Girls trip to Croatia

Girls trip to Croatia

So it was finally time for this year's girls trip! It was me and Anna from Gothenburg, and Annica, Eva, Inger and Pia from Stockholm, who set the course for our girl's trip to Croatia.

Anna and I flew from Gothenburg to Vienna to spend time there with Annica, Eva, Inger and Pia. Together we flew on to Zagreb where we were picked up by the diving centre. Transfer there and drive to Crikvenica, a cozy and historic small town on the Adriatic Sea.

Once at the diving center we were welcomed by the owner Boris and his family and installed in the smart two-room apartments located in the same building as the diving center. The apartments, equipped with a kitchenette, TV and balcony, were fresh and super nice. Since we had planned four days of diving and two days of other fun, Boris suggested that we start diving only on Sunday. It suited us perfectly, we had the whole Saturday to get ready, try out equipment and enjoy the beach.

Diving day

Expectant, we gathered at the diving center on Sunday morning for the first diving day of the trip. The equipment was packed onto a trailer and driven the short distance to the harbor, where the dive boat Irma was waiting. Irma has room for as many as 28 divers and is made for diving with its low transom and plenty of space for equipment.

We visited two nice dive sites; the nice wall dive Sveti Marak and Kamarak, which offered nice canyons, beautiful gorgonians and small caves. The skilled guide Rick pointed out octopuses that were almost invisible and plied towards us.

Because there has been bad weather in Croatia before we got there (we of course brought the sun with us from Sweden) the water was a little colder than normal and on the second day some of us put on a little extra fur.

New day with more diving

Day two and the rest of the week we luckily had the boat to ourselves, with a guest appearance by Rosetta from Italy. Lots of wiggle room and some of the girls took the opportunity to sunbathe in the bow. We spent the surface intervals on the picturesque island of Krk, where we enjoyed food and drink in the sun. Boris told us about the history of Krk, guided us through the small alleys and pointed out the smallest street in the world!

On dive day three it was time for wreck diving. Peltastis is a sixty meter long freighter that sank in a storm in 1968. The wreck rests keel in 30 meters depth and has plenty of opportunities for easier penetration. Rick proposed two different routes on the wreck: the deep round with a look at the propeller and the large hole in the hull that decided the Peltasti's fate, and the shallow round with more time on the superstructure. Me, Annica, Eva and Inger took the deep round and looked for the Conger eel that sometimes lives in the hole in the hull. We also took a tour through the space that was probably a mess, and the command bridge. The wreck is inhabited by scores of shoals of fish, scorpionfish and nudibranchs that have become red-colored from all the rust they get in their existence on the wreck. A really nice and easily dived wreck with a lot of fun to look at.

The afternoon offered a nice dive at Punta Silo. Lots of beautiful nudibranchs, gorgonians and anemones. Annica had a camera with her on the dive, and she was busy catching up with all the subjects.

Boat diving

On Wednesday, Rick and Boris took us on a slightly longer boat trip to reach Glavina, a vertical cliff that plunges dramatically into the sea. If you're lucky, you can see Griffon Vulture, or goose vultures, which nests here. Glavina is a classic current dive, the skipper releases the divers and then trudges to the other side of the cliff to pick us up. A really beautiful wall dive with lots of wildlife. Here you will also find a cozy little cave with holes in the roof so that the sun's rays create a play of light. Boris told me that there are very rare purple gorgonians here if you dive a little deeper. They are best experienced at a depth of around 40 metres. Since I had nitrox, we kept to a maximum of 30 meters, but I've already promised myself to come back to experience the purple garden.

We followed up with an awesome dive at the Tenki reef. A dive here begins by swimming through a small cave, The cave starts at a depth of five meters and ends at a depth of ten meters. The inside of the cave is covered with colorful sponges and corals. Many young scorpion fish also live here, so you have to keep your fingers under control. On the other side of the cave awaits an exciting underwater landscape with beautiful formations, overgrown with soft coral and sponges. After the dive, we were also lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins near the boat. It was probably the only time that week it was completely quiet on board, because we don't want to scare the dolphins away.

Last dive

We were all a little sad that this was our last dive in Croatia for this time. Once back in the port of Crikvenica, we were asked by Boris if we wanted to do an extra dive in the morning the next day. We were not slow to jump on the offer. All said and done: during Thursday morning we visited the Peltastis wreck again. I led the group for the "deep round", but much to my chagrin someone had turned the wreck 180 degrees. Or at least that's my explanation for why we wandered around on the starboard side looking for the massive hole in the hull….

Well, after the other girls politely pointed out that maybe we should get to the other side of the wreckage, we got one last look at the propeller. This was before we went up to a shallower depth and took a turn through the holds. A really nice dive to end a wonderful week with!

Me and the other girls can warmly recommend Crikvenica in Croatia as a destination. The diving suits the freshest beginner as well as the more advanced diver. Perfect for a girl's trip here to Croatia.

Now we are already looking forward to next year's girls' trip to Dahab! Contact Scuba Travel to book your next trip at info@scubatravel.se already today.

"I really had a great week. Very nice, easygoing and happy girls, Elin is very nice, calm, safe and helpful and the Dive City brothers, Boris and Rick, as well. And I think we all really appreciated that it was so peaceful and relaxing. A girl's trip to Croatia without stress and pressure when we were going in the water or otherwise - but just fun and nice!" - Eva Thorsson – participant on the trip