Split to Zadar and Back, 7 Nights

Passage

Split→Primošten

Distance

28 nm

Under sail

3h 35m

This week starts with a real sail rather than a hop: three and a half hours north-west up the coast, with a swim somewhere along it. Primošten was an island until its channel was filled, and the old town still sits packed on its hump of rock. Behind it, the Bucavac vineyards are cut into bare karst as dry-stone cassettes, planted with the local Babić, and are on UNESCO's tentative list - the only vineyard in Croatia to be.

• Boarding in Split, provisioned to your list
• The old town of Primošten, packed onto its rock
• The Bucavac dry-stone vineyards behind the town

Passage

Primošten→Šibenik

Distance

13 nm

Under sail

1h 35m

A short morning to Zlarin, where no cars are allowed and the divers have been bringing up red coral since the 15th century; the Croatian Coral Centre opened in 2023 in the house where it was worked. From there the yacht turns up the Krka: eight miles of river at the five-knot limit, under the bridge and across Lake Prokljan to Skradin, the gate of Krka National Park. From the quay the park runs its own boat up to Skradinski buk, and the ride is part of the ticket. The night is in Šibenik, under a cathedral built entirely of stone between 1431 and 1536, UNESCO-listed since 2000.

• Zlarin: no cars, and a coral centre in the house where it was worked
• Up the Krka to Skradin, 8 nm of river at five knots
• Krka National Park by the park's own boat from the Skradin quay
• Pelegrini, a Michelin star beside the cathedral, if you want it

Passage

Šibenik→Zadar

Distance

41 nm

Under sail

5h 10m

The longest passage so far runs north inside the islands to Zadar, a city that has been lived in for three thousand years and shows it: a Roman forum with the round church of St Donatus standing on its stones. On the waterfront, Nikola Bašić's Sea Organ plays the swell through 35 pipes cut into the steps, and the Greeting to the Sun lights up beside it after dark. A licensed local guide is the way to walk it.

• Roman forum and the 9th-century church of St Donatus
• The Sea Organ, played by the sea through 35 pipes
• Old town on foot with a licensed guide

Passage

Zadar→Sali, Dugi otok

Distance

22 nm

Under sail

2h 50m

South into the Kornati, 89 islands, islets and rocks with almost nothing green on them, which is the point: bare stone, clear water and a park ticket priced by the length of the yacht. Telašćica cuts into the end of Dugi otok next door, its cliffs standing 161 metres above the sea and the salt lake Mir lying behind them. The passage itself is under three hours, so the day belongs to the park rather than to the distance. The night is in Sali.

• The Kornati: 89 islands, islets and rocks
• Telašćica, its cliffs and the salt lake Mir
• Night in Sali, the main village on Dugi otok

Passage

Sali, Dugi otok→Vodice

Distance

32 nm

Under sail

4h

An easy four hours back down the coast, broken by a swim wherever the water looks right. Vodice is a working town rather than a postcard, and the reason to stop is the table: Konoba Tri Piruna, a Michelin Plate for steaks carved at the table, with olive oil and wine tastings to be arranged if you would like them.

• Swim stop on the way down
• Konoba Tri Piruna, a Michelin Plate in Vodice
• Olive-oil and wine tasting if the day wants it

Passage

Vodice→Hvar Town

Distance

47 nm

Under sail

5h 55m

The longest passage of the week, six hours south across open water, so it starts early and the deck does the rest. Hvar Town takes the evening: 3 Pršuta pours the island's wines in a lane behind the square, Hula Hula is where the sunset is, and Carpe Diem runs long after dinner. If the group would rather have the quiet version, Vis is the same distance from Vodice and the evening there is Villa Kaliopa or a table above the harbour at Fort George.

• Six hours of open water, the week's real passage
• Hvar Town for the evening, 3 Pršuta behind the square
• Or Vis instead, the same distance and a quieter night

Passage

Hvar Town→Split

Distance

42 nm

Under sail

5h 10m

The last day works its way home along Brač: first Bol, where Zlatni rat runs out into the strait and shifts its point with the current, then Milna on the island's west coast for the final swim of the charter. Split comes up in the late afternoon, and the yacht lies alongside for the last night with the old town a short walk from the quay.

• Zlatni rat at Bol, the beach that moves with the current
• Last swim of the charter off Milna
• Last night alongside in Split

At anchor

Split

Breakfast aboard before disembarkation at 9:00, with the crew arranging transfers to the airport or into town. The last morning is an unhurried one: coffee on deck in the harbour, and Diocletian's Palace a few minutes' walk from the quay once you step ashore.

• Breakfast aboard before 9:00 disembarkation
• Transfers arranged to Split airport or the old town
• A last morning in the harbour, Diocletian's Palace minutes away