Towing a Rib to Croatia

SteveB · 01 May 2020, 08:17

Has anyone towed their rib to Croatia before and spent some time exploring the coastline on it. Would love to hear about the experience and any suggestions on best route down, places to visit, hidden gems, do's and don'ts etc

tks Steve

jambo · 01 May 2020, 08:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveB

Has anyone towed their rib to Croatia before and spent some time exploring the coastline on it. Would love to hear about the experience and any suggestions on best route down, places to visit, hidden gems, do's and don'ts etc

tks Steve

Speak to Pikey Dave.

Pikey Dave · 01 May 2020, 08:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambo

Speak to Pikey Dave.

Did someone call?
Here you go:-

Bouncer & Black Pig go to Croatia
https://www.rib.net/forum/f8/bouncer-and-black-pig-go-to-croatia-76470.html

SteveB · 01 May 2020, 08:57

Brilliant. thanks for the link and it looked like a great trip. It's given me the nudge i needed to get a trailer and take my rib down there this summer.

Pikey Dave · 01 May 2020, 09:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveB

Brilliant. thanks for the link and it looked like a great trip. It's given me the nudge i needed to get a trailer and take my rib down there this summer.

Tbh I wouldn’t rush back. There were some highlights to the trip & it was an adventure, but I think you could do better for your time/money.

SteveB · 01 May 2020, 10:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Tbh I wouldn’t rush back. There were some highlights to the trip & it was an adventure, but I think you could do better for your time/money.

Interesting feedback so why the hesitation to go back. The Croatian coastline looks stunning and a boaters paradise with all the islands and inlets. Always looks more open for an adventure compared to the Italian or French coastlines with the high costs and the crowds.

Pikey Dave · 01 May 2020, 11:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveB

Interesting feedback so why the hesitation to go back. The Croatian coastline looks stunning and a boaters paradise with all the islands and inlets. Always looks more open for an adventure compared to the Italian or French coastlines with the high costs and the crowds.

As rugged as the coastline & islands are, they are very “samey” after the novelty wears off it got a tad boring. The food was quite expensive & not particularly inspiring, all of the fish is either farmed or imported. The sea is completely devoid of life, so as warm and clear as it was, it’s like swimming in a glorified swimming pool. The submarine pens were spectacular & well worth a visit. The Croatians don’t seem to have grasped the service side of things. Service in restaurants/shops/campsites was indifferent at best. The bureaucracy is still very post communist.
We’ve been, enjoyed it, but there are other places to go........Portugal for example, now that’s a different story[emoji106]

paulbrown22 · 01 May 2020, 12:27

I haven't done it by RIB, but have had a few sailing holidays in Croatia on bareboat charters exploring the Kornati Islands, and a couple of weeks from Trogir -> Dubrovnik and back.

Kornati's I wouldn't bother with again, interesting at first, but was all very same barren rocky islands. As per Dave, the submarine caves were very interesting to explore but there's only so many you can look at!

We did far more enjoy Trogir -> Dubrovnik, some larger islands with more variety, and various options on the mainland too, and I'd happily go back there after a few years. But I guess by sailing boat everything goes slower and takes longer as well, so maybe you get a slightly different impression than when doing it by RIB! We also tend to eat on board a fair amount, and try to find hidden anchorages for the nights.

Agree that eating out, especially on the smaller islands, was generally very expensive and nothing particularly special, but I definitely remember finding a couple of nice places in Trogir.

Tim M · 01 May 2020, 19:21

I lived in Croatia for about four months 4 years ago whilst we did a refit on a 43m motor yacht. There's definitely some interesting boating to be had, and some really interesting places on land. My experiences of food were the same as Pikey Dave - very uninteresting. Pizza, pasta, everything served with fries! The Croatians are generally quite a miserable bunch and didn't really go out of their way to make us feel overly welcome. We did some exploring of the Montenegrin coast which was also very interesting - reminded me a little of the Norwegian Fjords (only warmer).

As for the drive. It's a long way! The roads in Croatia are generally very good (lots of new motorways etc). But as long as you take all the usual precautions you'll be fine.

SteveB · 03 May 2020, 15:41

Based on the above feedback i will head to Corsica instead. Drive to Piombino and then across from there. Islands between Corsica and Sardina look nice. i will save Croatia for another year. tks

Pikey Dave · 03 May 2020, 17:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveB

Based on the above feedback i will head to Corsica instead. Drive to Piombino and then across from there. Islands between Corsica and Sardina look nice. i will save Croatia for another year. tks

Good call imo. Sardinia & Corsica are on our list.