelješac Peninsula. The route includes winery visits and an oyster experience around Mali Ston, with a private boat ride to an oyster farm and a tasting of fresh oysters.

That combination is one of the tour’s best ideas. You are not merely looking at the coast from a road or from a boat. You see how the area produces wine and seafood, then taste both in the places where they come from.

From Orebić, you rejoin the yacht and sail about 15 minutes to Korčula Old Town. Dinner is served onboard, followed by time to walk the old streets. The town is linked with Marco Polo, and its compact center is easy to explore during an evening stop.

Day 4: Mljet National Park and a seven-course dinner

After breakfast and a morning swim, you sail for about two hours to Mljet. The national park visit includes the island’s two salt lakes, with the option of exploring by bicycle or on foot. You also take a kayak ride to an ancient monastery.

The stop lasts about two hours, so you should expect a focused visit rather than a full-day exploration of Mljet. Still, the combination of salt lakes, a short ride or walk, and kayaking offers a good change from the motorcycle and yacht routine.

In the afternoon, you sail to Kobaš Bay on the Pelješac Peninsula. The yacht moors near Gastro Mare restaurant, where dinner is served as a seven-course menu prepared by chef Antonio Bjelko. The meal uses organic ingredients and seafood caught locally.

This is one of the clearest luxury moments of the trip. You have spent the day on the water and in a national park, then sit down to a set menu in a small bay. The tradeoff is that the experience is strongly food-focused, so anyone who prefers simple, independent meals may find this part more formal than necessary.

Day 5: Ston walls, Pelješac wine, and Dubrovnik after dark

Breakfast at Gastro Mare is followed by a swim and a trip toward Dubrovnik. Along the way, you explore Ston and its famous defensive wall, described as the second-longest man-made wall after the Great Wall of China.

You also visit an oyster farm with a local guide and taste Ston oysters. Since the itinerary includes oyster stops on both day three and day five, this is a repeated theme rather than a one-off tasting. Seafood lovers will appreciate the focus. If you do not eat oysters, ask how much of the stop can be adapted before booking.

The motorcycle route continues toward Dubrovnik. A stop at Miloš Winery on Pelješac adds a short wine tasting and an introduction to the winery’s history. Before reaching the city, you climb Mount Srđ for a broad view over Dubrovnik and the surrounding islands.

You leave the motorcycles at ACI Marina Dubrovnik and return to the yacht. Dinner is served with the city walls in view, followed by time in Dubrovnik Old Town. Walking Stradun after the day’s riding gives you a strong contrast: busy stone streets and polished historic buildings after hours on coastal roads.

The timing matters here. Arriving around 4 p.m. leaves time for the viewpoint, dinner, and an evening walk, but not an extensive museum program. If Dubrovnik is your main interest, you may want extra days before or after the tour.

Day 6: Montenegro by motorcycle, from Tivat to Budva

After breakfast beneath Dubrovnik’s walls, you ride toward Montenegro. The route crosses the Croatian border and follows the Bay of Kotor, with stops in Tivat and Kotor.

Tivat’s Porto Montenegro provides a coffee stop in a modern marina setting. Kotor offers something very different: narrow streets and a compact old town tucked into the bay. You also ride the hills around the Bay of Kotor and continue toward Budva, known for its beaches and old town.

This is a full road day with an international border crossing, several towns, and mountain roads. Carry the required travel documents and expect the day to be affected by traffic and border delays. The route is rewarding, but it is not a slow, lingering visit to every place.

You return to Croatia and spend the night in Cavtat, a small coastal town and yacht anchorage. Dinner and an evening swim are planned onboard, with a party atmosphere for the group. Cavtat is a calmer base than central Dubrovnik, though the day itself is one of the busiest.

Day 7: Leaving the yacht for Mostar

Day seven is the final morning on the yacht. After breakfast and a swim, you continue by motorcycle toward Bosnia and Herzegovina. Your luggage is returned to the Desmo Adventure office while you ride, so you do not have to carry all your belongings on the motorcycle.

The road passes through Trebinje, Stolac, and Blagaj before reaching Mostar. The itinerary also includes Blidinje Nature Park in the wider route, though the main overnight stop is Mostar. In the city, you walk the old town and see the famous bridge, which was destroyed during the war in the 1990s and later rebuilt.

Mostar is more than a photogenic bridge stop. The city reflects different religious and architectural traditions on opposite sides of the Neretva River. A guided visit helps put the streets, buildings, and wartime damage into context.

This day asks a lot from you. You are leaving the yacht, crossing into another country, riding through several towns, and reaching Mostar late in the tour. The payoff is a side of the region that a sea-only itinerary cannot provide.

Day 8: Neretva Canyon, Jablanica, and Blidinje Nature Park

The last morning begins with a ride from Mostar alongside the Neretva River canyon. The road climbs toward Čvrsnica Mountain and Blidinje Nature Park, passing villages damaged during the war.

In Jablanica, you visit a war museum for about an hour. This is a serious stop, and it adds historical context to the roads and villages you have passed. It also keeps the tour from reducing Bosnia and Herzegovina to scenery alone.

At Blidinje, lunch is served at Hajdučke Vrleti, where you try Bosnian specialties prepared by traditional recipes. From there, the return to Split takes about two and a half hours. Your luggage waits at the Desmo Adventure office, followed by arranged transport to the airport or a nearby hotel.

The final day is not a gentle wind-down. It combines mountain roads, a museum, lunch, and a long return ride. Plan your onward flight with care and avoid booking a tight same-day connection.

Food, crew, and the level of service

Food is one of the tour’s strongest features. Breakfast is provided on four days, lunch on five, and dinner on seven, according to the supplied meal plan. The actual itinerary adds special meals such as the seven-course dinner at Gastro Mare and the Bosnian lunch at Hajdučke Vrleti.

The yacht crew includes a captain and chef or hostess. Boris is identified as a skipper who is patient with new sailors and willing to explain how the boat works. Gogo is also mentioned as a skipper, while Nina is praised for her care as a hostess. Duje and the Desmo team are associated with the motorcycle side and local route knowledge.

You should clarify the exact crew assigned to your departure, since the names may vary. The service style is personal and attentive, but you are still sharing close quarters with your own group and the crew. Good group chemistry will make the yacht portion much better.

What the $10,909.64 price really buys

At more than $10,000 per person, this is an expensive holiday. You are paying for far more than transport between Croatian ports. The package combines a private yacht, captain, chef, planned meals, airport or accommodation pickup, motorcycle support, guided routes, ferry coordination, three countries, and luggage handling.

The value is strongest for a small group that would otherwise need to charter a yacht, rent premium motorcycles, hire a guide, arrange cross-border transport, reserve restaurants, and manage several hotels. The price saves you from coordinating those moving parts, but it does not make the trip inexpensive.

Personal spending money is not included. The supplied details do not specify every yacht feature, motorcycle model, drink policy, or exact cabin arrangement, so ask for those details before paying. The tour information and past comments refer to new BMW GS motorcycles, including the BMW GS 1250, but confirm the model and insurance terms for your dates.

Who should book this trip?

You are a good match if you want active days, premium transport, local food, and a private group setting. It suits couples, families of adults, and friends who like the idea of riding in the morning and swimming from a yacht later in the day.

You should be comfortable riding a motorcycle, including curving coastal roads and at least one gravel section. You should also be ready for long days, ferry crossings, changing countries, and some historical stops connected with the wars of the 1990s.

This is not the best choice if you want a quiet sailing week with little structure. It is also a poor fit if you want to spend several unhurried days in Dubrovnik, Hvar, or Mostar. The tour gives you a broad regional sampler, not a long stay in any single city.

Final verdict: a high-cost trip with a rare combination

I would book this for a group that wants Croatia by road and sea, not for someone seeking the cheapest way to sail the Adriatic. The strongest parts are the yacht as a moving base, the excellent food focus, the premium motorcycles, and the unusual reach into Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The best practical tip is to consider doing more motorcycle riding early in the trip, then settling into the sailing rhythm. One past guest specifically preferred that order. Also ask about the exact motorcycle, cabin layout, drinks, border documents, and what happens if weather changes the sailing plan.

Free cancellation is available up to 24 hours before the start time. If poor weather cancels the trip, you are offered another date or a full refund. Given the price, confirm every detail before the deadline and allow extra time around the final return to Split.

FAQ

Where does the tour start?

The tour starts from Split, with pickup available from Split Airport or another convenient location. The meeting time is 9:00 a.m.

How long does the experience last?

The experience lasts approximately eight days.

Is this a private tour?

Yes. Only your group participates in the activity.

Which countries does the route visit?

The route travels through Croatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Is food included?

Dinner is included on seven days, lunch on five days, and breakfast on four days according to the supplied meal plan. Personal spending money is not included.

Are motorcycles provided?

The Desmo Adventure team introduces you to its motorcycle fleet, and the itinerary uses motorcycles for the road sections. The supplied information refers to BMW GS motorcycles, including the BMW GS 1250, but you should confirm the exact model for your departure.

Does the tour visit Dubrovnik and Mostar?

Yes. The itinerary includes Dubrovnik, where you walk Stradun and view the city walls, and Mostar, where you visit the old town and famous bridge.

What happens if the weather is poor?

The experience requires good weather. If it is canceled because of poor weather, you are offered a different date or a full refund.