This is a sponsored post.
I’ve written before about how much I love the water. In part because I grew up near it (in Norwalk, Connecticut), I like to spend time by the sea or ocean wherever I can, in Manhattan Beach where I live and in destinations I travel to.
In Croatia, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Montenegro—which together claim some of the most beautiful coasts and islands in the world—an agency called Goolets works to helps visitors (and locals) get out on the water in style: on private, fully crewed and catered gulets. A gulet is a two- or three-masted wooden yacht, and the Goolets network includes more than 350 of them, as well as crews to sail them. With help from 673 “partners” (says the website), Goolets can book, organize and see through a week of relaxing on the three-cabin Gulet Dora Deniz (from €3,113/week or ~$3,473/week), for example, or the 20-person Gulet Sunworld IX (from €8,750/week or ~$9,764/week). Give the team a lot or a little direction and it will come back with a range of (usually five) ways to see a beautiful part of the world from a beautiful ship.
To my understanding, Goolets is a go-to in the moderately sized world of gulet tourism, including for travelers of Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast. In fact, it sells about a third of all capacity in Croatia. In 2020, however, it will also be focusing on another service: luxury yacht charters in Croatia.
Goolets luxury yacht charters in Croatia
The luxury yacht charter service is already open for business. It works just like the gulet charter service does, but for sleek luxury yachts instead of elegant sailing ships. If you want a dream on-the-water Croatian vacation, you get in touch, and Goolets will do the rest. Its team provides the “human-to-human support” before, during and after a trip. You pick a yacht (or let the team recommend options), and everything from a trustworthy captain to food/drink to onboard massages can be arranged for you.
Unsurprisingly, the yacht prices are higher than the gulet prices. Full weeklong charters range from €17,000 (~$19,970) to €230,000 (~$256,628!) for a whole group (so split among the guests). Fuel, food and port taxes are extra. Late June through late August seems to be the most expensive time of year, with the shoulder seasons a little cheaper. If you have some money (and/or a group) for a Croatian escape, however, the Goolets yacht experience looks extraordinary. Chic cabins with luxury bedding, spacious lounge areas, jacuzzis on their top decks…all are yours to enjoy while the crew sails you through Croatia’s corner of the Adriatic, which includes 1,200+ islands!
Here are a few of the luxury yachts available now, with prices:
- Auriane: 99 feet, three cabins, seven guests, from €30,000/week
- Lastavica: 161 feet, 18 cabins, 36 guests, from €46,000/week
- Johnson Baby: 87 feet, five cabins, 10 guests, from €50,000/week
- Baby I: 105 feet, four cabins, eight guests, from €50,000/week
- Cassiopeia: 112 feet, five cabins, 10 guests, from €85,000/week
- Mustique: 180 feet, six cabins, 12 guests, from €230,000/week
You can see all 16 yachts, all of which can be chartered with crew and itinerary included, on this page. You can also speak to a Goolets rep about a magical Croatian sail, on a yacht or gulet, for free.
December 7, 2019: A night of Goolets celebration
Last month when Goolets wrote to share its new focus on luxury yachts, it also included news of a special evening it hosted in appreciation of its many partners. On December 7, it hosted these partners—professionals in the gulet charter and yacht charter businesses—at Bled Castle, which looks over Lake Bled in Slovenia. In an incredible waterside setting, the Goolets family fittingly looked ahead to 2020. Here is that night in a short video:
