Tips & tricks for chartering in Croatia
- andrewmorrisey
- Oct 19
- 6 min read
Are you wondering where the top cruising spots are? Trying to figure out where to charter a boat from? What size boat? What questions to ask the charter company? After spending three months cruising Croatia here's what we really liked.
Top 5 anchorages and ports
Korčula. What a great little island and town. It is the sixth-largest island in Croatia, It is 20 miles long and rather narrow, between 4 and 5 miles wide on average. This island is known for its dense forest and the ancient Greeks called the island Black Korcula (Kerkyra melaina) for this reason.
We anchored off the smaller island of Badija in sand with perfect views of the old monastery, a landmark of the passage of Franciscans in the 14th century. There is also town quay near old town if you prefer. (44 nm from Debrovnik or 58 nm from Split.)
Be sure to take in some wine tours. We tendered over to the town of Lumbarda and hiked up the hill past vineyards with the unique GRK grapes.
Hvar is the chic capital of a paradisiacal island in Croatia’s Dalmatian region. In the town are white-stoned Venetian renaissance buildings full of precious artworks, and you can potter around Hvar’s galleries, boutiques and cafes or stare open-mouthed at the gleaming super-yachts moored in the harbour.
We anchored across the bay in Otok Planikovac and tendered into the old town. There is a strong tidal current in some areas of the passage way between the island of Marinkovac. Be sure to stern tie to the Eastern shore of Planikovac island. Don't tie to the trees or you may be fined. There are lots of rocks and be sure to wear your beach shoes as the rocks are very sharp. Use anti-chaf gear or a small chain to wrap around the rocks. (82 nm from Debrovnik or 23 nm from Split.)
Mirine - Old Wall of Ostrica -The tranquil bay has crystal clear water is large enough for several boats with mesmerizing views of the Old Wall. (127 nm from Debrovnik or 35 nm from Split.)
We took our tender across the bay and under the bridge to the Delusional micro-winery to sample the amazing wines with the owner Mike and hear his life changing story and how he started his winery. Favorite wines in this region were the Plavic Mali, Babić, and Pošip. If you reserve ahead of time ask for the wine tasting picnic in the vineyards at Delusional. Don't forget to ask where the name of the winery came from.
Šibenik - We anchored in the South East bay across from the Mandalina marina. Although it is a mud bottom with great holdings it is not your turquoise waters like the other bays. However it is surrounded by pine trees and a short tender ride to the main town. (130 nm from Debrovnik or 40 nm from Split.)
We also rented a car for a day and drove up to the Kirka National Park to do a walk through the trails surrounded by several waterfalls.
Kornati National Park - If you are on a two week charter or just love to be be away from the big towns and people this group of islands is perfect. It includes 89 islands, inlets, reefs and is a nautical paradise. Plan to pick an anchorage for lunch and a swim and a different location for evening so you can maximize your time. You'll need a park pass to sail through the National Park.
The use of the mooring balls is included in your park pass fee. Docking at the Kanobi is also free, if you eat at the establishment.
The island Iz was our favorite in the park.
Spend enjoyable evenings with a fine bottle of Croatian wine to re-cap the daily activities and plan out some more places to explore next.
Tips for selecting the ideal charter boat
The ideal boat for you will be unique for you and your group but here are some things to consider in your selection.
Sleeping accommodations
There are many configurations to choose from. If you want to go for maximum comfort then selecting a bed orientation that is open on both sides is a consideration. Many of the catamarans do not provide this feature which makes getting in and out of bed a bit of a crawl to the end. Having your own head and shower is also a nice feature. And lastly some of the designs will have your own entrance which gives more privacy.
Ideal lounging areas make for great conversations
Will you need to have covered spaces?
Do you want to have lounge areas on the bow deck?
Do you want the helm station integrated into the lounge areas such as found with a sport bridge vs a fly-bridge on a catamaran?
Does you charter come with sun-shades you can put up when on anchor?
Some questions to ask before you leave the charter dock:
How long is the anchor chain and med mooring (stern) lines? For a catamaran how much extra chain is let out to accommodate for the bridle length?
How to use the windlass? Is there an anchor chain counter or is the chain marked?
Where is the passerelle stored?
How to properly secure the tender to the davits or platform?
Where is the gas shut off for the BBQ, Oven, Stove?
Where is the sail plan guidelines showing when to reef and reduce sail area?
How to use the water maker?
How and where to dump the black water tanks?
How to turn on the hot-water heater?
Is there a rope cutter on the propeller(s)?
How to use the heads?
Where is all the safety gear (flares, PFDs, life-raft, first aid kit, fire extinguishers etc.)?
Tips on what extras to bring for a charter week:
Water shoes. Many of the beaches are rock not sand. Also there are lots of sea urchins that are not pleasant to step on bare foot. And most important is when you go to med moor and tie the stern lines ashore those rocks can be razor sharp.
Range Finder. These help when determining if there is really enough room for you in an anchorage before you drop the hook. Also very helpful when tying back to shore to determine when to start dropping the anchor and backing up.
Country Flag. Fly your country flag on the port side pennant.
Captain's License or ICC. This is required to charter or even use your own boat in Croatia.
Anchoring & med mooring
Use an app like Navily to research anchorages well in advance of you heading there. Find anchorages with great reviews, sand or mud bottoms, and in the lea shore from swell.
Determine scope. Check the weather to determine if you need normal scope of 6:1/7:1 or extra scope if 20+ knots of wind are forecasted. Remember to include the length of the bridle when determining how much initial chain to put out.
Check distance to other boats to make sure you have enough room to swing. In very light to no wind the boats will swing in different directions.
Drop in sand or mud. The seagrass in many areas in the Mediterranean is protected and you can get fined if you anchor in it. Also seagrass is very hard to dig in an anchor so you will likely drag out of your anchor radius area and need to try again.
If med mooring determine the distance from the dock (or shore) you need to be to establish proper scope and not end up too close. In other words add in the length of the boat and the length of the stern lines when tying to shore.
If you are not a strong swimmer we suggest to use the paddle boards to get the stern lines to shore vs the tender.
DO NOT TIE OFF TO TREES. You can get fined for this.
DIVE THE ANCHOR. Some anchorages look like it is a sand bottom but when you dive the anchor you find out that it is a flat rock with only an inch of sand so your anchor is not dug in. We have experienced finding this after we reversed at 2200 rpms and the boat was not moving only to find out that only the tip is lightly secured when we swam the anchor.
From dusk to dawn turn on the anchor light.
Tools of the trade:
Navily. The best anchor planning tool out there. Pay for the professional version as it gives you weather forecasts at each anchorage, trip routing, and an AI summary of the reviews;
NoForeignLand. We use this app to find where things are like the dingy dock, garbage drop off, chandleries etc.;
PredictWind. The free version should suffice for a week charter if you are doing small passages. If you plan to do long passages the professional version gives you route planning that is very helpful to plan on avoiding areas of high winds and sea state that causes roll, vertical acceleration and slam;
e-SIM. Research plans and set this up before you fly off on your dream holiday. When you arrive at the destination airport connect to the free wi-fi and activate your e-SIM.
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