{"id":61180,"date":"2026-07-29T06:48:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T06:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.borrowaboat.com\/m\/croatia-yacht-charter-cost\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T16:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:13:10","slug":"croatia-yacht-charter-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.borrowaboat.com\/m\/en\/croatia-yacht-charter-cost\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Does It Cost to Charter a Boat in Croatia?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Short version: a week on a boat in Croatia runs most people somewhere between a cheap package holiday and a serious splurge, depending on the boat, the month, and how many of you split it.<\/p>\n\n\n

Here is what it really costs, using our own booking data rather than a wishlist, plus the extras that quietly land on the final invoice and how to keep the whole thing down. For the wider picture, our Croatia sailing guide<\/a> covers where to go and when.<\/p>\n\n\n

~€3,900<\/div>
average Croatia booking, for about a week<\/div><\/div>
~€600<\/div>
a day for the boat, on average<\/div><\/div>
~€510<\/div>
per person for the trip, across a typical group of eight<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Averages across 282 Borrow A Boat Croatia charters over the last 12 months (average trip 6.6 days, 7.6 people aboard). Your number depends heavily on boat and season, below.<\/p>\n\n\n

What a Week Costs, by Season<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Season is the single biggest lever on price. The same boat can cost twice as much in August as in May. These are the weekly prices our customers actually paid for a 40-foot bareboat sailboat, the most-booked size in Croatia.<\/p>\n\n\n

Croatia, 40-foot bareboat sailboat: typical weekly hire by month.<\/strong> Source: Borrow A Boat bookings, last 12 months. Low-sample shoulder months (April, June, October) noted rather than tabled.<\/caption>
Month<\/th>Typical € \/ week<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
May (shoulder)<\/td>1,680<\/td><\/tr>
July (peak)<\/td>2,670<\/td><\/tr>
August (peak)<\/td>2,783<\/td><\/tr>
September (shoulder)<\/td>2,646<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n

The pattern is clear: May and late September are the value windows<\/strong>, with peak July and August running roughly 60% higher than May for the same boat. April and October are cheaper still, but the weather is a gamble and fewer boats are in the water. Our month-by-month guide<\/a> has the weather side.<\/p>\n\n\n

What Drives the Price<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Four things move the number more than anything else.<\/p>\n\n\n

Boat type and size<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

A bigger or fancier boat costs more, and it is not a small gap. Across our Croatia bookings the fleet splits roughly 46% sailboats, 29% motorboats and 21% catamarans. Sailboats are usually the cheapest way onto the water; catamarans command a premium for the space and stability; motorboats add fuel; and a crewed gulet<\/a> sits at the top. Compare live prices by type: sailboats<\/a>, catamarans<\/a>, motorboats<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

Season<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

As the table shows, when you go can change the price more than which boat you pick. Shift a peak-season plan to the shoulder and you can save a third or more.<\/p>\n\n\n

Bareboat, skippered or crewed<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

About 76% of our Croatia customers sail bareboat (no crew), 19% add a skipper, and 6% go fully crewed. A skipper is the biggest single add-on for most people. More on the licence question in our Croatia licence guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

Where you start<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

Base matters a little too: the busy Split and Trogir hubs have the most choice and competitive pricing, while one-way trips (say Split to Dubrovnik<\/a>) add a drop-off fee.<\/p>\n\n\n

The Costs That Aren’t in the Sticker Price<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

The headline charter price is just the boat. Croatia, like everywhere in the Med, adds a handful of extras on top, and they are worth budgeting for so the final invoice holds no surprises. The figures below are typical ranges for a mid-size bareboat, not fixed prices<\/strong>: your quote confirms the exact amounts.<\/p>\n\n\n

Typical Croatia charter extras.<\/strong> General market ranges for a mid-size bareboat, for budgeting only. Exact costs vary by boat, base and season and are confirmed at booking. Croatia’s 13% charter VAT is usually already included in the headline price.<\/caption>
Extra<\/th>Typical cost<\/th>What it is<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Skipper<\/td>~€150–200 \/ day<\/td>A professional to sail the boat, plus their food. Optional if you are licensed.<\/td><\/tr>
Extras pack (cleaning, boat permit, tourist tax)<\/td>a few hundred € \/ week<\/td>Usually mandatory: final cleaning, the boat’s transit permit, and a small per-person tourist tax.<\/td><\/tr>
Fuel<\/td>often under €100 (sailboat)<\/td>You pay for what you burn; a motorboat will use much more.<\/td><\/tr>
Marina berths en route<\/td>~€50–150+ \/ night<\/td>On nights you take a berth instead of anchoring. Premium ports like Hvar cost more in peak season.<\/td><\/tr>
Security deposit<\/td>often €1,500–3,000<\/td>Refundable, blocked on your card. A damage waiver can lower or remove it for a fee.<\/td><\/tr>
Provisioning & extras<\/td>your call<\/td>Food, drink and optional toys (paddleboard, WiFi, outboard).<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n

Watch this one:<\/span> the security deposit is not a cost, but it is real money blocked on your card for the week. If a large hold would stretch your limit, ask about a damage waiver upfront so there are no surprises at check-in.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n

A Real Week, Costed Out<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Here is a realistic bareboat week to show how the pieces add up: a 40-foot sailboat for a group of eight, one week in July, no skipper. The base is our booking data; the extras are typical ranges.<\/p>\n\n\n

40ft sailboat, one week in July (our booking data, median)<\/small><\/span>€2,670<\/span><\/div>
Extras pack: cleaning, permit, tourist tax (typical)<\/small><\/span>~€300<\/span><\/div>
Marina berths, a few nights (rest at anchor) (typical)<\/small><\/span>~€350<\/span><\/div>
Fuel for a sailing week (typical)<\/small><\/span>~€80<\/span><\/div>
Boat + fees, before food and drink<\/span>~€3,400<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

That is roughly €425 a head<\/strong> for the week across eight people, before provisioning and any skipper. Add a skipper and you are looking at another ~€1,000–1,400 for the week, split the same way. Sail in May instead of July and the base alone drops by about €1,000.<\/p>\n\n\n

Cheaper Than a Hotel? The Per-Person Maths<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Here is the part nobody expects: split the right boat between enough people and a night afloat can cost less than a night in a hotel. The trick is simple. Book an affordable boat that sleeps eight, then actually bring eight.<\/p>\n\n\n

The maths:<\/span> our median 40-foot sailboat that sleeps eight costs €1,680 for a week in May, Saturday to Saturday. Divide by eight friends and seven nights: about €30 per person, per night<\/strong> for the boat, or roughly €43 all in<\/strong> once cleaning, fees and a few marina nights are counted. That is your bed, your transport and your sea view in one line.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n

Picture two groups of eight, the same week on the Adriatic.<\/p>\n\n\n

The resort eight<\/div>
€60–90<\/div>
per person, per night<\/div>

Four twin rooms in a mid-range beach hotel. Splitting a room in peak summer, that is roughly €420 to €630 a head for the week, before a single dinner. Same pool, same town, same sand for seven days.<\/p><\/div>

The boat eight<\/div>
€30–43<\/div>
per person, per night<\/div>

One 8-berth sailboat, booked early for a shoulder-season week: about €210 to €300 each for the whole week, all in. A different island every morning, and the hotel moves with you.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Cost per person, per night (bed only)<\/div>
Yacht<\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
€30–43<\/div><\/div>
Hotel<\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
€60–90<\/div><\/div>

Yacht: our Croatia booking medians for an 8-berth sailboat split eight ways. Hotel: typical mid-range coastal room in summer, per person for two sharing. Both bed-only, before food and drink.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n

Same eight friends, same seven nights. One group wakes up to the same view all week. The other wakes up somewhere new, and spends less doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n

How to Spend Less Without Ruining the Trip<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Go in the shoulder<\/h4>

May, June and late September cost far less than July and August for the same boat, with water still warm enough to swim. Our budget guide<\/a> goes deeper.<\/p><\/div>

Fill the boat<\/h4>

Cost per person falls fast with more people aboard. Eight sharing a boat that sleeps eight is far cheaper each than four.<\/p><\/div>

Anchor more, berth less<\/h4>

Nights at anchor in a bay are free; marina berths are not. A trip that anchors most nights saves real money over one that ports every evening.<\/p><\/div>

Book early, and bareboat<\/h4>

The best-value boats go first, and skipping the skipper (if you are licensed) is the single biggest saving. Not licensed? A skipper is still cheaper than you might think, split across a crew.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Croatia Charter Cost FAQs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

How much does it cost to charter a yacht in Croatia for a week?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

Across our Croatia bookings the average charter is about \u20ac3,900 for roughly a week, though the range is wide. A 40-foot bareboat sailboat runs around \u20ac1,680 a week in May and \u20ac2,600 to \u20ac2,900 in peak July and August. Bigger boats, catamarans and crewed yachts cost more, and extras like fuel, marina fees and a security deposit sit on top.<\/p>\n\n\n

Is it cheaper to charter a boat in Croatia in May or September?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

Both are shoulder-season value windows and cost far less than peak summer. May is usually the cheapest month with reliable weather, while September keeps the warmest sea of the year with prices already easing from the August peak.<\/p>\n\n\n

What extra costs are added to a Croatia boat charter?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

On top of the boat you typically pay for fuel, a mostly-mandatory extras pack (final cleaning, the boat’s transit permit and a small tourist tax), marina berths on nights you do not anchor, and a refundable security deposit blocked on your card. A skipper, if you need one, is the largest add-on.<\/p>\n\n\n

How much is a skipper for a week in Croatia?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

A professional skipper typically costs around \u20ac150 to \u20ac200 a day plus their food, so roughly \u20ac1,000 to \u20ac1,400 for a week. Split across a full crew it adds a modest amount per person, and it is the easy answer if no one aboard holds a sailing licence.<\/p>\n\n\n

Does the Croatia charter price include VAT?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

Yes, in almost all cases. Croatia charges 13% VAT on yacht charter and it is normally already included in the headline weekly price you see, so the quote is the quote. Always confirm on your specific booking.<\/p>\n\n\n

Is chartering a yacht in Croatia cheaper than a hotel?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

It can be. Book an affordable 8-berth sailboat and fill it with eight people, and the boat works out around \u20ac30 to \u20ac43 per person per night, often less than a mid-range coastal hotel room split two ways. You also get a different island every day and no separate transport to pay for.<\/p>\n\n\n

Ready to price up your own trip? Compare boats, seasons and skippered options across 3,800+ Croatian charters<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n