Do you need a license to drive a Jet-ski in Croatia?

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YES.

The government in Croatia restricts driving jet-skis and also all other motorboats only to people who have a special license.

JET SKI’s can be a lot of fun but are also very dangerous. Lots of customers wanna have jet skis on their gulets. It’s one of the best experiences for customers but a nightmare for owners.

They are very powerful and you need to follow some of the rules to safely operate them:

You will need a special license to drive them on your own in Croatia.

Most of the clients are not aware of the law and are not happy to find out they cannot operate them on their own. They are very powerful machines and also dangerous because nobody that drives them doesn’t drive them slowly.

If in any case your captain still allows you to drive a JET SKI (which is not good) and the police come, you need to be aware, in Croatia penalties are very high. For you and for the gulet owner.

You can only use them in open seas

For safety reasons, it is not advisable to operate them close to the shores. You can be very fast with them and can easily overlook a swimmer (you can get to jail for that).

Lots of clients get hurt from speeding

Most of the clients don’t have much experience with driving them but will still get a chance to experience them. If you are not aware of the powerful engine and rough seas it can easily happen that you will get hurt.

You can be easily overwhelmed with the “fun factor” of the JET SKI. And when that happens all of the group will have a ruined holiday. Not only the driver but also the owner who then needs to organize everything and drive them to the hospital.

So JET SKI’s are fun but also can be very dangerous. But if you use them normally and don’t go over your abilities everything will be OK. It’s one of the more fun activities on your gulet cruise.

For a gulet that has a JET SKI on board, you will need to book a deluxe or a luxury type.

If you don’t have a license and would still like to enjoy a jet-ski. You can always ask someone from the crew and he will be glad to drive you around.