Card image
Route · 7 days · round-tripYacht charter route · Istria

Punat via Mali Lošinj.

Sail a 7-day loop from Punat through Rab, Pag, Susak, Mali Lošinj, Unije and Cres: Kvarner's sandy beaches, car-free islands and quiet anchorages.

The route

Day-by-day route

Click any pin on the map or any day in the route summary below to see that day's stop, story and photos.

Lopar
Day 1

Punat (Krk) → Lopar (Rab)

An easy first leg south from Marina Punat to Rab's sandy northern tip, where Paradise Beach runs a full kilometre and a half.

Distance

12 NM

Sailing

~2.4h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

June – mid-September (peak Jul – Aug)

Duration

7 days

Departure

Punat

Sailing area

Istria

Route summary

Click any day to jump back to the map and see its photos, narrative and mooring tip.

Plan this route

See boats from Punat

Live availability & prices, bookable online

All Istria routes

Compare other route variations

Search the whole fleet

Every destination, date and boat type

The full story

Day-by-day journey

Named anchorages, mooring notes and things to do for every leg of the week — the map follows along as you scroll.

Day 1 / 7
Lopar
1
Day 1

Punat (Krk) → Lopar (Rab)

Most crews cast off from Marina Punat by mid-morning, once the fuel and water are sorted. The run down to Lopar is short and forgiving, roughly three hours if the Maestral fills in behind you. Rab's northern tip is unusual for this coast: real sand, not shingle. Rajska plaža, the Paradise Beach, stretches a kilometre and a half and shelves so gently that families wade far out before it reaches their waists. Behind it the Sahara dunes hide a quieter, wilder stretch for anyone willing to walk. Climb the low hill to the old cross for a wide view over the Kvarner, then head into the village for a slice of Rapska torta, the almond cake local families have baked for generations. Not a demanding day. That is rather the point on day one.

Things to do

Wade out along Paradise Beach shallows

Find quiet sand at the Sahara dunes

Walk up to Lopar's hilltop cross

Slice of Rapska torta in the village

Mooring tip

Overnight at anchor in San Marino Bay, which shelters well from the northerly Bura; leave the Lopar pier to the ferries and taxi boats rather than counting on a charter berth.

Novalja
2
Day 2

Lopar → Novalja (Pag)

Pag reveals itself long before you dock. The hills run bare and pale, scoured by the Bura until little grows but sage and low scrub, and the salt in the wind is part of why the island's cheese tastes the way it does. Novalja sits on a deep western inlet behind a long breakwater; the town keeps the party crowd busy at Zrće, a short hop across the neck of the island. There is a gentler Pag too. Drive or taxi up to Lun, where a grove of wild olives has stood for centuries, some trunks twisted past recognition. Book a tasting at the Gligora dairy near Kolan and you will understand why Paški sir wins medals abroad. Pair it with the island's roast lamb in the evening. The contrast between the two Novaljas is the whole appeal.

Things to do

Taste Paški sir at Gligora dairy

Walk the ancient olive grove at Lun

Beach day or nightlife at Zrće

Slow-roasted Pag lamb for dinner

Mooring tip

The town quay behind Novalja's breakwater has power and water but fills fast in July and August, so radio ahead or arrive early. The bay opens to the west, so a secure berth beats anchoring if a storm threatens.

Susak
3
Day 3

Novalja → Susak

This is the day to leave early. Twenty-five miles is the longest single hop on the route, and you want the passage done before the afternoon Maestral kicks up chop across the open Kvarner. Susak rewards the effort. There is nothing else quite like it on this coast: no rock, just deep loess sand that the wind piled here over millennia, threaded with paths through reed and vine. Fewer than a hundred people live here year-round, and on feast days the older women still wear the short, bright skirts the island is known for. Anchor off Bok, swim in water that shelves gently over pale sand, then climb to the little chapel above the harbour for the light going down. Dinner is whatever the konoba landed that morning, with a šokol starter and a shot of homemade rakija.

Things to do

Swim the shallow sand at Bok Bay

Wander the reed-lined sand paths

Climb to the harbour chapel at sunset

Šokol and rakija at a family konoba

Mooring tip

Susak's fishing harbour has only a handful of slots, so most crews anchor in Bok Bay on good-holding sand in four to six metres. It covers you from the Bura and Jugo but stays open to the west, so watch the forecast.

Mali Lošinj
4
Day 4

Susak → Mali Lošinj

After Susak's quiet, Mali Lošinj feels almost metropolitan, and the six miles across take barely an hour. The long, protected harbour has been a sailors' town for two centuries, its captains' houses painted in faded ochre and pink along the waterfront. Drop the boat and give the afternoon to the Apoxyomenos museum, built around a single bronze: a Greek athlete hauled from the seabed off the island in 1999 after two thousand years underwater. It is worth the entrance fee. Later, follow the shore path or take a bike out to Čikat, the pine-fringed bay whose resin-heavy air first drew health travellers here over a century ago. If the legs are willing, carry on to Veli Lošinj, tighter and prettier than its bigger neighbour. Finish with scampi buzara at a harbourside table, the shells worth the mess.

Things to do

See the Apoxyomenos bronze up close

Cycle the pine trails around Čikat bay

Stroll the harbour at Veli Lošinj

Scampi buzara on the waterfront

Mooring tip

Y/C Marina Mali Lošinj is the reliable summer booking, with a restaurant and shop on site. The town's city-port quay takes walk-ins first-come, so arrive by early afternoon if you want a spot there.

Unije
5
Day 5

Mali Lošinj → Unije

Unije is the sort of island crews remember long after the flights home. Under a hundred residents, no cars, a single village of stone houses looking west, and a coastline of quiet inlets. The sail across from Lošinj is a lazy hour, so there is no rush to leave. Tuck into Maracol, the deepest and best-sheltered of the island's eastern bays, and you have most of the day to swim, kayak the smaller coves, or simply do nothing on the boat. When hunger sets in, it is a twenty-minute walk over the spine of the island to the village. Konoba Kod Joze does an honest brudet, the tomato-rich fish stew of these waters, and the pace is set by whoever is cooking. Come evening, the lack of streetlights turns the sky over the anchorage genuinely dark.

Things to do

Swim and kayak the coves at Maracol

Walk over the island to Unije village

Brudet at Konoba Kod Joze

Stargaze from the dark anchorage

Mooring tip

Maracol's head is filled with paid mooring buoys on heavy concrete blocks that hold well; take one with bow and stern lines, or anchor clear of them in eight to ten metres. The bay funnels a strong Jugo from the southeast, so reconsider if one is forecast.

Cres
6
Day 6

Unije → Cres

Cres is a big, empty island, and the crossing from Unije gives you a first sense of it: dry ridges, oak forest, and somewhere above, the griffon vultures that nest on the cliffs near Beli. Cres Town sits in a snug bay behind a Venetian gateway, its harbour ringed by arched stone houses and a Romanesque bell tower. It is an easy place to lose an afternoon among the narrow lanes and cafés on the quay. With energy to spare, drive up to Lubenice, a huddle of forty souls on a ridge nearly four hundred metres straight above the sea, with a cove below that only makes sense to visit in settled weather. Back down, Slatina near Martinišćica is the swim stop. Dinner is Cres lamb, grazed on wild herbs and grilled simply, and it needs little else.

Things to do

Wander the walled lanes of Cres Town

Drive up to clifftop Lubenice

Swim at Slatina near Martinišćica

Herb-grazed Cres lamb, simply grilled

Mooring tip

ACI Marina Cres is the largest in the Kvarner and the safe bet in season, with the town quay alongside. For a free night, the sheltered water between the marina and the old shipyard holds well on sand.

Malinska
7
Day 7

Cres → Punat

Handover day, but there is time for one more stop before you hand back the keys. Cross the channel to Krk and anchor off Malinska on the western shore, a shallow, easy bay for a last long swim while someone starts on the boat. If the timing works, it is a short trip inland to the Glavotok monastery, Franciscan and five centuries old, standing among the pines at the water's edge. This is also Žlahtina country: the crisp white from Vrbnik across the island pairs well with a final konoba lunch. From Malinska it is a straightforward sail south and east back to Marina Punat, the oldest charter base in the country and still one of its biggest. Aim to be alongside with fuel taken and the boat rinsed in good time for the afternoon check-out.

Things to do

Last swim in Malinska's shallows

Visit the Glavotok monastery

Vrbnik Žlahtina with konoba lunch

Refuel and rinse before check-out

Mooring tip

Marina Punat runs its own boatyard and fuel quay, so book a fuel slot roughly a day ahead and confirm your return berth before the final approach. It gets busy on Saturday turnaround.

Sail this route on your own charter

Check live availability from the departure marina, compare boats and secure your week online — free cancellation included.

See boats from PunatBrowse all boats