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Old 03-05-2019, 08:01   #46
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Re: Why not Croatia? Why Croatia?

We charter in Croatia every year and love it. Going 3 wks this year starting mid-Jun. We pick-up boat in Sukošan (Zadar area) and sail both north & south.

It's easy to have a dream holiday. Lots of lovely, secluded coves where we anchor and nobody has ever bothered us. Mooring balls in many places (hook always to the underside). Best marina is Maslenica on Šolta, in our experience. Favorite coves are on Žirje, Korčula, Biševo & Vis. Skrivena Luka on Lastovo feels like the end of the earth. We love it!

Wind is best in the morning & late afternoon. Do not disrespect the bura! It's gusty and crazy-strong. Jul & Aug are hot. Bring a DC fan, and you won't miss A/C.

Mid-July to end-August are the busiest times. Yes "Dalmatian cuisine" can get a little monotonous (grilled fish & potatoes), but there's a bakery on every block in every town, and the local salami is always great.

And, yes, folks there have a different "tone" than ever-cheerful Americans. It's a bit more brusque and business-like. But different does not mean bad.

Hope to see you there!
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Old 03-05-2019, 13:47   #47
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Re: Why not Croatia? Why Croatia?

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Originally Posted by PaintedKite View Post
We charter in Croatia every year and love it. Going 3 wks this year starting mid-Jun. We pick-up boat in Sukošan (Zadar area) and sail both north & south.

It's easy to have a dream holiday. Lots of lovely, secluded coves where we anchor and nobody has ever bothered us. Mooring balls in many places (hook always to the underside). Best marina is Maslenica on Šolta, in our experience. Favorite coves are on Žirje, Korčula, Biševo & Vis. Skrivena Luka on Lastovo feels like the end of the earth. We love it!

Wind is best in the morning & late afternoon. Do not disrespect the bura! It's gusty and crazy-strong. Jul & Aug are hot. Bring a DC fan, and you won't miss A/C.

Mid-July to end-August are the busiest times. Yes "Dalmatian cuisine" can get a little monotonous (grilled fish & potatoes), but there's a bakery on every block in every town, and the local salami is always great.

And, yes, folks there have a different "tone" than ever-cheerful Americans. It's a bit more brusque and business-like. But different does not mean bad.

Hope to see you there!
Paintedkite, i also love Skrivena Luka/Lastovo but last year had trouble with weed which seems to hv got worse in last 2 years so dragged in the middle of the night (Bruce anchor).. Hv now changed to a Spade and hope for better luck. Was there again late Sept last yr but went to the restaurant mooring on eastern side of the bay.
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Old 17-05-2019, 04:27   #48
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Re: Why not Croatia? Why Croatia?

Planning to cruise the Med this summer then cross in November as well. Starting from Montenegro. Does anyone have any advice on how to get solar panels to Montenegro reliably and cost effectively (planning on buying flexible panels from aliexpress). Also any advice on check in/out with bill of sale and application for uscg documentation (apparently even with expedite process it might take a month).
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Old 14-08-2019, 12:46   #49
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Re: Why not Croatia? Why Croatia?

I just got back from a charter in Croatia. Left from Trogir and went south to Vis then east and back around. Gorgeous place, loved pretty much every minute of the trip. A couple of hard learned tips that will hopefully help others:
1. Any cruisers guide you have is probably going to be out of date when it comes to the moorings that used to exist in small harbors of uninhabited areas with a restaurant and mooring or docking reservations in general. It appears that the days of restaurant owned moorings where you stay for free if you eat there are gone. Most have apparently figured out that you make a lot more money by charging by the night for 20 or 30 moorings than charging a bit more on dinner for 4 or 5 moorings, so they've put in big new mooring fields. The problem if you're not aware of this is that a. They come out and tell you that you can't anchor anywhere in the harbor, and often they've put in enough moorings that it's not practical even if the prohibition is dubious b. The moorings can be reserved online so when you get there it's very possible none will be left even if you're very early thinking it was first come, first serve, and c. There are several fragmented reservation systems and no way to tell which is connected to a given cove.
2. If you charter a boat they'll have a very convenient card for you that allows you to log onto what you may think is the reservation system for moorings and marinas with the boat info already filled in. Turns out it's only a reservation system, one of a dozen or more. Which means two things. First, you may not find the place you're looking for on your system and assume they don't take reservations, but it turns out they do just on another system so you've got no spot when you arrive. Second, the reservation systems all add on a non-transparent fee as part of the rate. So the rate they quote you may easily be 25% to 50% more than if you just booked direct or shopped around other reservation systems.

No complaining about this, the Croatians appear to have learned English and capitalism equally well and equally fast and they're running businesses. In fact the new moorings all seemed to have large anchors and be in good condition such that they could be relied on so it was a service. It's just that there is a dearth of information out there about cruising in Croatia and the info that is there is no longer accurate even though it's only a couple of years old, so it surprises you when you find a different reality. Unlike Greece, where I feel like I could pick up a cruising guide written in the 70's and be fine. So just a bit of a surprise is all.
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Old 14-08-2019, 20:48   #50
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Re: Why not Croatia? Why Croatia?

To RedneckRob, I spend several months each year in Croatia with my boat. Only ever go into a marina for some special reason (usually to get something fixed &/or to find a laundry if none previously found) but this might typically be 1-2 x every two months. The rest of the time I am anchoring somewhere (free) in a charming and well protected bay. Only ever pay for a buoy about 20% of the time) in Istria where space can be more limited in some places (Rovinj & Porec but not Pula, where I anchor free).

The buoy problem you describe sounds exactly like the Baleares, certainly not what I hv seen in Croatia. Since I anchor so often I simply upgraded my anchor to one of the new generation types (actually a Spade) so I very rarely pay for a mooring. If they ask me to pay for anchoring I offer to move elsewhere. Last occasion was when I moored in Papranica bay in Silba about 100m from the buoy field and he simply said OK (free) for one night, dont bother to move.

So the buoy picture you paint is rather extreme and I hope Croatia never gets to be as bad as the Baleares. Yes, some charming and well protected bays like Okulje and Prozura on Mljet for example have been taken over by so many buoys that there only remains space for 4-6 boats anchored w a line ashore. Some are buoys you pay for, some are the usual restuarant buoys. Ist is another interesting island, good bay, w charming village but when I was last there (2018) the buoy concessionaire had clearly been gazumped by the authorities so took the buoys away. The blocks were still there and a small plastic bottle just under the surface on the end of each rope. Even when the buoys were there it was still possible to anchor off to one side (but leave space for the ferry). If the situation is still the same this year all you hv to do is get one of yr crew to dive over and connect yr line to one of the ropes.

My experience is definitely not in line w the picture you paint.
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Old 14-08-2019, 21:19   #51
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Re: Why not Croatia? Why Croatia?

Our recent three season experience in Croatia was the same as Salty’s, never once had to pay for a mooring buoy except in a national park. No hassles, nice people, awesome country to visit.
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