Camping in Croatia

[chez2509]

Can anyone assist me with advice on setting up a campsite in Croatia, at present I'm in the UK with a flat to sell, I won't have a great dealof equity but myselfand my friend have wantedto do this for a ong time and we would love to give it a go in Croatia. Being a carer I've not had any business experience at all but how difficult can it be? I need to be sure it will work before I put everything I own into it, can anyone advise please?

[mambo]

Chez2509,

My best advice would be to forget Croatia, you will not succeed in this country, you will just get caught up in so much red tape that it will quickly finish you off. Without any experience, no connections in this country, no money and a very short season.....................you will have almost 100 % chance of failure.

Last year a Dutch guy was convinced he could set something up inland Croatia. Started with a lot of enthusiasm, but is now leaving Croatia again, figured out that all the stories about this country are indeed true. He lost a fortune, has no house anymore, is basically bankrupt. Don't copy him.

[crojoe]

although a camp site is a great idea, and you can run it for about 4 months peak, then low for about 2, and slow for about 1 or 2 months. The problem is that land on the coast comes at a premium price, and then you have to get a load of permits, staff. Best advise, is purchase apartments, create a company and rent them out, both via a good looking web site, and then on places like ebay, internet sites and so forth. My suggestion is you assign a caretaker or reside at the place yourself. Most Croatians opt for this path and make a good living out of it. When I mean apartment, I'm not talking about 1 unit. To make any money over many years, you'll need several units, put a lot of time and commitment, public relations and work. My suggestion would be to have such apartments located near to one of the seaside towns not to far from one of the airports visited by budget airlines. If you have a van to collect clients, even better.

[Ribaric]

You have some good advice chez, but don't let it put you off.

Life here in business is much harder than anywhere else I know about. Mambo goes over the top a bit but you have to respect his view because he has done it, got the tee-shirt etc etc. You will need the patience of a saint and the perseverance of a beaver building a dam. People like madgolfer (a regular poster here) has made a success of it but he and mrs MG have been slaving away for several years and have climbed many a tall mountain.

IF, a big IF, you've got what it takes, you can do it. IF you haven't got that iron will (like me) then don't try.

[Madgolfer]

I've been asked a number of times about this as a business option and we have looked into it again very recently.

Firstly, there do seem to be many successful campsites at the coast for obvious reasons, but almost nothing whatsoever inland.

Based on the sheer volume of cars passing Zagreb everyday from from places like Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Cheq Rep, Bel, Holl, Germany, Austria etc etc then there would certainly seem to be an opportunity.

Caravans however require a very different set of rules and regs to tents.

If a campsite will be your only source of income, then you should consider things very carefully as there does not seem to be a huge amount of money in it. Campers across Europe expect to pay between €5 and €10 per night, depending on the quality of services etc available.

If your plan is to provide a secondary income or as a "top up" to something else then that is different. Many properties here do have large areas of land suited to campsites, and also additional buildings which can be rented out for longer term holiday makers or for other uses.

Infrastructure costs can be minimal if you pick the right site. Campers require mainly just a clean water supply, WC, shower and a sink to wash up. Perhaps an electrical supply to charge up mobiles etc, but not essential.

Some offer a shop for supplies, BBQ areas or even a small restaurant and somewhere to have a beer. This seems to be the main "add-on" where you can increase your turnover.

Being easy to find and good access are other obvious pre requisites.

Making early contact with the local authority for the region you plan to set your campsite up is essential, before you consider buying any particular site.

There are certain rules and regs to be met as in any country, and if you are interested in looking into this region then I will gladly help with anything I can.

If its in this area, we will gladly introduce you to the correct people, contact me via our website and we can go from there.

Cheers.

K.

[cropal]

Over the last few years I have seen two campsites for sale with real estate agencies in Dalmatia, one was for 4 million euro and the other for 5 million euro !!!

[mambo]

@ January,

Of course things happen everywhere, but don't confuse what happened to our company with a green light for other things.

First of all, if you want to do something in tourism you will need a sh** load of permissions and everyone knows what a mess it is to get permissions for your company.
Then we haven't even addressed all the permissions you will need to open up a camp ground. Building permissions for almost everything, water and electricity connections, you name it. I can only say.............good luck, you will need a lot of patience and even then you are not sure you will get it.
On top of that you will get the problems of staying permits, employing people, draining your funds before you have even started. From the moment you arrive money starts to flow out of your pocket at a high rate. It will take you at least 2 years before you will be welcoming your first guests, in other words you will need money to cover all the cost plus those two years.

Buying a house with apartments is a completely different matter. You will need permissions for that as well, but those are much easier to get. If you are able to fill your apartments up with tourists you can do nicely, but I know enough people who only rent out the apartments for a total of 4 weeks per year. To give people the idea that all Croatians rent out their apartments for 3 or 5 months is overdoing it.

Other countries have problems with permissions as well, but at least there you will find a judicial system which works and those countries are not so immensely corrupt plus seasons last longer.
The major hotel (and campground) operators calculate with 100 days in a season. A season normally lasts from 10 April until 10 October, in other words 180 days, which means an occupation rate of 50 %.
These are the numbers in Istria, for a campground in Dalmatia you can lower those figures to 35 - 40 %. Dalmatia is simply too far away for short holidays, meaning you will only have tourists during July and first weeks of August. During the remaining months you will have the odd caravan or camper passing by.
Don't confuse apartments with camp grounds, they are not the same.

[crojoe]

I know several friends who own places on the coast, a couple with a panzio type situation, and they said this year is just as good as last year, and they are fully booked (Hvar and Split region), while one room apartments also are booked up well this year, despite the rain. One interesting fact is if you get those heads on pillows, and your service and price are right, it is more likely then not a fact those clients will return the following year. Many of those I know have that set up, with regular clients each year.

[poiter]

succeeding in croatia should not be about "having what it takes" cos the corrupt and idiotic well connected monopilistic oppertunists that thrive in croatia...will say that they are succesfull cos they have what it takes.
what they have is a step on avereyone and everything attitude...and they have connections. they think they are intelligent when theyve ripped someone off. browny points and medals for the most ruthless. and they all hang out together..its a closed circle.
forget about the camping thing.
i totaly agree with mambo.

[chez2509]

Thank you all for your feedback I'm very grateful. The type of camping I had in mind was Pods, Yurts, wigwams etc How difficult can it be to buy a run down small holding with electric and water with a copse or woodland, start small and try and get it right or am I being nieve? i'm so sick of this country I've got to do something to get out of here I don't have enough cash to do anything over here even if I wanted to, if all else fails I am a carer but I'd rather have a go at running a campsite???

[Carol]

You need to know about zoning in croatia before you go any further. You can't just start a campsite in an empty field over there. Tourism is a major business, so there are designated areas for tourist development and that subdivides into different areas for different things. campsites have their own special designated zones. It is all subject to planning permission. To try to create a campside in an non-designated zone in Croatia would have the same chances of success as trying to build a huge house in greenbelt in the Uk.
If you carry on with this plan, then you really need good advice on this before you spend any money that you can't afford to lose, because without going in with your eyes wide-open, you will lose as much as you plough into it.
(I am saying this as an estate agent).

[crojoe]

any wig-wams, standing structures have to have permits in this country. Caravans might be ok, as they ain't stationary structures, but anything not on wheels requires permits.

To get some idea of land prices, check this site out:
www.njuskalo.hr/prodaja-zemljista/sibensko-kninska

[solitum]

Chez2509 you might want to contact these guys www.autocamp-nordsee.com/index.php/en

it is some Germans who opened the camp in Pakostane, i saw the camp few weeks ago, nothing fancy, they should have first hand information.

Anyway i can only agree to the other post here, bureaucracy - permits is a hassle here, so you really need lots of patients

[pinkfloyd]

wooo lot of bad vibes in this topic
I'm Croatian that hates Croatia, and am getting out as soon as possible, but hey it's not impossible to make it here, if you really really wan't to deal with all bull .
This is our Prime Minister, she was in Hungary the day after yesterday.
Rest of our politicians are also dumb as she:

www.business.hr/hr/Naslovnica/Hrvatska/VIDEO-Kosor-u-stranom-tisku-ali-ne-i-njen-the-day-after-yesterday/Kosor-The-day-after-yesterday?utm_source=RSS-feeds&utm_medium=feed_reader&utm_campaign=RSS-sources&utm_content=RSStitle

OK, some of my ideas related to tourism that just popped off my head..
-selling cold water (tap ;D) to tourists stuck on roads(in kilometer+ lines) on way to seaside
-selling cold water in tourist places
- -II- fast food -II-
also, my local tourist board(www.tz-koprivnicko-krizevacka.hr/), that btw. doesn't have english version of website, actually figured out that there are nice cycling trails around here:
www.tz-koprivnicko-krizevacka.hr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=364:2010-dojdi-s-biciklinom&catid=71:promotivni-materijal&Itemid=66,
but promotion is real bad, they still haven't made maps etc.
all in all when tourists come here(inland croatia), they still have no clue what to do, and where to go, despite extraordinary efforts of tourist board.
No seriously, if you have half brain you will see bunch of opportunities here. other part of that besides of money, is actual taking action which is also problem itself, and there is language barrier too, for you.

What I wanna say is - don't be narrow minded sticking only to camps, come here if you wan't, see opportunities and test the waters.. if camps project fails or ends up too expensive and complicated because of stupid croatian bureaucracy will that stop you from your actual goal? People here are not very entrepreneurial, you have lot's of opportunities, but also have to deal with government bull

[poiter]

pinkfloyd...
i know and most of us know that there are many (potential) opportunities in croatia...but its the system and mentality that doesnt let you realize anything. testing the waters is big money. In a country with so much potential and only 4 million people...it takes massive amounts of incompetence to create such unemployment and mega national debt.