Terms of Use

The website and the broker service are provided by:

• Lerna d.o.o., limited liability company
• Registered address: Ulica grada Vukovara 11, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
• OIB (Croatian tax number): 84840714884 · VAT ID: HR84840714884
• Registered with: Trgovački sud u Zagrebu, MBS 080516590
• Managing director: Tomislav Ceraj
• Email: hello@tidecharter.com. We answer Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 Croatian time.
• Supervisory authority for consumer protection: Državni inspektorat (State Inspectorate of the Republic of Croatia), www.dirh.gov.hr

"TideCharter", "we" and "us" mean the company above. "You" means anyone who uses the website or our service. A "consumer" is a person acting for purposes outside their trade, business or profession. The "operator" is the charter company that owns or manages the yacht.

There are two separate agreements:

• These Terms are the rules for using our website and our free broker service: answering your enquiry, sending you quotes and passing your booking to the operator.
• The charter agreement is your contract with the operator for the yacht itself. It is made up of the operator's booking confirmation, its general charter terms and, where the operator uses one, an individual charter contract. It covers the yacht, payment, cancellation, the security deposit, insurance, check-in and check-out.

These Terms apply when you use the website. When you send an enquiry, we ask you to accept them, and we link to them in our emails to you. The version you accepted applies to your enquiry and to any booking we arrange from it (see section 16).

How we handle personal data, including cookies, is explained in our Privacy Policy (cookies are in section 11). The Privacy Policy is a separate document and is not part of these Terms.

3.1 Our role. TideCharter is a charter broker (an intermediary). We show yachts offered by independent charter operators in Croatia, help you choose, check availability and prices with the operator, and, at your request, place the booking with the operator once you have accepted. We are paid by the operators, not by you (section 4). We still act honestly and with due care towards you, and we tell you anything we know that matters to your decision.

3.2 We do not own or run any yachts. The operator provides the charter. It is responsible for the yacht, its condition, equipment and safety, any crew it supplies, its insurance, and carrying out the charter. The operator's insurance usually covers the yacht and its liability to others. It usually does not cover your personal belongings, your security deposit or the cost of cancelling your trip. Your offer and the operator's terms say what is covered.

3.3 You cannot book a yacht on the website. There is no booking, checkout or payment function. Buttons such as "Check rate & availability" open our enquiry form.

3.4 Step by step:

1. Enquiry. You send us an enquiry through the form or by email. It is a request for information. It is not a booking, and it costs nothing.

2. Quote. We check availability and the price with the operator and email you a quote with the yacht, base, dates, price and the main inclusions and exclusions. Where possible, we also ask the operator for an option (a free, temporary hold on the yacht; see 3.5).

3. Before you accept. Before you accept, and before you pay anything, we send you in writing:

   • our own company details (name, address and, where it applies, our travel agency ID code, as in section 1);
   • the name and address of the operator;
   • the yacht, base and dates;
   • the total price including all mandatory charges, or how a charge is calculated where the amount cannot be known in advance (see 5.2);
   • the price of any optional extras you asked for;
   • the security deposit and how it is paid;
   • the payment schedule and who you pay;
   • the operator's cancellation terms and a link to or copy of its general charter terms; and
   • a reminder that there is no 14-day right to cancel (section 6.3).

   If anything on this list is missing, ask us. You do not have to accept until you have it.

4. Your decision. You are free to accept or ignore the offer. When you accept in writing, you are asking us to book the yacht on those terms. Once the operator confirms, you must pay the price under the payment schedule, so only accept once you are happy with them. If you change your mind after accepting, tell us at once. We will try to stop the booking, but once the operator has confirmed it, the operator's cancellation terms apply.

5. Booking. We then ask the operator to confirm the booking. Your contract with the operator starts when the operator confirms it, unless the operator's terms say otherwise. We send you the booking confirmation, the operator's terms and the payment details. From that point the operator's payment and cancellation terms apply. Some operators send the individual charter contract later, or ask you to sign it at the base at check-in. That contract follows the terms you were sent before you accepted.

If the booking confirmation differs from what we told you before you accepted, and the difference is to your disadvantage, tell us straight away. You do not have to accept terms you were not told about. We will take it up with the operator, and if the difference is our mistake, we are responsible for it (section 13). If you do not make the first payment by the deadline in your booking documents, the operator may cancel the booking under its terms.

3.5 Options. An option is a free, non-binding hold that the operator grants at our request. The operator decides whether to grant one and for how long (often only a few days, and less in peak season). It expires automatically at the time stated in our email unless you accept before then. Without an option, or after it expires, someone else can book the yacht at any time and the price can change.

3.6 Your details. To hold a yacht for you (an option) and to arrange the booking, we give the operator, through its booking system, the information it needs, such as your name, dates and number of guests, and later your contact details, the crew list and, for bareboat charters, the skipper's licence. Our Privacy Policy explains this.

3.7 Extras. A skipper, hostess or cook, extra equipment and similar on-board extras are provided by the operator under its terms and are part of your charter with the operator, unless your offer clearly names a different provider. Skipper fees and the skipper's food are often paid on board or at the base; we will tell you how. We do not sell transfers, flights, accommodation or provisioning. If you ask, we can give you the contact details of local providers. Any contract you make with them is directly between you and them, and they do not pay us.

Using the website and our broker service is free. We do not charge you a booking or service fee. When a charter is confirmed, the operator pays us a commission out of its own price. We do not add anything on top of the price in your quote.

Commission rates can differ between operators. If you want to know whether we earn more on one yacht we suggest than on another, ask us and we will tell you.

If we ever charge you a fee for a particular service, we will tell you the amount clearly and in writing before you agree to it.

5.1 Prices on the website are a guide, not a final price. Weekly rates on the website (shown as "indicative rates") are guide prices. Prices and availability on the website come from a copy of data from operators and booking systems (Booking Manager and NauSYS) that we update from time to time. They may be out of date, and a yacht shown as available may already be booked. A price on the website is not an offer and does not reserve a yacht. Availability is confirmed only when the operator confirms it and we tell you in writing.

5.2 What the price includes. All prices are in euros (EUR). The weekly price shown on the website is the yacht's charter price only. Mandatory charges are not included. Before you accept, we tell you:

• the charter price for the yacht and dates;
• the mandatory charges the operator applies (usually the transit log or "starter pack", final cleaning and Croatian tourist tax), with their amount or how they are calculated (for example, tourist tax per person per night), and whether you pay them in advance or at the base;
• the price of any optional extras you ask for (for example a skipper, outboard engine or paddle board); and
• the security deposit (see 5.4).

As a rough guide, a skipper usually costs EUR 150 to 250 per day, and the refundable security deposit is usually EUR 1,500 to 5,000, depending on the yacht. Your offer gives the exact amounts.

Running costs during the charter are not included and cannot be known in advance. These include fuel, marina, mooring and anchoring fees outside the base port, national and nature park entrance fees, and the skipper's food.

5.3 Payment. You never pay anything on the website. You pay the operator directly, using the payment details in your booking documents. Payment schedules differ between operators. The schedule in your booking documents is the one that applies.

5.4 Security deposit. The operator takes the security deposit at the base at check-in, usually by blocking an amount on a credit card. TideCharter never holds your deposit. After the check-out inspection, the operator decides under its terms whether any amount is kept for damage or loss. How fast a card block is released depends on the operator and your bank. Some operators offer a non-refundable deposit insurance (a "damage waiver") instead. If they do, we tell you its cost and what it does not cover.

5.5 How long a quote is valid, and mistakes. A quoted price is valid until the option or validity date stated in the quote. After that, we check it again with the operator. Once the operator has confirmed your booking, the price in its booking confirmation applies. It can change only where the operator's terms allow it and the law permits, for example a change in a tax set by law. If a price or detail on the website or in a quote is obviously wrong (for example a typing error or a data error), we tell you as soon as we notice. If this happens before the booking is confirmed, you can accept the corrected offer or withdraw at no cost.

6.1 Enquiries and options. You can withdraw an enquiry at any time, free of charge, by telling us. An option expires automatically if you do not accept in time.

6.2 Cancelling or changing a confirmed charter. This is governed by the operator's cancellation terms, which we send you before you accept (section 3.4). To cancel, write to the operator using the contact details in your booking documents and copy us at hello@tidecharter.com. If you write only to us, we forward your message to the operator by the end of our next working day (see section 1 for our hours). Some operators count only the date they themselves receive your notice, so to be safe, always write to the operator directly as well.

6.3 Can I cancel within 14 days? No, not for a charter. EU law gives a 14-day right to cancel many purchases made online or by email, but not leisure services booked for fixed dates, such as a yacht charter (Article 16(l) of Directive 2011/83/EU and the Croatian Consumer Protection Act). So once your booking is confirmed, you have no legal right to cancel it free of charge within 14 days just because you booked online or by email. Whether and at what cost you can cancel depends on the operator's cancellation terms, which are in every offer we send you before you accept.

6.4 Insurance. We strongly recommend travel insurance that covers cancelling your charter.

7.1 If you are not happy with our service, please tell us. You can send a written complaint by email to hello@tidecharter.com or by post to Lerna d.o.o., Ulica grada Vukovara 11, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.

7.2 It helps if you include your enquiry reference (it starts with "TC-") and tell us what you would like us to do, but this is not required.

7.3 We confirm receipt of your complaint without delay and send you a reasoned written reply within 15 days of receiving it, as required by the Croatian Consumer Protection Act. You can write to us in English or Croatian, and we will try to answer in German, French, Italian or Spanish. We keep your complaint and our reply for 1 year after our reply, or 5 years after the end of your charter if the complaint concerns a booking.

7.4 Problems with the charter itself (for example the condition of the yacht or the security deposit) are the operator's responsibility under the charter agreement. You can always copy us or complain to us as well, and we will help you deal with the operator. To protect yourself:

• check the yacht carefully at check-in, and make sure any existing damage or missing equipment is written on the check-in report before you sign it;
• report any problem during the charter to the base straight away, so it can be fixed;
• if you disagree with the check-out report, write your objection on it before you sign.

7.5 Urgent problems during your charter. For anything that needs fixing on the spot (check-in, a fault on the yacht, damage, an accident), call the operator's base on the phone number in your booking documents. Only the base can repair or replace equipment. Please also email us, and we will follow up with the operator.

8.1 If we cannot resolve your complaint, you may refer the dispute to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body. The body competent for us is Mediation Centre of the Croatian Chamber of Economy (Centar za mirenje HGK, hgk.hr). We are not obliged to take part in ADR, and we decide case by case whether to take part. When we reply to your complaint, we will tell you again which ADR body is competent and whether we agree to take part.

8.2 If you live in another EU country, Iceland or Norway, the European Consumer Centre in your country can give you free advice on a cross-border dispute with us: ECC-Net.

8.3 Using ADR is voluntary and does not affect your right to go to court. (The EU's former online dispute resolution platform closed on 20 July 2025, so we do not link to it.)

9.1 Yacht details. Yacht descriptions, specifications, equipment lists, photos, locations and prices come mainly from operators and the booking systems they use. We take care to present them correctly, but we cannot check every detail of every yacht. Photos may show a sister ship of the same model, and on a few listings they are illustrative images rather than photos of the yacht itself. Equipment can change from season to season. Under their terms, operators can also replace a yacht with a similar or larger one if it cannot be used (for example after damage on the previous charter). If something is important to you, ask us and we will confirm it with the operator in writing.

9.2 Guides and general information. Our destination guides, blog articles, FAQs and sailing information (for example about licences, tourist tax, the crew list or weather) are general information to help you plan. They are not legal, navigational or safety advice, and the rules can change. Before you sail, check the current requirements with the operator and the Croatian maritime authorities (the harbour master's offices).

9.3 Best rates. We try to find you the best available rate for the yacht and dates you want. Unless your written quote clearly says otherwise, we do not give a price-match or "lowest price" guarantee.

9.4 How search results are ordered. You can sort search results by price (low to high or high to low), by length (longest first), or by the year the boat was built (newest first). When you sort by price, yachts without a known price are shown last. The default order ("Recommended") is the order in which yachts appear in our combined fleet database, which we build from Booking Manager, NauSYS and operator data. It does not depend on price or on any payment. Operators cannot pay to be shown higher, and our commission does not affect the order of search results.

9.5 Suggestions by our team. When we suggest yachts to you by email, we choose them based on your requirements, availability, price and our experience of the operator's reliability. The commission we would earn can also play a part, so ask us if you want to know how much we earn on each yacht we suggest. Commission rates can differ between operators (see section 4).

9.6 Reviews. The website does not publish guest reviews or star ratings of yachts or operators, and we do not collect reviews. If we ever show reviews or ratings, we will say here where they come from and whether and how we check that they come from people who actually chartered the yacht.

10.1 You may use the website for your own personal purposes: to plan and request a yacht charter.

10.2 You must be at least 18 years old to send an enquiry or make a booking. If you enquire for a group, please only share other people's details with us if you are entitled to, and tell them how we use their data. Our Privacy Policy also explains how we handle the details of people on your crew list.

10.3 Please give accurate contact details. Please do not put health or other sensitive information in your message unless it is really needed for your trip, such as an accessibility need.

10.4 Your responsibilities for the charter. For a bareboat charter (without a skipper), the person in charge of the yacht must hold a boat licence and a VHF radio certificate that are recognised in Croatia, and must have the experience the operator requires. If you send us copies, we pass them to the operator. The operator decides whether to accept them, and we cannot confirm that a licence is valid. If the operator refuses to hand over the yacht because the documents or experience are not sufficient, the operator's terms apply. Usually this means you must hire a skipper at your own cost, and no refund is due. You must also give the operator a complete crew list before departure.

10.5 You must not:

• use the website in a way that breaks the law or the rights of others;
• send false, misleading or spam enquiries, or enquiries in someone else's name without their permission;
• scrape, copy or systematically download content or data from the website (including yacht data, prices and photos) by automated means, except for normal indexing by public search engines;
• try to get unauthorised access to the website, its servers, databases or admin area, test its security without our written permission, or disrupt it (for example with malware or overload attacks);
• get around technical limits such as rate limits or anti-spam checks;
• copy the website, or show it inside another website, as if it were yours;
• use the website to send advertising or unsolicited messages.

10.6 If you break these rules, we may block your access or ignore your enquiries, in proportion to the breach. We may report illegal activity to the authorities.

10.7 You do not need an account to use the website, and we do not offer one.

11.1 The website, its design, text, logos, the name "TideCharter" and our guides and articles belong to us or our licensors and are protected by copyright and other laws. You may view and print pages for your own use and share links to them. Any other use, such as copying content to another website or using it commercially, needs our written permission.

11.2 Yacht photos and data are supplied by operators and booking systems and remain the property of their owners. You may not reuse them.

11.3 Destination photos. Many photos of Croatian bases and destinations come from Wikimedia Commons and are used under Creative Commons licences (such as CC BY and CC BY-SA). Authors and licences are credited on our Photo credits page. If you reuse one of these photos, follow its original licence, not these Terms. If you think a photo is credited wrongly or used without permission, email hello@tidecharter.com and we will fix or remove it promptly.

11.4 Maps. The map view uses map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).

11.5 Links. The website may link to other websites. We do not control them and are not responsible for their content or their privacy practices.

The website is a free information service, and we do not promise any particular level of availability. We may change, suspend or remove parts of it, for example for maintenance. If an enquiry you sent may not have reached us, for example because you did not receive our confirmation email, please email hello@tidecharter.com. Section 13 explains when we are responsible for loss.

13.1 What we do answer for. As your broker, we must do our part with due care: pass on your enquiry, your acceptance and any cancellation or change you send us correctly and on time, give you accurate information about the offer as we received it from the operator, tell you our own and the operator's identity and the key terms before you accept, and arrange the booking as agreed. We are liable if we breach these duties through our own fault.

13.2 The charter itself is the operator's responsibility under the charter agreement. This includes the condition of the yacht and its equipment, crew supplied by the operator, delays or cancellations by the operator, and the handling of the security deposit. The operator or the harbour master can delay departure or limit where you sail because of weather or sea conditions, for your safety. Whether any refund is due is decided by the operator's terms; under most operators' terms, no refund is due for days lost to weather. We will still help you raise any problem with the operator.

This does not apply where the problem is caused by our own mistake, for example if we passed on wrong dates or wrong information about the yacht. If we did not tell you the operator's identity before you accepted, you may hold us responsible as if we were the operator.

13.3 If the website and your offer disagree, the offer counts. The written offer we send you before you accept (section 3.4) and the operator's booking documents are what is binding for your charter. We take reasonable care to keep the website accurate. If we make a mistake that causes you loss, our liability is governed by the law and this section 13. Please check anything important to you with us in writing before you accept (section 9.1).

13.4 What we never limit. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our fault, for damage caused intentionally or through gross negligence, or for any other liability that the law, including the Croatian Civil Obligations Act and consumer protection law, does not allow us to limit.

13.5 If any limitation in these Terms is not valid under the law that applies to you, it applies only as far as the law allows.

14.1 Croatian law applies to these Terms and to our broker service.

14.2 If you are a consumer living in another country, you also keep the protection of your home country's consumer law (Rome I Regulation, Art. 6(2)).

14.3 If you are a consumer living in the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland, you can take us to court in Croatia or in the country where you live, and we can only take you to court in the country where you live (Brussels I bis Regulation, Art. 17-18, and the Lugano Convention).

14.4 The charter agreement with the operator may contain its own choice of law and court. Whether it applies to you is decided under the law. As a consumer, you keep the protection described in 14.2 and 14.3.

14.5 If you use the website for business (for example as a travel agent):

• if we cause you loss through ordinary (not gross) negligence, we are responsible only for the kind of loss that was typical and foreseeable for this kind of service;
• you may not use operator information or quotes we give you to bypass us for the same booking request, or to sell to your own customers, without our written agreement;
• the competent court in Zagreb, Croatia, has exclusive jurisdiction.

If you see anything on the website that you think is illegal or infringes your rights, email hello@tidecharter.com and tell us why. We will look into it promptly. Authorities can contact us at the same address. You can write to us in English or Croatian, and we will try to answer in German, French, Italian or Spanish.

We may update these Terms for a valid reason, for example a change in the law or in how our service works. Changes apply only to enquiries sent after the new version is published. For an enquiry or booking already in progress, the version you accepted continues to apply unless you agree to the new one. The "Last updated" date at the top shows when the Terms last changed, and we show a notice on the website when we make a significant change.

17.1 If any part of these Terms is invalid, the rest stays in force, and the invalid part is replaced by the rule the law provides.

17.2 If we do not enforce a right immediately, we have not given it up.

17.3 These Terms are available in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. All versions have the same meaning. If you are a consumer and two versions differ, you may rely on the one that is better for you.

17.4 You can save or print these Terms with your browser.