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Croatia has more than a thousand islands, and the beauty of exploring them by gulet is that you can reach the ones most travellers never see. From lively harbour towns to uninhabited national parks, here are the islands that make the Adriatic such a rewarding place to sail.

A gulet, the traditional broad-beamed wooden sailing vessel of the Adriatic, is the ideal way to island-hop in Croatia. Its shallow draught lets it slip into coves that larger boats cannot enter, and its relaxed pace suits the rhythm of island life perfectly. The question is simply where to point it, and the central Dalmatian coast around Split offers an embarrassment of riches within easy sailing distance.

Hvar: Glamour and Lavender

Hvar is the most famous of the Dalmatian islands, and with good reason. Hvar Town is a beautiful old harbour settlement of Venetian architecture, marble streets, and a hilltop fortress, with a lively bar and restaurant scene that has made it a favourite of the yachting crowd. But there is far more to Hvar than its glamorous port. Inland, the island is covered in lavender fields, vineyards, and old stone villages, and the quieter coves along its coast offer beautiful swimming away from the crowds. A gulet lets you enjoy the buzz of Hvar Town and then slip away to anchor somewhere peaceful for the night.

Vis: The Unspoiled One

Vis is the furthest inhabited island from the Croatian mainland, and for decades it was closed to visitors as a Yugoslav military base. That isolation has left it wonderfully unspoiled, and it remains one of the most authentic and least developed of the Dalmatian islands. The two main towns, Vis and Komiža, are charming old fishing and wine-making settlements, and the island is famous for its food and its wine. From Vis, a short hop brings you to the tiny island of Biševo and its Blue Cave, a sea cave that glows an ethereal blue when the midday sun streams in, one of the most magical sights in the Adriatic.

The Pakleni Islands: Coves and Clear Water

Just off Hvar Town lies the Pakleni archipelago, a scattering of small islands and islets fringed with pine trees and ringed by some of the clearest water in the Adriatic. This is gulet cruising at its best: a landscape of hidden coves and quiet anchorages, perfect for swimming, snorkelling, and lazy afternoons at anchor. Some of the islands have excellent beach restaurants, while others are entirely undeveloped, and the short distances between them make the Paklenis an ideal place to spend a slow day exploring by boat.

Korčula: History and Wine

Korčula is one of the greenest and most beautiful of the Dalmatian islands, and its main town is often called a miniature Dubrovnik for its magnificent medieval walls and fishbone pattern of narrow streets, cleverly designed to catch the breeze while blocking the wind. The town claims to be the birthplace of Marco Polo, and its history is palpable in every stone. The island is also renowned for its white wines, made from indigenous grape varieties found nowhere else, and a visit to a local vineyard is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon ashore.

The Kornati Islands: A National Park of Empty Isles

For something completely different, the Kornati archipelago to the north is one of the most extraordinary sailing grounds in the Mediterranean. A national park made up of over a hundred largely uninhabited islands, it is a stark, dramatic landscape of bare limestone rising from an impossibly blue sea, with almost no permanent population and a profound sense of remoteness. There are few facilities here beyond a handful of simple restaurants in sheltered bays, and that is precisely the appeal: this is nature at its most elemental, accessible only by boat and best explored slowly under sail.

Planning Your Island Route

The joy of exploring these islands by gulet is that you do not have to choose just one; a week’s cruise can easily take in several, following a loose route that adapts to the wind and your own inclinations. A crewed croatia gulet holiday puts a captain who knows these waters intimately at the helm, so you can relax into the rhythm of island life while someone else handles the sailing and the route. Whichever islands you choose, exploring the Croatian coast by gulet is one of the most rewarding ways to experience the Adriatic, and it reveals a version of these islands that those who arrive by ferry and stay on land simply never get to see.