3 Island Private Tour

Every leg of this day stays inside the island chain. Brač, Šolta and Drvenik shelter the whole route from the open Adriatic, which means it runs comfortably on afternoons when the Biševo crossing is punishing.

That is the reason it exists. Families with small children, multi-generational groups, anyone who has been talked into a boat day and is quietly worried about it: this is the route that works for them without giving up anything worth having. Eight hours, whole boat, up to twelve guests, €1,100.

Departure is 09:00, which is another part of the appeal: nobody has to be on the Riva at seven in the morning.

Milna on Brač first, a Venetian-era stone harbour where you swim straight off the boat and can walk the riva past the baroque Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation.

Then three deliberate stops along the south coast of Šolta. Gornja Krušica for the first sheltered cove swim. Nečujam for the longest pebble beach on the island, with two konobas ashore if the group wants an early lunch. Maslinica facing the seven-islet archipelago that catches the midday light better than anywhere else on the route.

The Blue Lagoon between Drvenik Mali and Veli comes next, knee-deep turquoise over white sand, the easiest snorkelling of the day and the stop children remember.

Trogir last: 2,300 years of UNESCO old town on an island connected by two stone bridges, then the calm Kaštela channel back to Split for around 17:00.

Twelve people on this boat is €92 each for eight hours, a skipper, a sailor, fuel, mooring, insurance, snorkel gear and water. There is no group version of this route, so the comparison is with the half-day Blue Lagoon trip at €70 a head, which covers two of these six stops in four and a half hours.

The half-day stays the cheaper seat at any group size. What this buys instead is eight hours against four and a half, three times the coastline, and a boat that is only yours: at twelve people the gap is €92 a head against €70.

Lunch is not included and is worth planning: Nečujam and Maslinica both have konobas, and both are cash-friendly rather than card-guaranteed.

Groups with anyone who does not love boats. Grandparents. Children under five, who are not a good fit for the Blue Cave day but are completely fine here. Anyone whose previous boat trip involved being thrown around on a crossing and who has not forgiven it.

It is also the route we suggest on windy days when a group has one date and no flexibility. The maestral builds most afternoons in July and August; on this route it barely registers.