Sail, swim, hike: a walking and boating adventure along Croatia’s Dalmatian coast

A new trip from Split makes the most of the stunning coastline and islands with regular stops for swimming, hiking and plenty of seafood

In Trogir’s Benedictine monastery, I spotted a sculpture of the Greek god Kairos, one of the two words the ancient Greeks used to define time. Chronos – chronological – is the obvious one, but Kairos signifies a time in between, when something special happens. A critical or opportune moment to grasp before the opportunity slips away. I was about to be bombarded by such special moments.

I had a day to spare before boarding the MS Emanuel in nearby Split for Sail Croatia’s seven-night hiking cruise in central Dalmatia. Rather than join the crowds in Split, I opted to spend time in this Unesco-listed island town, which is connected to the mainland by bridge. Wandering Trogir’s marble lanes, I could see Croatia’s many layers of history, from the ancient Greeks to the Habsburgs via the Venetians. The town’s Romanesque-gothic-Venetian-Renaissance cathedral was a good place to start, its magnificent portal demanding a lingering look at the sculptures’ extraordinary detail.