Croatia

[Kenomac]

If Croatia does what you say, the cruisers and charter business will simply move to Italy, Montenegro, Greece and Turkey. Croatia will end up loosing a boatload of money, which is why the ban will never be enacted or inforced.

[Goodall_M1]

Not so soon unless the Croatian bureaucracy runs slower than usual, that article is dated 18 September 2010.

I think that the telling line in the translation is:
"neither the state nor the marinas have any financial benefit".
It is that that really annoyed them, not the fact that people were anchoring!

They have since banned anchoring within 150 metres (I think that is the distance) of a registered mooring field, and of the entrance to their marinas.

They have also imposed an "anchoring" charge in some places, supposedly to cover the cost of removing the dry rubbish, which I think the "tax collectors"
are supposed to take away for you, but also to try to get you to pay to use their mooring buoys, village quays and marinas.

It is over 15 years since I was last in Croatia, but I will be back out there in two months.
It will be interesting (if probably a bit more expensive) to see how much things have changed.

When I first went out there one island had a bay where the Admiralty chart said "Caution do not enter, see notes", I found the note and it said "Warning , suspected minefield".
When I went back three years later the local restaurant had a field of mooring buoys that filled the bay, rumour had it that the guy had removed the mines and used their sinkers to attach his buoys!

One thing I do know is that the Croatians see having yachts (and their crews) cruising their coastline as a means of raising income, and do a lot to see that they come but also do a lot to ensure that they do get as much income as possible from them.

[Kenomac]

It will be nice to establish this thread as an all things Croatia place to meet and greet in the area, and where to find services. I wonder if the OP would consider broadening the scope to include Montenegro?

[Barra]

Originally Posted by Goodall_M1

Not so soon unless the Croatian bureaucracy runs slower than usual, that article is dated 18 September 2010.

I think that the telling line in the translation is:
"neither the state nor the marinas have any financial benefit".
It is that that really annoyed them, not the fact that people were anchoring!

They have since banned anchoring within 150 metres (I think that is the distance) of a registered mooring field, and of the entrance to their marinas.

They have also imposed an "anchoring" charge in some places, supposedly to cover the cost of removing the dry rubbish, which I think the "tax collectors"
are supposed to take away for you, but also to try to get you to pay to use their mooring buoys, village quays and marinas.

It is over 15 years since I was last in Croatia, but I will be back out there in two months.
It will be interesting (if probably a bit more expensive) to see how much things have changed.

When I first went out there one island had a bay where the Admiralty chart said "Caution do not enter, see notes", I found the note and it said "Warning , suspected minefield".
When I went back three years later the local restaurant had a field of mooring buoys that filled the bay, rumour had it that the guy had removed the mines and used their sinkers to attach his buoys!

One thing I do know is that the Croatians see having yachts (and their crews) cruising their coastline as a means of raising income, and do a lot to see that they come but also do a lot to ensure that they do get as much income as possible from them.

Yes I too think the bold statement is the telling one. Fair enough too its their country I suppose and I have not come across a more entrepreneurial lot than the croats and a tourist euro.

I look forward to your perspective on how croatia is changing for yachties over such a period. We first visited by land in the early 90s and found paradise for travellers (picture dubrovnik with maybe 500 tourists a day). As backpackers we only had money for the ferries but I think back then it would have been even better by yacht than by land.

We then returned in 2012 and again in 2014 with our own boat to find much change of course with the usual "loved to death" downside to high tourism numbers you get everywhere. We spent just a day in dubrovnik and i wish we had spent none so as to better remember how it was before.

By boat in just a few years gap we saw great change too with the "officialising" of the mooring concessions and their spread. Then the introduction of anchoring bans nearby to force boats onto the buoys and their ever increasing rates. Add to that marine park fees that are apparently the equivalent of a months local salary for one night.

Many of the "free" restaurant buoys were removed between these years.

Sadly the other big growth area is nude germans and as someone famous once said the ones that are nude are never the ones that you want to see nude!

To my mind it has gone from cruisers heaven to charter boats heaven in many parts. In 2014 you could still find a few places off the charter routes though and Im now interested to hear how that is going this year with the turkey uncertainty apparently leading to relocation of even more charter boats to Croatia and Greece. Where will they all fit???

[Kenomac]

Sorry, but having spent two months in Croatia and Montenegro last summer, we didn't experience any of the problems described in some of the previous posts. As tourists, we spend money in local grocery stores and farmers markets, on car rentals, admission fees to sightseeing spots, restaurants, cruising permit $200, internet services and a variety of other items and services. Yes, the cruising community contributes to the local Croatian economy.

Would it be possible to keep this thread positive? I appreciate the OP starting this thread.

BTW: We were in Dubrovnik in August, and never experienced crowds like the ones pictured on the other post. The city looked more like these pictures when we were there.

[royalstar]

This is headline from local Croatian newspaper. I wonder how many "cruisers" were there in SEPTEMBER in Croatia doing grocery shopping.



29.09.2016. U rujnu nam milijun gostiju donosi 1.2 milijarde eura.



29.09.2016. Just in September one million guests spend 1.2 billion euros

[Nooka]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Sorry, but having spent two months in Croatia and Montenegro last summer, we didn't experience any of the problems described in some of the previous posts. As tourists, we spend money in local grocery stores and farmers markets, on car rentals, admission fees to sightseeing spots, restaurants, cruising permit $200, internet services and a variety of other items and services. Yes, the cruising community contributes to the local Croatian economy.

Would it be possible to keep this thread positive? I appreciate the OP starting this thread.

I don't think it is negative, just realistic. Most cruisers seem to be on a considerably tighter budget than holidaymakers, whether land or water-borne. People tend to splurge on their one or two week holiday to an extent that I suspect few cruisers can afford to do month in, month out.

Personally, I can't wait to get back to Croatia this summer, or next if we dawdle - love the country and the people. But our monthly budget will be about the same as we used to spend on mainly food and booze on a two week holiday. It isn't nothing. But there will be much less profit in it for the locals. So it is perhaps unsurprising if the threat of cruisers taking their money out of a country that is bursting at the seams with tourists does not cause a run on the Kuna.

Finally, and again personally, I would find this thread most useful if it is rounded, rather than a tourist board brochure.

[Barra]

Originally Posted by Nooka

Ah, that irresistible Croatian charm. But your point is fair I think.

Yes this is that entrepreneurial spirit I mention from royalstar bared for all to see. Was the post removed?

Some Croats see tourists simply as wallets walking around. But get away from the popular areas and you can still see a more genuine country. Most except cruisers don't have the time to do this though so for what it's worth royalstar I think you are very narrow minded and shortsighted on this.

Cruisers stay longer and end up spending much more in total than a quick visitor. More importantly though they spend it in the real economy not the tourist one. They also visit less popular areas and so spread those euros far wider in that real economy.

They also don't require the destruction of natural beauty to be accommodated thus destroying the very tourist attractions that you should value. Any country with a nice climate and an airport can set up a tourism industry these days but all too often that industry destroys the natural attractions and the tourists move on to the next "hot spot" leaving eyesores in their wake.

The cruisers will keep coming though if the anchorages are good.

No mate you miss the value of cruisers to your economy big time I reckon but it's probably not surprising we have no lobby groups and marina operators are narrowly focussed too.

[bellasailor]

Hello Jura and others,

We have chartered in Croatia before and on our trip in July hoped to anchor/shoreline in Vinogradisce in the Pakleni Islands/Sveti Klement (the bay where the Laganini Bar and Restaurant is).

This was free in 2015 but I have heard rumours the concession has been awarded - if we are going to pay a lot for a buoy I'd rather pay a little more and pre-book ACI Palmizana.

Unfortunately I cannot seem to confirm if this is true about the concession or the cost if so; does anyone know?

Thanks in advance

[Kenomac]

We've found sites like these to be a huge help for avoiding mooring fields and anchorages which charge in Croatia. If you know where the mooring fields are located which charge, then just anchor at least 150 meters away, or 1000 meters to be sure. There're over 777 islands, there's plenty of free uncrowded space.

Anchorages in Croatia

http://bluewatersailorcroatia.webs.com

http://www.anchoragesincroatia.net/p...rages-map.html

[bellasailor]

Thanks Kenomac,

I have found this Anchorages in Croatia: Buoys in Vinogradisce but no further details and friends who sailed there last year said there were no buoys?!

If there are buoys in a mooring field, does that mean you can still anchor and run shorelines or is that prohibited within 150m?!

[Kenomac]

With so many nice anchorages available, we just simply avoid the mooring fields and close proximity to them. Most of the time it's better to anchor 1000-2000 meters away all by ourselves, then just take the dinghy over if the place is crowded. But we only ran into that situation one time last season.

[MartinM]

Vinogradisce bay has paid buoys only. The cost is about 30kn/meter (i.e. 4,3EUR/meter). The charge includes garbage collection. It is quite crowded there during the season but usually you are able to find a buoy until 5-6 pm.

ACI Palmizana is significantly more expensive, aprx. 2-3 times more than buoy.

Actually there are few bays very close to Vinogradisce where you can anchor with no charge and use a dinghy to visit a restaurant.

Originally Posted by bellasailor

Hello Jura and others,

We have chartered in Croatia before and on our trip in July hoped to anchor/shoreline in Vinogradisce in the Pakleni Islands/Sveti Klement (the bay where the Laganini Bar and Restaurant is).

This was free in 2015 but I have heard rumours the concession has been awarded - if we are going to pay a lot for a buoy I'd rather pay a little more and pre-book ACI Palmizana.

Unfortunately I cannot seem to confirm if this is true about the concession or the cost if so; does anyone know?

Thanks in advance

[edsml]

Jura,

I'm bringing guests for my fourth visit at the end of May this year. This time I've decided to start at Dubrovnik and sail to Montenegro aboard a 44' cat as we'll likely anchor more. While I'm very familiar with the Split region, I've only sailed to Mljet and Dub. once. I wondered if you had any tips for the Elafiti, Cavtat or Lokrum? For example, I know one cannot tie up to Lokrum overnight, but is it possible to anchor there overnight?

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

edsml

[OZ-Sailor]

I'm arrriving in Split, Croatia April 29 this year to commence cruising for an extended period...

thought it might be a good idea to follow this post...

oh! and maybe getting a boat to sail would also be a good idea!! ha ha...

I'm scouring the web now to hopefully pre-purchase a 38'-44' boat within my 65K euro budget... any assistance or offers are welcome!!