Two recent posts on Sail Magazine’s site extoll the virtues of charter bareboat sailing in Croatia. Both articles describe itineraries that leave from near the UNESCO town of Trogir, a beautiful, but, touristy town near the airport in Split. It’s a great introduction to the food and architecture that you’ll experience throughout a bareboat charter on the Dalmation Coast.
I recommend arriving at Split airport which serves marina’s near Split, Trogir, Rogoznica and Primostan and, if possible, chartering for two weeks. In addition to the islands describe in these articles, my ideal itinerary would include the more southern islands of Korcula and Mjet with a possible stop at remote Lastovo. Korcula City is a gem making continued passage all the way south to Dubrovnik less important.
On the other hand, limiting the southern part of your itinerary to the more frequently traveled islands of Brac, Hvar, and Vis gives you time to head north and expore the protected areas in the Kornati Islands, Uvala Telascica, or the Skradin fresh water cascades. Either way, it will be one of the best charter bareboat sailing adventures you’ll ever experience.
In addition to the articles below, check out my detailed destination reports that cover four different bareboat trips to Croatia.
Cruising Croatia
By Fred Bagley Posted March 10, 2011 on SailMagazine.com
Fred provides a great overview of his 1 week trip from just outside Trogir to the island of Vis, stopping at Solta, Brac, and Hvar along the way. His mid-September bareboat charter avoided the busy summer seasons (August is particularly crowded), but, subjected their one week charter to the more storm ladden Sirocco (Juro) winds out of Africa as well as the typical cruising season Maetrals from the northwesterly quadrant, thankfully, they avoided the northeastern Bura winds. Yes, here in the Mediterranean, the wind direction is named after their geographic origins and it’s strength usually indicated on the Beaufort Scale.
He confirms that receiving and understanding weather forecast over the VHF is still difficult (I would tune into the Italy broadcast from across the Adriatic) and recommends using the internet (Croatia Weather or MeteoMar Weather for the Central Adriatic). Another option would be to call the charter base daily. Either way, you might want to consider a cellphone that works locally for the duration of your stay.
Fred also notes that Europe uses the International A System of buoyage rather than the B System, so, it’s green, right, returning in those few areas that require markers. I’ll add that you should confirm with the charter company the need for a radio license to charter and sail in Croatia. I’ve followed a thread that indicates you can buy a Restricted RadioOperator License in the US.
Fred goes on to provide a great trip log and it’s well worth reading how he and his guests went about enjoying the week bareboating on the Dalmation Coast.
Split Decision
posted on Sailmagazine.com – Author undisclosed
Here’s an older, short posting that discusses a similar trip from the Trogir area, focusing a bit more on the history of the Dalmation coast and the conditions for their sail to Brac and Solta including a surprise invitation to lunch. The article gives a good sense of both bareboating the area and the friendliness of the Croatians.
Bareboating the World 
This is a great amount of information on a seemingly little-known destination that we love! Croatia is becoming increasingly popular- Split is one of our most common embarkation points. Thanks for spreading the news!
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic at the crossroads of Central Europe, Southeast Europe, and the Mediterranean
We are planning a 7-day charter in Croatia in June. I had been recommended to base our trip from Dubrovnik but based on the articles on your site, and some of the links I’ve followed to charter operators, by far the majority seem to be based around Split – is there any reason for this?
Split’s a much bigger city; more or less in the middle of the primary cruising ground so can sail either northly to the kornati islands national marine park, krka waterfalls inland and beyond or southerly to the islands of Vis, Hvar, Korcula, Mjet, as far as Dubrovnik. Additionally, the old center city is historic as is the world heritage city of Trogir nearby. Kremik is a very large charter base between the tourist towns of Primostan and Rogogznica further north but generally in the same area. The airport and national highway are nearby and ferries to the islands and Italy stop in the port. Though Dubrovnik is probably one of the most beautiful cities in the world, it’s at the southern tip of Croatia so you will be cruising north to enjoy the Dalmatian Islands. Bottom line is more choice for planning your cruise and better access by air, land, and sea.
Do you have any suggestions for Charter Companies serving Split?
Sorry Brian, I’m no longer current on the local charter companies so wouldn’t be able to make a useful recommendation.
I did notice that Sunsail (and maybe Moorings) were still operating near Split in Agana Marina across the bay from Trogir (UNESCO site) in the town of Marina. Probably just as close to the airport as is Split’s port and a lot let busy. We had a good experience with this Sunsail but that was in 2009.
Sorry couldn’t be more help.
Gaetano
Thank you for your prompt reply! The suggestion to look at other area marinas was quite helpful. Sunsail and Moorings have limited boats remaining during our timeframe. Seems I waited a bit too long to begin booking. I did find a couple of smaller charter companies via TripAdvisor.com by searching on Bareboat, and was able to locate a couple potential options in our price range and time frame. Thanks for your help, and your informative blog.
Warm Winds, Brian
Sorry couldn’t be more help. I remember another site when I was looking years ago and it still seems to be very active.- https://www.croatiacharter.com/index.asp. Never chartered through it but might be another options beyond what you found on TripAdvisor.
Have a wonderful charter
Jealous!
Gaetano