FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Before choosing a boat, answer the following questions:

• Does your group consist of pairs who can share the same cabin, or do some crew members require a separate cabin?
• What are your comfort requirements - would you like to charter a sailboat or the catamaran?
• Would you mind if one of you would have to sleep in the saloon area which is a common living space?
• Do you require a skipper or not? If you need skipper's services, bear in mind that the skipper sleeps on board as well, so one of the berths, ideally a cabin should belong to him.
• If you plan to go bareboat do you have required licenses  - check if it is listed here?

In Croatia, the sailing yachts are chartered from one Saturday afternoon to other Saturday morning. However, in case you would desire to take a several days' long sailing trip in the off-season (October - April), this can be organized, and the price is then calculated according to the number of days spent onboard as shown in our price list here. This is also possible with last-minute options, in case there is a boat available. During the high season (in June, July and August, as well as in September and May), we cannot deviate from our weekly charter system (Saturday - Saturday charter), since these are the busiest months for us and most weeks are sold out well in advance. Therefore, the price is unlikely to be flexible and you would usually be charged for a full week of the charter.

In the case of a bareboat charter, the client must be in possession of a certificate of competence in order to charter a boat. It is also a legal requirement that one person on board is qualified for operation with the VHF station. If you are not sure whether the license you have is valid for bareboat charter in Croatia check if it is listed here. 

You can book the boat in advance but with the mutual agreement that you will obtain the required certificates by the moment of checking-in on the boat, otherwise, the paid deposit will not be refunded.

In case you have no sailing experience at all or you do not possess the sailing license, you are obliged to hire a skipper in order to charter a boat in Croatia. Sometimes, if not often, even very experienced sailors hire a professional skipper, because they are not familiar with the local waters and in order to make their cruise more relaxing. You can also benefit from skippers' local knowledge – they are well acquainted with the Adriatic region and will be able to suggest you the most interesting places for swimming and fun, as well as numerous restaurants. We can reserve a skipper for you or you can hire him yourself in case you have some recommendations.

The skipper costs 150 € per day and you are responsible to provide his meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. When planning your provisions on board you need to include the skipper in all meal plans, while when going out in a restaurant, you can either take the skipper with you or he can go by himself and you can cover the bill afterwards; or you can simply give him an upfront stipend in the amount of 30€/day.

When choosing a boat you need to ensure that your party plus the skipper fits in the max number of berths onboard (and max number of the persons allowed onboard). Please bear in mind that you cannot expect the skipper to share a cabin with someone from your party. It is highly recommended that you charter a larger boat and provide the skipper with his own cabin, but in case your budget doesn't allow it you can have the skipper sleeping in the saloon provided that it can be transformed into the sleeping area. In this case, consider the saloon his private area and ensure that he has enough time to sleep and to rest

Hostess's duties on the boat include cleaning, preparing breakfast and light lunch, shopping for groceries. The daily fee for her services is 125€ for up to 6 guests and 150€ for more than 6 guests plus you are also responsible to cover her meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner.  

Apart from the fees paid directly to us (boat rent, charter pack, requested extras), when planning your budget, you need to consider the following costs as well:

FUEL - dependent on the motor usagen (ca. 5 liters per hour multiplied by the price of diesel fuel which amounts ca. 1,5 € per liter, and further multiplied by 3 hours of average daily motor usage - as calculated on the basis of our past experience), it amounts up to ca. 150€ - 200€ per week for monohulls and 250€ for the catamaran.

MOORING FEES – The price of berth per day ranges from ca. 20 € to 200 €, depending on the size and the type of the boat and the mooring place and type. More about different berth options and mooring fees you can find here. 

SECURITY DEPOSIT payable either in cash or by preauthorization on VISA OR MASTER credit card during check-in. It covers any possible boat, equipment and inventory damage. In case of boat damage or equipment loss, the amount of the caused damage is paid with the deposit money, whereas the difference between the deposit money and any higher damage amount is covered by the insurance company. If the boat has been returned undamaged, the deposit is refunded in full amount. When you hire a skipper, he is the one responsible for all the damage caused while manoeuvring, mooring or anchoring the vessel, but you are obliged to leave the deposit anyway, to cover any possible damage caused by your party.

FOOD - You are supposed to take care of your own feeding, either when preparing meals on the boat or when eating out. We suggest that you buy some provisions (at least drinking water) in a supermarket before boarding the boat. However, you shouldn’t make loads of provisions since on each island you have both shops and supermarkets working even on Sundays till late. Not to mention numerous little restaurants offering delicious local and international specialties at moderate prices.

All the services in Croatia are paid in Kuna either in cash or by credit cards. In the marinas and some tourist offices, even Euros are accepted. In all marinas, restaurants and shops in bigger places on the islands, you can pay by credit card, while in ports, cafés, restaurants and shops in small places and bays usually only cash is accepted. Therefore, you need to calculate the amount in cash you might need, depending on your planned route. As for kunas, you can withdraw cash from an ATM or bank offices which can also be find on the islands. 

Apart from your personal preferences, this depends very much on the time of the season you are coming in. Generally, we can advise the following:
IN ANY SEASON
Sunblock, hat, sunglasses with straps, waterproof pouches for mobile phone and camera, medicaments that you usually use, soft shoes, windproof jacket, soft bags
IN HIGH SEASON
Swimsuit, t-shirts, shorts, sandals, flip-flops, light summer dresses, light shirts
IN LOW SEASON
Fleece jacket, sweater, warm trousers, and wet weather gear
TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN
Favourite movies or cartoons on DVDs, board games, music, books
THINGS WE WOULD RECOMMEND NOT TO BRING WITH YOU
Hard suitcases, high heels, hard shoes, very fine clothes

Avoid bringing valuable items such as golden necklaces, watches, earrings etc. In case you finally decide to have such things with you, remember to check if you have everything before you leave the yacht. Two pairs of soft boat shoes would be our recommendation. If possible, do not bring any hard suitcases with you. The storing space on board is limited and such suitcases are difficult to be stored. It should be much better to use soft fabric bags. They can be easily folded and stored anywhere.

PROVIDED ONBOARD
sheets, blankets, pillows, pillowcases and towels 

Children can go sailing with you at an early age (confirmed by our personal experience). In fact, there is no age limit, however, their stay onboard should be closely monitored by adults. We provide lifejackets for children as well, which they should wear all the time onboard. You should also consider choosing shorter routes and visiting marinas more frequently for the sake of safer berthing as well as comfort. 

This certainly depends on the length of your charter and your preferences. Maybe you are more into sightseeingandexploringnewareas or perhaps you would rather want relaxed boating holidays without the pressure of having to see as much as possible. On our pages at http://croatia-charter.hr/sailing-routes-croatia we have suggested five routes. Choosing any route would not be a mistake. In every case, having explained your preferences to us, we certainly recommend and would like to discuss this matter further.

Charters commence on Saturday afternoon and end on Friday evening, with disembarkationfrom the yacht on Saturday morning. And normally, your yacht will not be available before 17.00 p.m., as a few hours are necessary to prepare it properly for your charter. However, we always do our best to deliver the yacht to our customers before the above mentioned time. In case you have a couple of hours left after the check-in and beforeyour boarding time, a short visit to the town (the old town is 15minutes of walking from our marina, and in our blog post about Split you can find some ideasabout what to see, what to do and where to eat; check here) or a drink at a bar around the marina is our recommendation. Your luggage willstay safe with us.You are kindly requested to avoid the "semi - embarkation" during the preparation of the yacht.In any case, you are advised to inform us about your arrival time (at whatever hour that may be) so that we try and arrange check-ins on all the boats in the most efficient manner. This means completing check-ins earlier with those who arrive first, and vice versa. Should you arrive late in the evening, when there is no daylight, it is possible that we let you onboard but postpone the check-in forSunday morning unless you insist that we do it late in the evening on Saturday.

We also offer priority boarding service (boarding by 1 pm) at an extra charge of 100€, but there is a limited number of priority boardings that we can organize so please inform us about your interest in this service as early as possible.

Along with sending you a receipt for the final payment, we send you a link to fill the crew list online and sendit to us at least a couple of days prior to the commencement of your charter. You are obliged to fill in all the data as requested by the authorities. The number of persons onboard should correspond to the number of persons on the crew list. Changes of the crew are possible – however, this should be indicated in advance, before embarkation. We advise you to make several crew lists, on which the dates of changes as well information on people joining or leaving the crew will be specified. During the check-in, we will provide you with the verified crew list/lists. In case the crew suddenly changes during the cruise, without previous notice, the guests are obliged to contact and inform us about the changes in order for us to verify the new crew list. The new list can then be sent to you by email. In the case of control on the sea, the guests have to present the new crew list, although they are obliged to keep the old one as well. 

We do not allow pets onboard. The reason is that we find that the time between two charters on Saturdays is too short to have the boats properly cleaned after pets. 

The climate at the Dalmatian coast and islands is typically a Mediterranean one, with mild rainy winters, sunny, hot and dry summers, The air temperature changes depending on the area. Generally, it is warmer towards the south. Thus, summer temperatures in July and August will be about 34°C in the northern part, while in the southern part they will even rise up to 38°C. In thewinter, on the north of Adriatic, the coldest recorded temperatures go down to -16°C, while in the southern part they usually do not go below 6°C. Light to moderate winds with few storms prevail until June and from September, while July and August are calm with an occasional thundery rain shower. Generally speaking, on Dalmatian coast, May, June, September and October are the best months for sailing holidays in Croatia for those who prefer to avoid excessive heat and crowds. July and August, on the other hand, are for those looking for real summer holidays with a lot of swimming and sunbathing.

More information on the weather in Croatia can be found at www.meteo.hr while here you can find daily mean temperatures in Split per each day of the year. 

The coastal radio stations broadcast weather reports in Croatian and English several times a day. The reports include a general weather situation report, messages and the forecast for the following 24 hours.

Weather reports are broadcasted at the following times (in UTC; UTC + 1 h = CET; CET + 1 h = CE summer time):

Rijeka Radio -  VHF Channel 24 - 05.35 ,14.35, 19.35 
Split Radio  - VHF Channels 21, 23, 07, 28 - 05.45, 12.45, 19.45 
Dubrovnik Radio  - VHF Channels - 04, 07 - 06.25,13.20, 21.20

Constant weather forecasts on VHF - transmitters  for the Croatian coastal region are provided in Croatian, English, Italian and German every ten minutes, and are updated at 7:00, 13:00 and 19:00 (local time). The summary presents an overview of the weather, a short forecast for the next 24 hours and information on air pressure.
Broadcast on:

 VHF ch. 73 for northern Adriatic/ western coast of Istria
 VHF ch. 69 for northern Adriatic/ eastern part
 VHF ch. 67 for central Adriatic / eastern part
 VHF ch. 73 for southern Adriatic / eastern part

In case of damage, defect or any other need there is an organized sea rescue service that helps you. 

The Republic of Croatia is a signatory of the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, and as such is part of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System- GMDSS.

The National Maritime Rescue Coordination Center Rijeka (MRCC RIJEKA) provides a 24 hour watch service, and in terms of jurisdiction of the Center, this includes the region of internal marine waters, territorial waters of the Republic of Croatia (marine belt wide 12 nautical miles from the shoreline towards the open sea) and the region of international waters as confirmed in treaties with neighbouring states and as reported to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Internal maritime waters and territorial marine waters are divided into sub-regions, for which are responsible the sub-centers, alongside the MRCC RIJEKA. Besides the Maritime Centre, another eight harbour headquarters are availableon a 24-hour duty: their branch offices, coastal radio-stations, lighthouses and a rescue unit.

The24-hour duty is established on VHF canals 10 and 16, while, at the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, the phone number 9115 is available for all theneeds at thesea(calls from abroad +385 51 9115). A phone operator also answers the GMDSS calls.

In Croatia there is also a single emergency number 112.

In case you need help on yours or somebody other's boat, it is necessary to inform one of these services as soon as possible. Besides the phone number 9115, radiofrequency and GMDSS, it is useful to have the phone numbers of the harbour headquarters: 

• Pula  - 052 222 037
• Rijeka  - 051 214 031
• Senj  - 053 881 301
• Zadar - 023 433 778
• Šibenik - 022 217 214
• Split - 021 362 436
• Ploče -  020 679 008
• Dubrovnik - 020 418 989 

You can always contact these numbers not only for help, but also for the weather forecast information.

The Adriatic Sea has a very marked annual change of the surface temperature. The average annual temperature is 11°C. During the winter, the sea is the coldest and the surface temperature is about 7°C; very seldom, it can even drop below that. In the spring, the sea becomes warmer and the surface temperature risesup to 18°C. In the summer, the surface of the sea reaches a very high temperature, of up to 22 to 25°C, and in the southern Adriatic and Istria up to 27°C. You can check the current sea temperature by clicking here, while below you can find monthly means of the sea temperature in Split area from April till October (the months of the charter season in Croatia):

APRIL  - 15°C
MAY - 18°C
JUNE - 21°C
JULY - 24°C
AUGUST - 25°C
SEPTEMBER - 23°C
OCTOBER - 20°C

IMPORTANT!The above values are the average temperatures of each month, what means that in the months preceding the peak of the season (15.07.-15.08.) the sea temperatures are lower than the average in the beginning of the month and higher than the average in the end of the month; in the months after the peak of the season the sea temperatures are falling down towards the end of the month.

In the Adriatic, there are several kinds of winds, while the main ones are BURA (BORA) and JUGO (SCIROCCO), which prevail in the period from September to May; and MAESTRAL, which prevails during the summer.

TRAMONTANA - The name of this wind is derived from Latin - transmontanus-   meaning across the mountains. It is a type of bora (but not so strong), a northerly cold wind of moderate strength that usually forms in clear and nice weather.

BURIN - A north-easterly wind, blows in the summer from the mainland.

BURA - The bora is a cold and dry north-easterly wind. It brings bright weather. The bora starts abruptly and blows in squalls toward the sea. It is the strongest in the Velebit Channel. In Croatia, it blows predominately in the winter and it may last for six to fourteen days. In that period it reaches stormy speeds of up to 300 km/h. In the summer, the bora blows as a local wind and lasts only a few day, blowing in much lighter speeds, predominately in the night time when the land cools down.

LEVANAT - An easterly type of bora   

JUGO - The jugo is a warm, humid east-southeast wind. It is accompanied by heavy clouds and rain. It is not a sudden wind like the bora but takes 36-38 hours to develop. It blows throughout the Adriatic. In the summer it may appear as a local wind and is more frequent in the southern part of the Adriatic. Between March and June, it blows in the north as well. 

LEBIĆ - A south-westerly, humid and warm wind. In the summertime brings freshness while in the winter rain and snow. It is rising across the Adriatic after Jugo, doesn't last long. Announced by extremely high tides it gives poor visibility and it might give violent squalls (lebicada). It is dangerous in shallow harbours that are open to the south-west because of wave “crossing” and rising of the sea surface. 

PULENAT - A westerly wind, starts suddenly, doesn't blow often or long but in winter time can reach significant strength. It brings short lasting but heavy rain, creates high and long waves, extremely unpleasant and dangerous, especially in the longitudinal channels. 

MAESTRAL - A local wind which blows from the sea, mostly in the summer - the strongest is in July and August and very much welcomed by the sailors who have their sailing holidays in that period. It usually starts between 10 and 11 in the morning and reaches its greatest strength between 2 and 3 in the afternoon to die down at sunset. It brings good weather and it is usually accompanied by white clouds.

A deposit insurance/deposit waiver cost for each boat is specified in our price list here. There is a refundable and non-refundable part of the deposit waiver. They both need to be paid in cash. Refundable part is refunded by check-out if no damage. If you are interested in getting one for your charter you need to inform us about that at least a few days in advance so we can have it arranged with our insurance house. 

The cost of cancellation is actually the amount you have paid to us till the cancellation. By booking confirmation, you pay 50% of the boat charter price, while the other 50% you need to pay 4 weeks before the start of your charter. That is to say, if you cancel before having paid the other 50%, the cost equals the first 50% already paid by booking confirmation. However, if you cancel after you have done the second payment: the other 50%, the cost of cancellation equals the entire boat charter price.We, therefore, suggest you to buy a cancellation insurance policy in your countryto cover your cancellation costs, in case of justified cancellation reasons. The reason for the strict cancellation policy is dictated by the high cost involved in charter industry (boat price, maintenance costs, marina fees...), where each booked week is important to us.In case of cancellation, it is not easy for us to find the substitute in the last minute and we lose many potential clients while having the boat reserved for you. 

Diving is subject to set rules and regulations and the Statute of the Croatian Diving Association. Nowadays, laws prescribe that diving in Croatia may be done independently or organized through registered diving centres (irrespective of the base). Appropriate permits [annual diving passes (100 HRK) and annual individual permits for independent diving activities (2400 HRK)] need to be obtained. You also need to be in possession of avalid diver`s card issued by Croatian Diving Federation. This license can be obtained if you have valid diver`s brevet that was issued by an international diving association (IDD, UDI, CMAS, MDEA, PADI…). For recreational diving purposes at registered diving centres, it is sufficient to obtain a pass and avalid brevet. Diving in Adriatic is forbidden without a valid license.
Dives at certain zones are prohibited unless organised through registered diving centres with diving guides as they are sites protected by the Ministry of Culture.
Diving is banned in the Brijuni and Krka NationalParks, in the vicinity of harbours, and within nature parks and wildlife reservations, e.g. the Lim Fjord, the Mali Ston Bay and the Telaščica Nature Park. Diving is also prohibited around/near (under 100 m) military vessels at anchor and protected military facilities along the coast.
Diving within the zones of Kornati and Mljet National Parks is limited; permits are issued by the park management. For diving around the Islands of Vis, Biševo, Svetac, Brusnik, Sušak, Lastovo, Palagruža, and within a 300 m perimeter around the sunken ships Szent Istvan, Coriolanus, Baron Gautsch, S-57 and sites at Žirje and Cavtat permits need to be obtained from local offices of the Ministry of Culture.
Fines for prohibited diving may be up to 15,000 HRK.

For legal recreational fishing, a valid fishing license is required. The license can be obtained online at the following link https://ribarstvo.mps.hr/default.aspx?id=5010 . Please note that fishing is forbidden in National Parks – when obtaining the license, you will receive the list of the no-fishing zones as well as the list of allowed fishing tools.

Croatia uses standard European 2 point plug and the electricity is 220 V. Mobile chargers can be used on board with the usual 220 V plug, while when in a marina, you are on a shore power connection. When sailing, you can use an inverter or a car phone charger that can be plugged into the 12 V cigarette lighter on board. There is also A 300W inverter [a device that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC)] on each boat. 

 On all boats there are:
- Italian Moka pot - click here to see the photo
- French press - click here to see the photo
- Turkish coffee pot - click here to see the photo
- Pot, plastic and paper filters for filtered coffee - click here, here and here to see the photos 

For the above coffee makers, you need to buy corresponding ground coffee.

On the catamaran, there is also
-Dolce Gusto coffee machine  - click here to see the photo
For the Dolce Gusto machine, you need to buy the corresponding capsules.

Seasickness is a form of motion sickness. If you tend to get motion sick when travelling by car, bus, train or plane, you might also experience seasickness while on a sailboat. Good news is that following a few simple rules you can prevent seasickness. What you should do is: take a pill against seasickness about half an hour before you set sails, stay outside while sailing, look in the distance, don't read books or magazines, don't read from your phone, don't consume the food and drinks that irritate the stomach either before or during sailing.

The Adriatic is generally a calm sea, the distances between the islands are short and there are many protected bays and harbours in which to hide from rough weather. However, you also need to take some measures in order to prevent seasickness.

If you are bareboating, you need to check the weather forecast regularly and adjust your route accordingly to avoid sailing in rough weather.

If you are going with a paid skipper, he will do his best to avoid rough seas by choosing the appropriate route or, if very rough, he will choose to stay in place until the weather calms enough to sail out.