DESTINATIONS CRUISE |CROATIA
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Lamb peka at a family-run winery; a 4x4 wine ‘safari’ in Brač; Hora winery, Hvar; Mljet PICTURES: Sail Croatia; Niko Goga
However, where other Elegance cruises include
only breakfast, lunch and two dinners (one ashore, the other a captain’s dinner), and excursions cost extra, we’ve got six included wine tours, one of which involves an extra dinner on land. The rest of the time, we hop ashore and
find a restaurant we fancy, since boats stay in port every night, offering passengers a chance to sample the local food and nightlife.
POPPING THE CORK We don’t have to wait long for our first wine tasting. Embarkation in Split is between 11am and midday, and at 1pm, we set off on the short cruise to Milna on the island of Brač, where we’re going on a 4x4 wine ‘safari’ (to be clear, we are doing the drinking, not the driving). One of the great things about this itinerary is that all the wine-tasting venues are so different. In Hvar, we’re wined and dined at a family-run farm in the hills outside town, where everything is either made or grown on-site, including the olive oil and salami; while in Vis, we delve into the aforementioned military tunnels. On the island of Korčula, we compare a modern
winery in Smokvica – 20 minutes from the port at Vela Luka, where the tasting is accompanied by an accordion and guitar playing duo – with one in a steep alleyway in Korčula town, where we sip and swirl while the owner runs up and down filling our glasses. In Mljet, sommelier Matko brings it full circle as he joins us on Esperanza for a wine-tasting-turned-captain’s dinner.
34 24 APRIL 2025
We’re introduced
to some delicious white wines,
including grk, which is easier to drink than it is to say
We’re exceedingly well wined and dined at each venue. Plates of Dalmatian ham, cheese, olives and bread are provided to nibble alongside the four or five wines we taste at each stop. Our ‘small blue’ variety turns up each time in various guises and we’re introduced to some delicious whites, including a sparkling number from Zagreb, and grk, which is easier to drink than it is to say. “The more you have, the better you pronounce it,” guide Andrea tells us on a tour of Korčula. The town looks like a mini Dubrovnik and is
reputed to be the birthplace of the 13th-century Italian explorer Marco Polo – fitting since the Venetians ruled this area at the time – and has a bar located atop the city walls to which the drinks are winched up in a basket. It seems like a lot of effort to go to for a glass of the good stuff – better to sit back on the sun deck to sip and sail as the beautiful Croatian coast slips by.
BOOK IT
Sail Croatia’s seven-night Wines of Croatia cruise, sailing from Split to Dubrovnik on Queen Jelena and departing October 5, costs from £1,879 per person, based on two sharing. The price includes transfers, breakfast and three-course lunch daily, three dinners and wine tours with tastings. Other drinks on board cost extra and must be paid for at the end of the cruise in cash.
sail-croatia.com
travelweekly.co.uk
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