Jet skis, eFoils and water toys in Croatia: what is allowed

In Croatia, jet skis may plane only more than 300 metres from the coast, and riders wear a life jacket and a helmet. Small craft such as boards and underwater scooters may go within 300 metres of the coast from sunrise to sunset, but motorised ones stay at least 50 metres off. We found no rule of their own for eFoils or jetboards.

Most rules below come from Croatia's navigation safety regulation of 2025, NN 52/2025, and the regulation on boats and yachts, NN 13/2020. Every point links to the official source.

What are the jet ski rules in Croatia?

• 300 metres: motorboats and jet-propelled craft ("skuteri, jet ski") may plane only more than 300 metres from the coast, and only where planing is not banned (NN 52/2025, Art. 50(2)). Within 300 metres, every vessel is limited to 8 knots (Art. 50(1)).
• Getting out there: jet skis and fast boats cross the area up to the planing zone only with increased caution; commercial ones only through a marked corridor (Pravilnik NN 72/2021, Art. 48).
• Kill cord, life jacket, helmet: a jet ski must have a safety wristband, and everyone on it wears a life jacket and a safety helmet (NN 13/2020, Annex 10, 3.1.80).
• Towing: a jet ski may tow a water skier or parasailer only if it is certified for at least three people: rider, an observer facing backwards and the skier (same point). Boats faster than 20 knots need a safety wristband, and a convex mirror when towing; everyone on board wears a life jacket unless inside (Annex 10, 3.1.81).
• Insurance: every Croatian or foreign boat or yacht with more than 15 kW of engine power needs valid liability insurance (NN 13/2020, Art. 8).
• Rental jet skis: commercial jet skis need a remote stop from the shore and, within five years of the 2020 regulation, an electronic system that limits them to 5 knots to and from their concession area (Annex 10, 3.1.80).

Do you need a licence?

Anyone in charge of a boat needs a Croatian boat leader certificate (voditelj brodice) of category A, B or C (Pravilnik NN 27/2005, Art. 49, still in force for crews). Category A requires an exam and a minimum age of 15 (Art. 51), category B an exam and 16 (Art. 52).

Which category covers a jet ski, and whether Croatia recognises foreign licences, our sources do not say. A minimum age of 18 for craft over 15 kW, quoted on some websites, was not found in the Official Gazette.

What applies to boards, scooters and other small toys?

Croatian law groups unregistered small craft as osobno plovilo, personal craft, "whatever the type of propulsion". The definition names, among others, paddleboards, kitesurf boards, an "electric sailing board" (električna daska za jedrenje), an electrically driven mattress and the underwater scooter (NN 52/2025, Art. 45(6)). For them:

• Sunrise to sunset, within 300 metres: personal craft may go anywhere within 300 metres of the coast in daylight, except in managed bathing areas (Art. 49(4)).
• 50 metres: motorised personal craft may not come closer than 50 metres to the coast (Art. 49(6)).
• Beyond 300 metres only if the organiser or renter provides an escort by a motorised vessel (Art. 49(7)).
• Divers: keep 50 metres from a diver's marker (Art. 49(12)).
• Parasailing starts and lands only from marked areas (NN 72/2021, Art. 48(1)).

What about eFoils and jetboards?

We found no rule of their own. The list of personal craft names an "electric sailing board", but the regulation does not say whether an eFoil or a jetboard is one, and we do not interpret it. If they count as personal craft, the 300-metre, daylight and 50-metre rules above would apply. Neither the national parks nor the harbour rules we read mention eFoils or jetboards.

Where are water toys banned?

In Krka and Telašćica, we found no separate rule for jet skis or eFoils. In the national parks, simply entering with a boat often needs a ticket or permission; see our guide to Croatian rules for yachts.

How far may the tender go?

A tender registered or marked as equipment of the yacht may go only within 500 metres of it, except when taking people and goods to the nearest landing or between the anchorage and its harbour (NN 52/2025, Art. 49(9)). A boat carried on board but registered in its own right, for work, sport or leisure, may go anywhere within its approved navigation area (Art. 49(10)). Our sources do not say how jet skis and tenders carried on foreign yachts are registered or marked.

How does Croatia compare with Italy and France?

France has a category of its own for eFoils and jetboards (our Côte d'Azur guide). Italy has none, but one protected area bans hydrofoil craft (our Italy guide). Croatia sits closer to Italy: no eFoil rule, but a broad category of personal craft with clear distances, and a 300-metre line for jet skis instead of Italy's one-mile limit.

What should be on board before guests ride?

• A licence for every jet ski rider, and liability insurance for every craft over 15 kW.
• Life jackets and helmets for everyone on a jet ski, and a working kill cord.
• A plan for where to ride: jet skis plane only beyond 300 metres; boards and scooters in daylight, within 300 metres, at least 50 metres off if motorised.
• An escort boat if toys go beyond 300 metres.
• No water skiing in Krka and Telašćica, and nothing in managed bathing areas or Rovinj harbour.

Sources

All sources are official texts from the Official Gazette Narodne novine, the Rovinj port authority and the parks, checked on 7 October 2026 and linked at each point above. Local orders of individual harbour masters were not found and are not included.