Since the wars ended the growth of the croatian yacht charter (see http://www.gyc-croatia.com) industry has been little short of astonishing. In an industry notoriously short of credible statistics, we suspect that Croatia must now be a serious rival to Greece. There are a number of expalanations for this remarkable success:
The country is naturally blessed with sailing waters as good and varied as anywhere in the world.
After the war, the Croatian government went out of its way to encourage and indeed subsidise the re-building and building of the necessary infrastructure - most obviously the marinas.
Northern Croatia is a 4 hour drive from most of Austria, and southern parts of Germany. Even Dalmatia, where perhaps the best sailing is to be found - is only 6 hours away. This was always a big advantage, but in the wake of 9/11, when Germans in particular were reluctant to climb on an airplane, it catapulted the industry forward.
Sailing holidays in Croatia (see http://www.allafloat.com) now include almost everything that customers could conceivably want. There are thousands of bareboat yachts to charter (see http://www.global-yacht.com) in bases from Pula and Cres in Istria, to the massive yachting centres of Zadar, Sukosan, Sibenik, Murter Island, Split, & Dubrovnik. Each one of those can be chartered with a skipper for those without the necessary experience. There are sailing flotillas from Split, and an RYA Authorised Sailing School on Murter Island. The opportunities to spend one week afloat and another ashore are endless.
One of the problems for the British used to be that getting there was expensive and there were not enough seats on such planes flew there. Things started to improve in 2004, with regular charter flights to Split at least. For 2005, there are flights to Opatija in the north, Zadar to get to central Dalmatia, Split, and also Dubrovnik. Getting to Istria is easy. Just fly EasyJet to Venice, or Ryanair to Trieste. The first has hydrofoil links to the excellent sailing of Pula; the second is a transfer bus away from Portoroz (actually in Slovenia), and Pula. Croatia is now the sailing destination for the British - the destination that has it all!
Sailing Itineraries
SAILING ITINERARIES IN GREECE - A PROPOSAL
Bellow you may find some itinerary suggestions for your sailing holidays in Greece. These routes are just a proposal your actual itinerary should always be planned having in mind current weather conditions for your crew s safety!
Important notice : Charters in Greece usually start on Saturdays at 17:00 and usually end one or two weeks later on Saturday morning at 09:00.
Saronic Gulf & Eastrn Peloponnese
Departure/return base Alimos Marina - Athens
1 Week charter
1st Day Alimos Marina Check-in at 17:00
2nd Day Epidavros 31 NM
3rd Day Hy ..
About The Author
What are your sailing vacation optionsToday, there are several options for someone who would like to
enjoy a sailing holiday. The sea dog or the complete novice,
can both find a holiday which will satisfy their needs. Singles,
pairs or a group of people, can all enjoy the pleasures of
sailing holidays, thanks to the wide variety of options offered.
Price also, can significantly vary to match all budgets and
desired luxury levels. I will attempt to analyze for you all
the given options and leave to you the decision, as to which one
of the sailing vacations suits you the most.
BAREBOATS
What is it: Bareboating ..
Christopher LONGMORE - Owner of Top Notch, a GibSea402 based in Turkey and of the Global Yacht sailing holiday group ( http://www.global-yacht-holidays.com).
cbl@global-yacht.com
Christopher LongmoreThe Rise and Rise of Croatia for Sailing Holidays
