Sailing in Croatia

So would we recommend Croatia to other cruisers? Lets see…

Against. We’ll do the grotty bit first.

Sojourn Tax:

It was bad enough having to pay for an expensive permit to cruise in Croatia but when we arrived back from Venice, and checked in again at Rovinj, we were presented with another bill. This sojourn tax is chargeable because, would you believe, we’re considered to be a type of temporary resident, as we have beds onboard. The amount you pay depends on the length of your boat and how long you intend to stay in Croatia. As you might imagine, Derek wanted to tell them to stuff it and to cross back over to Italy. The best I could do was to convince him that we should pay the tax for 30 days in Croatia rather than the 60 days that we had previously planned. The worst bit about the tax was that we were then on a time limit, which was a bore, but also that, when we checked out of Croatia, nobody mentioned it again or checked that we’d paid it or queried whether we’d overstayed. We were left feeling that we’d been ripped off. (We subsequently wrote to the Ministry of Sea to ask them about this tax. I’ve copied their reply at the end of this entry).

Charging for anchoring:

Between designated anchorages where a fee is charged, areas with mooring buoys where a fee is charged even if you’re anchored, and harbours that collect dues from anchored yachts it’s tricky to avoid more expense. Tricky, but not impossible. In the two months that we were there we anchored all the time, never went into a marina and only paid to anchor on one night (at Pula Harbour). We also paid in the National Park on Mljet but that was a one off fee for entrance to the park area, it included a trip to the lakes and you could stay as many nights as you liked (see route blog entry for Luka Polace, Mljet). There are some free anchorages off of towns but quite often we were in places a bit removed from habitation. If your wallet and your principals allowed you to part with your money for anchoring then none of this would be a problem. Personally, I felt a bit frustrated at missing some places in order to avoid the charges but that was our choice.

For

The sailing:

Perhaps we were lucky to have a tail wind on the way up and on the way back down again but the sailing really made up for a lot. We used our cruising chute like we never have before. Derek was in his element, with the added benefit of having Dick on call and gaining from his experience. Of course there’s no way that Sandpiper could ever compete with Alchemy but it still spurs you on when you have someone to catch up with. The numerous islands sheltered us from the sea state and always provided an overnight anchorage. Winds were light and we mostly made quite short distances, but they add up and it was heavenly to glide along peacefully. Plus it was free travel.

The sightseeing:

We liked: Dubrovnik; Pula, Rovinj and inland in Istria; the Krka river and falls; and, our favourite, Split. Plus, there’s no denying, it’s a darned handy route to Venice.

The islands:

Amongst others we liked: Mljet, Murter and the Pakleni Islands (handy for Hvar) but see our route blog entries for more.

Cost of living:

Diesel is cheaper than in Greece and Italy. We paid around €1.08 a litre. Food shopping seemed on a par or perhaps slightly cheaper than Greece and Turkey.

The verdict

All things considered: Yes, we would recommend Croatia! We’re glad we went and could have stayed longer. If it wasn’t for the money side of things it would be an excellent place for cruisers, but who cares about cruisers when there are so many charterers with money to spend. Needless to say ensigns were virtually non-existent. Oh, and be prepared to see lots of bare bums…and more!

P.S. Now that we’re back in Italy we’re missing the Croatian anchorages and with hindsight (oh, wonderful hindsight) I wish I’d twisted Derek’s arm to pay to stay longer in Croatia.

Dear Mr. Gray,

In addition to your e-mail about sojourn tax we are informing you as follows.

In accordance with Ordinance of sojourn tax for 2010 (Official gazette 139/09) which had entered into force at 28th November 2009 and Article 3a of the Amendment of the Ordinance of sojourn tax for 2010 (Official gazette 38/10), which had entered into force at 8th of April 2010, the owner of the vessel or any of the passengers which are staying over night on the vessel are due to pay flat fee – sojourn tax depending on the length of the vessel and duration of the visit. Below you can find a table of the flat fee –sojourn tax amounts.

For any additional information and/or complaints you can visit web page of the Ministry of tourism ( http://www.mint.hr ) or Croatian National Tourist Board (http://croatia.hr/en-GB/Homepage).

Sincerely yours,

Mr. Stjepan Vuk,
Head of Sector,
Safety of navigation, maritime and inland waters protection Directorate
Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure

Table of the flat fee - sojourn tax amounts
Length of the vessel Period Amount in national currency (Kuna)
5- 9 meters till 8 days 150,00
till 15 days 300,00
till 30 days 400,00
till 90 days 600,00
till 1 year 1.000,00
9- 12 meters till 8 days 200,00
till 15 days 350,00
till 30 days 500,00
till 90 days 650,00
till 1 year 1.100,00
12- 15 meters till 8 days 300,00
till 15 days 400,00
till 30 days 600,00
till 90 days 750,00
till 1 year 1.300,00
15- 20 meters till 8 days 400,00
till 15 days 500,00
till 30 days 700,00
till 90 days 850,00
till 1 year 1.500,00
Over 20 meters till 8 days 600,00
till 15 days 800,00
till 30 days 1.000,00
till 90 days 1.300,00
till 1 year 1.700,00