Croatia Treasure Islands

This ultimate island hop embarks in Dubrovnik. By lunch you’ll be swimming off Lokrum Island. Made famous by Game of Thrones, underneath it’s riddled with scuba dive caves. Then train your binoculars on Mrkan Island. The last island before Montenegro is a nature reserve. Shearwaters skim the surface. Bottlenose dolphins leap above the waves.

Today you’ll stroll Sveti Stefan, Montenegro’s telegenic island. Its cobbled streets and boutiques are joined to the mainland by a necklace of golden sand. Action stations? Sail on to Sveti Nikola Island, known locally as ‘Hawaii’. It’s completely uninhabited. Find 50% sandy beach, 50% cliffs that crash headlong into the Adriatic.

This morning promises pirate island adventure. Smugglers used Mljet and its dozens of tiny islets to hide real loot. Use paddleboards and our Y.CO treasure map to find buried plunder. A pirate picnic awaits too. Divers on board? Scuba the S-57. This motor torpedo boat sank intact in 26m of sea in 1944. Its torpedo tubes are home to lobsters and crabs.

Lastovo ranks among Croatia’s loneliest islands. This afternoon make inter-island swims between 46 uninhabited islets that garland its shore. Your crew will stock the support RIB with energy drinks and GoPros. After a fisherman-sourced dinner (squid, grouper, tuna) you’ll be handed a telescope. Astrologists claim that Lastovo boasts the Adriatic’s starriest night skies.

Today is race day! Vis Island has two roads: an Austro-Hungarian asphalt highway, and a Yugoslavian tarmac rollercoaster that runs up a mountain. On a 50cc scooter both are bags of fun. But keep schtum about Stiniva Beach. A curtain of cliffs hides this Instagram sensation swoosh of sand. It’s solely accessible by yacht tender or mountain path.

After breakfast go clubbing. Because Hvar Island is famed for its tricky-to-reach beach clubs. Head to Robinson, where hippy-chic staff cook fish stew over an open fire and make their own white wine. For something more active, dive back in time and scuba the 150-year-old British shipwreck Paulina on a 30m-deep sandy seabed.

Wake up with a strong coffee. Morning breezes render Korcula Island Croatia’s windsurfing go-to. Want to windsurf to another island? Your crew will follow in a RIB. We recommend Sestrica Island. It hosts 61 types of coral, 185 species of fish and a red-and-white striped lighthouse. You can only get there by private yacht.

Today take breakfast alongside Croatia’s most famous beach. Zlatni Rat is a golden cape that punches into the azure Adriatic. Near the beach Romans built villas with mosaic floors. At Babice Stine one Roman mansion has slipped underwater. With masks and snorkels it’s like diving through time.

This morning, take a lesson in drone photography. Pilot it across Baljenac Island, which is criss-crossed by dry stone walls. It looks like a giant’s thumbprint from above. Hungry? Sail on to Dugi Otok Island for an octopus feast. You’ll dine alone, because just 1,500 people share the Adriatic’s seventh-largest island. The fishing and diving here is world class.