Perhaps you have seen a sailing boat and immediately felt the longing to feel the wind in your hair and glide silently across the sea. One of the most beautiful places in the Mediterranean for a sailing trip is definitely Croatia. The 1,700 kilometres of coastline and the offshore islands are a paradise for sailors. A good starting point for a one-day sailing trip in Croatia is Zadar. There you can discover the Kornati archipelago.
Sailing in Croatia is becoming more and more popular. Even without a sailing licence, you can spend several days on the water with a skipper steering the boat. If you have never been sailing before, however, it is advisable to first test out how you like this kind of movement on the water during a one-day excursion. As soon as the boat is propelled by the force of the wind, you may find yourself leaning a little. Don’t worry: a sailboat can’t actually tip over. Underneath the sailboat is a so-called ballast keel, which serves as a counterweight to the masts.
The beauty of sailing is definitely the proximity to nature: no engine noise, just the wind, the waves, and the sea. In Croatia, you can stop off in numerous bays for a swim and snorkel. Just jump straight from the boat into the crystal-clear, turquoise-blue water.
THE KORNATI ISLANDS
A particularly beautiful place for a sailing trip in Croatia is the group of islands near Zadar. The Kornati Islands, or the Kornati, comprise 150 small islands, most of which are protected and not inhabited. The only exceptions are the larger islands of Dugi Otok, Pašman, Vrgada, and Murter. Hidden among the numerous islands are beautiful dream beaches, bays, and snorkeling spots that are best explored by sailing boats. The special thing about the islands is the vegetation – which is almost completely missing here. Only a few bushes, grasses, and isolated trees grow, otherwise, the limestone landscape predominates.
OUR EXPERIENCE ON A DAY TRIP
To explore the Kornati Islands on a sailing excursion, you need to decide on a provider in advance. You can either book an excursion online in advance (e.g. via GetYourGuide) or ask for recommendations directly at your hotel. We stayed at the Falkensteiner Club Funimation Borik right near Zadar, where the in-house travel agency offers a one-day sailing trip to the Kornati Islands. So you don’t have to worry about a tour in advance at this hotel but book it directly on site. The mooring and therefore also the boarding took place directly at the marina in Borik, 200 metres from the hotel. It is best to ask in advance about the size of the sailing boat. There was room for a maximum of 7 passengers on ours – ideal. We prefer smaller groups.
THE ROUTE
Our skipper Philippe knew the boat like the back of his hand and within no time we left the harbour and sailed towards the Telašćica Nature Park, located on the south-eastern tip of the island of Dugi Otok. During the three-hour trip to the first stop, the sails, unfortunately, remained furled because the wind was too weak and otherwise we would hardly have made any progress. Well, that can also happen when sailing, but the wind can also change several times in the course of a day. We were able to enjoy it anyway. At the front of the sailing boat, it is quite easy to relax and the boat moves at a leisurely pace despite the engine. Our first stop was the bathing bay Uvala Mir in the Telašćica Nature Park. Here there are two konobas, several jetties, and a small bathing bay. You are rarely alone here, because Uvala Mir is the perfect starting point for a short 10-minute hike to the cliffs of Dugi Otok, one of the top sights, and to the warm freshwater lake Lago Mir. The steep cliffs in particular really fascinated us. They rise up to 61 metres steeply and are also called “Devil’s Cliffs”. Personally, we found the sea more tempting for a swim than the freshwater lake, but a short detour is still worthwhile. If you have more time, you can also pay a little visit to the donkeys on the island and feed them treats. A big advantage of taking a sailboat is that it is much slower than the motorboats, so the motorboats are already leaving Uvala Mir when you arrive by sailboat. So there are far fewer people there.
Then our sailing trip continued and our skipper chose another lonely anchorage among all the islands. The water was particularly clear here and we could already see some fish from the boat. So it’s diving goggles on and off into the water.
On the way back to Zadar, the engine was fortunately replaced by the wind. We were even allowed to help set the sails and our skipper Philippe answered all our questions that we, as laymen, had about sailing. Although we had the feeling that we were already leaning a lot, he said that this was still harmless compared to stronger wind speeds.
