Sailing tips - FAQ

The choice of the vessel depends entirely on your wishes and preferences. Our offer includes the following vessel types:

• Sailing boats - excellent for both family and active vacation
• Catamarans - very stable and comfortable, ensure fast sailing
• Gulets - use the power of engine and sails to move; rented exclusively with the crew (captain, sailor, cook, hostess)
• Motor boats - for speed sailing enthusiasts

Before choosing a vessel, please bear in mind the following details:

• How many people will be on board?
• Does your group consist of pairs who can share the same cabin or do some crew members require a separate cabin?
• Do you prefer comfort?
• Do you require a skipper or not? If you need skipper's services, please bear in mind that the skipper sleeps on board as well, so one of the berths (either in the saloon area or in a cabin) should be reserved for him.

The choice depends on your wishes and preferences. A Catamaran is an excellent choice for those with no sailing experience or for those who feel somewhat insecure sailing. It has two hulls, hence providing greater stability. Catamarans don't lean more than 5° and offer greater comfort, spacious saloon area and cabins and somewhat faster sailing, since they have two engines. Modern catamarans have shallow draft in order to make the access to land and bays easier.

You can consult our Contact Center about the vessel choice - they will prepare an offer for you, based upon your request. Should you prefer to choose a vessel on your own, you can do so by using our Online Database system.
After having chosen a vessel, we can reserve it for you for several days, with no obligation, giving you time to organize your travel plans (buying plane tickets, etc.) and arrange everything with your crew members.
The vessel is considered booked by you as soon as you pay the first instalment, i.e. 30, 40 or 50% of the total price, or the whole charter fee for bookings within 60 days before the departure. You can either pay by credit card or by bank transfer.

Sailing yacht charters usually begin and end on Saturdays.
However, should you desire to take a several days long sailing trip in the off season (October - April), this can be organized and the price is then calculated according to the number of days spent on board.
During the high-season (in June, July and August, as well as the beginning of September and the end of May), we cannot deviate from our weekly charter system (Saturday - Saturday charter), since these are the busiest months for the charter companies and most weeks are sold out well in advance (therefore, the price is unlikely to be flexible and you would usually be charged for a full week of charter).

If you have no sailing experience at all, or if you do not possess an officially recognized sailing licence, you are obliged to hire a skipper.
Even if you have experience in sailing but are not sure in your manoeuvring skills, it is strongly recommended to hire a professional skipper for at least several days, in order to make your cruise more relaxing. You can also benefit from the skippers' local knowledge - they are well acquainted with the Adriatic region and will be able to suggest you the most interesting places for swimming and fun, as well as numerous restaurants.
We can reserve the skipper for you.

In the event of a bareboat charter (without the SailingEurope skipper) the client skipper must be in possession of a certificate of competence in order to charter a boat. It is also a legal requirement for one member of the crew to be qualified for the operation with the VHF station (posessing the VHF licence).

Licences and certificates corresponding to the Croatian programme and containing the verification of the state are accepted by the Croatian authorities. The VHF licence is obligatory, as well.
Most of the RYA licences are accepted (www.rya.org.uk) for sailing in Croatian territorial waters.

In case you posess any kind of a sailing license please be sure to send it to us via email or fax (No. + 385 1 488 22 09), so that we can check its validity with the charter agency as well as the Croatian authorities before chartering a vessel.

A licence issued for navigating motor boats can be accepted valid if it is clearly indicated that it can be used for navigating sailing boats as well. By all means send us a copy via email or fax (No. + 385 1 488 22 09), so that we can check its validity with Croatian authorities.
If it is not indicated on a licence that it is accepted for sailing boats, it can be upgraded. E.g. licences issued in Italy can be used either for sailing boats only, or for motor boats only, or for both vessel types.

In order to hire a yacht in Croatia, the person navigating the boat has to be qualified for operating a vessel or a yacht, and must posess a necessary licence, corresponding to Croatian rules and regulations.
The certificate can be obtained in client's mother country, in which case the client's picture, official stamp and verification of the state must be included on it. The other possibility is to take an exam in one of the Croatian port authorities - the certificate is obtained the same day. In case you opt for this, SailingEurope will gladly help you in organizing the exam and will let you know all the necessary details on time (i.e. the price of the exam as well as the exact time when and the place where it takes place).

Skipper's services are paid separately from the charter fee. The guests are obliged to pay them (also those of a hostess or a cook) as well as food and drink for the skipper or the other crew members.
On gulets, the crew expenses (those of a captain, a sailor and a cook) are already included in the charter fee.
Mega-yachts and sailing boats exceeding certain length are chartered exclusively with the crew (provided by the vessel owner), in which case the crew expenses are included in the charter fee.

In most cases the skipper sleeps in the salon area. However, it is strongly recommended to charter a bigger boat and provide the skipper with his own cabin. Since he is in charge of the day-to-day running of the yacht, as well as the security of people on board, he should be well-rested - apart from that, the guests will have more comfort and a free salon area to hang out.
Every vessel is registered for a certain number of people (the law does not allow this number to be exceeded) - if this number does not include a berth in the salon area, the skipper is required to have his own cabin.

Please check the additional costs for a sailing vacation at our Sailing Costs page.

Marinas have a secured parking area for cars - the price of a parking lot depends upon the marina itself and amounts to about 45 € per week.
There are enough parking lots, so the reservations are not necessary. The personnel of the marina take care about the vessels as well as the parking area in the marina.

Please check the following link with a detailed list of items you should consider bringing with you.

If you have enough electricity, water and food, you can spend the night in one of the numerous, well secluded bays along the Adriatic coast. If using the services of a skipper, you won't have any problems finding the securest bays, since the skippers are well acquainted with the Adriatic region. If navigating a vessel on your own, please feel free to contact us for help - we'll gladly give you our suggestions about the safe bays in the maritime zone where you go sailing. You could also ask the personnel of the charter agency for some suggestions during your check-in procedure in the marina.

Please note that all the services in Croatia are paid in Kunas. Sometimes it is possible to pay the mooring fees in Euros, but it depends upon the marina and should be checked upon in advance.
In restaurants, shops and supermarkets you can use credit cards as well.
If sailing in territorial waters of Slovenia, Italy or Montenegro, the additional costs are paid either in Euros or with credit cards.

If having reserved a vessel through our website, please check the additional information on vessel equipment for every single boat in our offer. Should you need any further assistance, just contact us and we'll send you a document quoting all the equipment on your chosen boat.
All boats in our offer have safety and navigation equipment as well as navigation maps.

Bed linen (sheets, blankets, pillows) is provided on every vessel. Only few charter agencies provide towels as well, so by all means take your own with you (both beach towels as well as those for personal hygiene).
Kitchen is equipped with stove, oven, fridge, sink, cooking utensils and cutlery.
Cleaning agents, dish cloths, etc. are not provided on board, but can be bought in stores in the marinas before boarding.

If you don't know which places to visit, please check some of our suggested routes and info on departure points of the vessels in our offer. We can also provide you with additional information about cultural sights, beaches, etc.

Children can go sailing with you from an early age - there is no age limit, however, their stay on board should be closely monitored by adults. Be sure to choose the safest cabin for a child (e.g. the front cabin) and a place for him/her to play (cockpit is a relatively safe place). You can also put a safety net along the sides of the boat and children should by all means wear life vests. You should bring baby food along, since it cannot be bought in every supermarket within the marina. You should also consider choosing shorter routes and visiting marinas more frequently in order to provide safer berthing as well as comfort.

If you are interested in joining a group, please visit our Crew Finder forum where you can form your own crew and arrange a sailing vacation. You can also contact us via email, and we'll be happy to put you in touch with someone who has requests similar to yours.

The vessels are returned to the base on Friday afternoon/evening with an overnight on board till Saturday morning between 8am and 9am, when the check-out procedure is done. At that time the guests should leave the boat, so that it can be cleaned and prepared for new guests. The vessel can also be returned to the base on Saturday, but make sure it is before 8am, in order for guests to have enough time to fill the tank before leaving the vessel.

Changes of the crew are possible - however, this should be indicated in advance, before embarkation, so as to make crew lists, on which the dates of changes as well information on people joining or leaving the crew will be specified. Our guests receive a blank crew list, which they fill in with the crew details both before and after the change (the date of the change should be indicated as well). The complete crew list can be sent to us via email or fax.
Before taking over the vessel, the charter agency will provide the guests with a verified crew list with data both before and after the change, which the guests need to have during the sailing trip.
If the crew suddenly changes during the cruise, without previous notice, the guests are obliged to contact the charter agency and inform them about the change in order for them to send the new verified crew list. The new list can then be sent via fax to the guests (to any place where they are at that moment).
In case of a control, the guests need to present the new crew list, although they are obliged to keep the old one as well.

If you are arriving before the time determined for taking over the vessel (check-in is usually done at around 5pm), let us know the approximate time of your arrival and we will try to arrange with the charter agency to have the vessel delivered to you earlier, which is possible if it is not too crowded in the marina at that time. In case you are arriving on Friday or earlier and need some help in finding suitable accommodation, please feel free to contact us.