Croatia cruising guide/currency

Nope sold mine but ...

Has anyone got an Imray or similar cruising guide for northern Croatia I could borrow/buy?

Also, what currency is used? Euro or local?


I do have a teach yourself Croatian language course on CD you can have for the cost of the postage. No use to me in Turkey ;)
PM if you want it.
Steve
 
Kuna, I believe.

And lots of them. It was relatively cheap when we went there 15 years ago, but these days pricey.

Pete

Lots and lots . 2 years ago average price for town quays was appx £30 per night for a 34ft. Marina prices double that and more. There were still some free moorings in smaller places as long as you eat in taverna.
It's a lovely place but becoming overpriced. Enjoy whilst you can.
 
Lots and lots . 2 years ago average price for town quays was appx £30 per night for a 34ft. Marina prices double that and more. There were still some free moorings in smaller places as long as you eat in taverna.
It's a lovely place but becoming overpriced. Enjoy whilst you can.

Aha, seems time to roll out my annual rant .... ;)

"Becoming overpriced" ??? It became overpriced many years ago and for arriving in one's own boat ratcheted up yet again with the introduction of the so-called 'Sejour Tax' in 2010.

"Sejour Tax" is a new incarnation of a previously-named 'Kurtaxe', copied from some other countrys' local tax levied on visitors to resorts, aimed to improve small and otherwise cash-strapped communities' amenities - a far cry from the Croatian rip-off application. Before, it was added to marina fees but noting that many foreign yachts, such as my own, avoided marinas like the plague and therefore the tax, it is now added to all the other extortionate fees and costs impressed when declaring in at the first port of entry, such as the one year sailing permit (despite a maximum length of stay being 90 days).

This new tax is invoked at a rate of per person per night for the period of the "Sejour"; one must now state the maximum intended length of stay. If exceeded it is mandatory to, prior to expiry, report to a port of entry to pay the prolonged tax amount. To be checked by a control vessel with an expired tax can result in a heavy fine.

Despite the declared principle of a per head taxation, I have always been charged on my boat's length to calculate the number of potential persons who may be accommodated, despite being single-handed with a crew list stating so. This forces me into a payment for a fictitious crew of people and has significantly increased my annual cruising costs.
 
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I'm with you on that one, Barnac1e: Croatia now outrageously expensive for service offered. To answer Whitelighter, take kuna as if you pay in Euros, you'll be given a lousy exchange rate. Plenty of ATMs on mainland, fewer (few or none) on the small islands. The best navigational guide is 777. Combine this with a standard guidebook to decide where to go. I'm happy to answer any specific qus!
 
take kuna as if you pay in Euros, you'll be given a lousy exchange rate. Plenty of ATMs on mainland, fewer (few or none) on the small islands. The best navigational guide is 777. Combine this with a standard guidebook to decide where to go. I'm happy to answer any specific qus!

+1

this is the 777, (now its yellow I believe and called 999)
777harboursbw.jpg


or the color version

777harbourscollor.jpg


you can buy this in any local book store
 
I've just renewed my permits in April.

Soujourn Tax for a 11.48m boat for one year is 1100 Kuna. (about £118).

Cruising Permit for same (Nav fees, Light dues, Admin fee and Chart) is 1330 Kuna (about £142)

They limited my crew list to 23 people per year (rule is 2.3 times the no. of berths).

I've got a CE plate stating capacity for 8 people, and berths for 6 (saloon table doesn't collapse).

When I pointed this out they just shrugged and said 'be happy, you can take more people on your boat'.

Total £260 per year.

If you charter, the Charter company will collect the soujourn tax on arrival for the duration of your charter. It is charged per day per person and is a nasty surprise if you don't know it's coming. Practically wiped out my cash reserves on a 2 week holiday for 9 people in 2009. :mad:

This won't stop some of the little hitlers on the islands charging you again, I tried arguing but decided not to continue when he didn't back down and started shouting in Croatian. I kept the reciept and complained to the charter company - they refunded the money (Ecker Yachting). When they come out to your boat to charge you, make sure you give them a bag of rubbish, rubbish collection is part of the service charge. ;)

Definately seek out the anchorages, the marinas can get noisy and are very expensive, smaller restaurants away from the tourist traps provide cheap food and wine.

We usually pay in Euros or Kuna (mainly 'cos we have Euros anyway - we live in Germany). If coming from the U.K. I'd use Kuna. Most places take both and in my experience the exchange rate is variable - sometimes it can be quite good. Visa/Mastercard, EC cards also work almost everywhere but charges and c**p exchange rates make it expensive.

A yearly diving permit costs an eye watering 2400 Kuna.

Finally, another vote for the 888 (German Version) - For some reason if you can speak German there are another 111 anchorages and harbours available ..... ?!?

51xVXA8jG-L._SS400_.jpg
 
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Will be interesting when Croatia joins the E.U. next year as to whether some of the charges go away, also will the join the euro.
Theoretically, they should not be able to charge EU-registered boats for the Cruising Permit (see Baggywrinkle's post, 3rd line). I suspect this is why the Sojourn Tax was implemented when it was, as compensation in expectation of losing such a nice little earner.

On the other hand, they may try to drag their feet in rescinding it - just as Greece did with an analogous charge and who was brought successfully before the EU commission by the German sailing association (DSV – Deutsche Segler-Verband). They then had to repeat the operation a few years later because nothing was done - probably from mismanagement rather than intentional.
 
I dislike 777/888 but have one on board as it is essential for the basics. Our best buy last year was "Adriatic anchorages" which is exactly the style I like with good photos and personal opinions like "crowded bay until dusk when the lunch crowd empties out" and "like a moonscape - remember to tie to shore on Northern side as the wind often shifts that way and the ground shelves steeply".

All our best places last year were found using it and we found we could dip in and out of fuel berths so never needed to tie up anywhere except where we chose go pay the high prices for a step-ashore night (Trogir and a lovely old town on Hvar).
 
I dislike 777/888 but have one on board as it is essential for the basics. Our best buy last year was "Adriatic anchorages" which is exactly the style I like with good photos and personal opinions like "crowded bay until dusk when the lunch crowd empties out" and "like a moonscape - remember to tie to shore on Northern side as the wind often shifts that way and the ground shelves steeply".

All our best places last year were found using it and we found we could dip in and out of fuel berths so never needed to tie up anywhere except where we chose go pay the high prices for a step-ashore night (Trogir and a lovely old town on Hvar).

Each according to their own. We spent a year in Croatia in 2004/5 and at that time there was only the cruising permit, valid for 1 year. I loved the 777 and found that the Imray guide was not very good at getting you on shore and off again to the islands.

The best solution was to have both. Find yourself with 777 and then read more detail in the Imray guide.

We started from Dubrovnik and made our way up to Istria, across to Venice and the back down a different route to the south of Croatia and thence to Corfu. Have a great time and enjoy.
 
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Imray are bringing out a new edition of the Thompson Pilot guide. It is a must. They are sparing with their praise of places so if you read that somewhere is pleasant or picturesque that you can bet it will be bloody wonderful. We are on our 5th trip there this summer, and I entirely disagree about the expensive place to cruise comments. Marinas are expensive I agree and there's only one that is really nice, BUT they can be easily avoided by simply anchoring in sheltered bays. We did that last year and didn't pay a single Kuna for anchoring the whole time. Oh on the subject of money you'll need Euro's for tourist tax, 1 per person per day, and if your charter company charges for cleaning or outboard that will be Euro's. Otherwise Kuna's. Good exchange rate at the moment too.
If you PM me on where you are going I could suggest some places.
Have a good trip.
 
"...didn't pay a single Kuna for anchoring the whole time. "
I'd love to know where you went! Not Kornati or Telašica, obviously, nor many other places. Yes, it is possible to anchor in bays without paying, but it's becoming harder and harder as local villages get into the mooring buoy scam (not that it is a scam, always).
 
"...didn't pay a single Kuna for anchoring the whole time. "
I'd love to know where you went! Not Kornati or Telašica, obviously, nor many other places. Yes, it is possible to anchor in bays without paying, but it's becoming harder and harder as local villages get into the mooring buoy scam (not that it is a scam, always).

And yet some places appear to have stopped charging for anchoring!

We did not have to pay in Trogir last year and, in another thread, I think someone mentioned that they did not to pay in Primosten. These are both places where we paid to anchor in 2009 and 2010.

Richard
 
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