Join me as I recount my sensational summer 2023 yacht adventure in Croatia and Greece, all on a budget! While pursuing my MBA at Columbia Business School, my friends and I decided to charter our very own 200-foot private yacht for under $2,000 per person. I'll spill the details on why we opted for a private yacht over Yacht Week, share the incredible island-hopping experiences we had, and dive into the legendary nights we spent on the high seas. Plus, stay tuned for a sneak peek into my plans for organizing more yacht adventures in summer 2024. Don't miss this epic tale of affordable luxury and adventure on the Short Sleeve Travel Podcast!
Instagram @katshortsleeve
Tik Tok @katshortsleeve
Youtube Shortsleeve Travel with Kat Shortsleeve
Join me as I recount my sensational summer 2023 yacht adventure in Croatia and Greece, all on a budget! While pursuing my MBA at Columbia Business School, my friends and I decided to charter our very own 200-foot private yacht for under $2,000 per person. I'll spill the details on why we opted for a private yacht over Yacht Week, share the incredible island-hopping experiences we had, and dive into the legendary nights we spent on the high seas. Plus, stay tuned for a sneak peek into my plans for organizing more yacht adventures in summer 2024. Don't miss this epic tale of affordable luxury and adventure on the Short Sleeve Travel Podcast!
Instagram @katshortsleeve
Tik Tok @katshortsleeve
Youtube Shortsleeve Travel with Kat Shortsleeve
Okay, get ready for this one. Here's how to spend an entire week on your own private yacht in Greece or Croatia for under$2,000. Last summer, I was getting my M B A at Columbia Business School, and we chartered our own private yacht to take us around Croatia. So yacht week is completely different. That's when everyone pulls up. They have small sailboats, they pull up to each other. They rage in the middle of the ocean, but it's one bathroom for 12 people. You have a limited water supply for the week. It's these tiny sailboats, and you have to bring your own snacks and your own drink. We on the other hand, got a gorgeous 200 foot yacht with a hot tub on the roof, uh, full staff to cook us every single meal. The boat is called Lasa Vika, and you can Google it. So we got on and sail during the day, stopping at different swimming and cliff jumping spots. Then we would reach a port where we would go explore the island for the day, go to a vineyard, rent vespas to explore the island. We would either have dinner on the boat or we'd have it on the island, and then we'd go to a club, go out for the night. Everyone had to be back on board at 4:00 AM because that's when we would leave to go to another island and everyone would sleep while we were traveling. So the total price is 60,000 for the week, but there are 22 cabins on board, and if you share a room with someone that's a total of 40 people and splitting 60,000 between 40 people, it ended up being$1,750 each. I want to organize a boat for next summer who's coming with me? Hello Kat short sleeve here and today I've got a tale that will make you rethink your summer vacation plans. Last summer, while I was knee deep in my M B A at Columbia Business School, I embarked on an epic journey through crystal clear waters of Croatia, forget cramped sailboats on yacht week and shared bathrooms. We're talking about chartering our own 200 foot private yacht for$1,500 per person. And was it worth it? You betcha. So in this episode, I'll touch on the differences between yacht week versus chartering your own private yacht and how you can do both. I'll touch on island hopping and the different adventures that we got to enjoy. I'll get into the nights on the high seas, the evenings, the party scenes. It is legendary, especially in Croatia. And finally, I'll talk about the price tag and my future plans and how you can get on a boat that I'm organizing for next summer, summer 2024. Welcome back to the Short Sleeve Travel Podcast. I'm your host, Katt short sleeve. Join me each week as we embark on a journey to help you achieve your wildest travel dreams. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or new to the adventure, I'll guide you in exploring the world on your terms. No matter your situation or experience. I'll show you how to fill in your life with as much travel as you desire. So you've probably heard of Yacht Week where folks squeeze onto these small sailboats and they party it up. This is all over social media and Instagram especially. They've done a great job of marketing themselves. You'll see kids partying on floating dance floors. The boats are all tied up together and people are just going wild. It looks like an absolute blast. Well, we decided to take it up a notch and we charted a 200 foot beautiful private yacht. So picture this, we had a hot tub on the roof, a full staff to pamper us with gourmet meals and the freedom to explore croat hidden gems on our own itinerary. The basic differences between chartering your own private yacht and yacht week, or sail, Croatia, that type of thing is on a private yacht. You have this luxurious comfort and there are a lot more amenities that are available to you. You also have much more. Freedom because it's an exclusive experience and the staff is there hired to guide you around. And so if you choose to want to leave later one morning because you want to explore that cove or stay a little bit longer there, or go to one place that you found out that day for lunch, you can do those types of things. Whereas on Yacht Week, it's a very scheduled, strict itinerary another major difference is that when you're in a private yacht, you'll pull into a port every single night and you'll be able to explore islands every day if that's what you want to do. One day we actually decided to stay out at sea and just swim in the middle of the ocean and enjoy lunch on board. But if you'd like. You can choose to do whatever you want when you're chartering your own private yacht, for the most part, you just speak with the captain, you speak with the staff the day before, a few hours before, even in that moment, and it's a much more custom experience on a private yacht. You're also much more likely to have gourmet indulgences from. Three course meals, appetizers, and desserts. And on yacht week, I have heard some horror stories about having to bring your own food, your own snacks. I'll get into some of those specifics. In my opinion, the only con, of course, to renting a private yacht is of course the high cost. Nobody wants to deal with that bill at the end of the week. But what I've done is I've figured out a loophole in a way in which we're able to schedule these private yachts with groups of 36 people and make it very affordable. I've realized through a lot of my years of traveling, the magnitude of getting large groups of people together to be able to enjoy very luxury experiences and 36 people isn't a huge group, but I. It's a lot for one person to think about scheduling when they have a nine to five, but I was in business school and so I had people around me who were readily available, wanting to travel, wanting to spend a little bit of money, but it also doesn't need to break the bank. So like I said, this entire week, all in, it cost me$1,750 and I'll break down the cost later on. But that includes everything. If you don't want to add on any other add-ons like a Vespa or drinks on board. Your total cost will only be$1,500, but I indulged in a bunch of drinks on board. I rented a Vespa. I went to a few clubs that costs some money and a couple other things. I've had a bunch of friends go on Yacht Week in Croatia, in Greece, and in Turkey. And the pro to this is that it's a very budget friendly adventure and so they make it very affordable for couples to do, individuals to do. You can go on your own and with groups of people, which is the same for a private yacht. Another reason why a lot of people choose to do Yacht Week and the sailboats is it's a social bonanza, and so it's young people. Everyone wants to meet each other. Lots of people. Going out and partying and it's, it's a total adventure on a budget, but there's limited space. There's limited capacity on these sailboats, and I've heard horror stories of 12 people sharing one single bathroom on one of these sailboats. I have heard that you also need to get all of your water supply in advance, because once they set sail, you're on the sailboat for the entire week and you don't really dock or port at all. Occasionally, maybe once or twice you'll stop in a port, but you're really on this small sailboat the entire time, and so people are much more prone to getting seasick. Whereas on a private yacht, it's very stable and you don't feel the ocean and the waves as much. Our journey was packed with adventures, and that's really what our group was looking for for that week. We were swimming and cliff jumping. We were going to secluded coves and exploring charming islands for an entire day. We made the most of every stop, and we barely slept during our week on this boat because we just want to enjoy every single moment. On the boat, we had spacious cabins and premium amenities two different dining rooms that we would eat every single meal in on the boat. And each meal was multi-course meal, so breakfast was a buffet, or you could have a sit down breakfast, made hot and delivered right to you. You could also even order room service and have it brought straight down to your room. A lot of people actually did miss breakfast on board because they would go out late partying every single night, and breakfast was only available from. 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM and so people would really just sleep right through it. But I wanted to get the most out of my money and I also was too excited to basically sleep when I was on this boat, knowing it was such a special experience. And so I got up every morning and I'd have a cappuccino, some fresh fruit. I'd speak with the staff, and sometimes I was the only one on board who was even awake for those things. There is a dedicated chef on board cooking savory gourmet meals, and there's a bartender on board as well, crafting up gorgeous cocktails at any hour of the day. So if you want to wake up and have an Aperol Spritz or a mimosa and have a Paloma, a spicy margarita, a Negroni, that's what we were drinking oftentimes on the boat. You could do that at any point in time. And what I will say is drinks were not included in the$1,500, the cost of the boat, but of course, all of the meals were included even though drinks weren't included. They were pretty cheap because Croatia just inexpensive to begin with. And so, I believe an Aperol spritz was somewhere around$8, and similar for all the other drinks, but beer and wine was cheaper. The yacht is also so big that there are so many different gathering spots you could gather on the lower back deck around a big table. There's an entire floor with a bunch of tables and lounge seating. There's some seating inside with AC if you'd like to be in there. Some seating all the way up at the front of the boat with big lounge chairs. It's three or four different levels. It was very big. And then there's this huge rooftop, there's a gym up there, lots of day beds, and so it's very comfortable. And if you wanted to get away for a moment and work on your laptop, because a lot of us had summer internships where we had to work while we were still on the boat. People would do that. Some people would be working out. Some people would be moving to a different corner of the boat just to listen to a podcast or do a meditation, so it really has enough space for everyone. And 36 people might seem like a lot on one boat, but this boat was big. Let me just tell you. That's another thing on Yacht Week. I've heard about having 12 people on board and go on TikTok. Look at the videos. You'll see three, four people cramped sleeping in one bed, and the boat is rocking around so much because you're docked out at sea, tied up with other boats, and you're not in a port where you're protected from the open ocean. If I have nothing against Yacht Week, it just really isn't for me, and I see so many people doing it, so I just wanna encourage people and show them the other options that they have. The first day that we got on board, we set sail and we started sailing for about two hours. When we then got to a swimming spot where everyone jumped in, we were able to jump off the top of the boat. Some people were doing flips and things. The cabin crew, they really let you do what you want and make the most of it. So do things at your own discretion and. Even at the first swimming stop, somehow I jumped off the top of the boat and landed straight on a jellyfish, so my leg had this big bubbling rash on it. It was kind of burning, but it was so nice to have the staff there because on this big boat, they had tons of medical equipment, and so they got the gel that I needed right away and was able to put that on and it, it resolved quickly. So that was another great thing that I wasn't really expecting to have on the boat, but they provided that service as well. That night we got to the first island called Kula, and I loved this island. So we got off and explored this little medieval town in a walled city. It is absolutely beautiful. There are so many little shops, boutiquey spots, where you can buy dresses and purses, really authentic Croatian items as well that you wouldn't find in Split or Dubrovnik. Where Split into Dubrovnik are on Croatia mainland, which anyone can get to when you fly into the international airports. These islands are really special and also something I didn't expect is on the islands because they're so removed and because it's Croatia, it's very, very cheap, whereas other places, Santorini, those are very touristy and expensive. Kula. I mean, maybe you've never even heard of it. I hadn't heard of it before and so I didn't know what to expect. And the prices are just really cheap. So maybe nine euro for a pizza, four euro for a beer or a glass of wine or aro spritz. It's really affordable there because it's hard to get to and not many people can. If you go to Kula, of course, visit the boutiques and do some shopping, but the absolute best thing is there's this iconic bar. This must be one of the top bars in the entire world, but it's in this spiral tower made out of stones. And so you go into the. First level of this tower, and there's nothing there except a ladder straight up, and you need to climb the ladder pretty far up to the first level, and you think that that's where the bar is going to be, but nope. You have to keep climbing. Up another ladder. It's very steep and honestly a little bit dangerous. I can't imagine how many people have gotten drunk at the bar and tried to get back down and go home and aren't able to. Luckily we were all fine. But you climb up there to the second level and it is tiny. Maybe there are 10 tables. Everyone's crowded around, so close to one another, and it's the best vibe. It's the best experience. You're looking over the entire port, looking at all the yachts and the people pulled up with their own private boats and it's a surreal spot, so the waiters have to climb the staircase, or sorry, the ladder up and down to bring your drinks up and down, and they are speedy I thought. It was going to take so long for them to bring us a spritz and they just fly up and down this ladder. It's so impressive and every single person who goes to Croatia, I recommend this spot. It's kind of a hidden gem. I don't know how people don't know about it. and passed out, set sail around four in the morning and we jetted off to the next island called Vs. Now, this island was one of my favorite days because we got to the port and right there, 10 steps away from. Our plank that we walk off from the private yacht onto land was this tiny scooter shop, and we went in and we all rented Vespas to explore the island for the day. So we had two people on each Vespa, and again, it's such a remote island, so renting a Vespa, it was about 40 euros for the day, including gas and everything. And we just jetted off and around. We explored every single corner of this island. We stopped at maybe five or six beaches and we would go cliff jumping. We brought sandwiches with us to have and chips, and we'd hike down to the beaches, go swimming, hike back up, get on our vespas. We'd grab beers along the way. It was such an amazing time. That was probably my favorite day out of this entire past summer. I did have a little mishap though when we were cliff jumping. I went to go climb back up on one of the rocks. I was a little too audacious and I sliced my foot open and almost needed to go get stitches. I don't know why I. I think I'm so agile, but I always seem to get hurt in every single place that I go. I crash a Vespa, I cut my arm. Something always happens to me. After we were exhausted from exploring Vs. On the Vespas, we went and returned the Vespas. Sorry, Vespas right in front of the boat, got back on, everyone showered quickly, and then we had a transfer organized that brought us to a vineyard where we got to tour the vineyard, explore the different caves and different offerings they had. They showed us even where they make the wine, and then we sat down at these two massive sprawling tables in the middle of the vineyard and we had a gorgeous. Four course meal. It was a very authentic Croatian meal, and we passed around tons of wine. So out of the 36 of us, we all love wine and we're having such a blast. I think we had about 40 bottles of wine that night, and we all poured ourselves back into the transfers. Barely remembered that trip back to the boat and got back on and set sail a bit early that night. And we were jumping in the hot tub and playing music. It was just such a wild, incredible day in business school. There's definitely lots of drinking, and this isn't my forte, but I definitely leaned into it and enjoyed it while I was in business school. I. So the next island that we got to was incredible. This was more of a hot desert-like island. And so when we arrived there, we didn't know what we wanted to do for the day, but it was a big island with tons of offerings. So you could rent an A T V, you could rent a Vespa, you could rent a road bike. But of course, what we decided to do was we called a taxi, and that took us to a vineyard where we did a big 12 glass wine tasting with a bunch of different pairings. And we sat around playing some card games and just telling jokes and having a fun time with each other. That night we went to a club on the island and we met tons of people and what was kind of cool is, mm-hmm. We were able to immerse ourselves in the beauty and the culture of this one very remote island that not many people get to go to. And so each stop was so unique and really exciting. So evenings on the high seas were pretty legendary. We would hit clubs, we'd party on the beach, or we'd simply relax with drinks under the stars. We had to be back on board at 4:00 AM That's when we'd set sail for another island and everyone would pass out and go sound asleep while we'd be traveling to the next place. And then when you wake up, you're already docked in a new port in a completely different place. When we would go to these different beach clubs, we would of course be meeting people. Most of us were single on the boat, and so we would invite them to come back onto the yacht and go in the hot tub on the roof and go swimming. Our yacht was tied up next to a bunch of other yachts that that's kind of how they dock into the port and just how it goes. And so sometimes to get to your yacht, if you get to the port later in the day, you have to walk across six other boats to get to yours. It's kind of weird because it seems like that's something you probably shouldn't do, but. It's just the way it goes. There's no other way to get back on your boat. And so as you're walking through these other boats, you'll meet other young people who have their own yacht, and it's a really easy way just to make friends and start up conversations because you're walking through and seeing what's going on. It was a pretty neat experience. At one of the beach clubs, we met all these fun Scandinavian guys and they were like, so how long you in Croatia? Where are you staying? And it was so funny to say, well, we're in Croatia for a week, but we're only here for the next four hours. And where are we staying? Well look to your left. Do you see that massive boat out there? That's where we're staying. It was a fun little flex and. I mean, it was so cheap for each of us for the week, but it just seems so luxurious and it is luxurious. Now that's what everyone wants to know about the price tag. So the total cost of this boat for the week was$60,000, which sounds insane. It sounds insurmountable. And so if someone goes online, I. You'll look at what they wanna do next summer. They would never think, oh yeah, I'm gonna rent this boat, take on that entire burden, and hopefully find people who can rent it with me. And that's where I come in, because I know how to organize this. I know how to do it, and I know what the benefit is. So let's go through it. On this boat, there are 22 cabins and 36 people are allowed on board because some of the cabins are a little bit smaller, and so it's for a couple or maybe just a single person. I. And when you break it down, that's only$1,500 per person, and that includes all the meals that you had on board. So that's every breakfast, every lunch. I think we had two dinners off the boat, which was not included in the$1,500. That total price also includes a generous tip for the hardworking staff. It's 20% included. And you know what? It is worth every penny. So at the end of the day, like I said, my total cost for the week ended up being$1,750. So the extra 250 includes the Vespa, the dinners that I went to, some beers that I got on land, some drinks that I had on the boat. I think I bought a dress. A few other things I. And so I posted a TikTok about my experience on this boat a few days ago, and it went pretty viral. And so I've coordinated with a couple different yachts and for the summer of 2024, I'm organizing some boats in Croatia and in Greece, and hopefully in Turkey as well. So if you want to be included, go to my Instagram. You have to add me on Instagram so that the DMM is able to go through. And just send me a dmm. My Instagram is at Kat short sleeve, k a t, short sleeve, just like a shirt. And you can inquire right there. So there you have it, folks. That's the story about my$1,500 private yacht adventure in Croatia. If you're itching for a taste of the high seas or dreaming of your next summer escapade, or let's say you wanna plan a big celebration for something happening in your life, reach out to me and we will make it happen. Thank you for listening, and thank you for hanging out. I really appreciate all of you who do come and listen, and if you enjoyed this, you can subscribe to the Short Sleeve Travel podcast, new episodes coming out each week. You can also follow me on any platform, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat at KT Shortsleeve. That's Kat Shortsleeve. If you wanna see what I'm up to, you can email me if you want, at cat short sleeve@gmail.com. I can't wait for the next episode. So thank you all and cheers.