Croatia: Kvarner Bay and islands | Plus Tour

First time sailing / biking in the Croatia islands. This is our second Boat Bike Tour. We were sailing on the “Kvarner Bay and Islands” tour on the Andela Lora ship. Late July 2024. Technically, apparently this was an “IslandHopping” tour, which Boat Bike Tours recently acquired… The ship is a nicer larger ship — 17 cabins and up to 34 people. In late July, this cruise was only half full — 4 English speaking couples – 3 German speaking couples and a local Croatian couple. Turns out this time of year is pretty warm so not as popular perhaps for boating / biking. If we had had all 17 cabins filled, that would’ve been a bit more crowded on the ship. The rooms on the ship struggled to keep cool during the day and at night with the room A/C units — so some degree of difficulty to fall asleep. Not awful, but definitely notice’able. The ship crew was friendly, albeit most did not speak with the passengers much. The waiter for each day was also friendly and talked with us – but seemed more “alone” on the ship. Interesting interactions. The two bike tour guides were super funny and approach’able. All of the days announcements were done in the two languages – English and German – which of course wasn’t a big deal at all – but there were definitely “two separate groups” on the ship. The meals on the ship were good – served either buffet style or family style. The bar was “ok” — limited space on the ship / bar area so we often would purchase personal drinks on shore (silly things like ice tea or coke zero…). Wine was available on the ship for purchase and was good to have at dinner each night. The Adriatic Sea was amazing — crystal clear and not cold at all. Many days ended with a swim off the back of the boat to cool off and relax. I wish they had told us to bring easy small floatation devices so we could float around longer. The bike tours on the islands were very well selected. Most everyone was using an electric assist bike since many of the islands had some big uphills to navigate. Some of the biking was on roads with cars zooming by, but in general the locals knew how to give the bikers space. The islands themselves were fascinating — with little pockets of towns or beach areas for vacationers. This trip avoided most of the really big cities which was very nice. Sometimes we felt like we were just speeding through the country-side and the islands. There were a number of cool spots along the way which we would have liked to have stopped to learn more about them. Course, the two bike guides did say “stop if you want to stop!”. :- ) All in all, a good tour. We would go back for another different Croatia islands tour in the future.

The trip was fabulous in every way. Lovely boat, good food, great bikes, terrific and well organized rides, superb guides, and likeable travelling companions.

We travelled as a group of four Girls. This trip was beyond our expectations, We really had the most amazing trip. We couldn’t have dreamt of anything more perfect. The boat was fabulous, the food delicious and plenty of it it, the staff and organisers where absolutely amazing and very professional. Special thanks to Kristofor, Kreso,Mario & Aron you all worked so hard to make our holiday perfect, thank you so much. We really couldn’t have wished for anymore. Just one negative……..The bar bill. Wish you had listed the price of a glass of wine, it came as a big shock at the end of the week. We learnt from others when it was too late that we could have paid for a bottle and stored it in your fridge.

We loved our Croatian bike and boat tour. It was the perfect blend of exercise, guided tours and boating. We didn’t have to plan a thing or make the arrangements. The guides gave us our plans for each segment at our meal times together. The staff was friendly, but you wouldn’t know they were living on board with you. The guides were so fun and made each day a most excellent adventure. If you are worried about biking the hills the e-bikes are a good option. We are already looking for our next bike and boat tour.