FAQ

It really depends on what do you want. If you don’t want to face big crowds, you should avoid periods in July or August. If you’re looking for active holiday (like bike and cruise or hike and cruise), we advise to consider your cruise in May or October, while first half of June and second half of September can also be ok for this). June and September are great time if you want to enjoy swimming and various activities same as in July and August but want to evade crowds.

Food, drinks, port or marina fees are extra costs regardless of yacht type you’ve chartered. On motor yachts you should also take care of fuel costs since gulets and small cruise ships very often have fuel for up to 4 hours of navigation daily included in charter price. Any other costs, such as water toys usage, National parks tickets, special transfer costs or yacht relocation fees are optional costs and are completely up to you.

Roughly, for yachts up to 60 thousand EUR per week you could calculate extra costs as 30% of charter price, while percentage would be lower for higher priced yachts.

As of January 1, 2023, Euro is the official currency in Croatia. Prior to that, from 1994 to 2023 official currency was Croatian Kuna.

What to do on crewed yacht charter?

Before listing many things you can do once you step on board of your crewed yacht (because it’s impossible to list all of them) you should know how special and unique this type of holiday is. There are numerous different options how to spend your time on crewed yacht and looking back, it’s wonderful to see all those feedbacks of people who spent great time during their gulet holidays.

First of all – relax

The whole idea of crewed yacht charter is about having anti-stress holiday. Knowing that you’re on board with your friends or family together with professional crew is a good basis to have a holiday to remember. We’re not going to count all the ways to relax, but lying down on sun mattresses or cushioned sofa while simultaneously drinking your favorite drinks seems like a good start to do so. In one of his articles describing Blue Cruise in Turkey, John Flinn, a freelance travel writer and the former editor of The San Francisco Chronicle's Travel section compared gulet holidays to dog’s life since “All we do every day is sleep, eat and get taken for walks”. Whether you don’t want to lift anything heavier than the fork or have the vacation with some adrenaline, crewed yacht might be the perfect choice for you.

Second – enjoy and have fun

Enjoy the food, drinks, local specialties, nightlife and all that sea can offer! Food is, together with the crew and boat condition one of the most important factors to have a great holiday. Food is served either as a half board or full board, and each crewed yacht has chef in charge of food preparing and serving. From best Turkish cheese and meze to Croatian fish and vegetables, you can be sure you’re about the try some things that you’ve never tried before. It’s crucial to state your food preferences in advance so the crew can prepare it for you the way you like it.

Crewed yachts are usually well equipped with water toys and leisure equipment, such as paddle board, canoe, water ski, donut, snorkeling and fishing equipment. Some yachts even have jet-ski or seabob. This provides you some adrenaline during your cruise and it’s a great way to have fun during the anchoring in hidden cove.

Places, landscapes and ports

This is one of the coolest things once you’re on crewed yacht. Knowing that you’re each day on a different place is amazing. Even if you see some great bays during one day trips, on board of crewed yacht you can easily overnight in your own private bay. It’s very important to think of your cruising route, so you should definitely talk about this with your travel agent and captain once you get there. Especially with the captains – always have in mind that those are the people with lot of knowledge and who are there to make you feel safe and sound.

Last but not least – use your imagination!

This is your own private place and you should definitely allow yourself only the best experience and have the best time of your life. Be opened to new adventures, places, cultures and amazing landscapes.

The choice of the yacht depends entirely on your wishes and preferences and of the type of holidays you have in mind.

Before choosing a yacht answer to yourself the following questions: How many people will be on board? Does your group consist of those who can share cabins, or each person require separate cabin? Do you prefer comfort and luxury or modest conditions are acceptable? Do you want to go on holidays with family and friends or you prefer meeting new people?

In Orvas Yachting offer you can find following crewed yacht types:

• Luxury sailing yacht – you will choose this kind of boat if you are looking for top-notch accommodation and service;
• Luxury motor yacht – for those who are looking for comfort, luxury and speed (rentable only with crew);
• Luxury catamaran – comfortable and very stable, ensure fast sailing too;
• Gulet – for those who are looking for a classic boat and a bit of romantic feeling (rentable only with crew);
• Motorsailer – similar to gulet, ideal for groups of 18+ persons;
• Small cruise ship – if you want to experience a cruise but on a smaller scale of around 30 to 50 persons, this kind of boat is a perfect choice.

Just contact us online, and you’ll be lead through whole process, and all possible options will be presented and explained to you. The contact you have made has no consequences nor obligations for you.

When it comes to yacht charter, Croatia is geographically considered to be East Mediterranean together with Greece and Turkey while Spain, France and Italy make the most of West Mediterranean. On a general level, East Mediterranean is less expensive than West, while Croatia seems to be cheaper than Greece, but more expensive than Turkey. This is really general and in real life you can easily find the opposite cases.

Customary is to give anything between 5% and 15% from the charter fee. The amount of tip should reflect your satisfaction level and send a message how you felt about the experience on board.

English is always a must. In most of cases English is spoken by all crew members, but it’s always spoken by most of them. On some yachts other languages are spoken as well. If you have some questions related to languages spoken on board, feel free to check this with us for specific yacht.

Yes.

We advise to check the amount of traffic included, even though plenty yachts now offer unlimited internet. Have in mind that some remote islands in Croatia can have limited access to internet.

Almost all of them are. You might find some older traditional ships that don’t have AC or have it in saloon only. What you need to have in mind is that some yachts have certain number of hours of air condition daily included in charter prices. Anything above that could be charged extra as extra generator work.

Croatia

In Croatia most of gulets operate from Zadar to Dubrovnik. This area is particularly full of islands – just note that Croatia has more than 1200 islands, coastline of 1100 miles (3700 miles including the islands). Apart from numerous islands, ports, countless coves and bays, this area is also location of two national parks – Kornati and Mljet. National park Krka is also very close to the Adriatic sea and is easily accessible if your cruising route is near to Šibenik, Trogir or Split. Apart from visiting places old for thousand years, Croatian coast offers lot of happenings and rich nightlife.

Basically, whether you want to party on Hvar or escape from civilization, Croatia can easily offer it. Gulet cruise in Croatia mostly starts from Split, Trogir or Dubrovnik. Other possible departure ports are Zadar, Šibenik and Omiš. To avoid heavy crowds, embarkation and disembarkation are mostly organized in some smaller ports and bit outside from the city centers. After all, it's not the nicest thing to stand in heavy crowd with your luggage.

During cruise in Croatia accent is usually put on breathtaking landscapes, clean sea and carefully prepared food. Eating your breakfast on the stern of a gulet while the Sun is still not too strong or having a dinner in a quite cove is something that simply needs to be experienced. If you're first time in Croatia having the gulet cruise, we would suggest having Split – Split route including visits to several Central Dalmatian islands. One way Dubrovnik – Split or reverse is also always a great idea offering plenty of places to see.

Turkey

Homeland of Blue Cruise and place where all started is must-see for all those who prefer gulet as a holiday. Gulet cruise in Turkey mostly covers area from Bodrum to Kekova including numerous ports, ancient sites and islands.

This particular area is located in Southwest part of Turkey, opened to Mediterranean and Aegean Sea. This is even more attractive knowing that you can easily sail to the Greek islands, especially Dodecanese. For a longer routes, it's also possible to go sailing towards Cyclades.

Following the coast from Bodrum to the east, there are stunning bays, beaches and coves. Further to the east, there are ruins of the Lycian civilization and from Byzantine governance. Don't get surprised if you see pieces of ancient buildings in the Turquoise Sea.

Not necessarily. If you plan the route with your crew in advance and weather is nice enough, it’s possible to overnight in some bay. For example, gulet will need to go to port or marina every other day because of the water supplies. However, some vessel types do go to marina or municipal port every night. This is primarily related to small cruise ships or generally vessels with higher passenger capacity.

This depends on your preferences. If you’re more into nightlife, Hvar, Split and Dubrovnik offer a lot. If you’re considering getaway from civilization, islands of Zadar archipelago could be interesting option, as well as Kornati islands national park.

In some cases, it is. This also depends on bookings certain yacht already has so sometimes it won’t be possible to offer it. Also have in mind that one-way charters can come with extra cost for relocation (e.g., if yacht has a base port in Split and you want to have one-way charter to Dubrovnik, owner could ask for a one-way fee if empty leg caused. What means empty leg caused? It means the boat