Duty Free Fuel Around Croatia

Whilst it’s still not possible to get duty free fuel in Croatia itself, there are now two great options on either side.

To the north, Camper and Nicholsons’ Porto San Rocco was granted permission, in June 2010, to sell duty free fuel to leisure craft. Located in the Bay of Muggia, within the Gulf of Trieste, 15 miles north east of Croatia, the position of Porto San Rocco in the northern Adriatic makes it very accessible to those cruising the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. Even better for those who berth their yachts in Istria, a convenient drive from Germany and Austria, and then head south to Croatia’s sailing heartland. Vessels must leave the EU within eight hours of bunkering which, of course, poses no problem! With Trieste’s airport just a 45 minute drive away, it’s also a great spot to pick up guests or change crew. For more information link to Porto San Rocco’s website.

To the south of Croatia, just beyond Dubrovnik and Cavtat, there’s Porto Montenegro whose September 2010 berth extension also came with duty free bunkering and quite a lot more. Self styled as the “New Port of Cool” there’s no doubting Porto Montenegro’s appeal both in location and facilities. For more information link to Porto Montenegro.

For those that don’t want the hassle of clearing customs etc and/or prefer to do all of their sailing within Croatia, fuel is still cheaper than in the UK and the coast and islands are dotted with fuel stations. We detail them, port by port, in the Croatia Cruising Companion. Good news also that Croatia is finally paying attention to providing pump-out facilities though co-author, John Nash, of Marina Facility Solutions, has been banging that particular drum for more time than we care to remember! See our earlier posting on Pump-Outs for the situation as it was and keep an eye out for an update, here, soon.

Thanks to Camper and Nicholsons for today’s photo of Porto San Rocco, Trieste.