Sailing to the Kornati Islands represents an immersive experience for sea lovers and marine adventure enthusiasts. It’s an unparalleled destination renowned for its peaceful and placid waters, similar to a lake, and its light winds. The marinas scattered throughout these islands are among the most picturesque in Europe, offering welcoming moorings and first-class services.
In this natural summer holiday paradise, those passionate about the sea can explore a natural labyrinth of 147 islands, islets, and reefs harmoniously distributed in the central part of the Adriatic Sea, home to three exceptional natural parks.
The beauty of the Kornati Islands is their characteristic as an idyllic refuge, where time takes on a different rhythm. In this place, watches become superfluous during a week-long cruise. You’ll be lulled by starry nights, sailing among countless sheltered bays and myriad inlets that promise intimacy and serenity, enhancing the beauty and fun a sailing vacation offers.
The ports and marinas suitable for embarkation on an itinerary to the Kornati Islands are:
• Zadar Tankerkomerc (historic center marina);
• Zadar Borik;
• Zadar Sukosan;
• Zadar Biograd Kornati and Šangulin;
• Murter Hramina and Betina;
• Vodice;
• Sibenik Mandalina;
• Primosten;
• Pirovac;
• Rogoznica Frapa and Skradin.
Croatia, seen from land, is a different country from that seen from the sea, and it’s precisely at the Kornati Islands that you’ll understand why Croatia is to be discovered by sailing among its islands.
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Zadar-Vodice-Sibenik
Zadar
Zadar is a city that is both historical and contemporary. Walking among the ancient Roman and Venetian ruins, you can feel transported back in time or feed your eyes with modern art in the National Museum and the enclosed Art Gallery. Art is everywhere, and even while bathing at Puntamika Beach, next to the lighthouse, your eyes will be captivated by the view of the bell towers of Old Town.
Zadar hosts numerous embarkation marinas: Zadar, Sukosan, Biograd, and Pirovac. However, the most picturesque and poetic landing is the restored small port, located in the bay facing the old town. It houses The Sea Organ, an incredible contemporary work that will greet you with symphonies played by the waves.
You can take a unique souvenir of the city: the exquisite Maraschino liqueur prepared with marasca cherries that are considered the best in the world. Famous figures such as King George VI of England and Napoleon Bonaparte appreciated the liqueur, and he celebrated his military victories by toasting with Croatian maraschino.
Vodice
Vodice, located in a wide bay between Zadar and Sibenik, is a tourist destination where vibrant nightlife mixes with its ancient history.
Vodice boasts an excellent marina, decorated with the Blue Flag, located in the northeastern part of Vrulje Cove port, from which you can discover the city’s historical wonders. Numerous cultural sites tell of the city’s rich past, such as the Church of Our Lady of Carmel, the Čorić Tower, the Church of the Holy Cross, and the Church of the Prophet Saint Elijah.
Sibenik
Sibenik rises at the mouth of the Krka River; its port is connected to the sea by a natural channel most protected in the Adriatic. It is the oldest Croatian city and hosts Croatia’s largest and most archaic theatre.
Sibenik is famous for being the birthplace of the linguist Nicolò Tommaseo, author of the Dictionary of the Italian Language.
The most important monument in the historic city is the Cathedral of St. James, a Renaissance masterpiece of Dalmatia. Built with white marble from Brač, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is peculiar in that it does not have a bell tower.
Another UNESCO heritage building is the Fortress of St. Nicholas, a maritime fort with a particular triangular shape, it was built by the Venetians to defend the city from the Turks in the area of the St. Anthony Channel and is the first building you will encounter coming from the sea.
Natural Parks
Kornati National Park – Telascica Park – Krka National Park
Kornati National Park – owes its name to an impressive natural phenomenon: many of its islands are enclosed by rock walls, called crowns,, facing the open sea, which reaches heights of eighty meters. The extraordinary shade of blue of the ocean is made even more intense by the contrast with the white-grey stone of the islands that refract the sun, making these islands a paradise for the senses and a unique place for sailing.
Sailing vacations to the Kornati Islands offer numerous mooring possibilities, and they are equipped with buoys, thanks to the numerous bays and inlets provided by the islands. Among the Kornati are set excellent marinas such as ACI-Marina Piškera and Zut or small ports like those of Zakan, in the bay of the same name, which offers dream moorings. In the bay south of Zakan island, there is one of the most exclusive restaurants in all the Kornati Islands, where you can moor just a few steps from your table. Telascica Park – is located on the southeast side of Dugi Otok (Long Island), the largest island in Croatia, with its eight kilometres of extension that give life to twenty-five bays and countless promontories and islets.
The name Telascica probably derives from the Latin name: tre lagus (three lakes). The most iconic is Lake Mir, embraced and protected by high karst cliffs, which seem suspended over the sea. It is a salt lake connected to the sea by underground channels.
The western coast, facing towards Italy, is dominated by imposing cliffs overlooking the sea, which is very deep and rich in colourful corals in this part of the island.
Dolphins are frequent guests of the park. They often approach boats that sail silently, surprising visitors with their acrobatics and games. Krka National Park – encloses the territory of the river of the same name that you can travel by boat from the gates of Sibenik through several canyons to the picturesque village of Skradin which represents the privileged entrance to Krka park, also known for its spectacular waterfalls included in a path that also provides for the view of the Monastery of the Holy Archangel which stands on an island in the middle of the river.
Sali – Primosten – Murter
Sali
Sali is the main port of Dugi Otok (Long Island), near the entrance to Kornati Park.
Sali is a fishing village with a thousand-year fishing tradition. One of the most interesting events in Sali is the “Customs of Sali” festival, which takes place for three days during the first week of August and includes the famous “Music of the Donkeys.”
Primosten
Primosten is a small promontory between Sibenik and Split, a peninsula with a round shape surrounded for the entire perimeter by a promenade on the seafront that offers breathtaking views, all to be discovered by sailboat. It has characteristic steps to reach the rocky beaches.
Primosten is also a preferred destination for its architecture. You access the town by passing under the arch of a stone gate. It’s an ancient world where narrow streets of milky houses intersect, over which towers the medieval bell tower of the Church of St. George.
Sailing offers the opportunity to discover its twenty kilometres of beaches and the many hidden bays this location offers. The beach of white pebbles of Mala Raduca is one of the two most famous beaches.
From the relaxing, natural, and calm life of the day, you can decide to immerse yourself in the vibrant nightlife that sees Club Aurora as a reference point for entertainment.
Murter
The Murter island is halfway between Sibenik and Zadar. It is connected to the mainland by the Tisno mobile bridge.
The best way to reach Murter is by sailboat, docking at the marinas of Murter and Hramina.
The island of Murter is known as “The gateway to the Kornati”: from here, depart excursions to the most beautiful and famous archipelago in Croatia. Despite this important role, Murter is worth a visit in itself, both for its pine forests and centuries-old olive groves and for the richness of inlets, bays such as Betina Bay which hosts a fishing village and a marina, and especially for the breathtaking panorama of the islets in the southern part Maslinjak, Bisaga, Borovnik, and Ljuta.
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