Zadar Boat Tours

"We booked one of the zadar boat tours leaving around eight and the sea was still flat as glass, which made the run out past the first islets very easy on the stomach. The skipper cut the engine twice so we could hear nothing but water against the hull. Bring a hat because there is almost no shade once you leave the channel."

"Swim stop in a cove near Dugi Otok where I could see the anchor chain on the bottom maybe six metres down. Our guide talked about how the Kornati islets got stripped bare by centuries of grazing, which I had never thought about. Salt spray on the ride back at speed, so keep your phone in a dry bag."

"A stronger bura made the afternoon crossing bumpy and one leg of the route was shortened, which the crew explained clearly before departure. Still saw the Telašćica cliffs from below, and the scale of them from a small boat is hard to convey in photos. The zadar boat tours tickets we had were easy to show on a phone at the pier."

"Coming back into the harbour just before sunset with the Zadar old town walls turning orange was my favourite part of the whole trip. We passed close enough to the Greeting to the Sun to see people gathering on the promenade. Deck was warm underfoot and there was cold water on board without extra charge."

"Even in high summer the skipper found two anchorages with almost nobody else in them, which I did not expect at this time of year. The pine smell coming off the shore when the engine stopped was the detail I remember most. Good option among Zadar landmarks tours if you want time actually in the water rather than sitting."

"Went in mid March when the water was still cold for swimming, but the light on the limestone was soft and the boat was half empty. Crew handed out blankets on the exposed foredeck without being asked. The izleti brodom iz Zadra option we chose included a short stop at a small fishing village pier."

"Seeing the archipelago from a low deck rather than a lookout changes the sense of distance completely, and the channels feel much narrower than they look on a map. Our guide pointed out dry stone walls running down to the waterline on islands nobody lives on now. Practical note: the toilet on board is small, so plan around the swim stops."

"We ended up somewhere not on the printed route because the wind shifted, and it turned out to be a shallow sandy bay where the water was warm enough to stay in for an hour. Comparing zadar boat tours tours before booking, I would look for a smaller vessel like ours rather than the large catamarans. Wear shoes you can get wet on the ladder."

"November crossing was cool and grey until midday, then the sun opened up and the Adriatic went that deep winter blue you do not get in July. Only nine of us on board. A Zadar archipelago boat tour in shoulder season means fewer swim stops but far better photographs."

"The last hour heading back toward the Riva, with the bell tower catching the low sun, was the moment everyone stopped talking and just watched. Engine noise is loud on the open deck so sit toward the stern if you want to hear the commentary. Among the skip-the-line Zadar harbour tours we looked at, boarding here was the smoothest."