Croatia charter -options for changing dates

[MoodySabre]

I expect there are lots of peeps with this dilemma .
I have a charter booked from Pula in mid-July. Me (over 70) and son, d-i-l and two kids. Deposit paid , easyjet flights booked and paid for.
It seems pretty likely that travel will still be banned by then so we need to consider options.
Easyjet are offering free changes to flights. Refunds are unlikely.
Charter deposit may be movable but is covered by insurance .
If we were to try and shift the charter to the October half term (last week October) would it still be decent sailing weather?
Should we push it back to next year?
Should we go somewhere else late in the year ?
Any ideas would be welcome.

 

[fifer]

I'm in a very similar situation with a sailing holiday in Greece 2nd week June. We're also considering rebooking in Greece to september.

If tourism is back up and running in a moderately normal way, we may find that the normal season gets extended later in the year despite the weather getting cooler, as people will be desperate to get away. Bars and restaurants may also look to stay open later in the year to try and recoup some losses. However weather would be getting fairly unsettled at that time of year I would have thought

On the other hand, you could look to rebook the holiday in the Canaries and likely get more Sun. Not sure how busy the islands will be at that time with boats prepping to cross the atlantic. A lot of people might be putting those plans on hold.

 

[Metabarca]

Last week in October in this neck of the woods can be blowy and wet, with the possibility of several days of bora. The water will still be warm enough to swim in but the air temperature certainly won't invite you to do so. You may be lucky and have a week of sunny days but you certainly can't bank on it at that time of year. On the other hand, you won't have any problem finding somewhere to drop the anchor or space on a jetty!

 

[RichardS]

Croatia in September is fine but by the last week in October things are definitely getting risky. In 10 years of going there three times a year, we have only been once during that last week in October. It was warm during the day , shorts and t-shirts, but fleeces required in the evening. It was dry for the whole week but we did remain tied alongside in Maslinica on Solta for two days whilst a bora blew through.

You will also find that most of the restaurants are closed, although that might be better or worse this year because of the current situation, but the supermarkets will be open if you prefer onboard eating.

I would say that the above is probably a fairly typical late October week .... you could have it much better or much worse, of course.

Richard

 

[mjcoon]

I expect there are lots of peeps with this dilemma .
I have a charter booked from Pula in mid-July. Me (over 70) and son, d-i-l and two kids. Deposit paid , easyjet flights booked and paid for.
It seems pretty likely that travel will still be banned by then so we need to consider options.
Easyjet are offering free changes to flights. Refunds are unlikely.
Charter deposit may be movable but is covered by insurance .
If we were to try and shift the charter to the October half term (last week October) would it still be decent sailing weather?
Should we push it back to next year?
Should we go somewhere else late in the year ?
Any ideas would be welcome.

What no ATOL? Surely if easyJet cannot fly you they have to give the money back?

(We are in a similar position wrt Greece/June.)

Mike.

 

[fifer]

What no ATOL? Surely if easyJet cannot fly you they have to give the money back?

(We are in a similar position wrt Greece/June.)

Mike.

If it's not a package tour then there's no Atol protection. Airlines are obliged to offer refunds within 14 days under EU law but are widely flouting this largely because it would force bankruptcy for a majority of operators.

 

[mjcoon]

If it's not a package tour then there's no Atol protection. Airlines are obliged to offer refunds within 14 days under EU law but are widely flouting this largely because it would force bankruptcy for a majority of operators.

The word "tour" is misleading. Our flotilla flight is ATOL covered because we paid the surcharge for that and the flight was booked for us.

 

[fifer]

The word "tour" is misleading. Our flotilla flight is ATOL covered because we paid the surcharge for that and the flight was booked for us.

Fair enough! My trip definately isn't Atol covered! Hope you get your costs back in a reasonable time frame if the trip doesn't go ahead.

 

[MoodySabre]

Charter and flights booked separately. EJ trying to avoid refunds I am told.

Thanks - late October a non-starter then.

 

[C08]

My charter from Split 9th May is off due to travel restrictions and lack of entry into Croatia, the charter co have offered to switch dates to Sept/Oct which is a reasonable response from them but I do not think we will want to be flying anywhere even in September as there must still be plenty of C19 about then. I booked directly with the charter co, no insurance so it looks like I have blown my deposit unless the CCard sanction some sort of clawback payment to me. This seems unlikely when I read the small print.

 

[Fascadale]

I spent four weeks in the Aegean in October last year finishing on November 2nd. We lost three (non consecutive) days to strong winds. The northern Aegean, up towards Kavala, was noticeably colder and windier than the Dodecanese. There seems a weather boundary ( a fanciful thought!) north and south of Samos. Similarly I have had better weather in the very south of the Peloponnese in October than further north in the Ionian

 

[kaj]

Weatherwise Turkey, that is Göcek or Fethiye, Dalaman airport, could give you 4-7 days of wery decent weather. A low might be blowing trough.

Seawater temperature would still be very acceptable, contrary to Croatia at that time, late October, IMHO.

Services should be more or less according to demand, I would guess.

Otherwise, if it is a wise destination, it would be a most nice destination.

 

[Jim Vokes]

What no ATOL? Surely if easyJet cannot fly you they have to give the money back?

(We are in a similar position wrt Greece/June.)

Mike.

I'm in the same situation.... having paid in full for a May Charter in Croatia
EasyJet will (and have done) a full refund. Took a bit longer than the 14 days but i'm not complaining....

the 'Agent' in the UK say they have no responsibility as my contract is with the marina in Croatia; and i quote "can understand the need to protect the industry"
The Croatian Govt have apparently passed legislation effectively giving the OK to boatyards not to refund but to offer credit notes...
so i now have a credit voucher to be used within a year - but the marina haven't published prices yet........ I'm predicting a huge increase in list prices (with potential massive discounts for new cash customers....
Travel insurance through a UK sailing charter specialist are refusing to pay as its "not one of the specified occurrences they expect to cover"
Credit card are bouncing me back n forth to Travel insurance.............

next year... it will be a different agent - one with ATOL......

happy days

Jim

 

[MoodySabre]

I'm in the same situation.... having paid in full for a May Charter in Croatia
EasyJet will (and have done) a full refund. Took a bit longer than the 14 days but i'm not complaining....

the 'Agent' in the UK say they have no responsibility as my contract is with the marina in Croatia; and i quote "can understand the need to protect the industry"
The Croatian Govt have apparently passed legislation effectively giving the OK to boatyards not to refund but to offer credit notes...
so i now have a credit voucher to be used within a year - but the marina haven't published prices yet........ I'm predicting a huge increase in list prices (with potential massive discounts for new cash customers....
Travel insurance through a UK sailing charter specialist are refusing to pay as its "not one of the specified occurrences they expect to cover"
Credit card are bouncing me back n forth to Travel insurance.............

next year... it will be a different agent - one with ATOL......

happy days

Jim

I booked Croatia direct with Pitter charters for July 2020 and they were happy to offer me two different boats for my selected first week in June 2021. Instead of a 2003 Bav 41 for this year they offered a 2015 Bav 41 Cruiser (much nicer) for the same money and transferred my deposit. I have changed my EJ flights accordingly. No fuss no hassle.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

I booked Croatia direct with Pitter charters for July 2020 and they were happy to offer me two different boats for my selected first week in June 2021. Instead of a 2003 Bav 41 for this year they offered a 2015 Bav 41 Cruiser (much nicer) for the same money and transferred my deposit. I have changed my EJ flights accordingly. No fuss no hassle.

Pitter have one of the nicer fleets in Pula - Marina Veruda I assume? - just a few pontoons away from my boat, don't miss the Safari Bar for the kids. ? .. anchor in Uvala Portić and walk over the hill.

Safari Bar

 

[Seven Spades]

My understanding is that Croatia is open to tourists if they are chartering but you cant enter by yacht. why not just go as planned?

 

[Baggywrinkle]

My understanding is that Croatia is open to tourists if they are chartering but you cant enter by yacht. why not just go as planned?

I can confirm that Croatia was open for chartering and for owners to use their own boats. I was sailing in Istria for the last 2 weeks. There were also quite a number of Italian boats around, and a number of foreign flagged superyachts which would suggest that entry by boat is possible but I can't be certain - the harbour-masters office in Pula was also operating as normal and taking Soujourn Tax, and annual fees.

It was quieter than normal though.

 

[Seven Spades]

I believe that the rules are that you can charter or use your own boat if it is kept in Croatia but visitors are not allowed to arrive by boat from other European countries. Do you know if those boats were resident?

 

[Metabarca]

I believe that the rules are that you can charter or use your own boat if it is kept in Croatia but visitors are not allowed to arrive by boat from other European countries. Do you know if those boats were resident?

No problem for Italian boats getting into Croatia.

 

[GeorgeTina]

My yacht is based in Italy and I had hoped to sail to Croatia as usual in September. Does anybody know if there are any restrictions for UK person to sail from Italy to Croatia and where one would search for data on this topic.