Even the Croatian statistics show that transit and permanent berth numbers are weakening in comparison to the constantly growing number of berths, marina prices are constantly rising, as the YACHT recently reported. The editorial team also received various letters from readers in response to the article, highlighting further problems.
One professional berth charter provider writes: "Croatia's service mentality - at least in our perception - has never been particularly strong; there are plenty of examples of this. But this has been 'swallowed'because there are also pleasant and friendly exceptions. Since Corona, prices have also risen sharply. And more and more bawling and noisy party crews in the bays and marinas are making the situation even worse. Despite having one of the most beautiful areas in the world and a relatively unproblematic journey, Croatia has managed to harm itself in a short space of time and the spiral is continuing downwards. When our crews give us a free hand to choose a sailing area, Croatia is no longer the first choice. What a pity!
One owner describes it like this: "I often chartered in Croatia, for more than 30 years. Everything has become more expensive. The marinas, the national parks, the restaurants, especially since the introduction of the euro in 2023, for example, fish from the display case cost 100 euros per kilogramme. We no longer put up with it, my crew really mutinied. In the expensive marinas, you are also often deprived of sleep because crews (are allowed to) party until the morning. There is no supervision at night. I drew the conclusion and moved to Greece. Croatia apparently only wants the rich yachtsmen, but then they can't complain if the number of visitors drops."
Some of the sailors are really annoyed
Another yacht owner describes the conclusion that many a crew draws from this: "Just returned from seven weeks sailing the Adriatic. I have a sailing boat moored at ACI Vrboska. This berth is exactly opposite the transit jetty. I have made the following observation: cooking on board has increased massively. In previous years, charterers would moor up, run straight to the showers and then off to eat in one of the many restaurants. That has changed a lot now. Consistently 70 per cent of transit guests stay on their boats and cook for themselves."
This trend was also confirmed to YACHT by a fleet operator, who reported that the base personnel have significantly more cleaning work with the returning yachts, as the galleys are used much more and are also dirty. In addition, the crews are bringing large quantities of food to the base in their cars, as they did 10 or 20 years ago. The crews do not want to give up their charter holidays completely, they are simply looking for creative ways to limit the costs in other ways.
However, there are also providers who are more relaxed about the situation: "We are travelling to Croatia ourselves every year with various flotillas," says Christian Zaloudek from Sarres Schockemöhle Yachting. "It is true that the booking lists of many fleet operators showed larger gaps in July and August, but this does not apply to the entire year; I would put the decline at a single-digit percentage. But of course that also depends very much on the fleet operators." Otherwise, however, it is still possible to spend an affordable holiday in Croatia, even for crews with a normal income. "If you cook on board and choose your restaurant visits carefully, leaving out the overpriced offers, you can still find good and inexpensive restaurants, some of which are even cheaper than in Germany. And if you want to save on mooring fees, just anchor for one or two more nights or go to the cheaper local harbours instead of the expensive marinas."
The best ways to control costs when travelling to Croatia
YACHT recently described another way to a more favourable ship: dhe booking of older charter yachts that are well maintained. In a survey of agencies, we compiled a list of companies that are demonstrably good at this.
The fleet operators also report constraints. Dirk Kadach from 1st Class Yachts, which operates four bases in Croatia, explains his view of the situation this year: "It is true that we had to increase the weekly prices for ships by five to ten per cent in 2024, depending on the yacht and base. But the very new yachts in particular have become massively more expensive to buy, in some cases by around 20 per cent, and berths, staff and, above all, accessories have also risen very sharply. On top of this, Croatia suddenly became significantly more expensive for customers when going ashore with the changeover to the euro."
This resulted in a 15 per cent dip in bookings at the beginning of the year, which the Heiligenhafen-based company counteracted with short-term discounts. "That worked well, the boats were rented out after all, but the discounts hurt us in view of the margins in Croatia." There was no problem from September onwards anyway, as the booking situation was good right from the start. The gaps therefore mainly relate to the expensive high season. It is understandable that customers become more cautious during this time, as flights and marinas are also at their price zenith.
This is what many fleet operators did: for months, 20 to 30 per cent discounts were practically the standard, and there were also some with 50 per cent. Add to that the agencies' brokerage fees, and you don't have to be a maths genius to realise that this can be a problem.
What will happen in the 2025 booking year?
Janis Kather from the 1a Yachtcharter agency agrees: "The peak season dip in Croatia was indeed clearly visible. The local prices are certainly one reason for this, but some crews also tell us that it is simply too hot for them in high summer. As a result, some bookings have been postponed until September, and we are currently having problems finding ships for bookings at all." In general, the situation is not so dramatic for agencies, as customers would otherwise simply switch sailing areas. So bookings are still being made.
So is it all half as bad? In the long term, the whole thing is a problem, especially for the fleet operators. Due to the oversupply of charter yachts in the area, which is unique in the Mediterranean, profits in Croatia have been significantly lower than in some other Mediterranean areas for many years. This makes the high season phases, when the highest weekly prices are earned, all the more important. If these are cancelled, this may be bearable for one season, but it is certainly not feasible in the long term without compromising on the quality of equipment and service or increasing the low-season prices. The pricing of fleet operators in 2025 is therefore likely to be a major headache for many owners.
How did you experience the charter in Croatia 2024? Write us your impressions to mail@yacht.de
