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Route · 7 days · one-wayYacht charter route · Zadar

Zadar via Vis & Hvar.

Sail seven days round-trip from Zadar to Vis and Hvar, taking in Ždrelac, Primošten, Komiža's Blue Cave, Šolta and Šibenik's stone cathedral.

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.

Ždrelac
Day 1

Zadar → Ždrelac Bay

A short shake-down hop across the Pašman channel into Ždrelac, where a sandy-bottomed bay lets a new crew settle in before dark.

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

Pick up the boat in Zadar and give the systems a proper check before you slip lines; there's no rush on day one. The passage to Ždrelac runs about eight miles, an easy reach across the Pašman channel, with the low bridge that joins Ugljan and Pašman marking the narrows. We usually motor the last stretch and drop the hook on the sand in five to seven metres, well tucked from anything out of the north. The water here sits flat and pale over the shallows, ideal for a first swim while the kettle goes on. Back in town, leave time before departure for the Roman Forum and the Sea Organ, which turns the swell into low chords under the quay. A quiet konoba ashore and an early night set the rhythm for the week.

Things to do

Listen to Zadar's Sea Organ

Wander the Roman Forum and St. Donatus

Swim off Ždrelac's sandy shallows

Walk out to the Ždrelac bridge

Mooring tip

Anchor free on sand in 5-7 m, good holding and sheltered from the N and NW; there's generous swinging room, so lay plenty of scope. The Zadar town quay is short-stay only, so plan to spend the night at anchor or in the marina.

Primosten
2
Day 2

Ždrelac Bay → Primošten

This is the week's first real distance, roughly thirty miles down the mainland coast, so we like to be off the hook by nine. The morning is usually light; the maestral fills in from the northwest around midday and gives you a proper sail for the back half. Primošten shows itself from a long way out, a knot of red roofs and a bell tower on its own little peninsula. Ashore, climb the lanes to St. George's church for the view back over the moorings, then walk the Bucavac hillside where dry-stone walls hold the Babić vines in place. The red they make from those grapes is worth ordering with dinner. If the crew wants a beach afternoon, the Raduča coves on the north side shelve gently into clear water.

Things to do

Climb to St. George's hilltop church

Walk the Bucavac vineyard terraces

Order a glass of Primošten Babić

Swim at the Raduča beaches

Mooring tip

Marina Kremik sits about 1.5 miles south and is the reliable berth; book ahead through July and August. If you'd rather anchor, the nearby Garma and Raduča coves hold well on sand in 5-8 m, though they stay open to the afternoon maestral.

Komiza
3
Day 3

Primošten → Komiža

Vis lies further out than anything else in this part of Dalmatia, which is exactly why it feels different when you arrive. The crossing is around twenty-eight miles of open water, so check the forecast the evening before; a settled day with the afternoon northwesterly makes for a fine beam reach. Komiža opens up slowly, a curve of shuttered houses and fishing boats with Hum hill rising steep behind. Once you're secure, the walk up Hum at dusk pays off with the whole archipelago laid out in the last light. Down at the waterfront, order komiška pogača, the local flatbread packed with anchovy, onion and tomato, and let the evening run long. The Fishing Museum in the old Venetian tower is a good hour if the sun is too strong for the deck.

Things to do

Boat trip to the Blue Cave, Biševo

Hike Hum hill for sunset

Komiška pogača on the waterfront

Fishing Museum in the Venetian tower

Mooring tip

Komiža's harbour quay is exposed and really only for a short stay; for a settled night, book ACI Marina Vis on the island's eastern side and cross over. The Blue Cave is best reached by a small local tour boat from Komiža rather than your own keel.

Hvar
4
Day 4

Komiža → Hvar Town

After the quiet of Vis, Hvar comes as a jolt of colour and noise, in the best way. It's a shortish leg of about twenty-two miles, with room to slow down and swim in the Pakleni Islands before you cross into the harbour. Hvar Town wraps around the largest public square in Dalmatia, with the cathedral at one end and the Spanish Fortress on the hill above. Climb up to the fort in the late afternoon; the light over the Pakleni Islands from up there is the reason people come back. In the evening the town shifts gear. Book a table early, then let the crew loose on the bars, or take the tender across to Hula-Hula for sundowners and a swim back to the boat.

Things to do

Climb the Spanish Fortress for sunset

Cruise the Pakleni Islands by tender

Coffee on St. Stephen's Square

Sundowners at Hula-Hula beach bar

Swim stop in Vinogradišće bay

Mooring tip

Hvar town quay slots go first-come and fill by early afternoon in season, so aim to arrive before lunch. The calmer overnight is ACI Marina Palmižana on Sveti Klement, two miles across in the Pakleni Islands; book it, and tender in for dinner.

Veli Drvenik
5
Day 5

Hvar → Maslinica (Šolta)

Šolta is the antidote to Hvar, low-key and green with olive groves, and the run up is an easy eighteen miles. Maslinica faces west into a scatter of seven small uninhabited islets, which makes for a lazy afternoon of dinghy-hopping and swimming off the rocks. The village itself is tidy and quiet, gathered around the Martinis-Marchi castle that now works as a hotel and marina. If the harbour is full, drop into Šešula bay a mile south, a deep finger of water with good holding and a couple of konobas that will send a tender for you. Šolta is known for its olive oil and its lamb, so this is the night to eat well ashore. Watch the sun go down behind the islets with a glass of the island's Dobričić red.

Things to do

Dinghy out to the seven islets

Aperitif at the Martinis-Marchi castle

Anchor and swim in Šešula bay

Šolta olive oil and lamb dinner

Mooring tip

ACI Marina Maslinica is small and well protected but fills fast; reserve if you can. Šešula bay, one mile south, is the dependable fallback, with sand and weed holding in 5-8 m and restaurant buoys near the head of the inlet.

Šibenik
6
Day 6

Maslinica → Šibenik

Another long day, close to twenty-eight miles, and worth an early start to beat the afternoon chop off the mainland. The approach to Šibenik is one of the best on this coast; you thread the narrow St. Anthony Channel under the St. Nicholas fort and the city unfolds at the top. Leave the boat and walk straight up to the Cathedral of St. James, built entirely of interlocking stone with no mortar and a frieze of seventy-one carved faces around the apse. St. Michael's Fortress above it earns the climb for the harbour view. If you have the afternoon, the Krka waterfalls are a short trip upriver from Skradin. Down on the riva in the evening, the fritule stalls fry little doughnuts that are hard to walk past.

Things to do

Tour the mortarless St. James Cathedral

Find the 71 carved stone faces

Climb St. Michael's Fortress

Krka waterfalls trip from Skradin

Fritule doughnuts on the riva

Mooring tip

Mandalina is the usual charter marina, just inside the channel and easy to enter under engine; book in high season. For a quieter night among the reeds, ACI Marina Skradin sits upriver, a scenic motor up the Krka but a longer haul back out in the morning.

Zadar
7
Day 7

Šibenik → Zadar

The last hop is a straightforward thirty miles back up the coast and into the Pašman channel, with plenty of coves to duck into for a final swim if the day is kind. There's no need to push hard; time the run so you're alongside in Zadar with the light still up. As it fades, the Greeting to the Sun begins its slow colour show on the quay, right beside the Sea Organ. Hand the boat back in good order, then take the crew into the old town for a last dinner. Zadar makes Maraschino, the cherry liqueur the city has distilled for the best part of two centuries, and a small glass of it is the right way to close a week that started here. Doviđenja until the next charter.

Things to do

Final swim in a Pašman-channel cove

Watch the Greeting to the Sun

Roman Forum and St. Donatus church

Maraschino nightcap in the old town

Mooring tip

Marina Zadar at Borik is the standard drop-off berth; confirm your fuel-dock slot at least a day ahead, as the queue backs up on Friday and Saturday turnarounds. Leave time to top up and pump out before the handover check.

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