Ohana superyacht along the croatian coast
Time to call your aunties. | Photo courtesy of Goolets
Time to call your aunties. | Photo courtesy of Goolets

How to Book a European Superyacht for Your Family Vacation and Not Break the Bank

Thirty guests, one family, and an epic trip along the coast of Croatia. Sure beats another year at the lake.

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For the average traveler, the very concept of a superyacht feels like a pipe dream reserved for the Roy siblings and tech billionaires. Sure, we can imagine idling in a picturesque European cove, waving to the Clooneys on shore as we sip Champagne après snorkel. We can envision our bare feet on teak floors, running our hands along rails so clean you could do caviar bumps off their gleaming surfaces. 

Absent from these imaginings, perhaps, might be your entire extended family. And yet I recently discovered you can actually live out those Champagne dreams at a shockingly affordable price—and you can make it a family affair, too. 

When I boarded the Ohana superyacht in Split, Croatia, I did so with four- and five-year-old kids. But as my extravagant fantasies soon became a reality, my parent brain kicked in and the worries stacked up. What if my kids kicked over a cocktail onto those gorgeous wood floors? Or peed in the top-deck jacuzzi? Or, worst case scenario, tumbled overboard while I was distracted by the beauty of the Dalmatian coastline passing by?

As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about.

aerial shot of Split, Croatia with cruise ships and yachts
A superyacht trip along the Dalmatian coast is more attainable than you think. | Ratnakorn Piyasirisorost/Moment/Getty Images

The 160-foot-long Ohana—that’s Hawaiian for “family”—is operated by Goolets, whose fleet includes luxury yachts in Indonesia, the Maldives, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and beyond. It might just be the most family-friendly superyacht sailing the seas… and experiencing it may be more affordable for us regular people than you’d think.

Time for some math: If you can gather together 29 of your closest friends and family members, a superyacht vacation aboard the Ohana, which charters for between $80,000 and $100,000 a week, works out to  roughly $3,000 per person. That’s less than you’d pay for a week on some behemoth cruise ships—and you don’t have to elbow through a couple thousand fellow passengers to get at the buffet, either.

“Boats have always been our family business,” says Ohana’s captain, Josip Šerka, a shipbuilder’s son who hails from the Croatian island of Brač. He has three young children of his own, and his two brothers captain the Croatian yachts YOLO and Melody, also part of the Goolets fleet. These are luxury yachts to be sure, but not to quite the same degree as the more modern Ohana.

Ohana superyacht deck looking out at the sea
Have yacht, will travel. | Photo courtesy of Goolets

Built in 2020, the Ohana recently underwent extensive renovations to the tune of roughly $800,000. The boat’s new look makes her feel particularly purpose-built for families at sea—complete with plenty of onboard spaces to escape your entourage, if the need arises.

In upgrading the Ohana, Šerka says he considered the things he’d want for his own family on a charter yacht vacation. “With kids on board, the most important thing on the ship is safety,” he says, adding that the ship also installed higher railings and increased its crew size “so we have more eyes on deck and inside, too.”

As part of the renovation, the ship’s cabin count was reduced from 18 to 14. Two of those cabins are equipped with pullout sofas for little ones. Additionally, two former cabins below deck were reconfigured as a mini-movie theater and a children’s playroom with a climbing wall, drawing tables, and video games. A nanny is also available, should parents crave some additional downtime, perhaps for a wine tour excursion or an onboard massage.

Above-deck improvements to the ship include a new cocktail bar on the sundeck, also outfitted with a jacuzzi and a new open-air outdoor gym. There’s even an outdoor fireplace for cozying up under the stars when the ship is in port or anchored in a picturesque bay.

people on Ohana's superyacht deck with a jet ski
The ship comes fully stocked with toys for kids of all ages. | Photo courtesy of Goolets

My family sailed aboard the Ohana before her renovations, and the friendly crew made us feel incredibly comfortable and welcome as a family with two young kids. Šerka, for example, let my little ones take the helm of the Ohana to try steering with his careful guidance. And when my child was celebrating a birthday during the voyage, the entire crew gathered around to sing over a cake Šerka had custom-ordered from a favorite island baker.

As a bonus, the ship was absolutely stocked with water toys. In addition to standard items for floating fun (think stand-up paddle boards, kayaks, and a jet ski), the Ohana also has a James Bond-esque electric underwater propulsion device called a SEABOB, a hydrofoil Fliteboard, and a huge inflatable slide that drops from the sundeck several levels down straight into the Adriatic Sea.

guests on the deck of the ohana superyacht
Chart your own course. | Photo courtesy of Goolets

Whether or not you bring children along, chartering a superyacht for your family vacation allows you to truly choose your own adventure when it comes to where to go and what to do there, so you can really personalize your trip.

“The first thing I say when our charter guests ask me what to do during the week is, ‘How do you want to spend your holiday?’” Šerka explains. “Do they want more activities on land, more party time, more culture, swimming, relaxing, or a mix of it all? I can plan the perfect route.”

One of his favorite journeys to suggest is the trip from Split to Dubrovnik, ideal for a mix of cruising along the coastline and enjoying quiet coves, bays, and towns among Croatia’s 1,000-plus islands. The route allows for about four to five hours of navigation per day, and with Ohana’s onboard comforts, there’s always a lot of fun to be had at sea, whether you’re taking in passing views from a spot in the six-person jacuzzi or curling up with a book in the shade.

If you choose to make the trip from Split to Dubrovnik, ports of call along the way south include islands Brač—home of the famous Golden Horn Beach— Hvar, and Korčula. From there, it’s off to Vis’ Blue Grotto, followed by a stop at the verdant island of Mljet and a day spent wandering Dubrovnik’s storied old town. You can even plan a day trip by land to Montenegro’s beautiful bay of Kotor from Dubrovnik to finish things off.

More than a year after our family trip on the Ohana, my kids still talk about it—the people we met, how they were able to steer the superyacht, the castle we climbed up to in Hvar, and that jacuzzi they promised me they definitely didn’t pee in.

Whether it’s your first time yachting or another perfect excursion at sea, it’s hard to deny how much sense booking a superyacht makes for a truly stress-free family vacation. To me, family travel has never felt sweeter and more relaxing than on board.

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Terry Ward is a freelance travel writer in Tampa, Florida, who has lived in France, New Zealand, and Australia and gone scuba diving all over the world. Follow her on Instagram and find more of her work on terry-ward.com