Details that will help your travel agent find the right yacht for you

Beside usual information like: are you interested in a motor yacht, catamaran or sailboat charter, bareboat or with crew, for how many people, in which period, etc., there are some other details that might be very helpful when you decide to contact a travel agent to help you charter a yacht in Croatia. Here are some of them.

Is this your first sailing vacation in Croatia?

If it is, your travel agent is there to help you with suggestions, useful information and even to find other services you might require like accommodation, rent-a-car or similar. Travel agents, especially ones specialized in yacht charter, usually collaborate with several charter companies so even if you have had previous experience with boat rental in Croatia, they can offer you a larger selection of different vessels form various ports.

Which way are you planning to travel (by plane, car or other means)?

In case you are arriving by plane, ferry, bus or train, your travel agent can try to find a yacht available from a marina closest to the port or station you’ll be arriving to and help you avoid crowds on the road but also lower the transfer costs in case there are any. Otherwise, if you are traveling by car, information on parking during the charter period or a boat available from a home port more closer to you might be very useful.

Is the year a yacht was built important to you?

Some guests averse from older boats but generally most yacht charter companies in Croatia take very good care of their fleets so, if you decide to chose one, you can get a boat in good conditions at a very good price. During the season a lot can happen, on older as well as on new vessels, but solving problems, if any occur, as soon as possible is another way a charter company earns its reputation. Needless to say - a good travel agent, caring for his own reputation, is always looking to collaborate with well-reputed partners.

Do you have the required licence?

Although he's not obliged to, in case of bareboat charter, a good travel agent will help check if your sailing licence is valid according to regulations of the Republic of Croatia. The easiest way to do this and is for you to send a copy of the permit but, in order to comply with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), you'll have to give your travel agent permision to share it with third parties in order to check if your licence is accepted. This is very important because, if during the check-in procedure you do not have or do not have valid all necessary documents and the charter company isn't able to provide you a professional skipper - which could happen in the main season - you will be withheld service.

Do you have any special requests?

Many charter companies today offer a wide range of additional services and equipment like provisioning, sports equipment, etc.. So if you have any extra wishes, don't forget to mention it to your travel agent when inquiring on a boat.

Are you flexible regarding boarding / disembarkation dates?

Although some offer the possibility of boarding / disembarkation on weekdays, during the season generally all charter companies offer their yachts form Saturday to Saturday, with obligatory return to the marina on Friday afternoon. You can get a boat for a shorter period, probably at a weeks price, as long as your charter period fits within one week, from Saturday to Saturday.

If unfortunately, you are not flexible with the arrival / departure dates, you can try with a “last minute” request if there are vessels still available. Otherwise, you can ask your travel agent to help you find accommodation or help you plan a visit to Plitvice Lakes or some other beautiful site Croatia has to offer, for the days you aren’t chartering the boat.

Why should you provide information on your contact cell number and estimated time of arrival?

This information is used to facilitate your boarding procedure.

Your mobile phone number is required in case of any unexpected situation. If your travel agent doesn’t send it to you together with the boarding documents, it would be a good idea to request the contact phone number of the charter office in the marina. That way you can inform them of a possible delay so they don't think they have a “no show“, meaning the cancellation of the reservation.

Information on the estimated time of your arrival helps the charter crew to plan when to clean and prepare your and all other yachts from their fleet so that everyone gets their boat prepared and on time.

For more useful information, check out our Quick guide to yacht charter in Croatia.

Vedran Cvitanić / CHARTER SPLIT