Charter Logbook: A Week in Istria and Kvarner on the Fountaine Pajot 67 FLORAMYE

I already knew Croatia from two earlier trips, Dalmatia and the Kornati. This time I went north, to Istria and Kvarner, where the islands are more austere and the Adriatic feels a little wilder. I sailed on CAT FLORAMYE, a brand-new 2025 Fountaine Pajot 67 catamaran, 20.36 metres long. Eight guests in four cabins, two in each hull, each with its own bathroom, and a crew of three. She is making her debut in the Croatian charter season, so everything on board still looked straight out of the catalogue.

The route is a proposal I put together for this yacht, and the port of embarkation and the order of stops are agreed at booking. I came aboard, set off and came back. Day by day, just as it was.

Day 1: Pula and the first evening

We stepped aboard in the afternoon, in the shadow of the Roman arena that towers over the harbour in Pula. The catamaran impresses from the gangway: a wide deck, a saloon opening onto the stern, and a flybridge with a view across the whole bay. The crew showed us the cabins, we dropped our bags, and within an hour we were on the water. The captain took us north and anchored in a sheltered bay by the Brijuni islands.

The first evening, as always, was on the stern with an Aperol Spritz. We watched the lights come on along the shore while the sky over Istria turned pink, then navy. Dinner on board: fresh grilled fish with a cold Malvazija, the white wine of Istria. Nobody reached for a phone.

Day 2: Brijuni, islands in a national park

I like to get up at dawn, climb to the flybridge with a coffee and watch the sun slowly rise. That morning the sea was as flat as a lake, and the Brijuni archipelago emerged from the mist, green and low. Brijuni is a national park: pine woods, meadows where fallow deer wander, and dinosaur tracks in the rock. We took the tender to Veliki Brijun, strolled along the avenues and went back on board for a long lunch.

In the afternoon we lay about and swam in warm, turquoise water over pale stone seabed, straight off the stern. In the evening we stayed at anchor. The silence was so complete that you could hear the cicadas on shore.

Day 3: Rovinj, a town on a peninsula

You can see Rovinj from far away: a town laid out on an oval peninsula, with the tower of St Euphemia’s church above the roofs. We anchored in the roads off the old town and took the tender into the harbour. Narrow, stone-paved lanes climb to the church, painters’ galleries wait at every turn, and on the quay at dusk the fishermen lay out their nets.

In the morning we began with coffee in the harbour and climbed to the church on the hill. The view over the roofs and the sea was worth every step. In a town like this it is best to have no plan: we bought olive oil from an older lady at a stall, sat on the quay for a while and walked back to the yacht without any hurry.

We went back on board for dinner: grilled squid, fresh mussels and seafood, with cold white wine. We fell asleep to the sound of small waves against the hulls.

Things to think about before booking this route. First: the bora. This cold, gusty north-easterly can close the Kvarner crossing for a day or two, so I keep the order of stops flexible and the captain picks the weather window for the passage from Istria to Cres. Second: the national park and the peak season. Brijuni has its own rules for entry and anchoring, and in July and August places in harbours and anchorages go quickly, so they are booked ahead.

Day 4: Crossing to Kvarner

On the fourth day we left early, because this was the longest leg of the week: open water from Istria to the island of Cres. This is where the catamaran showed what it is for. Two hulls ride the swell with almost no heel, and you can sit quietly in the saloon with a book or a glass of water as if the yacht were tied up at the quay. From the flybridge we watched the steep cliffs of Cres slowly grow ahead of us.

The crew served lunch underway, at the table in the saloon: cold dishes, fresh fruit, bread and olive oil. On a long passage it is calm on deck that decides whether a day is enjoyable. Nobody was tired, nobody counted miles.

Cres is a different Croatia: austere, stony, crossed by dry-stone walls, with sheep on the slopes, and the water under the cliffs is a deep sapphire. We anchored in a sheltered bay by the town of Cres and, after a full day at sea, jumped in. No plans, just swimming and the sunset.

Day 5: Osor and Veli Lošinj

The islands of Cres and Lošinj are separated by a narrow channel at Osor, spanned by a movable bridge. It opens at set times, so we shaped the morning around its rhythm. That is exactly what I like about this route: the moment when the yacht waits and we stand on deck looking at the café on the quay, as if time had stopped for a minute.

After the bridge we sailed south to Veli Lošinj. A tiny bay with the coloured houses of old sea captains, hills smelling of pine and rosemary. The waters around Lošinj are a reserve for bottlenose dolphins, so we kept watching for fins on the way. We saw two glistening backs, far astern, and that was enough. In the evening, dinner on the quay: grilled fish, olive oil, lemon.

A catamaran is not a slower version of a motor yacht. It is a different way of cruising: more room, less motion, and always enough space for everyone to be together and for each person to be alone.

Day 6: Susak, an island of sand

Susak is an island like no other in the Adriatic: built on sand, with beaches of soft, golden seabed, almost no cars, a tiny village on the top and steep little lanes. We anchored in a shallow bay, in water so clear that we could see the anchor on the bottom from the deck.

It was a day for the water. I went down the ladder, swam to the beach, came back, lay on the deck, and then into the water again. On board there was a stand-up paddleboard and a kayak, but why bother, when the best thing you can do in warm, turquoise water is simply to lie in it. Seafood for lunch, and in the evening a long conversation on the stern, with no phones.

Towards evening we took the tender to the village. A few tables by the water, a glass of local wine and a view of the bay where we were anchored alone. When it got dark we went back on board and for a long time looked at the stars that you never see from a city.

Day 7: Back to Pula

The last morning was the same as the first: coffee at dawn on the flybridge, the sea like glass, the silhouette of Lošinj in the distance. Nobody was in a hurry. We headed back towards Istria at an easy pace, with one long swim on the way, on empty water. We reached Pula tanned, rested and a little too pleased with life.

What it costs and what to know

CAT FLORAMYE is a Fountaine Pajot 67 from 2025, 20.36 metres, with eight guests in four cabins (two in each hull, each with its own bathroom) and a crew of three. In the 2026 Croatian season she charters from €35,000 per week to €46,000 at the peak, plus expenses. As a rule of thumb in the industry, the APA advance for fuel, provisions and port fees is around 30% of the rate; I confirm the exact figure for your dates. Rates for the following season are available on request.

The route I have described is a proposal: the order of stops and the length of each passage are agreed with the captain for your dates, the weather and mooring availability. On board there is a Highfield 420 tender with a Honda 60 HP engine, two Jobe underwater scooters, two stand-up paddleboards, a two-seat kayak, snorkelling equipment and basic fishing gear, but what gave me the most joy was lying in the water and the long dinners on the stern. She suits two or three couples, or a family with grown-up children, who want to travel at their own pace.

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Want to sail this route for real? Tell me when and with whom you are sailing, and I will check availability and build the week around you.