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Route · 14 days · round-tripYacht charter route · Zadar

Zadar via Kornati & Hvar.

Sail 14 days round-trip from Zadar through the Kornati islands, Hvar, Korčula, Vis and Krka at Skradin, with anchorage and konoba tips per leg.

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.

Sukošan
Day 1

Zadar → Island Žut

A 25-mile run south from Zadar drops you among the empty outer Kornati, with Žut's quiet coves and a handful of seasonal konobe.

Distance

15 NM

Sailing

~3h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

May – early October (peak Jun – Sep)

Duration

14 days

Departure

Zadar

Sailing area

Zadar

Route summary

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

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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 / 14
Sukošan
1
Day 1

Zadar → Island Žut

Provision well in Zadar before you slip the lines, because Žut has no shop and nobody lives here through the winter. The passage south is straightforward in the usual summer maestral, roughly four hours of easy reaching. Žut is the biggest of the outer Kornati, a long spine of bare limestone cut by sheltered inlets on its eastern side. We usually pick a cove with a restaurant buoy and settle in early; by mid-afternoon the popular ones fill up. Swim off the stern into water that stays clear over the sand, then take the goat track up the ridge for the view back toward Dugi Otok. Dinner ashore is the reward. Order the brudet, a slow Dalmatian fish stew mopped up with polenta, and let the evening go quiet around you.

Things to do

Anchor in a sheltered Žut inlet

Walk the ridge track for Kornati views

Snorkel the sandy shallows off the stern

Brudet fish stew at a seasonal konoba

Mooring tip

Take a restaurant buoy in one of the occupied coves and dinner ashore covers the mooring; otherwise anchor further out on sand in 7-10 m. Arrive by early afternoon in July and August, as the buoy fields off the konobe fill fast.

Dugi otok
2
Day 2

Žut → Pantera Bay (Dugi Otok)

This is a gentle day, mostly motoring or a light reach up the outside of Dugi Otok. Pantera is a broad, pine-fringed bay near the island's northwest tip, well protected from the north and northeast, which makes it a calm overnight when the bura is not blowing hard. The headline ashore is the Veli Rat lighthouse, a 40-metre limestone tower from 1849 and one of the tallest on the Adriatic; local lore says egg whites went into the render to keep it white. Land the tender and stroll through the pines to Sakarun, a rare shallow bay with a genuine sand bottom that turns the water pale green. Back aboard, grill whatever you bought in Žut and watch the light drop behind the lighthouse.

Things to do

Climb the 1849 Veli Rat lighthouse

Walk through pines to Sakarun beach

Snorkel the caves along the rocky shore

Grilled squid on the aft deck

Mooring tip

Anchor on sand in 5-8 m; Pantera holds well and shelters you from the north and northeast. There are no laid buoys here, so give yourself swinging room and check the set before you leave the helm.

Kornati
3
Day 3

Pantera Bay → Vrulja Bay (Kornati NP)

Buy your park ticket before you enter if you can; the wardens board inside the boundary and it is cheaper bought ahead. The sail down through the inner islands is the reason people come to Kornati, a maze of bare grey humps stitched with dry-stone walls that climb straight out of the sea. Vrulja sits on the sheltered flank of Kornat, the main island, and it holds three konobe side by side, each with its own buoys. Take one, then walk out to the seaward cliffs where the walls run right to the drop. Strong walkers can push up Metlina, at 237 metres the high point of the ridge, for a view over the whole park. Fish grilled on the buoy that night tastes better for the effort.

Things to do

Hike up Metlina for park views

Walk the dry-stone walls of Kornat

Snorkel the clear water off the buoys

Fresh grilled fish at a Vrulja konoba

Mooring tip

Vrulja has three restaurant konobe with their own buoy fields; take a buoy and dinner ashore covers it. Book the buoy by VHF or phone on a busy August evening, as this is the most popular stop in the park.

Primosten
4
Day 4

Vrulja → Primošten

Leaving the park, the water opens up and you get a proper sail, twenty miles down the coast with the maestral usually on the beam by midday. Primošten stands on a rounded headland that was once an island, its old town packed tight around the hilltop church of Sveti Juraj. Above and behind the town spread the Bucavac vineyards, a lattice of dry-stone plots that has drawn photographers for decades; this is where the dense Babić red is grown. Berth at Marina Kremik a mile and a half south, then taxi or walk in for the evening. Find a table in the old lanes, order the Babić by the carafe, and pair it with black risotto or fresh-caught fish.

Things to do

Walk up to Sveti Juraj church

See the Bucavac dry-stone vineyards

Taste the local Babić red

Black risotto in the old-town lanes

Mooring tip

Marina Kremik, about 1.5 miles south of town, is the standard overnight berth and worth pre-booking in July and August. The town quay is exposed and best kept for a lunch stop only.

Trogir
5
Day 5

Primošten → Trogir

Short and simple today, so there is no rush to leave. Trogir sits on a small island wedged between the mainland and Čiovo, joined to both by bridges, and the whole medieval core is on the UNESCO list. The set-piece is the Cathedral of Saint Lawrence, and above its main door is the Radovan portal, carved in 1240 and covered in figures worth a slow look. Climb the Kamerlengo, the squat Venetian fort on the point, for a view over the channel and your own masthead. When the heat drops, the riva along the water fills with people; join them for an ice cream and a slow lap of the stone lanes. It is an easy town to like after days on anchor.

Things to do

See the 1240 Radovan portal

Climb Kamerlengo fortress for channel views

Wander the medieval stone lanes

Ice cream on the Trogir riva

Mooring tip

ACI Marina Trogir on the Čiovo side is the reliable pre-booked berth. The town quay along the riva is short-stay and gets swell from passing traffic, so treat it as a daytime visit.

Hvar
6
Day 6

Trogir → Hvar

Set off by mid-morning to make the crossing before the afternoon breeze pipes up in the Hvar channel. Hvar town is the busiest, most dressed-up port on the coast, built around the largest open square in Dalmatia with the sixteenth-century Fortica fortress standing over it. The walk up to the fort is steep but quick, and the view over the harbour and the Pakleni Islands at sunset earns its reputation. Down in town, Saint Stephen's cathedral closes the square and the lanes behind it hide small wine bars. If the marina is full, and in summer it often is, take a buoy or berth across at Palmižana on the Pakleni. Cross back for a drink at the Hula-Hula bar and let the night run late.

Things to do

Climb to the Fortica for sunset

See Saint Stephen's cathedral and square

Day-anchor off the Pakleni Islands

Sundowners at the Hula-Hula bar

Mooring tip

The Hvar town quay is first-come and chaotic in season, so plan for ACI Marina Palmižana on Sveti Klement, about 2 miles across in the Pakleni, as your safe pre-booked fallback.

Korcula
7
Day 7

Hvar → Korčula

This is the longest passage of the trip, so get an early start and top up fuel and water before you go. With luck the maestral fills in from the northwest and carries you most of the way on a reach. Korčula town sits on a small oval peninsula, its streets laid out in a herringbone so the summer sirocco is funnelled through without turning the alleys into wind tunnels. The town trades hard on being Marco Polo's birthplace, and you can visit the house that claims him. Climb the bell tower of Saint Mark's for the rooftops and the channel beyond. In summer the moreška, a clashing sword dance with real blades, is still performed by locals. Finish with a glass of Grk, the dry white grown on the sandy flats at nearby Lumbarda.

Things to do

Climb Saint Mark's cathedral bell tower

Visit the Marco Polo house

Watch the moreška sword dance

Taste Grk white from Lumbarda

Mooring tip

ACI Marina Korčula is small and books out in high summer, so reserve ahead. The moorings along the old-town wall are an atmospheric backup but exposed to passing wash, so set fenders and a stern line carefully.

Skrivena Luka
8
Day 8

Korčula → Skrivena Luka (Lastovo)

Lastovo takes effort to reach, which is exactly why it stays quiet. The island is a protected nature park, thickly wooded, with a scatter of stone villages and far fewer boats than Hvar or Korčula. Skrivena Luka, the Hidden Harbour, bites deep into the south coast and wraps around almost completely, so it holds you calm even when it blows outside. Above it stands the old Struga lighthouse, a good walk with a long view toward the open sea and the islet of Sušac. There is not much to do here beyond swim, walk and eat, and that is the point. A couple of konobe run buoys in the bay; take one, order whatever came off the boats that day, and turn in early under a sky with no light pollution at all.

Things to do

Walk up to the Struga lighthouse

Swim the sheltered Skrivena Luka inlet

Fresh fish at a bay konoba

Stargaze over the dark nature park

Mooring tip

Buy the Lastovo Nature Park ticket, then take one of the restaurant buoys deep inside Skrivena Luka where dinner ashore covers the mooring. The holding is good on sand if you prefer to anchor further out.

Komiza
9
Day 9

Skrivena Luka → Komiža (Vis)

This is real open water, the most exposed leg of the itinerary, so check the forecast the night before and pick your weather. Vis lies further out than any other inhabited island in central Dalmatia, and that isolation was enforced for years when it served as a Yugoslav military base, closed to outsiders until 1989. Komiža is the western port, a huddle of stone houses around a working fishing harbour where nets still dry on the quay. Walk up Hum in the late afternoon for the best sunset on the island. From Komiža it is a short run out to the islet of Biševo and its Blue Cave, best entered late morning when the light turns the water electric. Eat komiška pogača, a flat anchovy-and-tomato pie, and you have tasted the island properly.

Things to do

Day trip to the Biševo Blue Cave

Climb Hum hill for sunset

Try komiška pogača anchovy pie

See the Komiža fishing museum

Mooring tip

The Komiža town quay is fine by day but rolls at night and offers little shelter, so book ACI Marina Vis on the far side of the island for a settled overnight. Time any Blue Cave visit for calm weather, as swell shuts the entrance.

Zlarin
10
Day 10

Komiža → Zlarin

Another decent passage, so leave in good time and enjoy the miles while the wind lasts. Zlarin is a low, green island close to Šibenik with one village gathered around its harbour and not a single car on it. The island made its living from coral, dived by hand off these shores since the fifteenth century, and you can still find small workshops turning the deep red into jewellery. Wander up through the alleys, look in at the coral centre that tells the story, and buy a piece straight from a maker if it takes you. Everything moves at walking pace. Settle on a bench by the water with a glass of loza, the local grape rakija, and let the pine and salt do the rest before dinner aboard.

Things to do

Visit the Zlarin coral centre

Browse a working coral workshop

Walk the car-free village paths

Loza rakija on the harbour front

Mooring tip

The Zlarin harbour quay is short-stay and can be busy, so anchor just outside the bay on sand in 5-7 m for the night. It is open to the west, so pick a settled evening.

Krka
11
Day 11

Zlarin → Skradin (Krka NP)

Today the sea gives way to a river. From the Šibenik channel you turn inland and motor up the Krka through a green, steep-sided gorge to Skradin, a small medieval town that sits at the head of the navigable water. This is the doorstep of Krka National Park. Your park ticket includes the electric shuttle boat that runs up to Skradinski Buk, the tiered waterfall complex where the river drops over travertine steps into wide pools. Come early, before the day-tripper buses arrive from Split. Back in town, Skradin itself is worth an evening, its lanes tight and quiet once the crowds thin, and the local reputation for pršut and slow-cooked lamb is well earned. Tie up at the marina and stay the night on the river.

Things to do

Ride the shuttle to Skradinski Buk

Walk the Skradin medieval lanes

Cycle a Krka park trail

Dalmatian pršut and lamb for dinner

Mooring tip

ACI Marina Skradin sits right at the river mouth in town and is the obvious overnight; pre-book for July and August. The river approach is well marked and calm, an easy end to the day.

Tijat
12
Day 12

Skradin → Tijat

After the falls and the crowds, this is a deliberate day of nothing. Drop back down the Krka, out through the Šibenik channel, and pick your way among the small pine-clad islands to Tijat, a low uninhabited hump with no village, no konoba and no water tap. That is the whole appeal. Anchor off the sheltered side, launch the kayak or the paddleboard, and poke around the neighbouring islets at your own speed. The swimming is quiet and the snorkelling over seagrass turns up the odd fish and plenty of sea urchins, so keep your shoes on. Rig a hammock in the shade if you have one. Cook simply on board that evening, sardines over coals if you stocked up, and let the anchor light be the only one in the bay.

Things to do

Kayak among the pine-clad islets

Snorkel the seagrass shallows

Swing a hammock in the pines

Grill sardines at anchor

Mooring tip

There are no buoys or services at Tijat, so anchor on sand and seagrass in 5-8 m and set the hook well. Stock food, water and fuel at Skradin or Šibenik first, because you will find nothing here.

Murter
13
Day 13

Tijat → Murter

An easy last full day, a short reach across to Murter to close the loop near where the Kornati charters begin. Murter is a proper island community rather than a resort, and many of the families who run the konobe out in the national park keep their homes here. Slanica is the island's headline beach, a shallow sandy bay on the edge of Murter town that is good for a long swim and easy to reach on foot. Look in at the small ethno museum, then walk out to the Tisno swing bridge that links the island to the mainland and opens on a schedule for masts to pass. For dinner, hunt down pašticada, beef marinated for days and stewed slow with prunes and red wine over homemade gnocchi. It is the right meal for a last night out.

Things to do

Swim the sandy Slanica beach

Visit the Murter ethno museum

Walk out to the Tisno bridge

Pašticada beef stew for dinner

Mooring tip

Marina Hramina and Marina Betina both sit within a mile of Murter town and either works; pre-book in summer. Hramina is the larger and closer to the beach and old town.

Zadar
14
Day 14

Murter → Zadar

Last leg home, back up the sheltered Pašman channel toward Zadar. There is time for a final swim, so drop into one of the quiet coves along Pašman on the way and make the most of the water while you have it. The channel is protected and usually calm, an undemanding sail to end on. Aim to reach Zadar late in the day. On the tip of the old-town riva, Nikola Bašić's Sea Organ plays as the swell pushes air through pipes under the steps, and beside it the Greeting to the Sun disc lights up at dusk. Walk in through the Roman Forum first, then finish the trip with a small glass of Maraschino, the cherry liqueur Zadar has made for centuries. Two weeks and most of central Dalmatia behind you.

Things to do

Last swim in a Pašman cove

Hear the Sea Organ on the riva

See the Greeting to the Sun at dusk

Maraschino cherry liqueur in the old town

Mooring tip

Marina Zadar at Borik is the usual charter base for the drop-off. Book your fuel-dock slot about 24 hours ahead, as the queue backs up on Friday and Saturday turnaround.

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