Does anyone keep aboat in Croatia, and what is it like?

[satsuma]

Thanks to all for such a great response, I have now negotiated with 'er indoors to move Singapore Sling out there. This begs the question as to how? Clearly it would be great for me (and others) to sail her there but how long should I give it, or do I employ a delivery crew?

I sailed out to Turkey in my boat, all 25 foot of her. Loved every minute, from the f8 in Biscay, to clearing the overfalls by "not nearly enough" at Trafalgar! I wouldn't have missed out on a single nm! The experience alone is worth it. If you can't spare the time to go in one stint (4-6 weeks), do it in two or three legs! Planned properly, it won't be any more expensive than having her transported, and ultimately you have a boat to sail! So sail her yourself!

 

[mike_bryon]

We took 6 weeks sailing from the uk in 2007. First stop Gib then Baleares, Pantellerie, a week in Greece and a 10 day cruise up to Venice.

 

[dune16]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I am wondering if things have changed in the last 10 years. We are considering moving our UK flagged (but EU VAT paid) boat to Croatia next season, we are currently in Spain. We are basically wondering what the pro's and con's are costs etc.. Thanks all

 

[glynd]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I am wondering if things have changed in the last 10 years. We are considering moving our UK flagged (but EU VAT paid) boat to Croatia next season, we are currently in Spain. We are basically wondering what the pro's and con's are costs etc.. Thanks all

Have seen Croatia massively increase in costs over the last 5 years alone - no experience of it back in 2011.

It is pretty much off / down the bottom of our list to visit now as we feel we are just getting ripped off....

 

[dune16]

Have seen Croatia massively increase in costs over the last 5 years alone - no experience of it back in 2011.

It is pretty much off / down the bottom of our list to visit now as we feel we are just getting ripped off....

I know it's expensive there (I did a 2 week charter a couple of years back) but when I look at the marinas we'd like to base our boat in (ACI Trogir or Split probably) the cost is substantially less than we are paying in Denia mainland Spain now. I just think the options for going places may work better for us

 

[Birdseye]

A long weekend is obviously a non-starter but we do at least one 8 day trip every year and love it every time.

If you check out some other threads it appears that the choice is (i) keep the boat in the Med and get some guaranteed sailing in great weather or (ii) keep the boat in the UK and possibly get no sailing in foul weather!

To each, his own!

Richard

Silly comment Richard. You can sail in the UK all year round. The only month we dont race is January and thats tradition rather than anything else.

 

[RichardS]

Silly comment Richard. You can sail in the UK all year round. The only month we dont race is January and thats tradition rather than anything else.

What's really silly is the passing of the last 10 years.

Richard

 

[dune16]

What's really silly is the passing of the last 10 years.

Richard

Haha I was about to say that!

My fault for resurrecting such an old thread

Is anyone here still based in Croatia?

 

[RupertW]

Haha I was about to say that!

My fault for resurrecting such an old thread

Is anyone here still based in Croatia?

Last based there in 2017 - we were heading west anyway but were glad to be away from the outrageous tourist tax which classed boats as if every bunk was occupied - it has since come down to something far more reasonable.

Marina overnight prices are hideous (but not nearly as much as the Balearics as we discovered) but as we tend to call into marinas maybe once a week with guests then that’s not a big deal as you can anchor in hundreds of places without charge (or mysteriously for some posters, manage to turn up in every chargeable one and pick a fight).

Have spent the last decade in Greece, Croatia, Balearics, Canaries with stopovers in so many places in between, then Croatia is the real deal for perfect Med for us - scenery, ungraffitied old architecture, organisation and services, turquoise waters, islands and most of all the fabulous food which is a Balkan/Venetian/Greek combination from Michelin starred downwards.

But I’ve liked pretty much everywhere in the Med and nearby. If I was looking for an affordable winter base afloat in a modern marina and wasn’t planning on much local sailing then I’d go to Rabat in Morocco. Beautiful exotic place and madly cheap.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

I am still in Croatia - 10 years and counting - got a nice surprise this year as the costs for Tourist Tax on boats have come down considerably, and it no longer requires a visit to the harbour master - under €2 per person per night or you can block buy weeks/months or even a full year which is more or less expensive dependent on your circumstances.

Costs here: https://nautika.evisitor.hr/pricelist/

Annual "sailing dues" from the harbour master are just over €50 fee - paid when you "check-in" via a port of entry and valid 'till the end of the calendar year.

Marina costs are €1250 per quarter for Marina Veruda in Pula for an 11,5m boat .... haul-out and re-launch for antifouling is about €750 (expensive IMO) ... overnight charges in Marinas/Harbours are around €50-€60 euros ... but I tend to spend most nights at anchor since I fitted solar panels a few years back - Covid is also a good reason to avoid crowded harbours / marinas at the moment.

A quick google will throw up the prices for the Marinas you are interested in.

Sheltered anchorages are fairly easy to come by but it wouldn't be much fun over winter so factor in a Marina - Croatia is heavily tourist season oriented with tax breaks for restaurants that only open in summer - so winter can be very dead.

Croatia is not a member of Schengen yet, which may work to your advantage, but you can still only visit for 3 months as a tourist from a non-EU country - it will however stop your schengen clock - so 3 months Croatia, 3 months in Schengen, repeated until Croatia joins Schengen will work - they have a long-running border dispute with Slovenia which is preventing Schengen membership at the moment.

You should have no problem with a UK registered boat - mine is UK registered and as long as the VAT paperwork is in order and you have UK registration (SSR or Part 1), proof of insurance, a SRC, and a relevant qualification you should be good to go - but as a boat owner in Spain you almost certainly have all this already.

 

[dune16]

I am still in Croatia - 10 years and counting - got a nice surprise this year as the costs for Tourist Tax on boats have come down considerably, and it no longer requires a visit to the harbour master - under €2 per person per night or you can block buy weeks/months or even a full year which is more or less expensive dependent on your circumstances.

Costs here: https://nautika.evisitor.hr/pricelist/

Annual "sailing dues" from the harbour master are just over €50 fee - paid when you "check-in" via a port of entry and valid 'till the end of the calendar year.

Marina costs are €1250 per quarter for Marina Veruda in Pula for an 11,5m boat .... haul-out and re-launch for antifouling is about €750 (expensive IMO) ... overnight charges in Marinas/Harbours are around €50-€60 euros ... but I tend to spend most nights at anchor since I fitted solar panels a few years back - Covid is also a good reason to avoid crowded harbours / marinas at the moment.

A quick google will throw up the prices for the Marinas you are interested in.

Sheltered anchorages are fairly easy to come by but it wouldn't be much fun over winter so factor in a Marina - Croatia is heavily tourist season oriented with tax breaks for restaurants that only open in summer - so winter can be very dead.

Croatia is not a member of Schengen yet, which may work to your advantage, but you can still only visit for 3 months as a tourist from a non-EU country - it will however stop your schengen clock - so 3 months Croatia, 3 months in Schengen, repeated until Croatia joins Schengen will work - they have a long-running border dispute with Slovenia which is preventing Schengen membership at the moment.

You should have no problem with a UK registered boat - mine is UK registered and as long as the VAT paperwork is in order and you have UK registration (SSR or Part 1), proof of insurance, a SRC, and a relevant qualification you should be good to go - but as a boat owner in Spain you almost certainly have all this already.

Thanks for the reply. It looks like it's not going to be any more expensive than we're paying in Spain currently and the trip over will be alot of fun! I've got the src, icc etc so no issues there.

We just need to decide on Split or Dubrovnik really. I've only chartered in Split and loved all the islands but my girlfriend is wanting Dubrovnik even though she's never been there ?

 

[Nina Lucia]

We had trailer sailer for five years in Croatia just before Brexit. Fantastic sailing, hundreds of islands, we went to a different island and different bay every day! Never been charged for anchoring...
It was really cheap to keep her ashore on her trailer over the year, less than 300 euros a year, including the launch in and out.
Then Brexit came !!!!
Now we have lovely boat in the UK, Solent is lovely but I wish we can sail again in Mediterranean waters without checking a calendar, worrying how long is left, and did we overstay?
VAT on the boat, all that nonsense that Brexit has caused....
Maybe it is best to buy Croatian or another EU flag vessel and keep in EU, like Greece, Italy or Croatia and just keep it ashore for nine months and use it for three, with British passports- we are not allowed to stay longer anyway.....
Does anybody have a better idea/solution?

 

[dune16]

We had trailer sailer for five years in Croatia just before Brexit. Fantastic sailing, hundreds of islands, we went to a different island and different bay every day! Never been charged for anchoring...
It was really cheap to keep her ashore on her trailer over the year, less than 300 euros a year, including the launch in and out.
Then Brexit came !!!!
Now we have lovely boat in the UK, Solent is lovely but I wish we can sail again in Mediterranean waters without checking a calendar, worrying how long is left, and did we overstay?
VAT on the boat, all that nonsense that Brexit has caused....
Maybe it is best to buy Croatian or another EU flag vessel and keep in EU, like Greece, Italy or Croatia and just keep it ashore for nine months and use it for three, with British passports- we are not allowed to stay longer anyway.....
Does anybody have a better idea/solution?

You can buy a UK flagged boat that was in the EU when brexit happened as it inherited eu vat paid status. This is how mine is but I have no intention of it ever coming to the UK

 

[dune16]

Maybe it is best to buy Croatian or another EU flag vessel and keep in EU, like Greece, Italy or Croatia and just keep it ashore for nine months and use it for three, with British passports- we are not allowed to stay longer anyway.....
Does anybody have a better idea/solution?

Also, the rule for UK to eu travel is 90 in 180 days so depending on the seasons you could certainly do more than 3 months sailing in a year. Also, Croatia isn't currently schengen so I suspect this isn't included in the EU 90 in 180 rule (although I haven't yet looked too closely at that bit it could give you another 90 in 180 to play with)?

 

[Sybarite]

Judge for yourself :

Ep43 | Sailing to the waterfalls - YouTube

 

[Nina Lucia]

Also, the rule for UK to eu travel is 90 in 180 days so depending on the seasons you could certainly do more than 3 months sailing in a year. Also, Croatia isn't currently schengen so I suspect this isn't included in the EU 90 in 180 rule (although I haven't yet looked too closely at that bit it could give you another 90 in 180 to play with)?

Could you please simplify this for me? How long can I stay in Croatia with a British passport and how long can my British registered sailing boat stay in one go before leaving to a non EU country/continent - Albania, Montenegro or sailing across to Africa?

 

[dune16]

Could you please simplify this for me? How long can I stay in Croatia with a British passport and how long can my British registered sailing boat stay in one go before leaving to a non EU country/continent - Albania, Montenegro or sailing across to Africa?

The 180-day period keeps rolling. Therefore, anytime you wish to enter the Schengen, you just have to count backwards the last 180 days, and see if you have been present in the Schengen for more than 90 days throughout that period.

With regards to your uk flagged boat, I assume it was in the UK when brexit happened and therefore means its uk vat paid and not eu vat paid. Not so simple to keep it in the EU if that's the case. I believe you'd need to leave the EU every 18 months for a day or two and then come back in.

 

[Nina Lucia]

The 180-day period keeps rolling. Therefore, anytime you wish to enter the Schengen, you just have to count backwards the last 180 days, and see if you have been present in the Schengen for more than 90 days throughout that period.

With regards to your uk flagged boat, I assume it was in the UK when brexit happened and therefore means its uk vat paid and not eu vat paid. Not so simple to keep it in the EU if that's the case. I believe you'd need to leave the EU every 18 months for a day or two and then come back in.

I guess, if you are in Croatia, it will be Montenegro or Albania? And how much they are charge for a day? I hope they won't take advantage, hahaha ....

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Just to clarify, Croatia is not in Schengen and any days spent in Croatia do not count as days in the Schengen Area ..... Croatia as an independent state still only allows non-eu tourists a maximum stay of 3 months but you can do 3 months in Croatia, then 3 months in Greece or Italy, then back to Croatia for 3 months without infringing the 90/180 Schengen rules.

Croatia’s tourist visa policy states that citizens of the EU are granted freedom of movement for purposes of tourism, while other visa-free citizens are granted a short visa-free tourist stay, usually up to 90 days, depending on their nationality.

Croatia Visa Policy

The UK comes under "other visa-free citizens"

 

[Sailing steve]

We've chartered several times in the Split region.

Croatians are lovely helpful people, and there's some really pretty destinations and islands but it's become really busy and charter costs and prices for marina berths have gone up through the roof over the last few years and so have booze and restaurant bills. Getting back to base and onto the fuel berth at the end of the charter is a nightmare free for all log jam of yachts and so is finding a berth in the more popular marinas later in the day. Many of the quiet bays you used to be able to drop the hook for free in now have mooring buoys which you'll be charged for.

There's been several days of flat calm on most of our charters too.

Montenegro has built 100+ berth marinas in the bay of Kotor which were all either being finished or ready but empty when we were there. Maybe they're hoping that's going to be the new sailing destination on the Adriatic.