About Croatia

Some practical hints for Croatia / Adria boaters  (links may be out of date)
Nautical guide/ harbour atlas:

"Kroatien 888 Häfen und Buchten", in German, by K-H.Beständig. Still the most detailed and easy to use almanac for those in the know. An English version was once issued by Imray as "Croatia 777 Harbours and Anchorages" but not followed up.
Anchorages and buoys:
Fields of buoys - map download (e.g. for Google Earth), Blog Anchorages Map. Site not maintained
Nautical information service (Nis): Ministry's free smartphone app. Ports, marinas, weather, safety info.

Weather forecast (free resources): I mostly use the following sites or apps.
Croatian Met office (website): Check out Adriatic sea, 3/7 day weather for locations, wind maps for areas, marine forecast (spots), lighting strokes.
Windfinder: Free version offers adequate features; 'standard' and 'superforecast' models. Forecast models are not reliable locally.
Note: Do not rely on just one computer model.
Weather online: Generic, Adriatic overview, limited local detail. In German on wetteronline.de (ad-funded)
Thunderstorms (Blitze Adria) on wetteronline.de
PredictWind: "Freemium", limited free content, wind only. Premium version recommended if you care about weather details.
Tidal predictions: https://www.tideschart.com/Croatia/ and various apps. Do not ignore tides in the Med, many piers are fixed not floating.

Online payment of tourist tax (sojourn tax for your visit, calculated for boat or for crew members) is easy at nautika.evisitor.hr

Boat tax (Vigneta, annual) at harbour offices, online difficult enautika.pomorstvo.hr (in Croatian!) or via services, see sea-help.eu

A Vigneta is mandatory and will be controlled in all ports and marinas.
For visitors from UK: RYA advice about Croatia, UK government site about Croatia

GENERAL COMMENTS about Croatia, for boaters

The secret behind the beautiful clear water in Dalmatia are pebbles. There are hardly any sandy beaches, only pebbles and rocks. On brochure photos, the famous Zlatni Rat beach in Bol might look like sand, but it is a pebble beach too like most other beaches in Dalmatia. I love this clear water and do not miss sand; the downside is that rocky and weedy sea bed makes anchoring more difficult and less safe than on mud. You will find clear water in all of Dalmatia and up to the Kvarner island and the south coast of Istria.

Further north, on the Istrian west coast and north Adriatic there is mainly mud, in Italy sand. The water there looks far less attractive, and in some areas we experience unappealing nature phenomena like floating sea weed slime at times, which practically prohibits swimming where it appears.

The sea is far deeper in Dalmatia than in the north Adriatic, which will heat up more in summer promoting jelly fish and others.

Sailing weather in Croatia is famously unpredictable and can change hourly rather than daily. Just as a warning to visitors familiar with Atlantic and North Sea conditions. But it won't always do. As weather can change in time it also changes geographically due to the terrain. Sometimes calm and strong winds areas are only 10 or 20 miles apart. Local weather forecasts are therefore difficult and do not work reliably.

I have not found clear annual seasonal patterns which would assist planning, of course high season month of July, August and into Sept are always hotter and drier than before and after. The characteristics we find are those that generate Bora and Jugo, both phenomena of Croatia and unwelcome to boaters in particular motor boater; much has been written about it.

Very often there are weather warnings by the Met office, but it does not mean you can never cruise. Severe conditions will generally forecast correctly but local and lighter winds are not reliably forecast. Different models will show different predictions. Do take care and respect warnings of sever conditions. it is a myth that the Med is always a safe place for yachts. Accidents of ignorant crews are on the increase.

Another myth is that there are no tides in the Med. Tidal range in the north Adriatic is 0.5 - 0.6 meters. That's not much, but still makes big difference when you are moored, as is mostly the case, on a stone quay (mind your passarelle), or in very low depth, or have to pass a shallow passage.

The dividing point between northern and southern Dalmatia is said to be near Rogoznica. In the South the Jugo (SE wind) has often of stronger impact than the Bora (NE wind), which is observed in central and northern Dalmatia, Istria and the Kvarner region. You find more days and stronger Bora in winter, it blows less often and shorter in summer. In winter even Split gets a few dangerous Bora days each year. Anyhow, the extreme Bora in the infamous Velebit channel along the Velebit mountains range is not representative fof the rest of Croatia. It even leads to motorway closures in winter. I find episodes of Jugo even more unpleasant than Bora, it goes along with bad weather and can take longer to clear. You can encounter them all along the coast.

Given Croatia's latitude the guarantee that the stable high summer weather of the tourist brochure, sunny days, thermal W to NW 4-5 in the afternoons and calm nights, happens during any particular week, nor, how long it lasts. Unless you are able to plan your holiday 10 days ahead, you need to take a gamble.
My logs of different years show, that there is a good chance of pleasant weather overall, with some days too windy or too wet to cruise.

The downside of the period of most likely high summer weather is that the peak season is crazy. You pay for the 'chance of hot weather' with excessive heat, overcrowding in harbours, anchorages and restaurants, inflated prices and stress including from overworked locals.

I consider spring before May as too early for cruising. There is a higher probability of stronger winds, Bora and frontal disturbances, and temperatures are too low for me. Water is cold.
In later moths, on the coast and islands expect wind of 4-6bf, typically from NW, NE or SE, that can be regional and won't blow all the time. Bora and Jugo can be as short as one day, but up to 2 or 3 days. Gale force or above winds are unlikely in summer, that is why Croatia is considered an easy sailing region. But unexpected gusts and wind changes can still be dangerous, and this risk can linger.
Stable fine weather in September can be very nice but the chances for it reduce as you reach the second part of the month. Periods of unstable weather with wind and rain can be long. Shorter daylight hours and dropping temperatures also count when you plan a holiday in late September. Expect dew over night.

Temperatures in winter are expected to stay above zero, but January can have a few periods of strong frost down to -10 C, mainly in Bora weather. You get Bora days even in Split in winter, but only a handful of them. The sea temperatures in Croatia are cool in spring, often do not reach 20C until early June. The peak temperature is about 23-24 degree. They may be higher in Istria, and might change generally with hotter summers. 

The nautical tourism season is from Mid May to late September. High season is only 2 months, July and August, and peak season 15 July to 15 August, that time is hot and hectic due to holidays in several countries e.g. Italy. The added effects of mass tourism from Eastern Europe and ever expanding charter business make high season problematic to owner operated boats who want to do yachting in the same high demand areas that include the middle Dalmatian national parks, the islands south of Split and near Dubrovnik.
In recent years the second half of June and first half of September, previously not considered to be high season, have seen many harbours and anchorages regularly getting overcrowded with charter yachts from Sunday to Thursday night.
Fine days can be found outside the season, but those are rather opportunities for locals. Be aware that some mooring buoys and restaurants are only available from about June to mid September.

Coastal life in Croatia is completely seasonal. From November to March whole resort towns practically shut down, the cold, windy and wet Croatian Adriatic gets deserted, locals move elsewhere to work. I found the harbour of Hvar town, the very hotspot of tourism, empty and deserted in winter, apart from one or two fishing boats. Only one small pizzeria was open in the whole town; Primosten was firmly shut down. The few locals who remain in winter are old people to mind their house and builders to do maintenance jobs. They do not require more than one cafe to solialise.
Its climate renders coastal Croatia unsuitable for all-year tourism or as retirement destination; young people have left from smaller islands because they do not see enough opportunities.

Talking about restaurants in summer, we are generally happy with the quality of food and value for money we find. The choice of dishes and sophistication seem to have improved since our earlier years. Expect restaurant prices similar to the UK, but it depends on your choice. Beer and house wines are cheaper, except for bottled wines. Meat dishes are usually grills and very well priced, but fresh non-farmed fish is extremely expensive; it is charged by its weight so ask it to be weighed for you before ordering, and check whether sides are included in this price.
Restaurants in resort towns are cheaper than in remote places. This is hardly surprises if you consider economy of scale, logistics and risks (e.g. bad weather). Restaurants on islands which offer free buoys or moorings to customers can still be good value overall considering the conveniernce and pleasure. However, the competition in high demand during a short season also create opportunities for rip-off operators in popular coves. Check google reviews and other online resources before committing.

We can see that prices for services and fees around yachting, a major source of revenue to the economy and the government, are rising year on year well above inflation.
Fields of buoys in new concession areas, which previously were free anchorages, are popping up. Buoy fields are necessary to accommodate the huge numbers of charter yachts that are now available, and they are necessary for safety.
Marina rates for visiting yachts are going up all the time, charges in some ACI marinas such as Palmizana, Split etc have become very expensive. Rates for annual berthing contracts are more stable, but they are the highest in central and south Dalmatia due to lack of supply. Ever increasing charter fleet battle for marina spaces. Dalmatia has far fewer permanent berths than demand so prices could rise further.

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The following comments are my personal views as mature owner of a live-aboard yacht who wants to spend periods of time in Croatia. My requirements in terms of quality experiences of stays and of cruising may not be shared by those who come for six days of fun on a boat. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the latter; apart from those bad eggs who are among them.

In the year since we started our regular visits to Croatia in 2000, we noted charter yachts overcrowding the central and southern cruising areas. That includes the Kornati, the islands outside Sibenik and, of course, the major islands south of Split, and nearer to Dubrovik. Croatian authorities as well as private entrepreneurs are putting quantity and short-term revenue before quality and sustainable targets, year on year.
The limited nautical infrastructure is getting overloaded, berths in harbours and marinas cannot be increased at this rate. More and more high density buoy fields are installed in once quiet bays and anchorages. Packed with charter yachts all day there is little quality in a stay there.

No one looks after keeping up the order in any bay despite the increased number of people who are completely unfamiliar with "nautical etiquette" and have no respect for nature and others. You get rogue crews who abuse the freedom of their holiday for reckless drinking and noisy drugged partying, and other offences and safety breaches - because they can do it but could not do it at home.

Sooner or later authorities will have to step up, and another level of freedom will be lost.

In addition to individual charters, there are commercially run party flotillas, of up to 100 yachts, who systematically occupy spaces which once were for yachties.
Discerning yachtsmen and private boat owners have to take a gamble or look for niche places and smaller private restaurants which still provide quality. Former top areas for yachties, and favourites of ours for years, such as the Kornati NP and Hvar, have been excessively marketed and sadly become overcrowded by the wrong kind of tourists; to the detriment of locals, decent guests, and nature.
I wonder how long the tourism strategy of milking Croatia's incomparable nature assets with no plans for sustainable development or quality, will go. But in the absence of limitations and quota in peak times the fight for spaces leads to cronyism and corruption.

Looking back to the last 25 years, there has been year on year growing yacht charter and flotilla business. With the development of nautical mass business came lack of seamanship, decay of manners and loss of decency and respect among crews.

I may explain what I mean with "mass business". Yacht charter once was for a minority of sailors and their friends, interested in sailing or cruising, and usually trained or even experienced. This sports vacation was turned into a business, offering sailing yachts with a skipper to customers with no background or even interest in sailing, as a service. Greed then extended the service to the organisation of large skippered flotillas where anyone can book berths or entire boats for a week of partying or other pursuits.

Due to oversupply the costs of sailing yacht charter have become so low that it's probably the cheapest option to have a week's holiday for 8 to 10 people in the sun. Add to this the promise of complete freedom to "let your hair down". Decent sailors suffer the consequences.

For many visitors all this does not matter, but our personal holiday experience gradually changed from wonderful in early years to increasingly stressful and frustrating in recent years, with first signs in 2016 and in particular from 2018.

I am aware that most tourists who come to the country today do not have any comparison.

My memories of the begin and early years of this century are not about raving what was then, it is about what wasn't. The negative commercial developments that would happen later were simply unimaginable. The magic paradise that Croatia cruising once was, has long been lost. Its memories will gradually fade over time.