The Labud not only adds an extra dimension to our Kayaking and Day Tours, but allows us to escape Split and explore Croatian coast and islands we have yet visited. In October we set sail to see the Kvarner Gulf region of Croatia. For the first 2 days – firstly from Split to Primosten, and [...]

Last year for one of our Korcula to Dubrovnik Kayak Expeditions we needed a bigger boat than our leut, Labud. We had been in email contact with Rebecca and Kresimir, owners of the 57′ Danish ketch the Bente Dorte, built in 1929. Rebecca and Kresimir spent the last7 years renovating her in the cold wilds [...]

Last year we posted how two companies, Finn and Spirit, had dramatically changed paddling in Perth over the last two decades. Several weeks ago I had a meeting at Spirit Paddle Sports with Alan, the General Manager, and Lannin, the Marketing Director. Spirit produce a number of designs of plastic kayaks; the Spirit boats that [...]

It has been a long time between posts here on our Lifejacket Adventures blog. That’s because we started a new blog – Our Croatia Life – which now contains all of the more personal stories, and we will continue to publish our adventure business stories here. On facebook, Our Croatian Life can be found here, [...]

The effervescent American travel guide, Rick Steves, is making his way through Croatia filming a new documentary about the country and its neighbors. We had a chance to say hello when we bumped into him filming on the riva. Helping him out was Cameron Hewitt, Rick’s associate and book writer, and our friendly guide Maja. [...]

Two weeks ago, Amber and Evan decided to join us at Marija and Pjerino Šimunović’s Konoba Dionis on the Pakleni Islands, just off Hvar Town, for a day in the sun and some good food. We helped to pick all the vegetables from the garden – potatoes, spring onions, and, most importantly, artichokes. (It was [...]

Joanne, John and I went exploring Hvar Island on Friday by scooter. After catching the ferry from Split to Stari Grad, we drove the scooters across the island to Sveta Nedjelja, and then along the coast to Hvar Town. On Hvar Town’s waterfront we were met by George Šimunović who raced us across to the [...]

The combined efforts of Rene Seindal’s Venice Kayak, our Lifejacket Adventures – Croatia, Ray Fusco Inc. and Jen Kleck’s Aqua Adventures have put together the ultimate 12-day sea kayaking adventure for Europe’s Adriatic Sea. The tour combines the history of towns and cities such as Korcula, Dubrovnik and Venice – their maritime roots and the [...]

The schedule for our 2010 sea-kayaking adventures/expeditions has been added here! In terms of quality of food, knowledge of local history, places visited, wines tasted and overall enjoyment, we believe our tours to be the best in Croatia! Except for coffee at cafes and wine at restaurants, all meals and drinks are included. Our tours [...]

Kayaking into Dubrovnik I often squint my eyes as we paddle up to old Dalmatian towns and try to imagine how it was to arrive in them from the sea before the surrounding modern development occurred. I found myself screwing up my eyes again as we kayaked towards the walls of Dubrovnik from Lopud. It [...]

Ferry to Šipan Island, Kayak to Lopud Island In the morning twilight we sat and cradled our coffees as we waited for the early departure of the ferry to Šipan Island. Šipan is one of the Elafiti Islands, a chain of islands which run between Dubrovnik and the Pelješac Peninsula. These islands once were the [...]

Kayaking to Sobra We were able to have a sleep-in this morning – but surprisingly this was not due to hangovers thanks to the preservative free wine! We continued to make our way down the north coast of Mljet towards the town of Sobra, the ferry port of the island. The only other signs of [...]

Boat Ride to Mljet Island, Walk around the Lakes, Kayak to Kozarica After a breakfast of pancakes topped with homemade jams, eggs from Seka’s chickens and teas made with herbs from her garden, we loaded the kayaks on the transport boat for Mljet Island. The kayaks were left in the town of Pomena while we [...]

Kayaking to Trstenik, Dinner with Seka This day’s paddle was to take us to Trstenik, another small bay along the Pelješac Peninsula. Wine was once again to play its part, as our boats were followed for the day by the hills of the Dingač region. Dingač is a red wine producing area. They take Dalmatia’s [...]

Kayaking from Korčula to Podobuce The kayaks were launched from in front of the old walls, and we headed across the channel towards the Pelješac Peninsula. The calm waters we were crossing were teeming in history. Most importantly, in 1298 the Battle of Korčula was fought between the Venetians and the Genoese. As the smoke [...]

Meeting in Dubrovnik, Seafood Lunch in Mali Ston and Discovering the Wines of Korčula Howard, the Conservative Canuck, his daughter Sarah, as well as Mike and Lynn Springer joined us in September for a Korčula to Dubrovnik Kayak Expedition. The night before in a great little Bosnian food restaurant in Dubrovnik – the Taj Mahal [...]

I headed across to Hvar Island yesterday for a Wine Tour with Agnete and Christian, two members of one of Norway’s biggest hard-core bands, Madder Mortem. The plan was to introduce them to as much of the island and its wine and food in 12 hours as possible. Our friend Mili at Hertz Rentals was [...]

On Wednesday, to begin our short sojourn on Vis and Biševo Islands, Tracey, Marisa, Andreas, Bob, Tim and I boarded the Jadrolinija ferry, followed by the local bus to Komiža. Due to the heat and Tracey being 5 months pregnant with Bob, we decided against an afternoon hike and instead went for a swim in [...]

Marilyn, John and I crossed the border into Bosnia yesterday to visit Mostar. Mostar is a mixed Serb, Croat and Bosnia town in south-west Bosnia, known for its 16th Century bridge, which crosses the Neretva River, and the crazy guys who dive from it. The town is named after the bridge – most means bridge [...]

Monday, 7th July End of the Tour in Hvar Town For our last day together the plan was to sail the southern coast of Hvar Island. But the jugo (southern wind) had blown in during the night, meaning it would be impossible to anchor in the small exposed bays. Instead we enjoyed (well some of [...]

Sunday, 6th July Sailing Across to Hvar Island – Exploring the Pakleni Tove unfortunately had to leave us early, so she caught the ferry back from Vis Island to Split. The rest of us enjoyed an early morning coffee or three on Vis Town’s riva – waterfront. Then it was time to cross the channel [...]

Saturday, 5th July Completing the Circumnavigation of Vis Island – Stončica Bay A serve of fried eggs and a cup of coffee gave us all the energy to begin our last day on Vis Island. A short kayak had us at the first stop; the sandy beach (not typical for Dalmatia) of Stončica Bay. While [...]

Friday, 4th July Kayaking along Vis Island’s Southern Coast – Stiniva Bay and Mala Travna Because of geological reasons, the southern sides of the Dalmatian Islands are the most interesting – towering cliffs with narrow pebble beaches slicing into them. The day’s paddling was the most enjoyable with many nooks and crannies to be explored. [...]

Thursday, 3rd July Kayaking around Biševo Island – the Monk Seal and Blue Caves After rising relatively early, we cruised across to Biševo Island. Its name is derived from the local word for the worm-holes found in wood because of the numerous above and under water caves that run through its limestone. Our first stop [...]

Wednesday, 2nd July Ferry to Vis Island and Kayak to Komiža Wednesday was the day we started paddling! After a 2 hour ferry crossing to Vis Island and a healthy meal (the last not to involve wine for the whole trip), we organized kayaks and, following a quick explanation of a wet exit, headed out. [...]

Tuesday, 1st July Arrival in Split The Vis and Hvar Islands Kayak Adventure starts in the evening of the first day – not with getting into the boats but a stroll through the 1 700 year old ruins of Roman Emperor Diocletian’s retirement palace. Eventhough Deanna, Gabe, Tove, May-Lill, Jodie, Warwick (call me ‘Waz’) and [...]

As mentioned previously, the usual support boat for our sea-kayaking tours has been in Brest for the last 10 days. So we needed another for last week’s adventure around Vis and Hvar Islands. Tim and I headed north to Murter to borrow the only other replica falkuša, the Mikula, from my friend Tomislav. Murter is [...]

Yesterday Frank, Ceila, Bill and Cary enjoyed a day with us on Brač Island. After the 45-minute ferry ride from Split, we drove to the trailhead above Pustinja Blaca. Blaca was a monastery found in 1551 by Glagoltic monks from Poljica Republic. This small Republic, behind Omiš, was wedged between the Venetian and Ottoman Empires. [...]

Tonight our friends Jane Cody and John Nash had the official Croatian launch of their book, Croatia Cruising Companion. Jane also did some writing for the new Timeout Croatia magazine, and she presented it as well to the audience of marina representatives and tourism agencies. The Cruising Companion took Jane and John several years to [...]

Ray Fusco has been helping us with promoting our tours and needed a new flier to pass onto Jersey Paddler.

The European Cities Marketing Association has released figures which shows Split is #1 on a list of European holiday destinations for growth in visitors between 2001 and 2006. “Split saw an annual growth of around 17% in tourists, to top their survey of 93 locations across Europe. In 2006, some 200 000 holiday makers crowded [...]

As can be seen from the last posts we have been catching up on our newspaper reading. Old lefties who read The Guardian in the UK may have seen a recent article about the best places to take your loved one. Under the title Glamorous Romantic Getaways, our friend Goran and his restaurant Vila Kaliopa [...]

Another magazine, another poll and the Dalmatian Islands are again ranked very highly. Travel + Leisure Magazine put them at #7 in their Top 10 World’s Best Islands. Follow the link and you arrive at a 2005 article about many of the islands we often visit. Of Dubrovnik – “Dalmatia’s most famous city is touted [...]

The New York Times recently published a list of the must-see places in the world for 2008. Included in this list, at an impressive #11, is the town of Hvar (on Hvar Island). The NY Times describes Hvar thus: “As Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast has become a new Riviera, Hvar has become its St. Tropez: a [...]

Some of our pictures.

The Croatian National Parks that we have visited so far we have really enjoyed. One trip that always goes well is walking around the Plitvice Lakes, in the Lika region. The Lakes are protected on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As the River Korana cuts its way down through the limestone of the surrounding hills [...]