Our Croatia Flotilla is based from Betina marina on Murter, a small island joined to the mainland by a bridge, and located mid way down the coast, north of Split and south of Zadar.
This stretch of coast has an indented coastline with numerous towns, and villages, a selection of small populated islands just offshore, and then a few miles further out the islands of the Kornati archipelago. Overall there are probably more small islands and ports, in relatively easy reach of each other than any other similar sized sailing area in the Mediterranean.
In addition to the islands, there are two National parks, one Nature park, a number of larger tourist resorts and the cities of Zadar and Sibenik.
All the larger mainland ports have good marinas, the islands all have serviced town quays, and there and lots of bays and anchorages.
The combination of the above means that this is an excellent sailing area and is particularly suited to flotilla sailing where the obligatory daily distances between ports is usually kept to between 5 to 20 miles, allowing people to sail as much or as little as they want each day. On shorter days, there is always a longer way round an island, making for an interesting and varied day, while those wanting a lazy day can just sail gently, anchor and swim as they wish.
For anyone wanting to go further afield and visit the larger and well known islands to both the South and North of this area, we can offer a very broad selection of yachts from the Bareboat/Flotilla Fleet and with these you are free to head off independantly at any time.
The nearest international airports are just over 50 miles away, at both Split and Zadar, and many people combine a flotilla with some other travelling around in Croatia and this is very easy to do and offers an excellent holiday.
Please use the tabs above for more specific information on the Flotilla.
The Croatia Flotilla is made up of three different elements.
Our training yachts that we run the Learn to Sail Holidays on and also to lead the flotillas. These will always have one of our Lead Skippers onboard who is in charge of that yacht, and depending on bookings there can be a number of these on any specific week, so effectively giving us a number of Lead yachts.
Yachts from our in house fleet, and these form the core of the flotilla. These yachts vary from 31ft to 36ft and range from our Economy two cabin models to modern three cabin 36ft yachts. These are usually the most cost effective options for families, or groups, looking for yachts in this size range.
Yachts that we book for you, acting as an agent, from the Local Bareboat Suppliers, but which we then arrange to allow to sail with our flotilla. This option allows us to offer yachts from 30 to 55ft and includes many very new yachts. These yachts are ideal for anybody with specific yacht requirements or those looking for larger yachts. It also means that we can access additional yachts if all of our in house yachts are booked, and also with these yachts you are free to depart from the flotilla at any time that you choose and sail independantly as with a normal bareboat, so allowing you to visit areas outside of our normal flotilla area.
The flotilla is usually between six to twelve yacht yachts, and is led by one or more of our tuition/lead boats. Where there are up to twelve boats, there will either be at least two lead yachts, or extra staff on board if there is only one. In the main peak season when we have bigger group numbers, we generally split into two or more sub flotillas after the first day, to keep numbers manageable, and to make getting in and out of port easier. As far as possible we keep the obligatory daily distances relatively short (10 to 20 miles) allowing anybody that wants to sail more, total freedom to do so. Because of all the islands and ports in our area, the logic is "that you can always make a short day longer, but you cannot make a long day shorter", so there is no problem with sailing 30 to 40 miles any day that you choose.
In order to offer a greater choice of yachts and availability, as well as not being limited to just those in our own fleet, we can book yachts from one of the local bareboat companies that we work regularly with, but to then arrange it so that this yacht joins our flotilla. This arrangement works as follows.
Having established the individual requirements, we recommend a suitable yacht, which we then book from one of the local bareboat specialists, who offer a very good choice of yachts from 30ft to 50ft. These yachts are all fully equipped for bareboat charter, with yachts ranging from a few years old to the latest models available.
The yacht prices, naturally will vary depending on the particular yacht chosen, and may include a small additional fee, over the normal Bareboat price, to cover the costs of joining the flotilla.
Yachts must always be taken from a Saturday to a Saturday, which is the same day that our flotilla operates. Yachts can usually be taken from either one of the three marinas on Murter, or from other nearby marinas that are about 15miles from Murter. If you are taking a yacht from any of the marinas that are not by our main flotilla base in Betina marina, then you will be provided with local contact details to enable you to join the flotilla on the first evening and then you will have to return to the same marina on the last day.
Activity Yachting Holidays books the yacht from the supplier acting as an agent of the local supplier, and then arranges that this yacht can join one of the Activity Yachting Flotillas, and sail as part of that flotilla for the charter period. All normal flotilla services, such as briefings, lead skippers, and the social side etc are included, with the only exception being that, any issues with the yacht must be dealt with by the staff of the bareboat charter company, rather than our flotilla staff. If you are taking a yacht from one of the more distant marinas then you will also miss the first morning briefing but any relevant information will be given to you when you join the flotilla.
As with all of our holidays, we can provide flights or you can get your own. We then arrange the airport transfers if required, when your group will be brought to the booked yacht on arrival.
All check in and out procedures for the yacht are taken care of by the local supplier, who treats this booking in the same way as they do for any other Bareboat booking and takes full responsibility for the check in, the check out and provides full back up for the duration of the charter. All normal bareboat charter conditions regarding either a refundable security deposit or a non-refundable insurance option apply, and yachts must be brought back with a full tank of fuel. To take one of these yachts the skipper must have a skippers licence and a VHF licence. a link to the official list of skippers licences is provided below.As with any Bareboat charter any specific instructions from the yacht yacht supplier, regarding the operation of the yacht, or any other relevant issues must be adhered to.
Please note that anybody taking one of these Flotilla/Bareboat options is totally free to leave the flotilla at any time, in which case you then continue to sail as a normal bareboat. This flexibility particularly appeals to experienced sailors new to Croatia, that like the flotilla support while they get used to the area, but then want the freedom to be able to then go off and do their own thing, and perhaps sail outside of our normal flotilla area, whenever they want. Please note however that once you do go away from the flotilla, you cannot call on the flotilla for assistance in case of any problems but must rely on the Bareboat supplier for this. All Bareboat companies however are geared up to deal with any problems, and these are rare.
On peak season dates when we can have groups of between ten and twenty yachts, we normally split into two or three sub groups with different skippers in charge of each section, and then we split into smaller flotillas and go to different ports to keep numbers manageable.
In Croatia all skippers must legally have a recognised skippers licence. You can view the list of official licences accepted in Croatia by clicking on the link below. The column on the left shows the country that the organisation that has issued the licence is based in, and any of these licences are acceptable in Croatia. Please note however that some of the licences are very basic and therefore it is also important to ensure that in addition to the paperwork that the skipper has relevant and suitable experience for the size of yacht that you are considering taking.
You can see the list of official licences accepted in Croatia here
As yachts can either be from our In-House Fleet or from the Bareboat/Flotilla fleets we are listing the prices for both groups of yachts separately. All prices are per yacht per week.
Yachts from our in house fleet are either 2 or 3 cabin yachts between 33 and 36ft and are priced in both UK Sterling and Euros and can be booked and paid for in either currency.
Yachts from the Bareboat/Flotilla fleets then can be of any size and can be taken from marinas up to 25 miles from the main flotilla base marina. There is an excellent selection available including all ages and price ranges. All prices are in Euros but payments can be taken in either Sterling (based on current exchange rates at the time of payment) or in Euros. Please use the search box to
Activity Yachting Holidays,
"Southview", Boxham Lane,
Sidlesham, West Sussex, PO20 7QF.
Tel: (UK) 01243 641304