How does it work?

The main ones for a charter boat under 15 meters:

• The skipper needs a recognized boating license, and at least one person on board needs a VHF radio certificate (SRC), unless the license includes it.
• Within 300 m of the shore, in narrow channels and at the entrances to harbors and anchorages, the speed limit is 8 knots.
• Under way, keep at least 50 m from the shore and from the rope line of a marked beach. You may come closer only to enter or leave a harbor, to anchor or to moor, at low speed.
• Anchoring and lines to the shore have their own rules (see the anchoring questions below).
• National and nature parks charge a ticket for the boat.
• In an emergency, call 195 (Croatian sea rescue) or 112, or use VHF channel 16.

The navigation rules are in the Croatian Ordinance on the safety of navigation, NN 52/2025, changed in NN 40/2026 (Croatian only).

Yes, but it is not advisable to charter without proper training. A license shows that you passed an exam. It doesn't prepare you for stern-to docking in a full marina, for choosing a safe bay for the night's wind, or for a sudden storm.

The best preparation is the Skipper Hotline Skipper Training in Punat on Krk: 7 days with short theory and a lot of practice, including docking drills, anchoring and buoys, sailing, safety, and 3 days of cruising around the nearby islands.

If you mainly need docking practice, take the docking training (2 to 3 days). If you prefer individual teaching, book private lessons with one of our instructors. If you don't want to skipper alone yet, you can hire an instructor or a skipper for the whole charter week.

After the training, Skipper Hotline stays with you on WhatsApp during your charter as an experienced local skipper. It is support after the training, not a replacement for it.

If nobody in your crew has a recognized license, you have to. A skipper costs roughly €200 to €250 per day plus food, and needs a cabin. It is a good choice if the crew has no sailing experience, if you want a completely relaxed holiday, or for a large catamaran in high season.

If you want to be the skipper yourself, prepare with training before the trip: the Skipper Hotline Skipper Training, docking training or private lessons. Then sail with Skipper Hotline on WhatsApp as your backup, or take an instructor on board for the whole week. When you book the boat through Skipper Hotline, we can also arrange a vetted local skipper.

Most marinas and town quays in Croatia use stern-to (Mediterranean) mooring. You reverse into a narrow gap between two boats, pick up a mooring line (lazy line) that is fixed to the seabed and tie it at the bow, and tie two lines from the stern to the pier. For new skippers this is the most stressful part of the week, mostly because of crosswind, prop walk and full marinas on changeover days.

What helps: a base marina with enough space (we avoid the narrow ones), a bow thruster, a clear job for every crew member, and practice. The Skipper Hotline docking training in Punat on Krk (3 days on a sailboat or 2 days on a catamaran) is repeated stern-to and side-to docking, buoy pickup and anchoring in real marina conditions. During the charter we also help you with tricky moments on WhatsApp, for example how to leave a tight spot using spring lines.

These are the ones we see every season:

• Planning too many miles, with no time for swimming and no spare day for bad weather.
• Arriving at popular places after 15:00 in July or August, when buoys and berths are already taken.
• Choosing tonight's bay without checking tonight's wind direction and the thunderstorm risk.
• Looking only at the average wind in one weather app and missing the gusts and thunderstorms.
• Running out of water, or having no cash for buoys. Some buoy fields take cash only.
• Leaving fuel for Friday afternoon, when the fuel stations near the charter bases have the longest queues.
• Buying the Kornati National Park ticket inside the park, where it costs double.
• Booking a boat that is too big for a small or new crew.

Skipper Hotline is built to prevent exactly these mistakes, with a route that fits your crew, daily weather advice and local tips.

Most charters in Croatia run from Saturday to Saturday. Check-in is usually from 17:00 or 18:00 on Saturday, and the boat must be back at the base on Friday, usually by 17:00 or 18:00, for the check-out inspection.

So keep the first day short: shop for food, check the boat carefully, and either stay in the base marina or sail about 2 hours to an easy, sheltered place nearby. On the last day, stay close to the base, refuel early in the morning and keep the last leg short. If strong wind is forecast for Friday, it is often smarter to come back on Thursday evening. Skipper Hotline plans both days into your route, so the week starts and ends without stress.

Pack light and soft: a soft bag instead of a hard suitcase (there is little storage on board), shoes with soles that don't leave marks, a hat, sunglasses and strong sunscreen, a light windproof jacket for the evenings, a headlamp, a snorkel mask, a power bank, and cash for buoys and small konobas (local restaurants).

Sailing gloves help with the lines, and every boat booked through Skipper Hotline comes with a pair as a welcome gift. Subscribe to the Skipper Hotline newsletter and we send you our full skipper and crew packing list.

Four names cover most situations:

• Maestral is a thermal wind from the northwest. It blows in Dalmatia during stable summer weather with high pressure, usually from late morning until sunset, at about 10 to 20 knots. It is the best sailing wind, but it doesn't blow in Kvarner.
• Bura (bora) is a cold northeast wind that comes down from the mountains in strong gusts. It is strongest in Kvarner and under the Velebit mountains, but it can blow along the whole coast and in any season.
• Jugo is a warm southeast wind. It builds over a day or two and brings clouds, rain and big waves. It is more common in spring and autumn.
• Nevera is not a regular wind but a sudden summer thunderstorm with violent gusts, most often from the west.

The same bay can be perfect in maestral and dangerous in jugo. That's why Skipper Hotline chooses your bay for the night based on that night's forecast, not on how nice the bay looks.

The bura is dangerous mainly if you are in the wrong place. It blows from the northeast in strong gusts, often jumping from 20 to over 30 knots within seconds, and it builds short, steep waves in the channels. It is strongest in Kvarner and in the Velebit channel. In winter its gusts can reach hurricane strength, and in summer it can easily blow for two days.

The usual problems are anchors dragging, boats pushed onto their neighbors in marinas, and rough crossings. The good news is that the Croatian weather service forecasts the bura well, so you can plan around it: choose a bay or marina protected from the northeast, use extra lines, and cross before or after it. Skipper Hotline is based in Kvarner and plans your days around the bura forecast.

Jugo is a warm wind from the southeast. It builds over a day or two, brings clouds and rain, and pushes long waves up the Adriatic. It is more common in spring and autumn, but it can blow in summer too.

Bays and harbors open to the south and southeast become uncomfortable or unsafe, and the waves are bigger far from the islands. When jugo is forecast, plan shorter legs, cross channels before it builds, and pick a place for the night that is protected from the southeast.

When jugo stops, its big, long waves can stay for another half a day. In Croatian, this leftover swell is called mrtvo more (dead sea). The wind is gone and the sky is clear, so beginners often leave too early and have a rough day that can make the whole crew seasick. Wait until the sea has calmed down, not only the wind.

Skipper Hotline tells its clients when jugo is coming, and when the sea is calm enough to sail on after it.

Prepare before it arrives, and first find out from which direction it would come. Most Neveras come from the west, between northwest and southwest, but not all. A Nevera usually comes from the same direction as the wind high up, at about 5,500 meters. In apps such as Windy, you can see this wind by choosing the 500 hPa level. On a thunderstorm day, spend the night in a bay protected from that direction, or in a marina. At anchor, let out more chain. On a buoy, double the lines.

In a protected bay, when the storm is close, close all hatches, tie down loose things such as paddle boards, start the engine and keep someone at the helm. If the anchor drags, motor slowly into the wind and hold the boat away from the shore and other boats. Don’t try to re-anchor or enter a marina in the strongest gusts. Wait until it passes.

If you are anchored in a bay open to that direction, don’t wait for the Nevera to hit. Lifting the anchor in a Nevera is hard, often impossible. Lift it as soon as the Nevera is on its way, and go out to open water, away from the shore and other boats. Out there, and whenever a Nevera catches you under way, take the sails down early, keep the bow into the wind and motor through it.

As a last resort, if you are too late and can’t lift the anchor: let out all the chain, cut the rope that ties the end of the chain to the boat, and let the anchor and chain go. Then motor away from the shore. After the Nevera has passed, you can always dive to pick them up from the seabed, or call the charter company to organize a diver.

Skipper Hotline tells its clients from which direction a possible Nevera would come, early enough to choose a bay protected from it.

Use the DHMZ marine forecast (meteo.hr) for warnings. Read the first paragraph, where the warnings are, and look for a thunderstorm (Nevera) warning. The rest of that forecast is too general for planning your day.

For the wind, use an app such as Windy or PredictWind, and always look at the gust forecast, not only the average wind. These apps offer several forecast models. They usually agree for the next one or two days and often disagree from the third day on. You can keep the app's default model. Just remember that the forecast can be a bit off, and plan with some margin.

Skipper Hotline reads the forecasts for your route every day and tells you what they mean for tonight's bay: gusts behind a hill, wind funneling through a channel, or waves coming from a different direction than the wind.

Call 195, the Croatian maritime search and rescue center (MRCC Rijeka), from any phone. You can also call 112, or use VHF channel 16 (Mayday or Pan-Pan). The nIS app from the Croatian Ministry of the Sea can call 195 and send your position automatically.

Skipper Hotline is not an emergency or rescue service. When you are in danger, always call 195, 112 or VHF channel 16 first. We help with everything around it: advice before a situation becomes dangerous, and local contacts such as mechanics, marinas and taxis afterwards.

Drop the anchor on sand or mud, not on seagrass. Seagrass (Posidonia) holds badly, and it is a protected habitat. In clear water you can see the sand patches from the boat.

Let out at least 4 to 5 times the depth in chain, and more when wind is forecast. Then reverse slowly to set the anchor, and check that it holds before you swim or go ashore.

No. Croatian rules forbid mooring in a way that damages plants on the shore, and a line around a tree rubs off its bark. Tie to a rock instead, or to an iron ring or bollard where one is fixed. Some bays have rings in the rocks for this.

Put the line twice around the rock, or use a short chain around it, so it doesn’t chafe through overnight. The rule is Article 53, paragraph 8, of NN 52/2025.

Yes. Lines to the shore and anchor chains must be marked so others can see them, and they must not block other boats (Article 53, paragraph 6, of NN 52/2025).

The rule doesn’t say how. The usual way is a floating line with a fender or a small buoy on it, so swimmers, dinghies and other skippers see it in time.

The rules say your lines and chain must not block the way for other boats. And when you are tied to the shore, every part of the boat must stay less than 70 m from the shore. The anchor chain counts only up to the point where it enters the water. This limit was 50 m until 25 April 2026, when NN 40/2026 changed it.

In practice:

• Tie to the shore at the side of the bay, next to the other boats and parallel to them, never across the bay or its entrance.
• Keep the line to the shore short, and drop the anchor so your chain doesn’t cross other boats’ chains.
• Leave the middle of the bay and the way in free for boats, dinghies and swimmers.

In most bays, no. You pay in national and nature parks, where the boat needs a ticket, and in bays that a port authority runs as an official anchorage, where staff collect a fee for the night. Vinišće near Trogir is one example, and more bays are expected to follow.

Only port authority staff may collect the fee. Ask for a stamped receipt that shows who issued it.

Anchoring is not allowed everywhere: where nautical charts mark it as prohibited, you can be fined.

There are four options, and most crews mix them:

• Anchoring usually costs nothing, except in concession areas, national parks and restricted zones. You need good holding (sand or mud) and shelter from that night's wind. In deep bays you often tie a stern line to the shore.
• Mooring buoys cost about €50 to €80 per night for a 40 ft boat in season. Some buoy fields take cash only.
• Marinas cost about €100 to €150 per night for a 40 ft boat in season, more in places like Hvar or Split. A catamaran usually pays about 1.5 times the price of a sailboat, and in some marinas double. Marinas have water, electricity and showers.
• Restaurants in the bays: many konobas offer a buoy or a place at their pier if you eat there. Call ahead.

Skipper Hotline suggests the best option for every night, based on the forecast, your crew and your budget.

There is no single booking system, and that is what makes it confusing. Every type of place books in its own way:

• ACI marinas (22 along the coast): their own website and app.
• Private marinas: phone, e-mail or their own website. Many are also on booking apps such as mySea, or take requests through Navily.
• Town harbors run by port authorities: often by phone only, and some take no reservations.
• Buoy fields: each has its own operator. Some take reservations by phone or app, some none.
• Restaurants with buoys or a jetty: call the restaurant.
• Vis: no reservations at all. First come, first served.

From June to September, book about 3 days ahead in Dalmatia and 1 day ahead in Kvarner. If bad weather is forecast, book as early as you can, because everyone heads to the same safe harbors. Where you can’t book, arrive early: in high season aim for early afternoon, and before a day of bad weather as early as 9 or 10 in the morning.

In one week you may use two apps, a website and a lot of phone calls. Skipper Hotline sends you the reservation phone numbers for every stop, tells you how early to call, and always keeps a Plan B.

You book online on the ACI website or in the ACI app, for one or more nights. ACI is often the most reliable way to get a berth in advance in July and August.

The marina holds a booked berth only until a set time on the day of arrival, usually 20:00. If you will be late, call the marina before that time. A night for a 40 ft boat in season costs about €100 to €150, more in popular places such as Hvar or Split.

No. In Vis town and in Komiža, berths and buoys are first come, first served.

In July and August, arrive by early afternoon, and much earlier when bad weather is coming, because everyone heads to the same harbors. Keep a backup bay for the night in case both are full.

The berth is held only until the arrival time the marina sets, usually 20:00. After that it can go to another boat. If you are running late, call the marina before that time.

Each marina or buoy field sets its own cancellation fee. Some waive it when bad weather stops you from coming. Check the terms when you book.

Go to your backup: a bay protected from that night’s wind, where you can anchor. Pick it in the morning, together with the main plan, so you don’t have to decide in a hurry at 18:00.

Don’t stay in a spot that is open to the forecast wind just because it is free. Moving in the dark, in rising wind, is much harder than moving early.

Water is the bigger problem. In summer many island marinas limit water, for example to one hour a day on Vis and at Žut in the Kornati, sometimes at a high price, and some places have no refill at all. A crew of six can easily use more than 100 liters a day, so the tank size and the refill stops must be part of the route. That's why Skipper Hotline recommends a boat with a bigger tank, or a watermaker on bigger boats, when it makes sense, and plans realistic refill stops.

There are fewer fuel stations than you would expect, and near the charter bases they have long queues in the afternoon and on Fridays, so go early in the morning. The water in the boat's tanks is for washing, so buy drinking water. The fuel stations are also listed in our 101 Sailing Croatia booklet.

Yes. These are the parks most crews visit:

• Kornati National Park charges a daily ticket per boat, priced by the length of the boat. Buy it before you enter, online or at sales points on the coast. In June to September 2026, the daily ticket for an 11 to 18 m boat cost €95 bought in advance and €190 bought inside the park.
• Telašćica Nature Park on Dugi otok has its own ticket, and rangers come by boat to sell it. There is also a joint ticket for Kornati and Telašćica for 3 days, sold through mySea.
• Krka National Park: sail up the river to Skradin and take the park boat to the Skradinski buk waterfalls. The boat is included in the ticket in season. Swimming at Skradinski buk has been banned since 2021.
• Mljet National Park charges a fee for the boat, plus a ticket per person to visit the lakes.

Skipper Hotline tells you where tickets are cheaper and which park days fit your route and the weather.

Most crews enjoy 10 to 20 nautical miles a day, which is about 2 to 4 hours underway at 5 to 6 knots. That leaves time for swimming, lunch at anchor, and arriving early enough to find a place for the night.

Sailing upwind takes longer than the straight line. A 20 NM trip against the wind can become 28 to 30 NM of tacking, so plan 5 hours instead of 3.5 by motor. In Dalmatia, the maestral usually starts late in the morning, so leave early for calm water, or around 11:00 if you want to sail. Skipper Hotline plans each leg with realistic hours for the boat and crew.

Yes. Skipper Hotline plans the route for every client. First we ask about your base marina, your crew and the boat, including its water tank. Then we ask a few simple questions: how many nights you want at anchor or on buoys and how many in marinas, whether you prefer quiet nature or villages and towns, how often you will cook on board or eat in restaurants, how many hours a day you want to sail (ideal and maximum), and which places you really want to see.

From that we design a route with distances, times and options for every night. Shortly before departure, when the forecast is reliable, we adjust it, and during the week we keep adjusting it every day. It is included when you book the boat through us, and for boats booked elsewhere the 7-day pass covers it.

Yes. When the forecast changes, we rework the plan to keep the trip safe and comfortable, for example with shorter legs, a different island or a better-protected bay for the night.

Here is a route we planned for a crew who wanted swimming bays during the day and small towns in the evening, starting from Kaštela near Split airport:

• Saturday: from Kaštela to Šolta, to Maslinica marina or Šešula bay (about 15 NM).
• Sunday: to the Pakleni islands. Anchor in Taršće or Stari Stani and take a water taxi to Hvar town (about 18 NM).
• Monday: to Komiža on Vis, on a buoy or in the small marina. There are no reservations, so arrive early (about 18 NM).
• Tuesday: to the Green Cave on Ravnik, then to Kut in Vis town (about 14 NM).
• Wednesday: back to the Pakleni islands or near Hvar (about 10 NM).
• Thursday: to Brač. Stop in Blaca bay for the walk to the monastery, then continue to Tri Luke (about 14 NM).
• Friday: refuel early in Milna, have a last swim, and return to Kaštela (about 16 NM).

This is a starting point. With jugo or bura in the forecast, we change the order or the islands. For a first charter, June and September are easier here than July and August, when it gets very crowded. A tip: the Blue Cave on Biševo has long queues in summer and closes when there are waves, and the Green Cave is a quieter option.

A loop from Sukošan (Marina Dalmacija) near Zadar:

• Saturday: to Muline on the north tip of Ugljan (about 12 NM).
• Sunday: south through the channel between Ugljan and Iž to Žut. Stay in the marina or on a buoy, and walk to the top of the island for the sunset (about 18 NM).
• Monday: into Kornati National Park, to Levrnaka with Lojena, the only sandy beach in the Kornati. Buy the park ticket online before you enter (about 4 NM).
• Tuesday: to Telašćica bay on Dugi otok. Take a buoy in Mir bay and walk to the cliffs (about 6 NM).
• Wednesday: north along Dugi otok to Božava (about 23 NM).
• Thursday: around the north tip of Ugljan to Preko (about 15 NM).
• Friday: back to Sukošan, and refuel early (about 5 NM).

From Biograd, the Kornati are only about 8 NM away, so start with Žut and the Kornati and come back through Ugljan and the Pašman channel at the end of the week. From Šibenik, start or finish with Krka and Skradin, and add Zlarin, Kaprije or Žirje on the way to the Kornati.

Water is limited in the Kornati area (at Žut marina only one hour a day in summer), so plan your refills. Skipper Hotline turns this into a day-by-day plan for your dates and the forecast.

Kvarner is our home area. A loop from Punat on Krk:

• Saturday: to Vela Luka bay on the south coast of Krk (about 12 NM).
• Sunday: to Rab. Stay in Ćifnata bay on the southwest side, or in Sahara bay near Lopar on the north side (about 9 to 18 NM).
• Monday: to Meli bay on the east coast of Cres, a sandy bay that is open to the bura (about 11 to 16 NM).
• Tuesday: to Ilovik (about 17 NM).
• Wednesday: to Silba, a small island without cars (about 8 NM).
• Thursday: back north to Rab town (about 23 NM).
• Friday: to Kruščica bay on the east coast of Cres for a last swim, then back to Punat to refuel (about 27 NM in total, so leave early).

Kvarner is less crowded than Split, the islands are green and the towns are quiet, but the bura blows here more often. The order of the days depends on the forecast: sometimes we go the other way round, and sometimes you stay an extra night. Skipper Hotline is based here, so this is where our local knowledge is deepest.

A loop from ACI marina Dubrovnik:

• Saturday: to Lopud in the Elaphiti islands (about 8 NM).
• Sunday: to Polače on Mljet, for the national park lakes by bike or on foot (about 23 NM).
• Monday: to Korčula town (about 17 NM).
• Tuesday: to Pomena on Mljet (about 14 NM).
• Wednesday: to Okuklje on Mljet (about 15 NM).
• Thursday: to Šipanska Luka on Šipan (about 9 NM).
• Friday: back to Dubrovnik (about 12 NM).

In settled weather you can swap one Mljet night for Lastovo, about 16 NM from Korčula. Distances here are longer than in the north and there are fewer islands to hide behind, so the route depends more on the forecast, especially on jugo. Skipper Hotline plans the order for the weather and tells you where to go when the wind turns.

No. Skipper Hotline is an advisory service. We plan, warn and advise so you can avoid most difficult situations, but we don't send boats or people. In an emergency, always call 195 (Croatian sea rescue), 112 or VHF channel 16 first. After that, we can help with local contacts and next steps.

All main charter regions of Croatia: Istria, Kvarner, Zadar, Šibenik, Split and Dubrovnik. Live chat support is available every day of your charter from 8:00 to 22:00, by WhatsApp message or call, and we check in with you ourselves during the week. Route planning and advice on the boat start before the trip.

Apps give you data and reviews, and the charter base helps with the boat. None of them plans your week around the forecast or tells you which bay will be safe tonight.

Skipper Hotline is a real local skipper, not a chatbot, who knows the boat, the crew and the route. We read the forecast for your exact area, and we know which buoy fields take reservations, where water refills actually work, which marinas are hard to dock in, and which places look good online but disappoint. We use the same apps. The value is in how a local skipper reads them.