Croatia vignette increases for 2018 (?)

[Metabarca]

"Stupid tourism minister Capelli (Italian surname) "
I fail to see what his surname has to do with anything. Do you consider Sadiq Khan to be Pakistani?
FTR, Capelli was born in Mali Losinj, which, until 1945 was Italian, Lussinpiccolo (and before 1918 Austro-Hungarian and before that Venetian but always populated by Venetian Italians). The Dalmatian coast had always been Italic, bar a few bits like Senj and Ragusa (Dubrovnik, the Argosy of Shakespeare), while the Slavs lived largely inland. Losinj traditionally supplied many blue water sailors, many of whom became officers for transoceanic lines. Capelli must have been born into what had been an Italian family that chose to stay behind in 1948 after the exodus; his first name suggests his family has not kept its Italian roots.
To return to thread, Croatia is becoming increasingly like a Disneyland to those of us who knew it years ago. It's not just the money they charge, but also the crowding, the uniformity. Very pretty, sure, and on my doorstep, but the hassle is beginning to outweigh the pleasure. It has got to the point that I think I shall sell my boat in a year or two and charter around the world from time to time.

 

[alexsailor]

@metabarca
I wrote that it is Italian surname so that people would not think that someone from Italy is making the mess.
Thanks for history lesson anyway.

I would prefer that Lošinj was still under Italians and Istra peninsula under Slovenia (as it was)...

But let’s not make war

Do not sell the boat! Sail to Greece and weeknd trips to Slovenia- you know it well

 

[BrianH]

To return to thread, Croatia is becoming increasingly like a Disneyland to those of us who knew it years ago. It's not just the money they charge, but also the crowding, the uniformity. Very pretty, sure, and on my doorstep, but the hassle is beginning to outweigh the pleasure. It has got to the point that I think I shall sell my boat in a year or two and charter around the world from time to time.

Similar to the conclusion I have come to. This year I limited my cruising to Slovenia and the local Italian ports - it was anyway always a relief to return to genuinely friendly Italy from Croatia and not have such aggressive money-grubbing thrust in my face.

It has been a wonderful period of 36 years of cruising the Adriatic to the Ionian but the eastern seaboard has changed beyond recognition - some for the best but for cruising in general, definitely not so. From 2005 as the charter fleets and buoyage fields burgeoned, I began to restrict my range to northwest of the Kornati.

I'll keep my boat and potter around the Italian lagoons - next year already planning to visit Venice again - but now well into my eighties and single-handed most of the time, I have to think of giving it all up sometime.

 

[Metabarca]

I'm no nostalgic for 'Istria italiana' as is the older generation in Trieste, but one has to wander how it would be today if it had remained Italian in 1945... There would be lots of private villas by the sea, no ruined villages inland, lots of good eateries (truffles in autumn!)... but it would be wrong to imagine it as a sort of Tuscany or Piedmont by the sea: the cuisine here is incomparably poorer, and there would anyway have been the pressure for cheap seaside holidays on the part of Central Europeans, so although we might not have seen the Yugo-hotel monstrosities, there would nevertheless have been excessive building, probably worse than is the actual case. But Croatian Istria is full of sadness, though beautiful.

 

[Metabarca]

@metabarca
I wrote that it is Italian surname so that people would not think that someone from Italy is making the mess.
Thanks for history lesson anyway.

I would prefer that Lošinj was still under Italians and Istra peninsula under Slovenia (as it was)...

But let’s not make war

Do not sell the boat! Sail to Greece and weeknd trips to Slovenia- you know it well

Slovenija je lep!

 

[RupertW]

I'm no nostalgic for 'Istria italiana' as is the older generation in Trieste, but one has to wander how it would be today if it had remained Italian in 1945... There would be lots of private villas by the sea, no ruined villages inland, lots of good eateries (truffles in autumn!)... but it would be wrong to imagine it as a sort of Tuscany or Piedmont by the sea: the cuisine here is incomparably poorer, and there would anyway have been the pressure for cheap seaside holidays on the part of Central Europeans, so although we might not have seen the Yugo-hotel monstrosities, there would nevertheless have been excessive building, probably worse than is the actual case. But Croatian Istria is full of sadness, though beautiful.

God - if Istria was Italian we would have graffiti everywhere, concrete apartment blocks instead of restored old houses, and a monoculture cuisine instead of the wonderful mix of Balkan and Italian food. Croatian coastal cuisine beats Italian every time because it builds on it, instead of just resting on its laurels.

Try Rovinj now for a Michelin star or Zigante for truffles or look again at the mountain towns and how well they are preserved and restored. One simplistic way I look at Croatia is imagining Italy as if run by Germans.

 

[RichardS]

Try Rovinj now for a Michelin star or Zigante for truffles or look again at the mountain towns and how well they are preserved and restored. One simplistic way I look at Croatia is imagining Italy as if run by Germans.

We spent a couple of nights anchored in Medulin last year on our way north to Venice. This was our first sail to Istria so we walked towards the town centre and came across a decent looking restaurant with outdoor tables and and huge bbq hood called Salt and Pepper. We ordered the Aberdeen Angus burger with Truffles and it was truly excellent. Probably one of the best burgers I have ever had.

On the way back from Venice we decided that we would have to visit Medulin again .... and did an exact repeat of our first visit to Salt and Pepper .... with exactly the same results.

Richard

 

[Metabarca]

I went to Zigante once and found it grossly over-rated and somewhat bizarre in mood, but it was admittedly a quiet weekday lunch...
Regarding restorations and apartment blocks.... much of the population was kicked out/fled in 1945-54, so with a tiny population remaining, there's not much call for apartment blocks, but believe me, the wonders of Yugoslav workers' housing beats anything Italian in terms of hideousness (and Italian suburbs can indeed be ugly). Much has been restored because they're summer homes for outsiders. As for Croatian cooking... you need to compare like with like: of course there are excellent restaurants in Croatia but to claim that the general level of cuisine is better than Italian suggests that in Italy you've been to tourist restaurants and in Croatia good ones. Inventive the Croations are not (except in thinking up moneymaking schemes).

 

[RupertW]

I went to Zigante once and found it grossly over-rated and somewhat bizarre in mood, but it was admittedly a quiet weekday lunch...
Regarding restorations and apartment blocks.... much of the population was kicked out/fled in 1945-54, so with a tiny population remaining, there's not much call for apartment blocks, but believe me, the wonders of Yugoslav workers' housing beats anything Italian in terms of hideousness (and Italian suburbs can indeed be ugly). Much has been restored because they're summer homes for outsiders. As for Croatian cooking... you need to compare like with like: of course there are excellent restaurants in Croatia but to claim that the general level of cuisine is better than Italian suggests that in Italy you've been to tourist restaurants and in Croatia good ones. Inventive the Croations are not (except in thinking up moneymaking schemes).

We will have to agree to disagree about the cooking and particularly the comparative inventiveness

 

[jimbaerselman]

@jimbaerselman
Small motor boats are not "the problem" that would cause such a dramatic increase of Tourist tax. Look the table with prices on the first page of this tread.

Sorry, a definition problem. "Small boats" meant under 24m LOA, therefore mostly privately owned leisure boats. Over the last year, there has a been a big surge in their sales throughout Europe, bringing more boats with berths on board onto the water. Add to those a number of boats leaving Turkey because they disapprove of the shift to autocracy.

And demand for space goes up. That's an opportunity to raise prices without frightening too many people away.

 

[alexsailor]

@jim

A ok...
Well I think that privately owned boats (not the one for charter) should have some special status. Nevertheless we visit marinas and sail also out of season. We pay (high) yearly berth places in cro. marinas, eat outside, shop etc.
Marians in the northern part of Adriatic that is not so charter crowded as middle or south part (Šibenik, Trogir, Split) are filled with private yachts. But marina owners just do not get it.
If Kremik in the case of @RichardS dropped the prices, I do not know why north Adriatic marinas don't do it. And they are not full!!

When talking about marinas. There is (not so) silent war going on between marina owners and other that want to build small harbours, piers in new places. Marinas want to keep their monopoly position in the region.
But more and more state concessions are being issued so hopefully things will change.
I could write more about that but let's keep this thread about crazy tourist tax prices (and other taxes)...

 

[Garold]

Looks like Mallorca may be looking at the same type of scheme.

https://majorcadailybulletin.com/ne...st-tax-being-applied-the-nautical-sector.html

Garold

 

[RichardS]

I've just heard from my marina that a special dispensation has been granted that if you pay your Croatian Sojourn tax for the year 2018 year before the 31st December 2017 then then Government will accept the annual sum at the 2017 rates.

My marina say that they will pay the tax for me and add it to my 2018 bill and continue with the discount at the 2018 rate as already promised.

As my annual payment for 2016/2017 has just expired it makes sense for me to pay for a year from 1st January 2018 at the 2017 rate.

EDIT: I've checked since and mine actually doesn't expire until mid-May 2018. I've asked the marina if they can buy another year but forward dated from 1st May 2018 but if it has to be from 1st January 2018 to qualify for the dispensation then I'll take it anyway. I'll update when I get the clarification.

Richard

 

[RichardS]

I've just heard from my marina that a special dispensation has been granted that if you pay your Croatian Sojourn tax for the year 2018 year before the 31st December 2017 then then Government will accept the annual sum at the 2017 rates.

My marina say that they will pay the tax for me and add it to my 2018 bill and continue with the discount at the 2018 rate as already promised.

As my annual payment for 2016/2017 has just expired it makes sense for me to pay for a year from 1st January 2018 at the 2017 rate.

EDIT: I've checked since and mine actually doesn't expire until mid-May 2018. I've asked the marina if they can buy another year but forward dated from 1st May 2018 but if it has to be from 1st January 2018 to qualify for the dispensation then I'll take it anyway. I'll update when I get the clarification.

Richard

Amazing ..... My marina, Marina Kremik, have just emailed me the certificate for my annual Sojorn Tax running from 16th May 2018 through to 16th May 2019 for the same annual price as we have been paying for the last 2 years - 1100 Kuna.

And they've confirmed that my 2018 marina fees which they reduced by EUR500 to offset the much higher Sojourn Tax will still stay at EUR500 less than 2017 even though we have completely ducked the tax increase.

They didn't want me to add the Sojourn Tax to the marina fee and pay the lot together just now because the marina fees go to the marina group account so they asked me to pop into the office and reimburse them the 1100 Kuna in cash the next time we go down to the boat which will probably not be until May 2018.

Some people on here say that many Croatians can be a bit grumpy but I always say that virtually all the people we meet over there are really friendly and helpful. You really can't say fairer than the above.

Richard

 

[alexsailor]

Well luck you! You got a special treatment.
In island Krk the story is not the same. I went to Port police (lucka kapetanija) to pay the tax but all I got was a raised voice by an irritated harbour master/captain and I could not pay the tax since my is still valid till june 2018.
We are also expecting the change of prices in our marina. Somehow I fell they won't go down. But let's wait. I'll keep you updated.

 

[alexsailor]

Today I visited Novigrad (Istria peninsula) and it is not possible to pay the tax if you still have a valid one.
Now I am just waiting what will happen with "my" marina prices and what Greece will do (will they go the same) and then I'll decide.

Owning a boat and paying high taxes so that fat bureaucrats can stuff their asses and do nothing except "allow" me to sail on the sea is such a stupid idea I can not digest.

 

[RichardS]

Today I visited Novigrad (Istria peninsula) and it is not possible to pay the tax if you still have a valid one.

It clearly possible to forward date in Rogoznica as my offical certificate at the 2017 rate is dated 16th May 2018 to 16th May 2019.

If you wanted to take up the Government on their "pay the annual for 2018 at 2017 rates" special offer it might still be cheaper than paying the new rate in 2018 depending upon how long you buy at a time. I'd be surprised if the Government won't allow that as why would they object to people paying two lots of tax for the same period?

Your marina should know all about this "2018 special offer" as it was the Marina Association which negotiated this concession with the Government, I believe.

Richard

 

[sailaboutvic]

Today I visited Novigrad (Istria peninsula) and it is not possible to pay the tax if you still have a valid one.
Now I am just waiting what will happen with "my" marina prices and what Greece will do (will they go the same) and then I'll decide.

Owning a boat and paying high taxes so that fat bureaucrats can stuff their asses and do nothing except "allow" me to sail on the sea is such a stupid idea I can not digest.

We all in the same boat.

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Hi

I hope to be buying a boat in Trieste Italy and am planning a passage back to Greece, having read so many good thing about sailing in Croasia it would be churlish not to call in on the way past.
If I spent a week there would I have to pay the vignette and the sojourn tax and if so ,does anyone know how much? boat is a 14 meter sail boat

 

[Metabarca]

For a 14-metre boat, I think 1225 kuna (gbp 148).
Here's more blurb (if you go to Umago, stop at the pier-head of the marina immediately to port in the bay, and both offices you need are in one cabin):

Entering Croatia
The skipper of the boat entering the Republic of Croatia by sea shall by shortest way enter the nearest port open for international traffic as to carry out borderline control, obtain a vignette and certify the crew list at the nearest Harbor Master's Office or its branch office.
The skipper of the boat entering the Republic of Croatia by land or whose vessel is tended in a marina or other approved site in the Republic of Croatia shall, before leaving port, obtain the vignette and certify the crew list at the Harbor Master's office or its branch office.
The vignette is not obligatory for boats whose length is less then 2.5m or whose overall engine power does not exceed 5 kW.
The vessel shall be marked by a vignette at the visible place whereas the vignette is valid one year upon its issue.
A vessel arriving by land shall be reported orally at the border crossing, and afterwards at the Harbor Master's Office (or branch office) following the same procedure of registration as vessels arriving by sea.
The maximum allowed size of a hauled vehicle in Croatia is 18 m long and 2.55 m wide.
In cases of excess width a special permit shall be required and escort is obligatory. Information available at the Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development of the Republic of Croatia: http://www.mmtpr.hr


Border Crossings
Permanent maritime border crossings:
Umag, Poreč, Rovinj, Pula, Raša (Bršica), Rijeka, Mali Lošinj, Zadar, Šibenik, Split, Ploče, Korčula, Dubrovnik, Vela Luka , Ubli.
Seasonal maritime border crossings (open from April 1 - October 31):
ACI marina Umag, Novigrad, Sali, Božava, Primošten, Hvar, Stari Grad (Hvar), Vis, Komiža and Cavtat.


Required Documentation
The skipper shall possess evidence that he is competent for boat handling pursuant to the national regulations of the flag state or an appropriate certificate pursuant to the regulations of the Republic of Croatia.
If, pursuant to the national regulations of the flag state, the skipper does not need to possess evidence that he is competent for boat handling, he shall obtain appropriate evidence pursuant to the regulations of the Republic of Croatia.
All boats sailing to Croatia shall possess the following original documents:

-vignette
-certified crew list and passenger list
-certified list of persons aboard (for vessels where change of crew is foreseen while sailing in Croatia)
- certificate of seaworthiness
- evidence that the skipper is competent for boat handling
-evidence of third party insurance policy (for vessels whose engine power exceeds 15 kW)
-ownership certificate or authorization for the use of vessel