Croatia was great place to visit and sail in. I would suggest that August be avoided – the main negative we encountered was limited space in many harbours (such as Maslinica & Hvar) and as a result this puts the pressure on to cut sailing short that day. The islands near to Split seemed very crowded indeed but further away it was noticeably less so (Korčula, for instance).
The other surprise was the mooring, or harbour master fees. We knew marinas were expensive compared to the UK but what surprised us was that you almost can’t escape them. Even in a remote bay someone arrived to charge us overnight fees, citing a concession they had. Water & electricity comprise up to half the fees so if you can do without it’s definitely worth it.
Food & drink was very reasonably priced – our teenage family of five were eating for between 650-1,100 kuna (£68-£115) a night, including soft drinks and wine. An espresso was 7 kuna and delicious ice creams between 6-8 kuna.
The ‘Adriatic Pilot – Croatia, Slovenia & Montenegro’ was a big disappointment. Being the 6th edition (2012) a lot of the data seemed to be 2010 and very out of date (mooring fees have doubled since then). It was very good on navigation approaches but very weak on why you would actually visit particular ports & harbours.
Navigation was very simple as expected – plenty and good buoyage. It never tested us as we were only day sailing and we didn’t encounter the lack of buoyage as in the Ionian where numerous shoals hide waiting for you.
In summary:-
- 13 days on the water
- 8 days sailing
- 6 islands, 8 ports, 4 anchorages visited
- 37 hours underway (13 hours under sail, 4½ hours motor sailing)
- 185 nautical miles (213 statute miles, 343km) travelled
- 30 engine hours, 75 litres of diesel (690 kuna, £72)
- Maximum wind – Force 5, sea state Slight
- Harbour master fees 5,562 kuna (£580) – only one night was free! That’s an average of £48/night.