Croatia is still at the top of the list of the most popular holiday destinations for German motor boaters. This applies equally to owners and charterers. While every skipper at home in Germany can easily estimate the additional expenses that will have to be paid out of the on-board coffers during a week's cruise, it is not so easy to keep track of this on an Adriatic cruise. In addition to calculable factors such as fuel costs, there are also expenses such as tourist tax, fees for marinas, city harbours or buoy moorings.
In the following we try to make the additional costs during a one-week Croatia cruise as transparent as possible. Of course, these vary depending on the individual preferences of the people travelling with you. Some like it simple and lonely, prefer to anchor in the open air and cook their own meals on board. Other holiday crews, on the other hand, prefer to moor in a harbour or at least in front of a konoba every evening and indulge in the culinary delights of the local cuisine.
Our calculation is intended to represent a middle way. Our calculation does not include the provisions that you usually buy in the supermarket before starting your cruise. On the one hand, because you also have to fill the fridge at home, on the other hand, because the requirements (and therefore the costs) can drift very far apart. This is particularly the case when large quantities of good wines or high-proof drinks come on board (and into play).
To make the trip easy to follow, we have decided on a trip from the ACI marina in Trogir around the island of Šolta and back to the harbour of departure. After the trip, you will have around 60 nautical miles on your log. Here, too, we want to use an average value, this time between displacement and planing.
Statement of costs(for one week)
Tourist tax: 2 persons 10 kuna each for 8 days160 kuna
- Day 1: Mooring in the Bobovišće buoy field200 kuna
- Day 2: Anchoring with land fortress in Stračinska0 kuna
- Day 3: Jorja bay, Lero restaurant buoy1000 kuna
- Day 4: Tatinja Bay, buoy at Konoba Lonely Paradise900 kuna
- Day 5: Šešula bay, Konoba Šešula buoy800 kuna
- Day 6: Marina Maslinica: 709 kn + 65 kn for electricity and water774 kuna
- Day 7: Stomorska city harbour: 240 kn + 72 kn for electricity and water312 kuna
- Refuel with diesel: 306 l à 11 kn3366 kuna
Sum for a one-week cruise: 7512 Kuna
Exchange rate: 7.51 Kuna = 1 Euroapprox. 1000 Euro
This brings us to the size and motorisation of the boat. As a reference, we chose a Jeanneau Leader 36 (length 11.47 metres, width 3.62). It has two double cabins and thus represents the lower mid-range of the charter boats on offer in Croatia. With a motorisation of twice 260 hp, the diesel consumption at a cruising speed of around 21 kn is around
58 l/h. At a displacement speed of 8 knots, consumption is around 10 litres per hour. The average consumption during the entire trip could therefore be around 34 l/h.
Based on previous trips around Šolta, we know that the entire journey takes around nine operating hours - including the daily harbour manoeuvres and the journey to and from Trogir. This results in a fuel consumption of around 306 litres for the entire distance covered.
The choice of moorings during the week-long cruise should be a balanced mix of marina, town harbour, licensed buoy field, private konoba buoy and free anchoring. As there is not (yet) a licenced field on Šolta itself, we spend the first night at a mooring buoy right next door in Bobovišće on the island of Bračč.
The buoys in front of the conobas are widespread in Croatia. In many places, including on the south coast of Šolta, it is difficult to anchor because it is either too deep or there is not enough space to moor. In many places, the mooring buoys for guests of the konobas are not state-licensed, i.e. more or less illegal, but are nevertheless tolerated by the local authorities in many bays because otherwise it would simply be impossible to moor. It is quite clear that the owner of the konoba expects you to eat at his place if you lie on his buoy. Lying on the mooring buoy is then free of charge or, more precisely, part of the restaurant bill.
There are state-licensed buoy fields in a number of larger bays, where one of the local konoba owners is often also the concessionaire. In this case, you always have to pay a fee for a night at the buoy, which is currently between 150 and 300 kuna for a 12-metre boat, including waste disposal. You are free to visit the konoba or not.
In the coastal handbooks, all authorised buoy fields are shown in magenta. The applicable prices are printed next to them. The authorised mooring buoys in front of the konobas, on the other hand, are printed in black - so you have to stop off at the konoba if you want to stay.
In the calculation example above, we have also included mooring at black buoys. Of course, it is difficult to lump together the mooring fee at the buoy and the dinner. After all, you end up with a restaurant bill that doesn't show the mooring separately. And of course it makes a huge difference whether you eat a lobster for 90 kuna (about 12 euros) Ćevapčići or for ten times the price, 900 kuna.
We have therefore estimated an average meal for two people, for example a mixed fish platter, including desserts and drinks, for which you should currently budget between 800 and 1000 kuna, depending on the quality of the konoba.
The tabular list with the "total sum" above therefore only gives a rough idea of what you should plan as a lower pain threshold if you want to experience a nice holiday cruise on the Dalmatian coast as a couple.
The cost overview for Croatia can be found in BOOTE issue 02/2022 - available from newsagents from 12 January 2022 or online at Delius Klasing Shop.
