Cruising Croatia

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gmsecker

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We are thinking of cruising the Croatian coast next season, but have heard a number of accounts of high charges and of unfriendly (or worse) reception. Are these isolated experiences/bad luck, or have, as one skipper put it, many of the operators become greedy and off-hand?

Has anyone had recent experience of this cruising ground?


Groundtrack
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We have had our boat there since 1985,and although it has got a lot more expensive over the years it's still not a rip off, apart from one or two black sheep.
Are you planning on chartering? Although I don't have personal experience, the charter market has become a bit of a minefield from what I've heard.
In any case avoid August!
 
We bareboat chartered out of Murter in May 2006. The place was great and the people fantastic. However, compared to Greece, it was extortionate!

We felt the problem was, that it is too close to Germany. Therefore, full of people with high disposable incomes, prepared to pay through the nose for things. The Croatians, understandably, are more than happy to relieve them of their money.

Accept that it is as expensive as the Solent, then go and have a brilliant time - We did!!

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I ran a flotilla in Croatia last summer - based in Kremik just north of Split. We cruised the area from Split to Zadar so I guess i've built up pretty good knowledge of that area. Average Prices were as follows (for a 34ft boat):
Marinas - £32-43
Town Quays - £20-28
Moorings - £7-9
Anchoring in bays where there's mooring buoys - £4-6
Thers plenty of places you can go without parking charges though beware of the national park fees in the Kornati and Telascia Parks. The Kornati is £35 per night per boat. Telly is only a fiver per head so a bit better - and in our opnion a lot nicer than the Kornati.


Marinas and quays are almost totally lazy lines and have water and electricity. Some quays have ablutions but not all. August is very busy - i had to have my fleet of 12-15 boats in by 2pm in some places but its not that bad if you plan ahead and avoid the marinas that are charter bases on weekends when they all do turnround. Weather last summer started deteriorating from August. June and July most settled period though it did hit low 40's for a couple of weeks. Anyway i can woffle on for hours about Croatia - as Im sure can many others on here. If there's anything specific that I might be able to help with - you know where i am.

PS Croatians are lovely extremely helpful people. As are the thousands of Germans and Austarians and Iatlians you find there. I think in the whole summer we saw maybe 6 other boats flying the red duster. I think most are put off by the prices.
 
I cruised Malta to Pula last season. Arrived Montenegro. Bay of Kotor -unmissable. Next Dubrovnic - severe dressing down from immigration police - you must go to first POE on yor course - in this case - Cavtat. All these new countries are sensitive about their courtesy flag and it is a shock after leaving EU countries where we can enter and leave so easily.
The Croats are reserved, mostly honest but the bigger the tourist trap the more ripoffs.
The local cruising bible is 999(to represent the no. of islands)- very useful.
Favourite places Milna on Brac and Veruda (Pula). I tend to avoid ACI marinas but they are professional.
If you have specific q's send me a priv. message.
Good sailing.
DQ
 
I think you mean 777 (link here), unless they've discovered some more islands!

We chartered there in 1999 and are going back again this year. I expect we will get a shock with the prices as we didn't find it cheap when we went before. Any suggestions for unmissable places in the Kornati Islands (avoiding marinas wherever possible)will be appreciated.

Regards, TonyD
 
Tony - after the 1st couple flots i stopped taking my fleet to the kornati park at all. They sailed through if they wished but each time i parked there it was a bad experience. Park fees, Marinas/mooring fees - and then overpriced poor quality restaurants. Occasionally they even got caught for park fees when dropping the hook for lunch. thankfully the boundaries of the park are basically the extremities of the island of kornati itself and don't extend to far. We found Telescia National park (just to the north) much nicer to look at, good safe mooring buoys and reasonable restaurants. Good place to hide from a bora as well. Good cruising grounds to the east of Kornati around Pasman and Murter - and further south around the islands off Sibinek. And of course you have to go up the river to the waterfalls at Skradin - but make sure u go up to the falls themselves either before 10 or after 3 to avoid the worst of the tourists. And yes - 777 is THE pilot to use. If only Heikel would write one............ but as he hasnt this is the best avaialble - I tried them all.
 
Thanks Jay, 777 is now on order and we'll try the Telascica Park. I didn't realise this was not part of the Kornati Islands. We saw the Skradin falls before so may give it a miss this time.

TonyD
 
I would like to cruise croatia by buying a yacht there. Have you any suggestions? What is the story on boat registration/ how will I know that I get clear ownership/ What taxes will be owing /
 
Suggest you loacate a Croatian based broker via Google and talk to them for advice. There seemed to be a large number of German registered boats that seemed to be based there and which presumably will occasionally change hands. Maybe an area to look into.
 
Update

Just back from a week's charter with Sunsail out of Kremik.

Used Jane Cody and John Nash 'Cruising Companion' for Croatia, published by Wiley Nautical. Visited Primosten, Vis (Komiza), Bisevo (Blue Pool), the St Klement Islands, Hvar, Scedero, Milna and Rogosnica. Typical prices in marinas around £45 per night; on quays with lazy lines around £35.

First trip there, loved it. The boat - Beeny 393 - was clean, well-maintained and efficiently handed over by Sunsail (bareboat).

Sunny days, 30 degs, sea temp 28, winds between F1 and F5, swimming two or three times per day. We had good experiences in all places, with excellent food and friendly reception from locals. What's not to like?

Milna, on Brac, our fave for atmosphere and superb restaurant.

Defo planning to go again.
 
Rereading all of the above, it seems to me that Croatia is now rather despised by those of us who have been cruising there for years (even before it was Croatia) and loved by newbies. And what we oldies hate is the fact that the every year prices for boaties go up, the restaurants are worse and the reception more offhand, all factors newbies cannot be aware of. Sure the coastline is lovely, but I remember how, when you arrived at a little port on an island, there would be one small restaurant run in someone's back yard, the shop would sell the island's fruit and bread up to 10 o'clock and the fisherman would knock on the hull offering you his night's work. Now you pay through the nose, and find shops filled with the usual standard stuff as everywhere else. But don't think the money goes into the local economy, because it doesn't. It's a classic case of their having their heritage snatched from under their noses in return for menial jobs.
As newbies become oldies and perhaps cruise here in their own boats (like tourists become voyagers?), they will find the welcome is less warm than some people in this thread maintain. And while I accept that inevitably I will pay a higher price than in the past, I baulk at having to do so for a ruder reception.
 
We loved it. It's incredibly beautiful, both the nature and the ancient towns which are all over. Facilities are not too bad although can be crowded in August. People are fine, although you do run into the occasional rapacious taxi driver and so forth. Food is excellent. Not cheap but what do you expect on a gorgeous coast overrun with tourists. Beware huge queues at fuel docks on Friday evenings when all the charterers come in.

Turkey is more civilized and better developed and considerably cheaper. Probably less crowded. But Croatia is more beautiful.
 
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