Frequently asked
questions.

The Adriatic season runs late April to mid-October. May, June and September are the connoisseur months — 22–27°C water, reliable afternoon Maestral, half-empty Kornati buoys and rates 25–40% below August. Mid-July to late August is the peak: hottest, busiest, every Hvar berth booked weeks ahead. We rarely charter outside this window — April and October weather is workable but the open passages to Vis or Lastovo get exposed.

Three matter on the Croatian coast. The Maestral is the friendly one — a thermal south-westerly that fills from late morning and blows 3–5 Beaufort through the afternoon, the working summer breeze for beam-reaching between the islands. The Bura is the one to respect: a cold, gusty north-easterly that falls off the Velebit massif, can hit 8+ Beaufort with little notice, and means you sit it out in a sheltered Šolta or Brač bay. The Jugo (Sirocco) builds slowly from the south-east in spring and autumn and pushes real swell onto the exposed south coasts of Vis and Korčula. Your skipper briefing covers Bura escape harbours for the exact area you book.

Croatian bareboat charters run on a fixed Saturday-to-Saturday turnaround almost everywhere — it is how the bases stagger handovers across hundreds of boats on the same weekend. Board Saturday from 17:00 once the boat is cleaned and checked, sleep aboard the final Friday night, and step off by 09:00 Saturday for the next crew. Mid-week starts and shorter slots exist only on a handful of boats and late availability; ask us and we will flag anything that breaks the Saturday norm.

Yes — both are normal and modest. Croatia charges a per-person sojourn (tourist) tax for the days aboard, plus a coastal vignette / safety-of-navigation fee scaled to boat length and duration. On most charters the base settles these for you and itemises them on the contract; on a few they are paid at the harbour master with the boarding card. National-park entry (Kornati, Mljet, Telašćica, Brijuni, Krka) is separate and per-day — see the parks question below.

Kornati and Telašćica (off Šibenik/Zadar), Mljet and Brijuni are entered by boat and charge a per-day, length-banded ticket — buy online or at a kiosk before you enter, as on-site rates are higher and Kornati especially is cheaper pre-booked. Krka is reached by leaving the boat at Skradin and taking the park shuttle to Skradinski buk. We block the permits you will need as part of the booking and your route briefing tells you exactly where to pay.

You will mix three options: ACI and private marinas (stern-to, lazy lines, book Hvar and Rovinj ahead in peak season), town quays and konoba-run mooring buoys (the konoba expects you to dine ashore), and free anchoring in the bays. Set the hook on sand and back down hard — Posidonia seagrass is protected and poor holding. National-park bays (Kornati, Mljet) are buoy-only in marked zones. Croatia has one of the densest marina grids in the Mediterranean, so you are rarely more than a couple of hours from fuel and water.

Match the airport to your base. Split (SPU) is the workhorse — Marina Kaštela is about 15 minutes away, ACI Trogir slightly less. Dubrovnik (DBV) serves ACI Komolac and Cavtat for the southern route. Zadar (ZAD) covers Sukošan and Biograd for Kornati-focused weeks. Pula (PUY) is the gateway for Istria and Kvarner. We arrange marina transfers and a pre-charter hotel if your flight lands the day before.

It is the best choice here. The shallow 1.1–1.3 m draft lets you tuck a wide-beam cat into sandy bays that monohulls have to stand off — Pakleni coves, the Mljet lakes, the calm Kornati moorings — and the level deck and walk-in swim platforms suit younger crews. The protected channels between Brač, Hvar and Korčula keep daily passages short and the seas flat. Ask for lifeline netting and child vests when you enquire.

Croatia uses the euro. Cards work in marinas, larger island towns and most restaurants, but carry some cash for konoba mooring buoys, small family tavernas, park kiosks and the more remote islands like Lastovo and Žirje where card terminals are hit-or-miss.

Large supermarkets sit near every base (Split, Trogir, Zadar, Šibenik, Dubrovnik, Pula) and we can pre-order a full provision delivered to the boat for your arrival. Fuel and fresh water are available at all major marinas along the standard routes. Onboard Wi-Fi is an optional extra on most boats; a local eSIM gives solid 4G/5G near towns but expect gaps in the deep Kornati and outer-island bays.

Your private catamaran with a captain, plus a hostess or cook for the full-service end. Inclusions vary by boat — your offer lists meals, drinks, fuel for normal cruising, end-cleaning and any water toys line by line. You step aboard to a provisioned galley and a planned, weather-aware route through Dalmatia.

You complete a preference sheet before arrival — tastes, allergies, diets, the Dalmatian classics you want (fresh fish peka, Pošip and Plavac wines, island olive oil). The cook provisions in Split or your base town and restocks mid-week so the galley stays full from Vis to the Elaphites.

Yes, within weather and park rules — that is the point of crewed. The captain reshapes each day around the Maestral, a building Jugo or a Bura warning, swaps the exposed Vis leg for a sheltered Hvar–Pakleni day when needed, and still hits the highlights you booked for.

Most 40–50 ft catamarans sleep 6–10 guests; larger cats take more. The professional crew always has its own separate cabin and head so guest cabins stay private — we factor crew berths in when matching the boat to your group size.

Yes. Crews here plan around younger guests as routine — calm anchorages in the Pakleni Islands or the Mljet lakes, child vests, gentle daily passages and shore time built into the schedule.

It is discretionary. Guests who are well looked after typically leave around 10–15% of the charter fee, given to the captain to share — entirely your call.

You should be comfortable docking stern-to with lazy lines, anchoring on sand and backing down to set, reefing early and reading a Croatian forecast — particularly Bura onset. Recent skippering on a similar-size catamaran helps the base sign-off. Honest about your level? Tell us and we will match an easier-handling boat and a forgiving first route (Split–Šolta–Brač–Hvar) rather than send you straight at open water.

Yes, a deposit applies on every bareboat. You choose: a fully refundable security deposit blocked on a card at check-in and released after a clean return, or a damage waiver that swaps most of it for a non-refundable fee and a much smaller refundable part. The waiver suits crews who want a capped, predictable downside; the full deposit is cheaper if you are confident. We show both figures on the quote so you pick on your own risk appetite.

No — Croatian bareboat fleets require you to be moored or anchored before dark. Routes are planned in 2–4 hour daylight legs (typically 12–25 NM between anchorages), which fits the island spacing in Dalmatia comfortably and leaves the afternoon for swimming and shore time.

The base rate covers a fully equipped catamaran — sails, dinghy and outboard, linen, full galley kit, safety gear, and a chartplotter or paper charts aboard. Paid on top, at cost and itemised on the quote: fuel, marina and mooring fees along the route, national-park permits (Kornati, Mljet, Telašćica, Brijuni, Krka), the tourist tax and coastal vignette, end-cleaning, and optional extras like skipper, hostess, SUP/kayak, Wi-Fi or early check-in.

Split / Trogir: Šolta, Brač (Lučice, Bol), Hvar and the Pakleni Islands, then Vis — the easiest first hops, all short and sheltered.

Šibenik / Zadar: pre-book Kornati and Telašćica permits and arrive at the buoys by early afternoon; the inner Žirje–Kaprije–Zlarin arc is quiet even in August.

Dubrovnik: the Elaphites for easy days, then Mljet National Park, Korčula and Lastovo — watch open fetch in a Jugo on the southern legs.

Istria / Kvarner: Brijuni park rules and the Lim fjord track from Pula; check the Osor bridge times between Cres and Lošinj.

A local briefing before you slip lines, then phone/WhatsApp on-call cover for weather calls, route tweaks and technical fixes across Dalmatia, Kvarner and Istria. Cusmanich d.o.o. is in Split twelve months a year — not a seasonal call centre — so the same team that quoted you is reachable from the dock if anything comes up mid-charter.

Send your dates, preferred base, group size and sailing background. We reply within hours with three to six matching catamarans — real photos, the operator’s genuine price (our commission is paid by the operator, never added to you), and a route shaped to your experience. You pick the boat; we handle the deposit, contract, park permits and operator handover.