Croatia vignette increases for 2018 (?)

[Metabarca]

Definitely not via the Plockenpass; this will be the shortest route but certainly, certainly not the fastest! If you go via Ljubljana (perfectly feasible: it would take the same time as the Salzburg/Tarvisio route)), you will have to pay for the tunnel between Austria and Slovenia and a vignette for the Slovene motorway, so it comes out a little more expensive than the Tarvisio route.
If I can get away I'll give you a buzz and we'll meet up in Monfalcone!

 

[Mr Cassandra]

I must openly thank Metabarca for meeting up with me and helping so much in assisting me in buying this boat,I would have had to walk away without his.
The forum at its best.
Thanks all .

 

[alexsailor]

There is nothing new in Croatia.
Sojourn tax is beeing implemented (remember: for a 43footer it used to be around 180eur, now 1170 eur! on a yearly base).

Assoiciaton of Croatian Marinas did nothing to prevent that although they are saying that they tried but on my opinion they were too late because they do not follow what their government is doing.

So if going to Croatia, prepare to open the wallet.
Prices of some marinas also went up etc...

But nothing will happen. Even more new charter boats are in Croatia this year.
Avoid it!

 

[crisjones]

We are in Croatia for the summer although we have not yet paid the new sojourn tax since we paid for 12 months last year and that takes us to 15th May. However the Harbourmaster in Lastovo did confirm that the new high prices are definitely being charged this year - so we are looking at 2900kuna (€390) for 90 days.
I did read somewhere a few weeks ago that Croatian Charter Boats do not pay the Sojourn Tax in the same way as private yachts. Instead of a fixed price depending on length of boat and time period they charge the Charter guests about €1.10 per person per night to cover the Sojourn Tax - so the same as Hotels and Campsites. Does anyone know if this is correct? If so it might explain why the Charter companies did not make very much fuss about the increase we have to pay. I think the per person per night rate only increased by a few percent!!
I would have expected the Croatian boat owners to make much more noise about the new Sojourn Tax rates since they also have to pay the Tax at the same rate as us cruisers if they spend any nights on board their yacht. It is even worse if you only use your yacht for weekends or short periods since you have to pay the tax for a minimum of 7 days even if you only use the yacht for 2 days. EU law states that the Tax must apply to everybody including Croatians so I would have expected the locals to make a big fuss about such drastic charges for using their yachts. So are the Croatian yacht owners actually paying the Sojourn Tax or are they just ignoring it and not getting checked?

Prices for the National Parks Kornati, Miljet, Telascica and Lastovo have also changed with big increases in July and August but also some reductions outside that peak period. Lastovo has now been lumped together with the other three and so it is now much more expensive than last year, you can only buy a daily ticket for about 130kuna with no discounts for longer periods. If you want a weekly ticket you can only buy one that covers all 4 parks and this is now 2800kuna for 11-18m in July and August. Actually seems strange that they have such a wide length band, I would have expected smaller bands such as 11-15m and 15-18m and higher prices for the upper bands especially since the Croatians seem intent on extracting every kuna possible from yachties.
No idea about Marina, Harbour and Mooring Buoy prices since we do not use any of them. However supermarket prices overall do seem to be 5-10% less than Italy.

 

[alexsailor]

Very good overview of the situation @crisjones.
Thank you.

I've paid marina till next spring (2019) and I'll pay the unreasonable tax but then for me it is: finito Croatia!
I'll move to Slovenia (if there will be some space) or Italy or Greece- but I'll have to wait what will happen there with their tax.

Sad, but I bought my sailing yacht ten years ago because I'll love freedom of sailing. Now they are killing me with some taxes that only feed up fat birocrates...

 

[RupertW]

We left Croatia a couple of weeks ago and won't be back for a few years so I hope it will all settle to something sensible by then as it remains my favourite cruising ground so far and until this tax I've never encountered anything I'd call a rip-off (as annual marina fees are ok and we otherwise only rarely use them visiting).

But this new tax basically rewards big boats that are full of people and punishes those with just a couple on board and that makes a lot of economic sense for businesses such as restaurants and tourist shops. It also relies on the idea that expanding charter fleets will fill the gaps left by owners leaving. And they may be right which would be a great pity. Hopefully by the time we've explored the Western Med and beyond it will be ok for owners again and who knows, maybe chartering will become much less popular but I doubt it.

 

[Pufferman]

Well! I guess it's going to be a lean year cruising in Croatia for couples. The new Sojourn Tax is bad enough but, in confirmation of the posting above, have a look at the attached new charges http://np-mljet.hr/en/visit-us/price-list/ for the National Parks especially months VI to IX. Gone are the days of anchoring for a week in Mljet and then moving to Lastovo! It's going to get busy in Badija and Loviste (unless someone has "secured" concessions there as well!).
Heard from my marina that the Ministry has already announced that they are to reverse the Sojourn Tax increase for 2019 due to the exodus of private boats - but they are holding their ground on the already announced 2018 tax rates - can anyone confirm this?

 

[RichardS]

I believe that CrisJones summary is spot on. It was explained to me by the HM a few years ago that all Croatian boat owners who drive down from Zagreb for the weekend also have to pay the Sojourn tax ..... but I bet that they don't. Unless they keep stopping boats who the hell is going to know that they haven't paid?

I was in the HM office this morning getting my Vignette for 2018 and it's exactly the same price as 2017 .... only around £50 for the year. I asked the HM why the Vignette had stayed the same whilst the Sojourn had increased by 400%. He rolled his eyes and said that I needed to phone the Government because no-one else knows what the hell is going on.

What I left I said "See you next year" and he smiled and replied "Don't be too sure .... with this Government anything could happen"

Richard

 

[crisjones]

A member on the Facebook Medsailing group reported that he spoke to the Zadar Harbourmaster who told him they have been instructed to carry out random checks to ensure compliance with the Sojourn Tax. The HM also said there would be more patrols checking boats in anchorages etc.
Not seen any sign of enforcement activity yet but it is still early in the season with few boats around. Provided the checks and patrols catch the Croatians as well as the visitors then I have no problem with it. We will see what happens.