Well it's been a glorious summer in Croatia

[MapisM]

Well, I can't join the b@st@rd crowd, 'cause I'm enjoying pretty much similar skies and waters since may...
Very nice pics anyway, thanks for posting them. They do bring back old memories. All of them, with the only exception of Maslinica, where I've never been. Did I miss a lot?
I'm surprised to see Piskera marina so empty in peak season, did they skyrocket their prices, or what? Actually, I don't think they've ever been really overcrowded, just because there's plenty of good anchorages around it, but imho that's the nicest natural environment of any croatian marina. Possibly the best snorkeling I've ever had right inside a marina was in Piskera, must be tried to be believed.
Just to give an idea to those who have never been there, it's located in a shallow channel between two islands, and thanks to that the water is always clean and as clear as it gets - see here
Last but not least, a small hint, though you might be well aware of that already: on Zut island, just one mile or so ESE of the marina, there's a very nice bay, greatly sheltered from NE wind, with a small restaurant.
Can't remember the name, but in my days (mind, quite some years ago) it was way better than the Festa - which was not bad, but a tad "industrial".

 

[longjohnsilver]

Well, I can't join the b@st@rd crowd, 'cause I'm enjoying pretty much similar skies and waters since may...
Very nice pics anyway, thanks for posting them. They do bring back old memories. All of them, with the only exception of Maslinica, where I've never been. Did I miss a lot?
I'm surprised to see Piskera marina so empty in peak season, did they skyrocket their prices, or what? Actually, I don't think they've ever been really overcrowded, just because there's plenty of good anchorages around it, but imho that's the nicest natural environment of any croatian marina. Possibly the best snorkeling I've ever had right inside a marina was in Piskera, must be tried to be believed.
Just to give an idea to those who have never been there, it's located in a shallow channel between two islands, and thanks to that the water is always clean and as clear as it gets - see here
Last but not least, a small hint, though you might be well aware of that already: on Zut island, just one mile or so ESE of the marina, there's a very nice bay, greatly sheltered from NE wind, with a small restaurant.
Can't remember the name, but in my days (mind, quite some years ago) it was way better than the Festa - which was not bad, but a tad "industrial".

Bast@rd!!

 

[LittleShip]

Bast@rd!!

Go on John Make him have it

Tom

 

[longjohnsilver]

Go on John Make him have it

Tom

They should both be banned for provocative posting............

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

All of them, with the only exception of Maslinica, where I've never been. Did I miss a lot?

Its at the west end of Solta island. An entrepreneur has built a nice new quay (with 32A leccy for aircon!) and renovated a nearby building into a very nice hotel/restaurant. Worth a visit

I'm surprised to see Piskera marina so empty in peak season, did they skyrocket their prices, or what?

The prices are not much different to other ACI marinas. We did visit on a Saturday (charter boat changeover day) which might account for the lack of boats. But we thought the reason was the very high charges being levied by the Kornati national park. We were charged 400kn (€50) a day by roving park officials in their RIBS and we resented that because you get nothing for your money other than the ability to pick uo one of the few buoys dotted around

Last but not least, a small hint, though you might be well aware of that already: on Zut island, just one mile or so ESE of the marina, there's a very nice bay, greatly sheltered from NE wind, with a small restaurant.
Can't remember the name, but in my days (mind, quite some years ago) it was way better than the Festa - which was not bad, but a tad "industrial"

Yup, the food at Festa was OK and the setting v nice but you do get the impression that the operation is set up only to extract money from tourists rather than for the love of cooking. Thanks for the heads up on the other restaurant. I'll bear that one in mind

 

[MapisM]

They should both be banned for provocative posting............

Well, actually also down here we have our share of rain, occasionally...
You know, just enough for the sun to create these landscapes, as soon as it comes back!

 

[volvopaul]

Mike I remember you left spain because of the mat tax? by the looks of it what a great move, perhaps you could forward these pics on to the mallorcan tourist boat and tell them what a big favour they did you, it all looks truly stunning, how lucky you are.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Mike I remember you left spain because of the mat tax? by the looks of it what a great move, perhaps you could forward these pics on to the mallorcan tourist boat and tell them what a big favour they did you, it all looks truly stunning, how lucky you are.

Yes youre right, VP. I did leave Majorca because of the mat tax issue. However its not all good news in Croatia. Getting there is more difficult than Majorca because flights are far less plentiful and non existent in the winter. There are also frustrations with getting boat maintenance done because parts are more difficult to get and the local service personnel are less competent. For these 2 reasons, I'm moving the boat into Italy for the winter where I can get to it more easily and I know I can get service work done properly but I'll definitely be going back to Croatia next Spring

 

[vas]

nice pics and I really love the write/wind-up!

Having just returned to Volos from 2 weeks tour (by car) to Northern Italy and Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, I can confirm that the countryside, seaside, ppl, prices whole setup is amazing. Mind you some areas look even better from a couple of hundred meters above sea level.

Only concern was water temp. Wife and 10yr old son tried to swim in Senj (40 odd km south of Rjieka) only son managed to and was quite frozen complaining for the rest of the day...
We all managed to swim the next day near Omis (couple of hunder km south from our first attempt). Wasn't happy, felt like my swimming experiences in Nov or March in Greece.
Wonder what's the water temp during July and Aug up there.

V.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

el.

Only concern was water temp. Wife and 10yr old son tried to swim in Senj (40 odd km south of Rjieka) only son managed to and was quite frozen complaining for the rest of the day...
We all managed to swim the next day near Omis (couple of hunder km south from our first attempt). Wasn't happy, felt like my swimming experiences in Nov or March in Greece.
Wonder what's the water temp during July and Aug up there.

V.

Certainly the water temp in Croatia is a couple of degrees cooler than the W Med although we saw temps of 23-24 degC in July, 25-26degC in Aug and 24-25degC 2 weeks ago (temps according to the Tridata instrument). We were happy to swim in these temps ourselves. The other characteristic that we have found is that after a period of high winds, the water temp drops appreciably, I guess because the warmer shallow layer of water gets mixed with the cooler deeper layer. It often takes a few days after the wind has subsided for the sun to warm the upper layer again.
One major advantage of swimming in Croatia is the lack of jellyfish; I have yet to see a jellyfish in the water in Croatia in 2 seasons there. This compares to the W Med where we've been stopped from swimming many times in recent years due to swarms of jellyfish. Maybe the cooler waters of the Adriatic keep them away or maybe there are other reasons such as reduced pollution; certainly Croatian waters are generally much clearer than the W Med

 

[John100156]

Mike,

Croatia certainly looks enticing. I have heard that there are some of the best cruising areas in the Med around these islands.

The distance from MDL's 'Marina dei Cesari' in Fano looks about the same distance to Sant Carles to Mallorca! Very tempting indeed. Some questions.....

1) You have highlighted some of the pitfalls of staying in this area (parts/flights) but what about security? Have you heard any horror stories?

2) How does the sea state compare corssing from Italy-Croatia? Is it generally similar to say SCM-Mallorca?

3) How do fuel costs compare?

John

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Mike,

Croatia certainly looks enticing. I have heard that there are some of the best cruising areas in the Med around these islands.

The distance from MDL's 'Marina dei Cesari' in Fano looks about the same distance to Sant Carles to Mallorca! Very tempting indeed. Some questions.....

1) You have highlighted some of the pitfalls of staying in this area (parts/flights) but what about security? Have you heard any horror stories?

2) How does the sea state compare corssing from Italy-Croatia? Is it generally similar to say SCM-Mallorca?

3) How do fuel costs compare?

John

Hi John, I would say that the Croatian coastline is the best cruising area I've found in the Med so far because there are so many islands and therefore loads of anchorages and harbours with the result that you can visit places even in high season. I've considered Fano myself as a winter base and it certainly looks like a nice marina. To answer your questions

1) Never heard of any security issues and never experienced any myself

2) I have no personal experience of crossing the Adriatic but loads of Italians come across to Croatia from Italy in summer so sea conditions must be generally OK. The weather is generally settled from May to Sept although occasionally puntuated by high winds lasting a day or 2 but these are usually well forecast

3) I think fuel is cheaper now in Croatia than Spain. Diesel costs about €1.10/litre although its worth shopping around as prices can vary quite considerably. Basically, the further offshore the fuel station is (ie on one of the outer islands), the pricier the fuel. Apparently its possible to get duty free fuel in Montenegro for about €0.60/litre but I haven't been that far south yet

 

[John100156]

Mike,

Certainly worth considering when I have done with SCM! Thanks for keeping us all posted....

All we now need to do is to convince Volvopaul to move out there!

 

[MapisM]

I would say that the Croatian coastline is the best cruising area I've found in the Med so far because there are so many islands and therefore loads of anchorages and harbours with the result that you can visit places even in high season.

+1, but with one caveat:
if some good diving (or even just snorkeling), is relevant for someone in the evaluation of a cruising area, then the HR coast falls much lower in such ranking.
Not to mention food and wine, though of course this is not specifically a "cruising grounds" issue...

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

+1, but with one caveat:
if some good diving (or even just snorkeling), is relevant for someone in the evaluation of a cruising area, then the HR coast falls much lower in such ranking.
Not to mention food and wine, though of course this is not specifically a "cruising grounds" issue...

Yes, the water may be clear but there's bugger all to see in the way of sealife so I can imagine that diving is not so interesting. Yup, food and wine is another issue but we have now found a few restaurants that serve good (if simple) food and the wine is drinkable if you spend €30+

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

All we now need to do is to convince Volvopaul to move out there!

VP would be very welcome but my impression of Italy is that there are lot of skilled technicians in the Italian marine industry. One of the reasons I will be moving my boat back to Italy for the winter is that I am confident I can get maintenance jobs done properly

 

[MapisM]

One of the reasons I will be moving my boat back to Italy for the winter is that I am confident I can get maintenance jobs done properly

I'm sure you will.
And in the area we're talking about, also at civilised costs.
Well, as civilised as boating costs can be, that is...

 

[BartW]

great stuff Mike,
nice photo's and nice reading
agree with all comments above, nothing to add,
just that I'm now even more convinced to go back to Croatia one day,
as I have never visited the mid Dalmatian / Kornati area,
which I thought was boaring, but looks brilliant in your pics.

one small comparison with SOF,
I have alway's defended people from south Croatia, they suffered from the war and all that,..... and we made a few very good friends over there,
but having spend many day's in SOF this summer, and just returned from a weeks stay in Cassis,
I found french people more "enjoying live",
perhaps it has to do with the language or communication, as soon as you approach the frensh in a relaxed way, you get a relaxed communication,
In Croatia communication usually is more sour...
what's your experience abbout this ?

 

[BartW]

Mike,

Croatia certainly looks enticing. I have heard that there are some of the best cruising areas in the Med around these islands.

The distance from MDL's 'Marina dei Cesari' in Fano looks about the same distance to Sant Carles to Mallorca! Very tempting indeed. Some questions.....

1) You have highlighted some of the pitfalls of staying in this area (parts/flights) but what about security? Have you heard any horror stories?

2) How does the sea state compare corssing from Italy-Croatia? Is it generally similar to say SCM-Mallorca?

3) How do fuel costs compare?

John

agree with Mike's answers,
here my 2pence

1) NEVER heard of security issues in south Dalmatia,
moreover people are very helpfull / social and neighbours controll....

2) can't tell about Spain,
but we did the adriatic crossing in a 28ft boat, report is here:
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=257139
absolutely no problem

3) fuel is cheaper then most other places around the med.

 

[jfm]

Mike, thanks, great pics. Must add a link to this thread to WaterBird's thread which might become a catalogue of links to good crusing threads

Yes that fuel price sounds good at €1.10. It's north of €1.30 in Spain, and even more in France (for taxed diesel as opposed to de-tax)

FWIW there were very few jelly fish in SofF in 2011. I've no idea why