Chartering a yacht in Croatia is in many ways great idea and most of the time much better than owning one. Especially because you can charter a yacht one week in Zadar and the next in Dubrovnik or somewhere in between, which means you can easily jump from one archipelago to another and Croatia has many to offer. Also in a sense of boat type charter is great, because one week you would like to sail with many friends, where the next week you can easily choose a smaller boat and spend some romantic sailing with your better half or maybe you choose fast sailing boat with some serious racing crew. With charter, you can always choose the boat for the specific need. This is especially easy in Croatia, which has the biggest charter fleet in the world.
And all the boats are just a phone call or few clicks away – in theory, but in real life, it takes a bit more to choose the right boat, the right crew, and right sailing area.
Where, when and with whom to charter a yacht?
Croatia offers numerous unforgettable destinations and each of them offers a different experience. In top season, which is July and August, Croatia, especially central part (Islands around Split) is full of nautical tourists. Beside some thermic winds, there is not much of sailing in top season, but this is the time for people who like a company, meeting new friends and like to party, besides all the water activities during the day. For those who like to spend their sailing holidays in more quite way and are really looking for good sailing conditions, pre and after the season is the time to come.
Once you decide on the period of sailing holidays, you must also think of your preferences, whether you like to enjoy sailing in one of the National and Nature parks and enjoy peace and nature or maybe you want to learn about rich history of Adriatic Sea and visit UNESCO World Heritage sites like Split, Trogir or Dubrovnik. If you are more of an adrenalin junkie and adventurous spirit, then you have to drop your anchor near Bol on the island of Brač, which is well-known surfers and kiters paradise. Last but not least Croatia is also known to be a summer party destination. For all young people and young at heart, party destinations like Hvar, Zrče or Murter are just a must place to be. There are just numerous ways and variations of your sailing holidays in Croatia. A big factor in choosing the right route for you is definitely the crew you will sail with. And because the specific living conditions on board a sailing boat, choosing the right crew is crucial and has also a big impact on choosing the right sailing boat for you.
Choosing the right charter boat
Sailing boats can be quite different, especially when talking about size, comfort, performance, and price. The case is that you can’t have it all, so it is always compromise between those four factors. If you are looking for great sailing then you will have to give up a bit on comfort, if you are looking for comfort the price will go up a bit. Besides comfort, crucial factors for the price are size and year of built – the newer the more expensive. Sailing boats can have from 2 to up to 5 double cabins. So the smaller the sailing boat and more cabins that she has, less comfort for you. But it is all about you, all of them are livable and fun if you make it so.
The process of booking a sailing boat
After you think about pieces of advice above and decide what kind of sailing holidays you are looking for then you fill online booking form, where you tell us all important things (date, sailing area, number of people, price range) we need to know to find you the best sailing boat for you. After that, we find a few options and we present it to you. When you decide which sailing boat works best for you, you have to down pay 50% of the full price in order to book it and the rest you pay 1 month before holidays. This is a standard practice with all charter companies in Croatia. Once you choose your sailing boat, then we usually ask our guests a few questions regarding how they usually like to spend their holidays and with this answers, we can understand their needs and can help with routing.
Other costs
There are some other costs after you charter a boat, that you have to keep in mind. Transit log is a package that includes paperwork, final cleaning and gas bottles. The price is between 100€-300€ and you have to pay no matter which charter agency you choose. A must pay is also a tourist tax which is 1€/person/day. With that, obligatory extras are finished, but there are still other extras, that totally depend on your needs. You can choose more sails, an outboard engine for your dingy, wireless internet and various sports equipment from snorkeling gear to folding bikes and SUPs (stand up paddling boards).
One more obligatory thing is insurance deposit, which you lose in case of any damages to the sailing boat, otherwise, you get the money back. Lately, you can also insure this deposit, meaning that you pay a fixed price that is not refundable instead of insurance deposit. Insurance deposit is usually from 1000€-3000€ depends on the size of the boat and you can pay it in cash or you leave your credit card info. All the extras as well as tourist tax, transit log and insurance deposit you pay directly to the base upon your check-in.
Last but definitely not least in order to charter a sailing or any kind of boat in Croatia, you need to hold valid boat leader license and VHF license.
In case you have some extra questions don’t be shy, drop your questions and concerns on info@frontieradriatic.com or if you would like to receive your non-obligatory offer fill our enquiry form.