Every 3 years, my extended family plans an adventure-style family reunion. These trips are planned so far in advance they usually achieve the impossible: 100% participation. Lucky us. This year, 23 of us gathered for the All Pro Rum Tour – Hagan Family Reunion: Croatia.

 

For this reunion, I chartered a private 105-foot yacht, the Adriatic Queen, complete with a crew of nine, 20 staterooms, every imaginable water toy, and a live-aboard tour guide named Inga. Our eight-day route ran south from Split to Dubrovnik, with several stops in between. The captain was also the owner, and his wife served as head chef—a rare and wonderful combination. The crew was warm, energetic, and delightfully colorful, making the boat feel like home within hours.

 

We spent one full day in Split before boarding, exploring Diocletian’s Palace, a 4th-century Roman retirement palace that now functions as a living city. The historical center of Split, anchored by the palace, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, filled with underground passages, narrow stone streets, cafés, and pubs built directly into ancient walls. The area also doubled as a filming location for Game of Thrones, adding a modern twist to nearly 1,700 years of history.

 

Our daily routine quickly settled into a perfect rhythm: breakfast and Euchre while cruising to a new island, anchoring in a secluded cove for swimming and paddleboarding, then warming up in the jacuzzi (our record was 11 people at once). After lunch, we’d head ashore to explore. Some biked, others hiked or shopped, but everyone was united in the daily hunt for the best gelato. Dinner was usually on land, giving us flexibility to sample local cuisine—and local pubs.

 

Favorite stops included Korčula, Trogir/Krka National Park, Hvar (the Riviera of Croatia), and Dubrovnik, where kayaking, ancient walls, and cliffside bars stole the show.

 

In Krka National park, we rented bikes and cruised the circular path around the park, discovering a cool water-flow section that felt like a natural mini lazy river. We spent the rest of the day in Trogir. Trogir is sometimes referred to as “miniature Venice” or a “mini Dubrovnik” because of its ancient walls. 

 

Korčula surprised us with its narrow cobblestone streets spiraling uphill to sweeping views. The highlight, though, was the Castle Bar. After climbing stairs from the street to the first level of a castle turret, the truly committed ascended a narrow ladder straight up to an open-air bar at the top. Drinks were hoisted up by pulley from below, dangling off the castle walls—and yes, it was absolutely worth it.

 

Dubrovnik was nothing short of majestic, its massive stone walls wrapping the city with views of mountains on one side and the Adriatic Sea on the other. A paid walking path circles the walls, passing two elevated restaurants and several openings that lead to cliffside bars—prime spots for a drink and some fearless cliff-jump watching.

 

We also rented kayaks and explored the city from the water, which offered an entirely different and equally stunning perspective.

 

Our voyage ended with a proper Captain’s Dinner aboard the Adriatic Queen: gourmet food, dancing, and an open bar. Euchre champion and Crazy hat winner awards. By the end of the night, a decision had been made—the next family adventure would be on the same boat, with the same crew, but heading north from Split toward Slovenia.