Learn to Sail in Croatia

This is our most popular holiday. Learn to Sail Holidays are run as part of our flotilla programme in Croatia, so you have a full flotilla holiday while training. These fun holidays are ideal for

  • Total beginners who just want a fun, cost effective, sailing holiday on a yacht

  • Suitable for singles or couples happy to share with others

  • Larger groups or families have their own yacht

  • Just learn informally or train to get recognised Crew or Skipper qualifications.

  • Holidays run from April to October and flight exclusive prices start from £425/€470 per person per week plus an on site payment of 800kuna pp (about £95/€105) to cover direct yacht costs like mooring fees, fuel, tourist tax, etc.

  • Yachts are available from Saturday at 1700hrs and you check out by 0900hrs the following Saturday. We sail from Sunday morning to Friday evening so no problem with late Saturday evening or Sunday morning arrivals and you can depart from Friday afternoon without missing any part of the holiday.

  • Learn to Sail Holiday Photos
 
 
  • Briefing
  • Busy-Evening
  • Cardinal-Mark
  • Catch-the-Yacht
  • Cooling-off-Swim
  • Evening-Drinks
  • Flotilla-Route
  • Flotilla-on-a-Catamaran
  • Group-Sailing
  • Helming
  • Krka-Waterfalls
  • Morning-Calm
  • Ready-to-Winch
  • Regatta
  • Restaurant-Stop
  • Sailing
  • Sunset-in-Croatia
  • Water-Pistol-Day
  • Yachts-Ahead
  • Yachts-in-Marina
Briefing
Crew In cockpit

Singles Couples and groups of up to 3 travelling together share with others and the instructor while sailing as part of the flotilla.

Family Crew

Families and groups of four or more are on a yacht on their own with the instructor, and also sail with the flotilla.

Some recent Trip Advisor Reviews

Another great experience

Our 2nd time with Activity Yachting (my husband passed his skipper exam last year) and as good as the first! We had a skipper with us for 2 days to refamiliarise ourselves and Bucky was great, getting us so we knew what we were doing. The Skippers give a confidence that makes life so much easier, and always with a smile. Our boat broke down (not ideal but one of those things) and when all suggestions to restart didn’t work - Mark, one of the skippers came back and rescued us, when the fix failed once we got to port, Chris came out and got us in. They have a truly wonderful manner about them all, happy to help but happy to let you have a go, but ready to move in if you are out of your depth - I really don’t think you could ask for more. 

Also we were not the only family returning for a 2nd visit, and several who were there were planning on going again!

Thanks to Gary, Jim and the skippers for all their work

Claire W July 2019

Another great sailing holiday to remember

2nd time with this company, after getting qualified as a skipper the previous year with them. Couldn't wait to come back! We (myself and 3 friends) took the yacht out ourselves this time, as we didn't need a skipper, but decided to sail with the flotilla for the social and support side. 

Great sailing locations, gorgeous islands, fab restaurants and a combination of Marina moorings with everything you might need and remote 'picture postcard' locations based around small jetties, great restaurant and unforgettable views and scenery

Despite hiring the boat ourselves, the other skippers and Activity Yachting team members were great, helping us to moor and sorting out any minor problems with the boat. Trying to organise another trip with the same company later this year, if we can put together another crew. Will definitely be back sooner, rather than later!
Thanks Gary, Jim and all the team at Activity Yachting.

dawng546 May 2019

What a fantastic sailing experience

Delighted to have done the IYT Skipper Training with Activity Yachting on Murter Island. Apart from the fantastic location and an impressive fleet of well maintained yachts the training was excellent. The instructor was very experienced, a real font of information & wisdom and also great fun to sail with throughout the week.....Thanks Jim! I’d have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Activity Yachting to anyone for either Sailing Training or just Holidays.

Joe C May 2019

HOW THE PROGRAMME WORKS

Yachts are available from 1700hrs on Saturdays, but an earlier or later arrival is not a problem as there is no sailing until the following morning. On arrival you will be shown on board your yacht when you get to meet your instructor and the rest of the crew. You will be shown everything you need to know for living on board for the night and then left free to go off and explore locally with the rest of the group for the first evening.

The following morning, starts with a comprehensive briefing for the entire flotilla. This is an excellent time to see the entire group together for the first time, and you are introduced to the plan for the week.

Your first hour or two will be spent exploring your yacht, peering in lockers, trying on life jackets and sorting out provisions for the week. Breakfasts and Lunches are usually taken on board while most people take evening meals in local restaurants, but you have full use of the facilities on board should you wish. All shopping is done in local shops and markets, and you can either choose to operate a small kitty for onboard meals with others, or do your own thing as you prefer. Preparation of lunches as with cleaning up and tidying of the yacht is to be shared by all.

Once everyone is organised, usually by around 10.00hrs you will prepare to leave port.  The rest of the morning will be spent getting everyone familiar with the main safety aspects of life on a yacht, the workings of the engine and handling under power, the sail controls and generally establishing everybody’s existing experience. This will all be done as you slowly make your way towards your first lunchtime stop and swim of the week.

Lunch will then be an on board picnic stop in a lovely anchorage for about two hours so allowing everyone plenty time for swimming, snorkeling, sunbathing or just relaxing and reading a book.

The afternoon will be spent sailing as you are let get the feel for the yacht in its natural environment.  By the time you reach port on that first afternoon a lot of the mystery of sailing will have disappeared and you will be ready for a cool drink.  A shower and freshen up is normally followed by a group get together at a local restaurant for those interested in this. This is the perfect chance to unwind and discuss the day’s activities with the other members of the group.  Sleep is normally never a problem after the first day !!

The pattern for the week will now have been set.  The day will start with a short briefing and most yachts will have left by about 1030hrs.  Mornings tend to have lighter winds making them perfect for practicing and teaching.  We will have lunchtime stop most days unless we have a particularly favorable wind and everyone wants to keep going. The brisker afternoon winds make for great sailing and evenings are spent in port.  We do not arrange group meals every night so people just get together among themselves and wander off to try out different restaurants and explore the different locations that we visit.

The area we sail in has an indented mainland coastline, historic towns and cities, lively tourist resorts, two National Parks and probably more small islands in easy reach of each other than anywhere else in the Mediterranean. In a sailing week we visit a combination of the above, allowing you to get an authentic feel for the country while having a great sailing holiday. It is a perfect area for Learn to Sail Holidays, and there is always time to explore locally and the whole emphasis is on learning by doing, hence our use of the word ‘tuition’ rather than ‘school’. Where possible we try to keep the obligatory distances between ports no more than 12 to 20 miles allowing all day to get there.  This gives maximum flexibility, as with the multitude of small islands available to sail around, we can always make the route as long as we want, while still providing plenty of variety and training opportunities.  This is what makes the programme equally suited to novices who just want a sailing holiday with instruction, as well as those who want to develop their skills further and train to be a skipper.

Beginners will be shown general rope work and how to, tie knots correctly, steer a boat under sail and power, handle the sails, mooring and anchoring, basic navigation, and all the things which lead up to an International Crew Certificate. Someone with prior experience will develop these skills further while learning more advanced techniques in order to get them up to a Skipper level. This is a particularly popular way to obtain the yacht sailing experience and basic skipper level certification needed prior to chartering a yacht on your own in the future. The Skipper level certification can be either the IYT Flotilla or Bareboat Skipper or the International Certificates of Competence (ICC). more

At the end of the week you will return to our base by about 1800hrs on the last day, which is normally a Friday, and you are free to leave any time after this. Most people have a last night out on Murter and leave the yacht by 0900 the following morning. 

Qualifications and Training

The training that we offer follows the syllabus laid down by International Yacht Training Group with Log Books for their recreational sailing programme's. The recreational training syllabus is ideal for organisations that teach in a holiday environment, and courses have wide international recognition.

It is very important that we ensure that any training that we provide, follows internationally recognised standards and and that we can issue appropriate, recognised certification.  Equally it is essential that we do not forget that many people choosing to do these holidays are often just looking for a fun holiday, where they can share with others and learn a bit about sailing in a structured fashion but do not want to be under any pressure to do any form of qualification.

The IYT recreational syllabus is a modular system which offers a very flexible approach, and we offer

  • International Crew Certificate for beginners or anyone just looking to learn some sailing while on holiday
  • Flotilla Skipper and International Watchkeeper a first level skipper course completion which is recognised as a basic skipper licence and allows you to skipper a yacht in many locations. This is the same standard as the ICC and can be awarded to people of any nationality, so it is particularly suitable for people that are not eligible to do the ICC simply because of Nationality issues.
  • International Certificate of Competence (ICC) This is a basic Internationally Skipper Certification and is very useful as it is widely recognised. The rules for issuing ICC's however are complex as they are laid down by UNESCE (a UN body) and so there are nationality issues about who we can and cannot issue ICC's to.
  • Bareboat Skipper This is a more advanced skipper certificate and this is suitable for anyone that is aiming to get qualified to a level where they can skipper Bareboat yachts themselves. This is not a course for beginners.

All previous experience and knowledge, however obtained, is taken into account, and beginners and those working towards one of the skipper levels can all be together on the same yacht. Those hoping to get to a skipper level should ideally have some prior experience and must complete an eLearning module for the theory before the holiday. Anyone hoping to just get to an International Crew level only has to come along and enjoy themselves and any necessary theory for that is covered as we go along.

Further detail on the qualifications, certification and eLearning can be viewed here

CROATIA Learn to Sail or Skipper Training Prices 2024

The following prices all relate to our Learn to Sail or Skipper Training Holidays which are based from Murter Island. Holidays will operate every Saturday from April until October. You join the yacht from 1700hrs onwards on the first Saturday afternoon, sleep that night on the yacht and then sail as part of a flotilla from the Sunday morning. The yacht then returns to our home port the following Friday afternoon, after a full six days sailing, you sleep that last Friday night on board and then depart by 0900hrs on the Saturday morning. 

No sailing takes place on Saturday so a later or earlier arrival is no problem and you can even arrive on Sunday morning and leave on Friday afternoon, without missing any sailing.

Flights are not included. For guidance on flights and transfers, from the UK & Ireland please click here

Singles or Couples on shared Yachts

Prices are per person or per two people when booking a shared cabin on one booking. Singles paying the single rate will be sleeping in the saloon, (or in limited cases may have a bunk in a twin bunk cabin)

Dates (any Sat within these dates) Single sharing in Saloon Single with own Cabin 2 People (Sharing a cabin)
06/04 - 10/05/2024 £495/560€ per person £590/675€ per person £890/1025€ for 2 people
11/05 - 30/05/2024 £495/560€ per person £645/740€ per person £1000/1150€ for 2 people
01/06 - 27/09/2024 £595/685€ per person £750/860€ per person £1100/1265€ for 2 people
28/09 - 25/10/2024 £495/560€ per person £645/740€ per person £1000/1150€ for 2 people
  • Plus an on site cash payment of 120 Euros per person (about £105) for mooring fees, and other direct yacht costs.

What is included:

  • Prices include a single or shared cabin on the yacht as booked,
  • Sailing with the flotilla, fuel, mooring fees, tourist tax and the yacht security insurance are included.
  • Bed Linen, end cleaning and gas are included but personal towels are an additional item if required at €6 Euros per set and paid for on site. These must be reserved in advance.
  • An Instructor for the week is included on the yacht and they will normally sleep on board at night.
  • There is no requirement to do any prior study if you do not want to but if you want IYT certificates then, Crew or Skipper assessments are included, for anyone that is at the required standard and has completed the required IYT eLearning in advance.

What is not included

  • No meals are included. Most groups operate a kitty among themselves, and eat breakfast and lunch on board but then have evening meals in local restaurants. You are however free to prepare main evening meals on board any evening you choose.
  • Anyone wanting IYT approved Crew or Skipper certificates must do the appropriate required eLearning in advance and costs of this can vary from 18US$ to 200US$ depending on the option being chosen. You will find more details on this at Qualifications and Training

Families or Groups filling a Yacht

Prices are per yacht or group. Please add on the tourist tax as indicated in the table below the yacht prices, for the number in your group, to get the final price

Dates (any Sat within these dates) Yacht Sizes available for Family Learn to Sail Holidays
  Oceanis 423 or Feeling 44
( max 8 people)
Activity 35
( max 5 people)
06/04 - 10/05/2024 £2205/2525€ per yacht £1895/2175€ per yacht
11/05 - 30/05/2024 £2610/2985€ per yacht £2085/2295€ per yacht
01/06 - 21/06/2024 £2925/3215€ per yacht £2395/2465€ per yacht
22/06 - 05/07/2024 £3150/3445€ per yacht £2490/2740€ per yacht
06/07 - 30/08/2024 £3240/3675€ per yacht £2690/2875€ per yacht
31/08 - 13/09/2024 £3150/3445€ per yacht £2490/2740€ per yacht
14/09 - 27/09/2024 £2925/3215€ per yacht £2395/2465€ per yacht
28/09 - 11/10/2024 £2610/2895€ per yacht £2085/2295€ per yacht
12/10 - 25/10/2024 £2205/2525€ per yacht £1895/2175€ per yacht
  • Please add on £9/10€ per person for the Tourist Tax and based on the number in your group.

  • a fuel, gas etc fee, per week of £100/€115 for the Activity 35, and £130/€150 for the Oceanis or Feeling must be paid in cash on site.

  • There is an additional £325/€370 if you do not want the instructor sleeping on board the yacht at night. This must be requested at the time of booking and may not be available on all weeks.

What is included:

  • Prices include, the yacht, sailing with the flotilla, fuel, and the yacht security insurance.
  • Bed Linen, end cleaning and gas are included but personal towels are an additional item if required at 6 Euros per set and paid for on site. These must be reserved in advance.
  • An Instructor for the week is included and they will sleep on board at night.
  • Crew assessments for everyone, and skipper assessments for up to 2 adults are included, for anyone that is at the required standard and has completed the required eLearning in advance.

What is not included

  • Mooring and marina fees for the yacht while away from the base marina. You pay these directly as incurred and we recommend you allow 195 to 295Euros for a 35 ft yacht for the week and 225 to 325Euros for one of the larger yachts.
  • No meals are included. These are at your expense and you must include the instructors meals. Many groups eat breakfast and lunch on board but then have evening meals in local restaurants, but you are however free to prepare main evening meals on board any evening you choose.
  • Anyone wanting IYT approved Crew or Skipper certificates must do the appropriate required eLearning in advance and costs of this can vary from 18US$ to 145US$ depending on the option being chosen. You will find more details on this at Qualifications and Training

Availability Guide

This guide is for places on shared Learn to Sail yachts only. Groups or families should email us to discuss availability for the date required.

Date Places
   
April 24 Request
May 24 Yes
June 24 Yes
July 24 Yes
Aug 24 Yes
Sept 24 Yes
Oct 24 Request

Where we sail

The Learn to Sail and Flotilla holidays are based from Murter in central Croatia. Murter is a small island joined to the mainland with a bridge, and is approximately mid way between the cities of Split and Zadar, and about 60 miles north of Split Airport and 50 miles south of Zadar Airport.

This area has an indented mainland coastline, Group with Log Bookswith historic towns and cities like Sibenik and Zadar, lively tourist resorts like Biograd, Primosten and Vodice, as well as numerous other smaller traditional towns and villages. Just off the coast then there is the largest combination of smaller and larger islands in easy reach of each other in the Mediterranean. In a sailing week we visit a combination of the above, allowing you to get an authentic feel for the country while having a great sailing holiday. The Kornati and Krka national parks are in also in this region, and because of the flexibility of distances, it is a perfect area for Learn to Sail Holidays.

Sailing winds are reliable and mainly from Force 2 to Force 6 and ports vary from marinas with full facilities to small out of the way places with simple traditional harbours.

You can read more about our sailing area and routes here

Frequently asked Questions

The yachts used for the Learn to Sail holidays are normally ones from our in house fleet and are 3 cabin yachts of between 34 to 39ft with a maximum up to six people and the instructor on board. You can view a selection of the yachts here

We get a full mix of all ages and both sex's coming on these holidays. Families are not mixed on board the same yacht as other adults, but singles and couples are mixed according to what seems to be the best fit.  Generally people on the shared yachts are in their mid twenties to mid fifties, but we have had people into their seventies.

In the main school holiday periods we have larger groups and get lots of families with children, taking yachts on their own as part of the flotilla. At this time then we usually have at least two yachts made up of singles and couples that are sharing each week. Outside of the main school holidays, then it is mainly all yachts of singles and couples, and smaller sized groups.

There is plenty of opportunity to socialize with others and we visit a mix of lively and quiet ports. Because of our balanced mix of people, you need not fear that you will be the only person on your own and totally left out, or equally that you have to stay up partying until the small hours every night (unless of course you want to !!)

There is no problem about traveling on your own as you are immediately part of a crew as well as part of a flotilla so there is a very good social side, and the courses are specifically designed for total beginners, or those just getting up to a skippering level.

These courses are all about learning to sail a yacht in a holiday environment.  Unless we are on a special trip, we always aim to keep the daily obligatory distance relatively short (usually five to twenty miles) so that we have maximum flexibility.  The yacht usually leaves port sometime after 1000hrs and then arrives in port around 1700hrs having had a stop in the middle of the day for an on board picnic lunch and a swim.  In reality we sail much more than just the straight line distance between ports, but the actual amount depends on the wind, how you are feeling on the day etc.

We normally aim to leave port each morning by about 1030hrs and then to arrive in the next location by about 1700hrs, having had a lunch time stop en route of about 2 hours. This allows loads of time in the early evening and the following morning to explore the places that we visit.

In addition the instructor will always try to juggle the different preferences of those onboard.  If you want extra time to explore a particular port, you can always remain behind on your own for an hour or two while the yacht heads off to do some sailing, perhaps some mooring practice etc before popping back in to collect you at a preset time.  Likewise you can always be dropped in early if you fancy a short day, and the yacht can go back out sailing.  This way we can mix those that want the maximum amount of sailing with those that only want the minimum.

The following applies to anybody sharing a yacht. All bookings are taken on a shared cabin basis unless you specifically book a single cabin and pay a supplement for this.  Couples or two friends traveling together will then share one of the double cabins. Singles will either be allocated a berth in the main saloon where there are single berths, or may have to share the forward V cabin with another person of the same sex.  In this regard, if you do not know what a yacht cabin is like, then think of it as being like the sleeping area of a small tent with standing headroom at one end.

If then a double cabin happens to be free, on the day it will be given to one of the singles.  Most weeks we have a few tuition yachts out so we mix and match the crews and yachts to get what appears to be the best mix.  Families or groups booking an entire yacht will sort out their own sleeping arrangements, but must leave one of the berths in the main saloon for the instructor unless they have specifically booked not to have him/her on board at night.

All yachts have an on board toilet and shower. The trips always start and finish in a marina with full toilet and shower facilities on the first and last nights, and then we usually use marinas or town quays with full facilities on 2 or 3 other nights of the week. In between then people can use the on board facilities. Yachts also have a Deck shower, and as people are swimming regularly during most of the season, on nights where we do not have facilities ashore, you can rinse off with fresh water using the deck shower. This combination of camping on the water and using facilities when they are available works very well, and avoids the mess of everyone trying to shower using the small on board shower.

Food is not included in the price. For groups and families filling an entire yacht, it is much more logical to leave you shop for whatever you want yourselves based on your own tastes etc.  There are  supermarkets near to our base where you can do a bulk shop before you leave, with good back up shops in most of the ports that we go to as well as local bakers and some form of fruit and vegetable market.  Most families  will tend to eat all breakfasts and lunches on board and then eat their main evening meals in local restaurants in the evenings, although they are of course totally free to prepare evening meals on board if they wish.

For those sharing a yacht, on the first morning the instructor will provide some general guidance for on board meals, after which you then shop yourselves, adding whatever you want, i.e. favourite breakfast cereals etc. Most groups choose to run a small kitty among themselves to ensure that there is enough for each day. This system is the only way of ensuring that everybody's individual tastes, budgets and preferences are catered for, while still providing a structure so that you are not all "squabbling over who ate whose biscuits" , but are free to eat as you please. It is after all your holiday!!  Cooked breakfasts if required can be obtained from local restaurants and main evening meals are taken ashore, at your own expense, although you are totally free to prepare food on board if you wish.

In Croatia there are very good facilities for yachts such as marinas, national parks etc, but naturally there are fees for these.  Where a group or family are on a yacht on their own, we will advise you to allow up to about 1500Kuna for mooring fees for the week. Other costs like Yacht security insurance, end cleaning etc will then have been take care of when you booked the holiday unless specifically stated otherwise. There are about 8.4Kn to £1GBP, or 7.5Kn to €1Euro.

On shared yachts then you will normally pay an amount of about 700kuna to go towards all direct yacht costs on site like mooring fees, fuel etc, and this will be clarified at the time of booking.

If you have asked us to arrange airport transfers then price of these will have been clarified in advance. As a guide for singles these are 210kuna per person each way if you take shared transfers, and are less for families or groups filling minibuses or taxis.

There are then no additional costs apart from your own personal food and drink costs.

Shopping locally is done in local supermarkets and open air markets and this is no different to any other area in Europe with prices being about mid way between the cheapest and dearest countries, and similar to UK supermarket prices.

There is a very good selection of local restaurants and you can get things like a very good Pizza or Pasta dish from about 60kn, while a beer starts from about 15kn. Fish and Steaks then of course are more expensive. As a guide singles should allow an average of 200/250kn per person per day.

Families and groups of four or more are normally always on their own yacht with just the skipper and so there is no sharing with others. You decide who sleeps in which cabin, while the skipper will sleep in the main saloon at night. Subject to availability, we can sometimes arrange for the skipper not to sleep on board at night, but there is a supplement for this. Provided you book far enough in advance, we can often offer a choice of yachts to suit your preferences.

Couples or two friends travelling together will be booked on the basis that they are sharing a cabin unless you have specifically requested otherwise and booked single cabins and paid the relevant supplement for this. The yachts that we use for training on usually have three cabins plus the saloon, so there can then be up to four others on board, but there may be less. The instructor will then sleep in the saloon at night.

This holiday is very suitable for solo travellers. Solo Travellers can choose to book a single cabin and pay the supplement for this or equally can choose to share with a member of the same sex. On the yacht then there will normally be other Solo Travellers or couples or friends travelling together. In addition as we sail as part of a larger flotilla there are plenty of other people to socialize with from the other yachts in the evenings. Overall we get a lot of people coming on these holidays on their own, especially females as it is a very safe holiday. However we advise that you should not think of these holidays as a "singles type" holiday, but instead to think of them as a mixed group activity that is suitable for solo travellers.

There is no special level of fitness required, and anybody that is normally active and does not have any particular balance or mobility problems should have no problem. If anyone does have any specific issues then they can discuss these with us before booking.

Naturally we can never guarantee that all crews will all get along well all of the time. However as long as people are prepared to be a little bit tolerant, most issues can be dealt with before they become major problems.  Remember that your yacht will be sailing as part of a flotilla of yachts so socially you will not be limited to just the people that you are on board with.  Also one of our instructors will be in charge of the yacht at all times, and part of his/her job is to identify any potential personality clashes before they become issues and to look after everybody's interests fairly.

It is a condition of booking that everyone will have personal travel insurance. These yachts will remain in Coastal waters and are usually within six miles of land at all times, so any standard travel Insurance policy should cover you unless it specifically excludes sailing.