According to the Croatian National Tourist Board, nautical tourism stabilised at around the same high level as the previous year in 2024, with 550,000 boat arrivals and 3.6 million overnight stays. And yet there was a dip: the number of boat tourists from Germany fell by more than five per cent compared to 2023 and is currently at the same level as 2019.
There are reasons for this: Many things became more expensive, food and services alike. In the nautical sector, prices have risen disproportionately, especially in marinas, town harbours, buoy fields and national parks. A few years ago, mooring at the piers of many small village or town harbours was free of charge, but today you can easily pay around 100 euros per night for a standard twelve-metre charter boat - usually without sanitary facilities and with only intermittently functioning columns for electricity and water. It becomes completely absurd when some operators of buoy fields only start their prices at ten metres boat length and charge 100 euros and more even for a small trailer boat.
Despite rising prices and, at best, stagnating numbers in nautical tourism, Croatia continues to invest in infrastructure. As both private and chartered yachts have been getting longer and wider for years, the berths in marinas and other harbours need to be adapted to this situation.
In addition to a few new marinas, the main focus in existing harbours is on expanding berths and infrastructure for large yachts between 15 and 25 metres in length. We present the most important projects on the following pages.
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Porto Baroš Rijeka
The largest current investment project in nautical tourism on the Croatian Adriatic is the conversion of the former industrial harbour Porto Baroš in Rijeka into a Luxury marina with 230 berths for yachts up to 19 metres in length. Investors in the major project are the Croatian marina chain ACI and the German Lürssen Group. Construction work should actually begin in spring 2024 and be completed by the 2025 season.
Recently, ACI Chairman Kristijan Pavic admitted that all permits are not expected to be available until the autumn. The construction work itself would not take much longer than a year. With luck, the ambitious large-scale project could therefore be completed by the end of 2026 and go into operation at the start of the 2027 season.
Marina Polesana
The marina21.com/en/marina-polesana-pula was extended to the east of the island in the harbour with a 230-metre-long concrete floating dock, so that 400 yachts up to 25 metres in length can now moor at Murings. The charter company Pitter, one of the largest on the Croatian Adriatic, has opened a new base here. On the associated peninsula, the former k. u. k. barracks is being converted into a luxury hotel.
Marina Punat
The popular Marina Punat in the south of the island of Krk celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2024. This makes it not only the oldest, but also one of the largest marinas on the east coast of the Adriatic with 1,400 berths. In the anniversary year, the new "Marina" restaurant with its state-of-the-art architecture was opened, and the attractive outdoor facilities were also completed by the end of 2024.
For owners of large motor yachts and large catamarans, there is now a 540-tonne travel lift in the marina that can be used to lift boats up to 16 metres wide. It is currently the largest travel lift on the Croatian Adriatic. At the Croatian Tourism Days in November 2024, Marina Punat was named the best marina in the country.
In the 2025 season, the marina will be using a mobile robot for the first time, among other things to transport guests' heavy luggage to the boat, bring large quantities of packaged drinking water to the berth or carry out routine inspection work that would otherwise be carried out by a marinero.
Krk city harbour
There is an acute shortage of guest berths in the town harbour of Krk on the island of the same name. In addition, the main pier, which is too short, offers insufficient protection when the Jugo swell rolls in from the south. Permits have now been granted to extend the piers to the west and east to create a closed harbour basin. Work is due to start at the end of the season. When the piers are finished, two new floating jetties will be installed in the eastern harbour bay, where local boats will then be moored. The new berths near the old town centre will then be available to transit guests. According to current plans, the construction work should be completed by August 2027.
New marina in Sveti Filip i Jakov
About 1.5 nautical miles north-west of Biograd, the new Molum Marine Club. Not far from the centre of Sveti Filip i Jakov, a completely new harbour, protected by three piers, is being built on the Pašmanski Channel. The main construction work was completed in February 2025. In addition to 126 mooring berths, there will soon be a new reception, a sanitary building and a bistro. Modern flats will be added on land to create a club atmosphere. The opening of the entire facility is planned for the start of the 2025 season.
New pier in Rab
The old town pier in Rab harbour has been completely renovated. In future, up to 15 yachts will be able to moor there at Murings; new columns for electricity and water are also to be installed. In addition, a new 44-metre-long pier now closes off the harbour and will offer better protection, especially in jugo conditions.
New berths for Baška
The most important harbour in the south-east of Krk - located right next to Senjska Vrata, where the bora blows the hardest - has been characterised by a lack of guest berths for decades. This is now set to change. In a first step, the south breakwater, which protects against swell, was extended by 60 metres in 2021/22. In the next construction phase, the old western pier is to be extended by 73 metres, resulting in a closed harbour basin. Within the harbour, three new floating jetties will then be installed at right angles to the existing finger jetty, which is occupied by local boats. This will create around 72 new berths for guest yachts. The construction work should be completed by the end of 2025.
New harbour pier in Omiš
The popular town at the mouth of the mountain river Cetina previously had no guest moorings at all. Visitors therefore often anchored in the mouth of the Cetina. This is set to change from the 2025 season: Since May 2024, construction work has been underway on a 350-metre-long waterfront promenade along the formerly unpaved banks of the old town, which will be founded on concrete piles. There will now be around 120 mooring spaces on this promenade for the season, 70 of which will be for guests. At the same time, the old and dilapidated town pier will be completely renovated and extended by 36 metres. As before, excursion boats will be moored there.
New pier for Hramina Marina
The old breakwater made of coarse stone rubble, which Marina Hramina on the island of Murter to the north-west was demolished. It is currently being replaced by a new, five metre wide pier 80 metres to the north-west, which can be moored on both sides. This will provide around 50 new mooring places, which are intended in particular for larger sailing and motor yachts up to 23 metres in length. The construction work should be completed by the start of the 2025 season. Reservations for the new moorings are now being accepted.
Marina Šešula
The new Šešula marina in the bay of the same name in the west of the island of Šolta was actually supposed to be ready by 2024. However, there was no sign of it last season. As has been customary for years, up to 50 boats and yachts were anchored in the popular narrow fjord during the high season with landings on the shore - with the well-known consequences for the water quality.
Supposedly, all the permits have now been granted and construction work on the small marina with 70 mooring spaces on a floating jetty with sanitary facilities is due to start in late summer 2025. It would be a blessing for the environment.
