Sailing in Croatia

Description:

The Croatian coastline is ideal for sailing. The Adriatic sea and the coast of Croatia with its unspoilt environment, is a great location for a sailing holiday.The area is safe, with lots of wind and sun with more than 1700 islands and islets.The climate is mediterranian with an average summer temperature of approximately 25°C.

There are 115 registered charter companies in Croatia, which have about 1900 vessels, of which 1600 are sailing boats, and the rest are motorboats. 1100 vessels sail under foreign flags and around 800 under the Croatian flag.

There are more than 30.000 sailing weeks per year, with over 200.000 tourists, and more than 1.000.000 overnight stays. The largest world charter companies offer their services through local charter companies on the Adriatic.

To rent a boat one must be a licensed boat guide, and have passed the exam for handling a VHF station (the exams are held in all harbours). When boarding the boat it is necessary to fill out and notarise the list of crew. Any change in the crew during the cruise must be reported to the port authorities.

Adriatic Croatia International Club, better known as the ACI Club is the leading company for nautical tourism in Croatia and has 21 marinas which extend from Dubrovnik in the south to Umag in the northern part of the Croatian Adriatic.

Croatia is also a very attractive place for yacht owners who wish to keep their yachts in Europe, but not within the EU to avoid paying Value Added Tax (VAT) on the purchase price. Yacht owners can moor their yachts in Croatia indefinitely without paying Croatian import duties or VAT. Spare parts and additional yacht equipment remain duty-free and VAT-free if the yacht is under a foreign flag. Since Croatia is not a EU member, you do not have to pay VAT on a yacht purchased within the EU if the yacht is registered and exported out of EU territory. Yacht owners with Croatian residence permits can sail into EU waters for up to six months annually without paying VAT on the yacht.

For the best value for money it is recommended to go in May, early June or September rather than mid-August.  Much the same goes for October, early November, late March and April.