Route-specific boat day
Private Five Islands Tour from Split
Out past Šolta while the sea is still glass, the blue light inside Biševo by mid-morning, and Stiniva's cliff gap before the afternoon breeze finds you.
- Biševo, Stiniva, Budikovac, Hvar
- About 30 nautical miles each way
- 7:30–8:00 start, ten-plus hours
- A fifth stop your group picks
Route logic
Build the day around crossings, swim stops, lunch timing, Hvar time, and the actual forecast.
Route overview
Five stops, ten hours, one honest question
The five islands run is the most-sold itinerary out of Split, and the private version is genuinely better — you leave when your group is ready, swim where the flotilla is not, and nobody counts you back aboard. What no boat can do is shorten the map. Thirty nautical miles out to Vis is thirty nautical miles home again, and the best private version of this day is usually the one that carries four stops instead of five.
Access Adriatic is a private concierge for the Split–Hvar corridor that plans and books the five islands day privately: the Biševo Blue Cave, Stiniva, the Budikovac lagoon, Hvar town or Palmižana, and a fifth stop your group chooses. Boats leave from Matejuška pier and the Split Riva, or from Trogir when that is nearer your bed.
Which five islands are actually on the list?
Biševo for the cave, Vis for Stiniva and Komiža, Budikovac for the shallow lagoon, Hvar or the Pakleni chain for lunch — and a fifth that changes by group: Ravnik’s Green Cave, an hour in Komiža, or a Šolta cove on the way home. The name counts stops more generously than islands, since Stiniva and Komiža share one.
How long is the day, honestly?
Ten hours, often more. Vis sits about 30 nautical miles out, which a fast boat covers in 75–100 minutes each way, and Biševo lies further west again, so the round trip claims three-plus hours before a single swim. Hence the 7:30 to 8:00 departure. The one-way times to every stop in the corridor sit beside every other route on this coast.
Which stop should you drop?
Almost always one of them. Five stops across sixty-plus nautical miles leaves each about forty minutes, and forty minutes is a photograph, not a swim.
| Stop | Who it suits | What you give up |
|---|---|---|
| Biševo Blue Cave | Groups for whom the cave is the trip | A ticketed queue and a per-person fee, in the best swimming hours |
| Stiniva | Confident swimmers, and anyone here for the photograph | Anchor outside and swim the gap; pebbles underfoot, company at midday |
| Budikovac lagoon | Children, nervous swimmers, the long lazy float | Shallow and shadeless — the least dramatic stop on the list |
| Hvar town | Groups who want a street, a coffee and shops | An hour ashore is an hour not in the water; the quay is bedlam at five |
| Palmižana | Groups who want lunch to be the event | Tables go early in July and August, and the fifth stop with them |
| Green Cave, Ravnik | Anyone wanting a cave without a ticket | Smaller and dimmer than Biševo — a swim, not a spectacle |
What does a private five islands day cost?
Plan on €1,000–2,500+ as the boat’s share of a long open-water day, plus Blue Cave tickets per person. Shared seats on the same water sell at €80–100 per person, so on money alone a private boat catches up around ten or twelve people — sooner once the departure time counts. Those are planning numbers; the all-in figure for your date and boat is confirmed in your quote.
When is a different day the better buy?
Two cases, and we name them rather than take the booking. If Biševo is the whole point, take the day built around the entry instead — the cave route from Split treats the queue as the plan. If Vis itself is the draw and you want Stiniva and the lagoon unhurried, the Vis and Stiniva day gives those hours back. With small children, the Hvar and Pakleni Islands route trades most of that crossing for swimming.
When does the sea decide it?
The window for this route runs from the end of May into late September, the shoulder weeks calmer than the middle. Water here is better before lunch than after, so skippers take the distant stops first and start home early. A southern swell can close the low cave entrance on a bright day — which is why the fifth stop is worth picking as a substitute, not an extra. For the shorter days and the closer islands, start at private boat tours.
Biševo, Stiniva, Budikovac, Hvar or Palmižana, plus a fifth you choose
A 7:30–8:00 departure and ten-plus hours, not a lazy afternoon
We will tell you when four stops make the better day
Popular routes
Private boat routes people ask for first
Use these as starting points. The final route should fit the forecast, boat type, lunch plan, and pace of the group.
The full five, west to east
Biševo while the cave light is at its best, Stiniva, the Budikovac lagoon, Ravnik's Green Cave, and Hvar town or Palmižana on the run home. The complete version, and the one that needs the earliest alarm.
The five without the ticket queue
Green Cave takes Biševo's place and Komiža becomes a proper lunch. You give up the famous blue and get back around two hours of swimming, which in August is not a bad trade.
The lunch-led five
Palmižana as the long stop with a table held for you, the cave reduced to a morning errand. For groups who would rather eat well than tick a fifth cove.
The Šolta finish
The fifth stop becomes a Maslinica or Nečujam cove twenty-odd minutes off Split, taken when the group has had enough distance and wants one last easy swim.
Four stops instead of five
Keep Vis, drop Biševo entirely, and let Stiniva and the lagoon have the hours the cave would have eaten. The honest downgrade, and often the better day.
Boat options
Choose for distance, comfort, and group size
Speedboat or RIB, up to twelve
Covers the crossings fastest, which on a five-stop day is the difference between swimming and arriving. The ride is open, so it is also a long time in full sun with nowhere to hide.
Cabin or walkaround boat, up to twelve
Shade that still covers the seats at two in the afternoon, dry storage for bags, and usually a WC aboard. The class most groups should take for sixty-odd nautical miles of round trip.
Small motor yacht, four to ten
Room to lie down and a softer ride at cruising speed. It also reaches everywhere later, so on this itinerary the comfort is paid for in stops rather than euros.
Best conditions
Who should choose this route
Second-time visitors
Hvar and the Pakleni coves are behind you already. This is the day that carries on past them, and the reason the alarm goes off at half six.
Groups of six to twelve
Twelve is the ceiling on almost every boat running this route from Split and Trogir. Above that the answer is two boats meeting at each stop, and it is worth saying early.
Cave-first travellers
Biševo is why you booked and the rest is a bonus. Say so and the whole day gets built backwards from the ticket window.
Not the day for toddlers
Three-plus hours of open-water crossing is a lot to ask of very small children. We will point you at a shorter day rather than sell you this one.
How it works
Turn the route idea into operator-ready details.
A route page should help the guest understand the tradeoffs before the request reaches an operator.
- Step 1
Tell us which stops matter
The date, how many of you, where you are based, and which of the five you would keep if there were only room for four. Two minutes on the form.
- Step 2
Compare two or three honest versions
Boats that can genuinely make the distance, a stop order that fits the forecast, the cave handled or deliberately left out — and every version priced in full.
- Step 3
We hold it and track the forecast
Boat, cave timing and lunch table confirmed. If swell is going to close the cave, the substitute stop is agreed with you in advance rather than sprung at the dock.
Trust
Route advice should be useful, not overconfident
Access Adriatic can explain the route and coordinate options, while the final skipper/operator call depends on weather, boat, group, and availability.
We will talk you out of a stop
Five stops across sixty-plus nautical miles gives each one about forty minutes. Where that makes the day worse, we say so before you pay, not afterwards.
The Biševo queue is nobody's to skip
Cave entry is ticketed and controlled at the island for every boat on the water. A private day decides when you join that queue and what sits either side of it.
The whole number, before you decide
Boat, skipper, fuel basis, hours and the per-person cave tickets, itemised in each option. What you approve is what runs.
The whole harbour, not one calendar
The boat is chosen from every skipper working this route out of Split and Trogir, which is why the recommendation can be a different boat, a different stop list, or a different day altogether.
FAQ
Route planning questions
What are the five islands on a five islands tour from Split?
Biševo for the Blue Cave, Vis for Stiniva and Komiža, Budikovac for the shallow lagoon, Hvar or the Pakleni chain for lunch and an hour ashore, and a fifth that varies by group — Ravnik's Green Cave is the usual answer, a Šolta cove on the run home the quieter one. The count is generous: Stiniva and Komiža both sit on Vis, so some versions of this day are five stops across four islands.
How long does a five islands day from Split actually take?
Budget ten hours and expect more. Departures run 7:30 to 8:00 because Vis sits about 30 nautical miles out, which a fast boat covers in 75–100 minutes each way, and Biševo is further west again. Three-plus hours of the day goes on crossing before anyone gets wet, which is the single fact that should decide how many stops you keep.
How much is a private five islands tour from Split?
As a planning range, roughly €1,000–2,500+ for the boat for a long open-water day of this shape, plus Blue Cave entry tickets per person. Shared seats on the same water go for €80–100 per person, so on money alone a private boat catches up somewhere around ten or twelve people — and much sooner once the departure time and who you share a deck with count for anything.
Can we skip the Blue Cave and still get five stops?
Easily, and a lot of groups should. Biševo entry is ticketed and queued for everybody, and in July and August that queue takes a bite out of the best swimming hours. Trade it for the Green Cave on Ravnik — no ticket, you swim straight in — keep Komiža for a long lunch, and the day hands back roughly two hours.
What happens if the cave is shut or the sea turns?
The skipper calls it on the morning, every time. A southern swell can close the low cave entrance on an otherwise cloudless day, and a real bura forecast moves the route rather than testing it. Because this day already has one flexible slot in it, the usual fix is a different fifth stop and a shorter reach west, not a lost day.
Do you run these boats yourselves?
No — we own no boats at all, and on this route that is the point. With no hull of our own to keep busy, we can put you on the twelve-seat cabin boat that genuinely suits sixty-odd nautical miles of round trip rather than the one sitting idle, and say plainly when four stops would make the better day. Almost every boat working this route out of Split and Trogir caps at twelve guests, and you hear that from us before you ask.
Request route options
Send the date, group size, stay location, and route priorities.
Send the date, your group size, where you are based, and which of the five stops you would keep if the day only had room for four — we will reply with versions that fit the hours honestly.