Adventure Charter Reviews 

We often rent yachts all over the world and have never encountered a charter company that so easily and without any reason takes money from its clients. There was a situation when the yacht wasn’t ready — the engine wasn’t working! The company charged the full cost of the charter and didn’t assume any responsibility for the fact that the yacht wasn’t ready for delivery! Moreover, they deducted 100 euros from the deposit because we left food in the fridge after the charter. They claimed it was garbage! I’d like to warn everyone! Don’t get involved with this charter company!!!

This charter company cannot be recommended, as the Bavaria 46 sailing yacht was in such poor condition and, to make matters worse, the deposit was also charged because of a tear in the mainsail. But that was not the only problem during our one-week sailing trip. The most serious defects
* The toilet drain valves were leaking — I’ll spare you the details! The smell was disgusting.
* There was a leaking hatch above the forward port-side bunk, which caused the bed to get wet.
* The hinges on the hatches in the galley were broken, so they could not be properly closed and sealed.
* Finally, the mainsail was torn along the leech. This had already been noticed in a video on the second day. Given the light wind conditions, it is completely unclear to us how something like this could have happened.

All I can say is: stay away from this company!

never again. extremely unfriendly staff (especially her sitting in the middle of the office), boat in terrible condition (worn-out kitchen equipment, no inverter, navigation lights- toilet- water pump malfunctions, )
basic services at an extra cost

⭐ 1/5 – CATASTROPHIC EXPERIENCE

Our experience with this yacht charter was extremely disappointing. The yacht had an unbelievable number of faults and problems either upon check-in or during our trip:

• Non-functioning masthead wind sensor
• No running water on board
• One broken winch
• Broken pulley/block
• Air conditioning not working and producing a very unpleasant smell
• Autopilot not working
• Insufficient number of glasses, plates, and other basic tableware

The overall condition of the yacht was shocking considering its age. The yacht is only around 8 years old, yet the furniture is already falling apart. Many things appeared to have been temporarily repaired or simply held together with duct tape. The overall condition gave us the impression that the yacht had been very poorly maintained.

In our opinion, the yacht in this condition was not suitable or safe for sailing. When renting a yacht, you expect the basic equipment — especially important navigation and deck equipment — to be properly inspected, maintained, and fully functional, not temporarily fixed with duct tape.

The situation regarding the security deposit was particularly unacceptable. Our deposit was not returned because of issues that we believe were already damaged or non-functional before we took over the yacht. This left us with the impression that customers can be charged for pre-existing problems.

The attitude of the staff was also very unfriendly and unprofessional, especially the base manager. Instead of properly addressing the numerous problems with the yacht, we experienced an extremely poor level of customer service.

After this experience, we absolutely cannot recommend this charter company.

If you still decide to rent from them, we strongly recommend photographing and recording ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING before leaving the marina — every winch, pulley, piece of equipment, furniture, and every existing defect or damage. Test the running water, autopilot, wind sensor, air conditioning, and all other equipment, and insist that every single issue is documented in writing on the check-in report.

Our rating: ⭐ 1/5.

In our opinion, a yacht in the condition in which we received it should not have been offered for charter at all.

SCAMMERS: Extremely disappointing experience. I would not recommend this charter company.

We chartered Bavaria Cruiser 46 “Janus” and the yacht had numerous serious issues: malfunctioning wind instruments showing readings of up to 326 knots, unreliable autopilot/GPS, problems with the freshwater system that left us without running water for a significant part of the charter, a damaged component in the genoa furling system, leaking windows/hatches and a terrible sewage-like smell when using the air conditioning.

We also paid for early check-in but received the yacht only around 16:00.

Another very concerning issue was the information regarding the marina service cost. Before our charter, we specifically asked by phone about the additional cost for this particular yacht and were told it would be €40 plus fuel. At check-out, however, we were suddenly told that the service cost was €400, not €40. This was completely different from what we had been told over the phone.

Money was also retained from our security deposit without an invoice, itemised calculation or adequate evidence that we had caused the alleged damage. The staff at reception were extremely arrogant, and the receptionist even threatened us with legal action.

We have photographs and time-stamped documentation of the issues.

The combination of misleading information, the €40 vs €400 discrepancy, the condition of the yacht, the handling of our deposit and the attitude at reception left us feeling as though the entire process was designed to extract additional money from customers. From our perspective, the whole experience felt like a coordinated scam involving the parties involved.

We have submitted a formal complaint and requested a refund. Until this is properly resolved, I strongly recommend being extremely careful when booking with them.

Very disappointing experience with Adventure Charter. We paid for early check-in, but despite prior confirmation, it was not provided.

The boat had numerous technical problems: unreliable navigation and wind instruments, faulty freshwater system, strong sewage smell, damaged genoa furling equipment and water leaking inside during a storm.

Part of our deposit was also withheld without proper documentation or evidence. The way the issues were handled was highly unprofessional.

Definitely not the standard we expected and not a charter company we would recommend.

We recently completed a two-week charter with Adventure Charter—or rather, DisAdventure Charter—and it was easily one of the most frustrating experiences we’ve ever had on the water. Looking at other reviews online now, it’s clear our experience wasn't an isolated incident: there is a distinct pattern here of deceiving client expectations and providing substandard, hostile service.

We lost 4 full days of our 14-day vacation dealing with recurring technical issues. From day one, the tender was defective (and swapped for one that the base manager openly admitted "just deflated slower"), and the steaming light wasn't working—a basic safety requirement that they simply dismissed because there were "no spare parts on board."

The Battery Nightmare & Unlawful €150 Charge:
After just 24 hours of cruising, the battery alarm went off, starting a long troubleshooting session with the base manager. A key technical issue was that the two gauges dedicated to the Service and Engine batteries always displayed the exact same reading. Adventure Charter completely ignored this detail and simply requested that we return to the harbor to replace the engine battery.

Despite this replacement, the battery alarm kept blinking continuously. This forced us to run the engine for up to 15 hours a day while keeping power consumption to a bare minimum—switching off one of the fridges and sometimes even turning off the anchor light in sheltered bays. On one occasion, despite all our efforts, the anchor windlass became completely inoperable for hours—a major safety hazard.

To shift the blame, Adventure Charter claimed the boat had to return to a marina every 2–3 days for shore power because it was "not equipped with solar panels." This operational restriction was never disclosed prior to booking or during check-in, and finding open berths in Croatia during peak August is virtually impossible.

To make matters worse, after making us alter our route to Vis and wait 32 hours for an external technician, they slapped us with a surprise €150 fee at check-out. We were never informed in advance about this cost, nor were we ever told we would be required to pay for it. Charging clients without prior consent for technicians called to inspect pre-existing vessel issues is completely unlawful.

When we tried to reason with them and asked which contract clause entitled them to deduct this amount from our security deposit, the base manager simply looked at his watch, said, "My workday is finished," and ran away. The attitude from both the base manager and the booking team was dismissive, defensive, and outright aggressive—essentially telling us to "pay first and complain later" while refusing any reasonable compensation for our lost holiday time.

Poor Inventory & Onboard Equipment:
On a "softer" note, the kitchen equipment was completely inadequate. Having only 2 small pans and 1 small pot was nowhere near enough to cook for a crew of 9, and there wasn't even enough basic cutlery or glasses (though some items were replenished when we returned to base for the battery swap). To top it off, the inventory included standard Ikea glass drinkware—50% of which predictably broke after a few days of normal navigation.

Conclusion:
If you are looking for a reliable charter company in Croatia that values safety, transparency, and basic customer care, look elsewhere. Adventure Charter delivers ill-maintained vessels, unfair surprise fees, and a complete refusal to take responsibility for their own equipment.

It is no surprise to see in May 2026 that 27 out of 33 reviews for Adventure C in trust pilot 27 are one star ratings.

We are so sorry that we did not return to one of the many more reputable companies we’d used before in Croatia such as Pitter, Dalmatia Charter, Na Pola Puta, Euroyacht or Croatia Yachting without a single deposit related issue in our fourteen years chartering in the Med.

We participated in the recent ECC regatta. Of the 47 participants 5 boats reported disputes related to charter companies retaining deposits or overcharging in the view of the client. 4 of these 5 disputes were with Adventure Charter (who had chartered only 11 boats for the regatta.)

In our case, we took an eight year old yacht, Dia.

1) The pontoon staff told us that the window beside the control panel had been repaired immediately prior to our charter. The panel was always working through our charter although the display was foggy! In the last day of the charter the wind and waves were a little stronger and we noticed drops of water gathering on the shelf in front of the control panel. Upon return we told the pontoon staff about the problem, mainly to help them prepare the boat for the next charter. The admin staff and branch manager insisted that as the boat had not been leaking on the (calm dry) day it was chartered the leak must have been caused by the client and not by sea conditions or inadequate repair work done immediately prior to the charter. They asserted that they would need to replace the panel (that at all times was working). When our crew checked on Saturday afternoon they saw (and photographed) the silicone seal being repaired but confirmed that nothing was being done about the (still working) panel.
2) We also had an issue when leaving. We forgot to release a slip and hit the black rubber pontoon protector when leaving. The pontoon staff did a good job and held our boat away from the pontoon. On check out the pontoon staff reported the black marks but were subsequently able to use solvent to fully remove them. We’re not sure if this was included in the invoice as explained below.

3) The Adventure idea of checking in is to give the client an app with 85 separate entries and require the client alone to inspect the boat. Complete overkill, time consuming and distracting. We did not mention a clearly old small mark on the gel coat of the 8 year old boat. Upon return the boat mark was recorded by the check out staff and the admin staff initially tried to blame us for the mark. We’re not sure if this was included in the invoice as explained below.

The 1800 Euro invoice we were presented with had one line, in Croatian. We were unable to determine what the invoice was for or to see a justification of the costs. The branch manager and the admin staff were unwilling to explain the bill or to provide a price list or hourly rate.

At best the invoice could be Adventure getting us to pay for basic maintenance/ rectification of previous unskilled repairs. At worst (eg we saw no evidence of the panel actually being replaced) Adventure could be profiteering by charging for work that was not necessary and was not done.

The admin person dealing with us insisted that if we did not sign the invoice that Adventure Charters would “deduct the money from my payslip!!” She did retreat from this position and ended up saying that they ‘probably’ would.

Ultimately we saw the pontoon staff repairing the window on the Saturday afternoon prior to the next charter time. The repair took just over an hour and the control panel remained in place and working.

Perhaps the treatment we and the other boats received was specific to the branch at Drage Marina as they flat out refused to give us contact details of their head office. They even refused to give us their branch manager’s name.

Don’t take our word alone on the unreasonable way in which their administration staff deal with ‘dissent’. Check out and compare Adventure responses to the many complaints they have received on other websites with how the likes of Euroyacht respond. For example they tell people who will never return that they’re blacklisted!!
Currently the regatta organisers, HighpointYachting.com (a company that understands customer service and who have arranged charters for us over the past fifteen years without a single deposit dispute) are involved in the escalation on behalf of ourselves and other clients. We hope to update the review with more favourable news.

Be VERY careful when you deal with this company or you may end up footing their maintenance bill. Take very detailed photos of every inch of the boat before you take it out and get a precise and detailed report on all recent maintenance. This company carried out, in our view, defective maintenance on the boat we hired. When we apprised them of this at the end of our charter, they blamed us for the defect and took the cost of the replacement of the defective part out of our deposit!! . No discussion, impossible to elevate the complaint to a higher management level ,or to contact their dispute resolution process as they refused to provide any company contact information except their email. Very disappointing and discouraging. We can never use Adventure Charters again.

Awful, greedy charter, DO NOT RENT A BOAT HERE if you are not ready to lose thousand of euros from your deposit. They rented us an old boat with hidden/maintenance problems, and blamed us for them at check-out. The ladies at the reception were aggressive and unhelpful. The manager, who didn´t want to give his name, was aggressive and unfair and charged us thousand of euros based on his ridiculous "price list" - no discussions. Other skippers told us similar misadventures.

AVOID.

We had a very unpleasant experience with this charter company.

One of the hull portholes started leaking on our return passage. We had encountered heavy weather during the voyage, and this porthole had most likely been hit by waves underway. The porthole had already been repaired before we took delivery of the yacht by applying silicone sealant around it (we have photos proving this). The charter company had apparently only checked the watertightness against rain ingress. The force of the seas most likely exposed the weakness of the previous repair. After our return to the marina, the porthole was once again watertight in rain conditions.

The charter company simply argued that the porthole was not leaking before the charter and was leaking afterwards, therefore charging us the full replacement cost of the porthole: €1,800!!

No discussion was possible (“that’s it,” as they kept saying).

Any discussion at reception was completely blocked: “we apply the standard charges.”

We believe they are passing the cost of poor maintenance of their boats onto their charter clients. Moreover, the amount claimed is totally disproportionate compared with the actual cost of replacing a porthole.

In the end, right in front of us, they only added more silicone sealant as a repair. So, if you are prepared to be ripped off at the end of your charter and are willing to risk having your holiday ruined, then by all means charter with this company.

We also heard similar stories from other people on the dock.

Thanks for professional service during YKP Sailing Team regatta 2026. We had a great time.

Had a wonderful week with Adventure Charter in Croatia. The boat was modern, clean, and perfectly equipped. The team was professional and helpful, and we explored stunning Dalmatian islands with zero stress.
Smaller issue were solved immediately.
The check-in and check-out procedure with self check-in application is really good model.
Everything was top quality. Highly recommended — we’ll definitely return! ⛵

- The first day of our charter we found a leak in one of our cabins, after they repaired it we didn't have time to reach our destination before dawn therfore had to stay at marina
- Two days before check-out there started a leakage of fuel which they couldn't find, we needed to find and finance accomodation on our own
- During the leakage the manager was extremly unreasonable, unhelpfull and agressive, recomemnding us to buy perfumes and keep the windows open (it was heavy raining)
- I asked for compensation for accomodation and one day of not being able to sail and was rejected with them calling me a liar although I had witnesses of the whole situation

Totally unscrupulous company. They completely ignored a serious diesel leak, causing exacerbation to a crew member with COPD on the boat, say the boat has no problems what so ever, then spends two days repairing it with rather hostile technicians, without any compensation. Arrogant manager encourages air freshener without acutally seeing the boat himself (absurd!). Absoultely avoid the charter if you acutally want to get the services you paid for without risking damage to your health and your holiday.

Very friendly and, helpful staff. Sailboat was clean.

We had really good experience with this company. Reading these reviews I can only say these people are not experienced sailors and this is all very unnecessary.

Please avoid Adventure Charter. This company intentionaly and knowingly scam people. When checking out they charge for damages already present on the ship, and charging these same damages again to next customers. Shoud be investigated for Insurance Fraud.

Do not rent a boat from them. They will charge you for some old damages as a broken boat trusther. Check whole boat inside and outside by yourself and make a videos and photos before check-in. Photos and videos will be a proof for check-out.

Don't rent a boat with them. They were very dishonest. Kept all the deposit for a damage without demostrating the amount of the damage. They will try to keep your deposit with any excuse.