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Route · 7 days · round-tripYacht charter route · Zadar

Zadar via Pag.

Sail 7 days from Zadar to Pag through Molat, Silba, Ilovik and Olib: quiet anchorages and buoy fields most charter crews sail past.

The route

Day-by-day route

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Ždrelac
Day 1

Zadar → Ždrelac Bay

A gentle 8-mile shake-down out of Zadar to Ždrelac, the narrow gap where Ugljan and Pašman almost touch under their low bridge.

Distance

10 NM

Sailing

~2h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

May – early October (peak Jun – Sep)

Duration

7 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 / 7
Ždrelac
1
Day 1

Zadar → Ždrelac Bay

Spend the morning in Zadar before you slip the lines. The Sea Organ breathes under the Riva steps, the Roman Forum sits a few minutes' walk inland, and the town keeps its Maraschino cherry liqueur close to hand. Once the boat is provisioned, it's a short first leg north into the Pašman channel. Ždrelac is where Ugljan and Pašman nearly meet, joined by a road bridge that arches over the strait. The bay tucks in beside it on sand, well protected from the northwest. We usually drop the hook by mid-afternoon, swim off the transom, and let the crew find their sea legs before dinner. There's no pressure to go far on night one. A plate of brudet ashore and an early bunk sets the tone for the week.

Things to do

Hear the Sea Organ on Zadar's Riva

Provision at Zadar's central market

Swim off the sandy Ždrelac bay

Brudet fish stew for the first night

Mooring tip

Anchor on sand in 5–7 m in the bay beside the bridge; it holds well and shelters from the northwest. Note the bridge clearance is low, so keep to the anchorage rather than trying to carry your mast through the strait.

Molat
2
Day 2

Ždrelac → Molat

Molat runs on island time. Fewer than two hundred people live here year-round, split between Molat village, Zapuntel and Brgulje, all linked by one rural road that goes nowhere in a hurry. We tend to anchor in Brgulje bay, where the bottom is sand and seagrass and the holding is good once the anchor bites through the weed. Take the tender in and walk. The lane out to Zapuntel passes dry-stone walls and abandoned olive terraces, and the beach at the far end is usually yours alone. There's little in the way of nightlife, which is the point. After dark the sky opens up. With no streetlights to speak of, Molat is one of the better spots in the archipelago to lie on deck and watch the Milky Way come out.

Things to do

Walk the lane to Zapuntel's empty beach

Anchor and swim in Brgulje bay

Wander Molat village's stone lanes

Stargaze from the deck after dark

Mooring tip

Anchor on sand and weed in 5–8 m in Brgulje bay, and check the hook is set before you leave the boat. A few restaurant buoys sit off the village if you'd rather not swing on your own tackle.

Ilovik
3
Day 3

Molat → Ilovik

This is the biggest sailing day of the week, so we like to leave Molat by nine. Silba makes a fine mid-morning stop. Cars are banned on the island, and the walk from the harbour up through the whitewashed lanes takes you past the Toreta, a curious spiral stone tower a sea captain built for a lost love. Swim, grab a coffee, then push on. South of Lošinj lies Ilovik, low and green and thick with oleander and palms. The real prize is the channel between Ilovik and the islet of Sveti Petar, with its old cemetery chapel on the far shore. It's one of the best-protected overnight spots in the Kvarner, ringed with restaurant buoys. Pick one up, and dinner ashore comes with a calm night at anchor thrown in.

Things to do

Walk to Silba's Toreta tower

Swim off car-free Silba at midday

Pick up a buoy in Ilovik's channel

See the chapel on Sveti Petar islet

Mooring tip

The Ilovik–Sveti Petar channel is packed with restaurant buoys and fully sheltered from all sides; take one and settle up over dinner ashore rather than anchoring. In August it fills early, so aim to be tied up by late afternoon.

Šimuni
4
Day 4

Ilovik → Šimuni (Pag)

Pag looks like nowhere else on the coast. Centuries of bura wind and salt have stripped the north of the island back to bare grey rock, and the crossing gives you the full effect as you close the shore. Šimuni sits midway down the west side, a real fishing village with a tidy ACI marina and a couple of good grills. Hire bikes and ride north to the Lun peninsula, where a grove of wild olives has stood for centuries, some trees said to be over a thousand years old. Back aboard, the eating is the reason to stop here. Pag lamb, grazed on salt-tinged herbs, and the sharp aged sheep cheese from the Gligora dairy at nearby Kolan are worth the detour on their own.

Things to do

Bike the ancient Lun olive groves

Taste Paški sir at Gligora dairy

Grill Pag lamb at a beach eatery

Wander Šimuni's fishing harbour at dusk

Mooring tip

Book a berth at ACI Marina Šimuni ahead in July and August, as it's small and popular. For a quieter night, anchor in one of the sandy coves just south of the village in 5–7 m.

Olib
5
Day 5

Šimuni → Olib

After Pag's stone, Olib feels soft. This is one of the few islands up here with real sand rather than pebble, and Slatina bay shelves gently into water the colour of weak tea over the shallows. Fewer than two hundred people live on the island, and the old stone hamlets inland are half-swallowed by fig and bramble. We treat this as a slow day. Swim in the morning, walk the tracks between deserted houses in the cool of late afternoon, and eat ashore in the evening. Ask around for olibške makarule, the island's own hand-rolled pasta that the older women still make by hand, usually served with a simple meat sauce. It's the kind of place where the loudest sound after sundown is the cicadas winding down.

Things to do

Swim the sandy shallows of Slatina bay

Walk the tracks past deserted stone houses

Try olibške makarule pasta ashore

Cycle inland to Banve beach

Mooring tip

Olib's little fishing port has only a handful of slots, so don't count on a berth. Anchor in Slatina bay on sand in 4–6 m, well tucked from the north and northeast.

Iž
6
Day 6

Olib → Iž

Iž is long, thin and green, a low ridge of pine and vine running parallel to the mainland. It has kept a craft most islands lost: Veli Iž is one of the last places on the coast where potters still throw clay by hand, including the round baking bells used for peka. Stop in at a workshop before you settle for the night. The island rewards a bike or a good pair of shoes. Ride over to one of the swim coves on the seaward side, then come back for an early dinner. If your week happens to land on the first Saturday of August, the Fjera village fair takes over Veli Iž with music, food stalls and the mock crowning of the King of Iž. It's as local as it gets.

Things to do

Visit a Veli Iž pottery workshop

Cycle to a seaward swim cove

Time your stop for the August Fjera

Try smoked octopus salad ashore

Mooring tip

The small ACI marina at Veli Iž is well protected but fills fast, so radio ahead. For a quiet night on the hook, anchor in Knež bay on sand in 5–8 m.

Zadar
7
Day 7

Iž → Zadar

The last day is short by design, which leaves room for one more swim. Ugljan lies right across the channel from Zadar, and its quieter east-coast coves make a good final anchorage before the boat has to be handed back. Have lunch aboard, then motor the short hop into the marina. Try to time your arrival for dusk. As the light goes, the Greeting to the Sun, a big glass disc set into the Riva, soaks up the day's sun and throws it back as a slow wash of colour underfoot, while the Sea Organ plays the swell alongside. Walk up to the Roman Forum, then raise a last glass of Maraschino, the cherry liqueur Zadar has been making for two centuries, to a week in the archipelago's quiet corner.

Things to do

Final swim in an Ugljan cove

Watch the Greeting to the Sun at dusk

Walk Zadar's Roman Forum

Toast the week with local Maraschino

Mooring tip

Marina Zadar at Borik is the usual charter base for the handover. Book your fuel-dock slot a day ahead and give the boat a clean the evening before to keep the morning stress-free.

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