Despite its position, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea and, at the same time, in the heart of Europe, and regardless of the increasing number of tourists that every summer flock to their most popular beaches and seaside towns, the coastal area of Croatia is still largely unexplored or, at least, not really known and appreciated as it would deserve.
This is partly due to the extremely peculiar morphology of this country. Its borders define an ambivalent nature of the territory located within them: the large coastal western side is joint with a not less wide-spread north-eastern inner area, with completely different landscapes and a severely divergent social-anthropological panorama. Moreover, its coastline is extremely jagged, with hundreds of small coves, inlets and bays (on balance, an actual pattern for the entire Balkan Peninsula) and more than one thousand islands.
In other words, Croatia is extremely hard to explore in detail. Those who practice mass tourism tend to gather in the same places and ignore hundreds of no less interesting other ones. In particular, the continental coasts of Croatia are, in most of the cases, neglected, almost unknown, in many cases completely untouched by foreign visitors.
This is one of the most interesting paradoxes of this country: on one hand, for what concerns the business of Yacht Charter Croatia is one of the “rising stars” of Europe, thanks to its very affordable prices; on the other one, the typical itineraries along its coasts tend to exclude a huge number of opportunities to enjoy a different holiday, far from the usual routes.
Charter a yacht in Croatia and discover its most hidden locations
This oblivion involves in particular Continental Croatia’s seaside towns and ports, that is to say those locations along the Adriatic Sea that are not located in one of the numerous islands of Croatian Archipelago. If we exclude the main cities – Split, Dubrovnik, Pula, Rijeka, Zadar – none of the Continental Croatia’s residential areas facing the sea can be considered a real mass tourism destination. The reasons can be summed up in three brief points.
Variety. The number of options offered by the Croatian Islands is literally incomparable to any other seaside location in the same area (including the other countries: Montenegro, Albania, Northern Greece).
Affordability. For at least three decades Croatian Islands have embodied the perfect cheap holiday destination with all the facilities and the amenities of a luxury environment. This, on one side, has helped a lot Croatia’s reputation to increase among the sea lovers; on the other one, it has prevented the other Croatian areas to grow up and develop their tourists’ attractiveness potential the way they should have.
Custom. Visiting the Croatian Islands has become a sweet, comfortable habit, almost a nice routine, for the majority of tourists. And if they feel that good, why should they change?
That said, today leaving the usual routes to find a personal maritime itinerary is much easier than before. All it takes is to rent a boat through online hubs like SamBoat (the biggest and most important digital platform able to put in contact private ship owners with potential customers all over the world) and lay a trail in complete freedom.
That’s why encouraging a different kind of tourism is not only possible, but it’s even recommended, especially when it comes with a country characterized by such a complex and articulated morphology like Croatia.
Yacht charter in Croatia: the best solution to explore the mainland’s coasts
It is precisely this kind of options that make the exploration of the Croatian mainland’s coasts an adventure to live without any hesitation or awe. Once you have chartered the boat that best fits you and your needs, you just have to do some research, in order to detect which ports and/or seaside towns of Continental Croatia deserve to be discovered.
Obviously, if you’re looking for some real adventure, you should discard in advance those cities we have mentioned above, since they’re already popular and mass tourism has already reached them. But this shouldn’t discourage you, since you still have plenty of options at your disposal.
Moreover, you must keep in mind that you have a huge vantage point on your side: the Adriatic Sea is one of the quietest marine basins of the entire planet. Its waters are calm and flat for most part of the year, in particular during summer. So, even if you’re a beginner as a sailor, you shouldn’t encounter any problem.
Finally, if you’re short of information, or you don’t know which destination(s) to choose among the many ones available, here’s for you a few suggestions.
Rovinj. Located on the western side of the Istrian Peninsula, it’s one of the most ancient ports of the area. The oldest part of the town is situated on a small promontory, and it’s a genuine repository of picturesque views.
Kraljevica. In the deepest heart of the Kvarner Gulf, just east of Istria, you can find this fascinating harbor village, whose inhabitants are still devoted to fishing just like the generations before them. In some of its neighborhood’s time seems to have stopped 150 years ago.
Jablanaz. The enchanting tiny harbor nested in the middle of the rocks is the main attraction of this small village located along the Velebit Channel, in the heart of an area rich in history and places of cultural interest. The ancient Roman remains and the ruins of a medieval castle are just the tip of the iceberg: from Jablanaz you can explore dozens of archaeological sites dating back to different eras and cultural horizons.
Sukošan. Besides this small town (slightly more than 4.000 residents), enclosed in a tiny inlet, there is one of the most important harbors of the Dalmatian region. Despite its small size, it’s the ideal point of departure to reach the nearby islands, or even the other countries facing the same sea (first of all Montenegro).
Primošten. Located in the southern part of Dalmatia, this town literally lives in symbiosis with the sea. Just a fishermen village up to the Sixties of last century, it was later discovered and appreciated as a tourist destination thanks to its amazing beaches. Besides the Italians (the first ones who discovered the town, also thanks to the Italian community always present in this area), many Germans, Austrians, Hungarians and – up to last year – Russians are regular visitors.
