Croatia - Charter recommendations

[Cheeky Girl]

Hi
We are going to Split in June this year and am looking for recomendations on Charter companies.

Group of 4 all experienced and a 37ish foot boat.

thanks

 

[englishrobs]

Cat or mono? I have a friend with a Cat in Baska Voda that is available. Have used latesail in the past and ended up with a boat from ultra-sailing.hr based out of Trogir (15 min taxi ride from Split airport). We were very impressed with them, reasonably sized setup, boat in good nic, reasonable charge for additional sails, wifi on board with provided 4G phone (until the data runs out but top ups were cheap) plus a dedicated phone to call from in emergencies.

 

[RichardS]

We've used The Moorings in Marina Agana, just the other end of the bay from Trogir, and have always been happy. So happy, in fact, that we bought our boat through them.

Some charter companies insist that you refill the tank with diesel when you return the boat which leads to chaos at the fuel station and a rather stressful end to the holiday. I understand that this is particularly bad at Trogir because there is not a lot of room to manoeuvre. The Moorings do not ask for the tank to be refilled.

Richard

 

[Spyro]

We used Latesail last year. They are a broker so you could and up with a boat from a range of companies but their prices are better than going direct. Chartering out of split can be a nightmare. Change over day is normally Saturday. Going out is not so bad but coming back in on the Fri with over 200 boats trying to get to the fuel berth then into the marina is chaos. Split Is a beautiful place and I wouldn't miss it but I wouldn't charter from there.

 

[englishrobs]

Yes I think that's quite common, we filled up across the bay, not in Trogir itself, Ultra were quite happy with that, and it saved us queuing.

 

[mjcoon]

...
Some charter companies insist that you refill the tank with diesel when you return the boat which leads to chaos at the fuel station and a rather stressful end to the holiday. I understand that this is particularly bad at Trogir because there is not a lot of room to manoeuvre. The Moorings do not ask for the tank to be refilled.

Is it really possible to detect the amount of diesel used in getting from a fuel berth the day before to the handover?

Mike.

 

[RichardS]

Is it really possible to detect the amount of diesel used in getting from a fuel berth the day before to the handover?

Mike.

I dunno as I've only ever used The Moorings and they don't have any refuelling requirements. However, there aren't that many fuel stations so you'd need to plan it properly.

Richard

 

[Cheeky Girl]

Looking at Mono as thats what we are used to

 

[Spyro]

Is it really possible to detect the amount of diesel used in getting from a fuel berth the day before to the handover?

Mike.

I'm pretty sure Richard means refilling at the end of your charter not between filling up on the evening before and handover day. Most companies insist on you being back in home port the night before handover.

 

[Cheeky Girl]

We fly into Split but looking at some boats these are based in Sibenik. With an hour transfer it doesn't seem to bad.
Anyone done this?

Regards

 

[RichardS]

We fly into Split but looking at some boats these are based in Sibenik. With an hour transfer it doesn't seem to bad.
Anyone done this?

Regards

Our boat is halfway between the airport and Sibenik and I regularly drive between the two. It's only about 30 miles but the roads are not fast. The motorway is much faster, of course, but the access at each end including the toll booth means that it would be no quicker. However, taxis are not cheap from the airport and the charter company do not usually pay. I would allow for £40 but try and negotiate. It's a small cost in the context of the overall holiday but it always annoys me.

Richard

 

[Bellacruiser]

We chartered twice from Split/Trogir area last year. The Moorings technically sell you a fuel package, hence not needing to refill and there is no fuel berth at Agana. Great staff and boats, really easy process but not the cheapest.

We also chartered from Croatia Yacht Club from Trogir in late June. Fab staff, brilliantly maintained boats. Don't try to get into Trogir marina by vehicle on a Saturday though, utter gridlock and I dread to think what it cost for people arriving in metered taxis. We stayed in an Airbnb overlooking the marina so walked down.

As for refuelling, it was a terrifying and stressful experience. 30+ boats, no queue system, terrible crosswinds. The berths are stern to and incredibly frantic. We saw two boats crash into each other and one (with a professional skipper) get its keel stuck and damaged on the anchor chain of a "permanently" moored yacht. It wasn't about just our skipper's skill but that of others, as we had yachts almost hit us from every angle. We decided to give up and pay the "fine" for returning without filling up but the charter co let us take the boat back out at 7pm when it was calmer. It is definitely worth factoring this in, or considering filling up on the Thursday/early Friday nearby if the winds mean you can get in with minimal motoring.

We also chartered with Ultra in Dubrovnik in September 2017, and had a great experience; they also have a base in Split.