SWALLOW

LASTAVICA — 49m · Croatia At 49 metres, Lastavica belongs to a category of her own: a purpose-built small cruise yacht delivered in 2021, conceived for deluxe island-hopping along the Dalmatian coast rather than adapted to it. The scale is unusual — few vessels cruising Croatia combine this much interior volume with the intimacy of a single, well-run yacht. Accommodation runs to 18 air-conditioned cabins for up to 36 guests, spread across the lower and main decks, each with its own private facilities. Detailed bed configuration is available on request. That capacity makes her a natural fit for extended families, groups of friends travelling together, or corporate charters where everyone wants to be on the same water at the same time. Life on board is organised around generous social space, indoors and out. There is a lounge bar doubling as a VIP salon, a proper restaurant and a modern galley behind it, and a reception area — the kind of layout that keeps a large group moving comfortably without ever feeling processed. The sun deck is the day's centre of gravity: loungers, open horizon, and a hot tub for the hour when the anchorage goes quiet. Aft, a swim platform puts the Adriatic within one step, whether for a swim before breakfast, snorkelling over a rocky shoreline, or the onboard water sports equipment. Itineraries are built to order across the best of the Adriatic — Split, Hvar, Vis, Brač, Zadar, Dubrovnik, the Lastovo nature park. There is room in a well-planned week for the Mljet and Kornati national parks, the walled medieval towns of the coast, an afternoon on Zlatni Rat, the Blue Cave at Biševo when the light is right, and Korčula, where Marco Polo is said to have been born. A hostess and crew look after the service side throughout, from the daily rhythm of meals to shore logistics — the practical reason a group of 36 can travel this coast without anyone having to organise a thing.