When we first came over here, almost four years ago, we could only find one guide to Croatia generally available in the bookshops. A year after that there were a number around though most in their first or second edition. Now you have Lonely Planet, The Rough Guide, Eyewitness Travel and Footprint, to name but a few. However, the tourist industry is changing so fast that it’s good to hear there is a brand new guide from Time Out Publications, due out next month.
Not only is Time Out producing a Guide Book but also a magazine for visitors to Croatia, on sale in most international cities and airports. The magazine is a first for Croatia and will be exploring a number of topical issues as well as supplying the standard listings. Features include the property market and sailing in Croatia. The property market is beginning to settle down and become a much more attractive proposition than it was when it was fuelled by hype. As for cruising the Adriatic, it has to be the ideal way to take in the best of what Croatia has to offer. Croatia has no major tides or currents, over 1000 islands to explore and great Mediterranean weather, so it’s one of the safest places to learn how to sail. There are a large number of reputable charter companies – international names and local companies – and all will provide skippers for inexperienced sailors at an additional cost of about €120 per day. So there’s no excuse not to try it!
Apart from the guides, you have the National Tourist Board – see our links section – and this is a good place to start when you’re looking at specific destinations. However it doesn’t contain the more detailed information that is available on even the smallest village so try the local tourist boards listed on the main site. Croatia is rich in history as well as natural assets and there is a mine of information available on the web, if only you can find it. In our Monday columns, on individual destinations, we try to give you as much information as you can to help you find out the real story on the places you have decided to visit.
If you intend to sail Croatia then again there are a number of guides around. The Croatian Hydrographic office (HHI) has recently issued its first Cruising Guide in English. However it is based on the Croatian version which was written a few years ago and is now a little out of date. Similarly, Imray published the fourth edition of its Adriatic Pilot in 2004 but things have moved so quickly that again, it’s become a little dated. The good news is that Nautical Data are publishing a Cruising Companion on Dalmatia later this year and at this stage, I have to declare myself as co-author. Modesty aside, it’s based on our detailed knowledge of the coastline and marina industry, based on travelling around Croatia for four years, by sea and on land, and should be the most authoritative guide to sailing in Dalmatia for some time.
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Sorry - no picture today, as yet. Blogger is not co-operating!
Senin, 10 April 2006
Monday Column - Croatia Destinations 7: Vis
Vis island was Croatia’s first main defence against aggression from the sea and there is much evidence of its wartime past. It was Tito’s stronghold during the Second World War, there are old artillery posts high up on the hills, a number of submarine caves, and it was the last Croatian island to open for tourism after the war. It has therefore stood still in time longer than its neighbouring islands and has a more British feel to it as a result of its history as an allied base. It’s very popular in the summer, especially with Superyachts, but we spent Christmas there in 2003 and were the only guests in the only hotel that was open. There are two main settlements; the town of Vis, on the north side of the island, and Komiza on the west. Both are great places to stay though we preferred the cosier feel of Komiza.
Ferries run regularly from Split to Vis town – a scenic two hour trip past the islands of Brac, Solta and Hvar. Click on http://www.jadrolinija.hr/ for more information on ferries.
VIS TOWN
The town is spread around the large bay and has a few relics of interest including Roman Baths, a British Cemetery, Fort Wellington and the George III Fortress. It is now the island’s wine and agriculture centre.
Vis has all the facilities you would expect of a town this size, located mostly close to the shore – markets, banks, shops, post office, etc, however there seemed to be less restaurants than the Croatian “norm”. We had good pizzas at Dionis, which is open all year round and about a 5 minute walk east from the visitors boat moorings. Matije Gubca 1, tel 021 711 963, fax 021 711 126. The restaurant in hotel Tamaris is conveniently in the centre of town but lacking in atmosphere. Instead try Villa Kaliopa, near to the town museum on the eastern side of the bay, Vladimira Nazora 32, Kut, tel 021 771755. It’s not cheap but the setting in a walled garden is superb. Also worth a try in Kut is the popular Konoba Vatrica, Kralja Kresimira IV bb, tel 021 711 574 and the more rustic Tezok, Kralja Kresimira IV bb, tel 021 711 271. The best beach is by the Hotel Issa, west of the centre of town. There are a couple of ferries per day between Split and Vis and you can hire cars and scooters via the numerous agencies advertising on the sea front. Buses run between Komiza and Vis to coincide with the ferries.
Useful Information
Tourist Office: Near the ferry terminal, Setaliste Stare Isse 5, 21480 Vis, tel 021 717 017, fax 021 717 018, http://www.tz.vis.hr/
Post Office: On the eastern side of the bay, Obala Svetog Jurja 25, 21480 Vis, open 07:30 to 21:00 Monday to Saturday in the season, otherwise 07:00 to 19:00 Monday to Friday and 07:00 to 13:00 on Saturday
Medical Centre: Poljana Sv Duha 10, 21480 Vis, tel 021 711 633
Pharmacy: Vukovarska 2, 21480 Vis, tel 021 711 434
Dodoro Diving Tours: Kranjevica 4, 21480 Vis, tel/fax 021 711 347, www.dodoro-diving.com.
KOMIZA
Komiza is a traditional fishing village and famous for a sail powered wooden fishing boat – The Gajeta Falkusa. It’s another favourite place of ours for its lovely stone buildings, compact size and friendly atmosphere.
The tourist office is just past the root of the pier and there’s a cash point next door. Walking a little further around the bay you’ll pass the fishing museum and a number of bars. The market is a little further on and the post office further still. Konoba Bako is a great seafood restaurant with its own small beach, Gunduliceva 1, tel 021 713 008, and there’s a wide choice of other restaurants. Trips to the blue cave on Bisevo island go from Komiza and the tourist office will give you all the necessary information. The ceremonial burning of a traditional fishing boat takes place on 6th December and there is a fisherman’s night on the first Saturday in August. Buses run between Komiza and Vis to coincide with the ferries.
USEFUL INFORMATION
Tourist Office: Riva 1, 21485 Komiza, tel 021 713 455, fax 021 713 095, www.dalmacija.net/komiza, tzg-komize@st.htnet.hr
Post Office: Hrvatskih Mucenika 8, 21485 Komiza. Open in the season, 08:00 to 12:00 and 18:00 to 21:00 Monday to Saturday, otherwise 08:00 to 14:00 Monday to Friday and 08:00 to 13:00 on Saturday.
Medical Centre: San Pedra bb, 21485 Komiza, 021 713 122
Pharmacy: Podspiljska bb, 21485 Komiza, 021 713 445
Jumat, 07 April 2006
Croatia On Line Comment - Exhibitions and Boat Shows
Croatia Online's week has been dominated by the Croatia Boat Show in Split and distracted by the failed "first ever" Croatia Exclusive Exhibition in Earls Court (see earlier postings).
The hot news at the Boat Show, according to the front page of the Dalmatian Daily, Slobodna Dalmacija, was the scandal caused by two Slovenian hostesses on one of the stands, who agreed to be photographed topless for 600 kunas each (about £60). The cynic in me can't help wondering whether this was a publicity stunt for the exhibitors (no pun intended), the organisors, or both. Anecdotal evidence suggests that turnout is down, either in spite of, or because of, the marathon length of the show - 9 days.
As for the embarassment of the Croatia Exclusive Exhibition in Earls Court, we've still to get right to the bottom of that too (again, no pun intended) but the more I hear, the more it sounds like an enthusiastic or misguided entrepreneur forgetting to do a business plan but attracting a number of "big names" along the way. I trust that the Croatian Tourist Board and other government backed institutions will do their research more carefully in the future, before they lend their names or are used to add credibility to an unproved, newly formed company putting on an event that only hopefully presumed to represent the whole of what is good about Croatia? Perhaps the government should have put Croatia Exclusive Ltd through the same rigorous tendering process that they insist on when they spend their money elsewhere? Or is this a selective/subjective process?
The hot news at the Boat Show, according to the front page of the Dalmatian Daily, Slobodna Dalmacija, was the scandal caused by two Slovenian hostesses on one of the stands, who agreed to be photographed topless for 600 kunas each (about £60). The cynic in me can't help wondering whether this was a publicity stunt for the exhibitors (no pun intended), the organisors, or both. Anecdotal evidence suggests that turnout is down, either in spite of, or because of, the marathon length of the show - 9 days.
As for the embarassment of the Croatia Exclusive Exhibition in Earls Court, we've still to get right to the bottom of that too (again, no pun intended) but the more I hear, the more it sounds like an enthusiastic or misguided entrepreneur forgetting to do a business plan but attracting a number of "big names" along the way. I trust that the Croatian Tourist Board and other government backed institutions will do their research more carefully in the future, before they lend their names or are used to add credibility to an unproved, newly formed company putting on an event that only hopefully presumed to represent the whole of what is good about Croatia? Perhaps the government should have put Croatia Exclusive Ltd through the same rigorous tendering process that they insist on when they spend their money elsewhere? Or is this a selective/subjective process?
Kamis, 06 April 2006
Croatia Online - Boat Show Special 3
Mike Forbes, the author of the article referred to in Boat Show Special 2 below, and Sailing Today, the publishers, have kindly agreed to allow us to reproduce the text of an article that appears in the April 2006 edition of Sailing Today.
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Coping in Croatia by Mike Forbes
The Dalmatian islands of Croatia provide some of the best cruising grounds in the Mediterranean, some say the world. An area which boasts crystal-clear water, uninhabited islands, deserted bays with minimal tides and currents, has been one of the best-kept secrets of the cruising world. Charter companies have not been slow to exploit this and there has been a steady increase in the numbers of bareboats and flotillas plying the Adriatic coastline.
Croatia also provides a welcoming base for private yachts, especially from the United Kingdom. A mere two-hours flight to Split or Dubrovnik makes it an attractive alternative to basing a vessel in other Mediterranean or even Caribbean ports. Not, yet, being a member of the European Union means that VAT payment can be deferred for foreign-flagged yachts and prices have not yet reached the heights of other European maritime countries.
One sensible route to yacht ownership has been for several families to share the purchase and operation of a boat. Few boat-owners can afford the time to make the most of their investment, while the costs of buying, fitting out and operating a yacht are beyond the means of many families, especially those with young children. Given a written agreement, in our case with a clause not to lend or charter, yacht-sharing has brought regular holidays in the Mediterranean to many who might otherwise only be able occasionally to charter.
But in March 2005, these multi-owned boats received a nasty shock. The Croatian authorities, determined to crack down on private owners illegally undercutting the charter companies by inviting paying guests, imposed a limit on the number of people foreign-flagged vessels could have on their boat during the validity of an annual Permit to Sail. Initially this limit was set at twice the legal capacity of the boat, but they quickly increased this by 15% to 2.3 times capacity. Thus a 40 ft yacht with a capacity of 8 would be limited to carrying a total of 18 people throughout the year in Croatian waters. This number includes the owner and his family and a boat owned by, say, four owners would have to share this number between them. At first, the limit included children; in my case, my 12-month old grandson had to go on the List of Persons, the official inventory of the named crew and guests. Later in the summer, an edict from Zagreb, the capital, was handed down which stated that children under 12 need not be entered on the List. For us, seven places were freed up by this relaxation.
Lobbying of Harbourmasters, who authorise crew lists and issue the paperwork, the British Consul, the Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development in Zagreb and even the Croatian Prime Minister, resulted in no exemptions or relaxation of the Rules. It did, however, reveal two ways that we could navigate our way through the regulations. First, embarking guests outside Croatia, or disembarking them outside Croatia, would mean that they did not count against our limit. Also, people who stayed on the boat in a port or anchorage need not be on the List. This resulted in our changing crews in nearby Montenegro, incidentally introducing us to the delights of that country, hardly a valid aim of the Ministry which included Croatian Tourism in its portfolio. We also asked one of our guests to follow us around the islands by ferry so that we stayed within the rules. She took it well, but it was hardly the holiday she or we had envisaged.
There is little doubt that the Rule has been successful in reducing black chartering. Many yachts have left Croatia for other countries. According to the Croatian Ministry's web-site, in the first 8 months of 2005 their nautical ports registered 3% less visitors than the same period in 2004. For August 2005, the figures were down by 11% on 2004. The way the rules have been framed penalises legitimate multi-owned vessels, but the Law of Unintended Consequences is not a phenomenon restricted to Croatia.
We have tried to be constructive because we do not want to join the procession of yachts going south to other countries. We have proposed to the Ministry that people bearing the same surname as any of the registered owners be excluded from the List of Persons. Legitimate families would be protected while reference to passports could bowl out any guests adopting false names. We await a response, but we are, like many other owners, examining our options on where we base our vessel.
***
Coping in Croatia by Mike Forbes
The Dalmatian islands of Croatia provide some of the best cruising grounds in the Mediterranean, some say the world. An area which boasts crystal-clear water, uninhabited islands, deserted bays with minimal tides and currents, has been one of the best-kept secrets of the cruising world. Charter companies have not been slow to exploit this and there has been a steady increase in the numbers of bareboats and flotillas plying the Adriatic coastline.
Croatia also provides a welcoming base for private yachts, especially from the United Kingdom. A mere two-hours flight to Split or Dubrovnik makes it an attractive alternative to basing a vessel in other Mediterranean or even Caribbean ports. Not, yet, being a member of the European Union means that VAT payment can be deferred for foreign-flagged yachts and prices have not yet reached the heights of other European maritime countries.
One sensible route to yacht ownership has been for several families to share the purchase and operation of a boat. Few boat-owners can afford the time to make the most of their investment, while the costs of buying, fitting out and operating a yacht are beyond the means of many families, especially those with young children. Given a written agreement, in our case with a clause not to lend or charter, yacht-sharing has brought regular holidays in the Mediterranean to many who might otherwise only be able occasionally to charter.
But in March 2005, these multi-owned boats received a nasty shock. The Croatian authorities, determined to crack down on private owners illegally undercutting the charter companies by inviting paying guests, imposed a limit on the number of people foreign-flagged vessels could have on their boat during the validity of an annual Permit to Sail. Initially this limit was set at twice the legal capacity of the boat, but they quickly increased this by 15% to 2.3 times capacity. Thus a 40 ft yacht with a capacity of 8 would be limited to carrying a total of 18 people throughout the year in Croatian waters. This number includes the owner and his family and a boat owned by, say, four owners would have to share this number between them. At first, the limit included children; in my case, my 12-month old grandson had to go on the List of Persons, the official inventory of the named crew and guests. Later in the summer, an edict from Zagreb, the capital, was handed down which stated that children under 12 need not be entered on the List. For us, seven places were freed up by this relaxation.
Lobbying of Harbourmasters, who authorise crew lists and issue the paperwork, the British Consul, the Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development in Zagreb and even the Croatian Prime Minister, resulted in no exemptions or relaxation of the Rules. It did, however, reveal two ways that we could navigate our way through the regulations. First, embarking guests outside Croatia, or disembarking them outside Croatia, would mean that they did not count against our limit. Also, people who stayed on the boat in a port or anchorage need not be on the List. This resulted in our changing crews in nearby Montenegro, incidentally introducing us to the delights of that country, hardly a valid aim of the Ministry which included Croatian Tourism in its portfolio. We also asked one of our guests to follow us around the islands by ferry so that we stayed within the rules. She took it well, but it was hardly the holiday she or we had envisaged.
There is little doubt that the Rule has been successful in reducing black chartering. Many yachts have left Croatia for other countries. According to the Croatian Ministry's web-site, in the first 8 months of 2005 their nautical ports registered 3% less visitors than the same period in 2004. For August 2005, the figures were down by 11% on 2004. The way the rules have been framed penalises legitimate multi-owned vessels, but the Law of Unintended Consequences is not a phenomenon restricted to Croatia.
We have tried to be constructive because we do not want to join the procession of yachts going south to other countries. We have proposed to the Ministry that people bearing the same surname as any of the registered owners be excluded from the List of Persons. Legitimate families would be protected while reference to passports could bowl out any guests adopting false names. We await a response, but we are, like many other owners, examining our options on where we base our vessel.
Breaking News - Croatia's First Tourist Exhibition in London "Postponed"
Croatia Online received notification, on 23rd February, of the Croatia Exclusive Exhibition to be held in Earls Court from the 7th to 9th April. We know of a number of Croatian Companies that were flying over to exhibit and, as we understand it, they were only notified yesterday that the event was not starting tomorrow. The following short notice appears on the website http://www.croatiaexclusive.com
"Due to unforeseen circumstances the Croatia Exhibition has had to be postponed.
We will inform you shortly about the new dates and apologise for any inconvenience caused by this."
It is obviously very unfortunate for the companies that have invested time and money to exhibit, and also for those that intended to visit the show. However it is really sad for Croatia as a whole, as it sends out completely the wrong signal to the English audience that it hopes to entice, and suggests a level of organisation which does not inspire confidence. We heard, but have not been able to substantiate the fact, that the show was “backed” by The Croatian Tourist Board and other government bodies. We will let you know more when we can establish the facts.
When we first found out about the show, we looked up the publicly available details of the company that was organising it at Companies House. These may be useful to those affected by the postponement and so we have reproduced them below.
Croatia Exclusive Ltd
19 Bolsover Street
London W1W 5NA
Director
Milica Polovina
5 Bishops Court
Great North Road
London N2 ONP
The company was incorporated in September 2004 and has not yet filed accounts.
We trust that the unfortunate circumstances are not of any personally tragic nature but have to wonder about the scale of such circumstances if they can bring an event of this type and significance to its knees.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances the Croatia Exhibition has had to be postponed.
We will inform you shortly about the new dates and apologise for any inconvenience caused by this."
It is obviously very unfortunate for the companies that have invested time and money to exhibit, and also for those that intended to visit the show. However it is really sad for Croatia as a whole, as it sends out completely the wrong signal to the English audience that it hopes to entice, and suggests a level of organisation which does not inspire confidence. We heard, but have not been able to substantiate the fact, that the show was “backed” by The Croatian Tourist Board and other government bodies. We will let you know more when we can establish the facts.
When we first found out about the show, we looked up the publicly available details of the company that was organising it at Companies House. These may be useful to those affected by the postponement and so we have reproduced them below.
Croatia Exclusive Ltd
19 Bolsover Street
London W1W 5NA
Director
Milica Polovina
5 Bishops Court
Great North Road
London N2 ONP
The company was incorporated in September 2004 and has not yet filed accounts.
We trust that the unfortunate circumstances are not of any personally tragic nature but have to wonder about the scale of such circumstances if they can bring an event of this type and significance to its knees.
Rabu, 05 April 2006
Croatia Online - Boat Show Special 2 - A Sledgehammer to Crack a Nut?
Some readers will know that, at the beginning of last year, the Croatian Government issued new regulations aimed at stopping the black market charter business, essentially saying that all boats engaged in charter had to be registered under the Croatian flag. To "enforce" this they legislated for a limit on the number of passengers that could be carried on foreign flagged vessels. We referred to this in a previous posting published on February 6th 2006 - see below or click on http://croatiaonline.blogspot.com/2006/02/tuesday-column-croatia-tourism-2.html. I had a feature, on Croatia for Superyachts, published in the March 2005 issue of Boat International, which referred to the problem, as it also hits the Superyacht Charter industry hard. However, as reported in our posting of February 9th, http://croatiaonline.blogspot.com/2006/02/friday-column-croatia-week-in-review-2.html, there seems to have been some progress in this area.
At a conference at the Croatia Boat Show last year, I sat next to Branko Bacic, the Secretary of State for Maritime Affairs, Tourism, Transportation and Development where we were invited, alongside a number of others, to give a short speech about sustainable nautical tourism. Mr Bacic came under some pressure to review the somewhat draconian legislation as it seemed to be causing hardship to those who were obviously not intended to be caught in its net, eg multiple owners and charitable organisations. There was also much debate on whether indeed there could have been better ways of addressing the black charter problem. At the time, Mr Bacic stated that the legislation was new and was being reviewed to try and address genuine exceptions. However, it is disappointing to hear that very little seems to have been done.
Reproduced below is a comment to our previous posting on the Boat Show, which deserves a wider audience and has triggered this posting. It's one of the many cases we've heard about and the situation, as it stands, can only result in a number of boats leaving Croatia for friendlier waters . I've read Mike's article in Sailing Today and can only applaud him for trying his very best to find a constructive solution so that he, like others, can enjoy the pleasures of private and affordable sailing around one the best coastlines in the Mediterranean.
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"We have a British-flagged yacht based in Split; we share ownership with three other families. I am campaigning to have amended the rules limiting the number of people we can have on our yacht each year. To cut down on black chartering we can only have 2.3 times our legal capacity during the year; reasonable if you're a single owner, but sharing a limit of 28 (in our case) among four families has hit us hard. We do not lend or charter our yacht but like to introduce friends and families to Croatia and its fabulous cruising grounds. I wrote an article for "Sailing Today", April edition, which sets out the problem and our proposed solution - which I learn has just been rejected by the Ministry (MMTPR) in Zagreb. You will understand if I feel that the words of Branko Bacic at the opening of the Split Boat Show rang somewhat hollow." Mike
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Senin, 03 April 2006
Croatia Online - Boat Show Special 1
Those of you who read our posting on Boat Shows will remember that we suggested that they are yet to become a family day out. Well, things are changing with the Croatia Boat Show in Split, on this week. There are more big boats and a number of distractions for those for whom boats are not a major occupation.From an industry point of view, the improvement in organisation is just as striking as the overall growth in size of the show over such a short space of time. Plenty of time to get stands fitted up, great marketing and not quite such a long queue to get passes organised.
Croatia Online’s biggest problem at the moment is to get hold of the breaking news during the show. If this Boat Show really wants to get itself on the International Map, then it needs to make life easier for those that want to help to promote it in another language other than Croatian. The Press Office is clearly hard pressed for time but the obvious answer is to make the most of the website. When we looked at it last night, it appeared it was last updated in October 2005.
We’ll be pursuing this issue during the week but in the meantime, our on the ground research reveals that the government suggested today, at the conference on strategy for the nautical tourism industry, that a further 22,000 berths could become available in Croatia. It was not obvious what plans there were to achieve this.
Goran Ivanisevic, a great and charismatic tennis champion, spent a long time at the show over the weekend and was a true gentleman when asked if he would have his photo taken for Croatia Online. Read more about him on http://www.goranivanisevic.com/.
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