Sailing blog

The Šibenik region consists of significantly smaller islands than the ones south of Split. Yet, the low profile vibe, friendly atmosphere and distances between the ports make the area perfect for island hopping, day cruising and overall week of sailboat charter experience.

Prvić Luka

Prvić Luka is the perfect port to meet with fellow skippers and sailors. It’s a small port, with around 30 places available and 15 buoys, and yet it’s a regular stop for a lot of charter crews, guided here by the skippers aboard. It’s a beautiful and cute town, but I believe there’s more to it that attracts so many sailors, week after week: the friendliness of the port staff. 

When sailing with a crew that is having a week of vacation, it’s important that things run smoothly, and you can expect it in Prvić. Even if the port and buoys are apparently full, once you arrive there and meet Ivan, you can always count that he’ll try to create space for your boat too. That ease and friendliness is something that makes sailors relax and feeling comfortable about returning to a port, as the chances of everything going smoothly for the crew are high. 

The big peer serves as a port, which is common to observe in this area of Croatia. Close to the port, you can find the Nautic Restaurant Mareta, perfect to eat a very good “pašticada”, a typical Croatian meal with complex and meticulous preparation, in which the meat is marinated in wine vinegar overnight, stuffed in different ingredients, and then seared and simmered in wine for several hours before served.

Another good restaurant to try, particularly for Polish crews, is the Konoba Maslina. It has a somewhat fancy menu but it is crafted with care and overall has a nice, homey atmosphere. There are not many more options in the village, so it’s important to make a reservation to guarantee your place at a table, especially in the peak of summer.

Near the port in Prvić, it’s very easy to find the statue of a man in a parachute, which is a monument in honour of Faust Vrančić, the Croatian inventor, engineer, diplomat and linguist, most famous as the first man to construct a functioning parachute.

Tribunj

When talking about Tribunj, I’ll be referring mostly to the city port on the tiny island near the mainland, instead of the marina, because the marina is a bit further from the city centre and less attractive as a stop overall.  In contrast, the port of Tribunj is very well located in front of a line of restaurants and coffee places that take advantage of a magnificent view. 

However, a lot of the wind in Croatia blows from the northwest and it happens that the port is aligned with it, which often results in not-so-good conditions of wind and current to seamlessly park the boat. There’s often a place where to leave the boat, but sometimes it requires an extra dose of confidence and skill to manoeuvre the boat into one of the spots - but once successful, it’s worth it! 

As mentioned, the peer is exposed to the riviera, and to visit Tribunj is all about choosing your favourite cafeteria and calmly soaking in the view and atmosphere while sipping your drink of choice (in my case, macchiato in the morning, mojito in the late afternoon). There’s one place, in particular, I recommend for breakfast, which is called Cocktail Bar Nautica, as it has the best chocolate croissant I ever tasted, which together with very comfortable chairs and the morning sunlight I can guarantee that it sets you up greatly for the rest of the day.

The city centre itself is relatively small, located right behind the line of restaurants that form the port. It’s a nice walk, but it won’t take a lot of your time.

For dinner, my recommendation is to visit Konoba Markiolac, right after crossing the bridge from the tiny island to the mainland. Here you can find good quality food and variety at a reasonable price when compared to other Croatian restaurants, even though it’s often full and a reservation is advisable during the summer season.

I enjoy Tribunj precisely because of this balance between challenge and reward, as your sailing skills are put to the test but with the guarantee of a very enjoyable and relaxing time afterwards. In fact, in my own experience, I can recall the first time visiting Tribunj on a day with strong winds and currents. As I was trying to park the catamaran, the rope got stuck in the propeller. It was challenging, but once it got resolved and the boat was safely steady in the port, I was approached by a family who offered to buy me a beer as a recognition of my effort. They were from Croatia, more precisely from Varaždin (in the northern part of the country), and it so happened that it was the start of a very nice friendship as we kept meeting in the following years. This story perfectly sums up the relationship between challenge and reward and that’s Tribunj for me.

Primošten

Primošten is located in the southern part of the Šibenik region, on the mainland, and it’s probably the nicest port in the region. The city centre is located on a tiny island connected by a bridge, similar to what happens in Tribunj, but in this case, the old town is of significant size and magnitude.

There is no marina, only a city port and buoys in front, which definitely require a reservation ahead of time. It is a very inviting place for people driving down the coast which, together with those arriving by boat, results in quite a busy port, especially right at the gate of the old town. 

Luckily, once you cross the crowded entrance of the old town, filled with different restaurants, and as you make your way to the promenade, the crowd starts to disperse and you can enjoy the visit smoothly.  I would even recommend walking beyond the first layer of restaurants, as you will still be able to find more options ahead and benefit from the same open view over the water in a calmer atmosphere.

One of the characteristics that make Primošten stand out is the lovely promenade that goes around the entire old town. It’s an original and lovely way to visit the city, as you can stroll around it or climb up the hill, which is a great place to watch the sunset.

On top of it all, if you end up spending the night in Primošten, the next morning you’ll be rewarded with a fresh products market right outside the city centre. It’s always a good idea to stop by a local market in the morning to get fish, vegetables and fruits before heading off to a beautiful bay nearby and cooking a very fresh meal.

The beauty of the place transpires for itself, it’s a port where it’s less about one particular place or restaurant, and more about the old town as a whole. It’s captivating immediately when approaching since the old town stands out from a distance. The peer is usually incredibly clean and decorated with flowers, which creates a very inviting atmosphere. The promenade also gives you a sense of ease, as you don’t have to make decisions of where to turn and what to see, you just need to follow the path in front of you and let the city centre unravel step by step. Overall, it’s stop that speaks for itself and its enchantment is easily felt for those who visit. In fact, many crews remember it as one of the highlights of their sailing week, so I couldn’t possibly leave it out of this list.

Rogoznica

One of the features that attracts me to Rogoznica is its location. It sits between the archipelagos of Šibenik region and the archipelagos south of the Split, precisely in the transition between these two. That means that if the crew wants to visit famous places such as Hvar or Brac, we can start the trip enjoying a bay in the Šibenik region, stop in Rogoznica in the late afternoon, and continue making our way south to enjoy another bay the following day. 

Rogoznica is located on the mainland and has a very big marina, with a lot of space. However, I prefer the city port (although, be aware, it does not have the best toilet facilities). The reason for this is related to a second feature that attracts me to Rogoznica: there’s rarely a need for a reservation for a place at the city port. It means that I can always plan to visit this village without being too concerned with having to make a reservation beforehand, and that, for a skipper, is an ease of mind that’s not overestimated. 

The city centre is well filled with options for you to spend your time. It has the classic slow-paced living of most places in Croatia, so one of my favourite things to do is to get ice cream and enjoy it by the pier. If it’s later in the day, any of the bars in the promenade will serve you a proper cocktail - a mojito for me. 

However, there’s one particular place that undoubtedly stands out: a restaurant called “Antonio”. I consider it one of the best restaurants in Croatia, as it feels like every detail about this restaurant is well thought out and executed, such as comfortable seating arrangement, professional and kind service run by Antonio’s family, good food in good portions and a cosy environment overall.

In sum, Rogoznica might not be the most outstanding port in the region, but it offers a solid and reliable experience which are interesting qualities that make it worth a visit during your sailing trip. 

Skradin

Skradin is a very well-known destination in Croatia and it’s very likely to pop out in any research about the region. As one of the entrance points to Krka National Park, Skradin is usually a very busy place with a lot of tourists wanting to visit the famous waterfalls of the Park. 

The Krka National Park is one of the most beautiful natural wonders of Croatia, which means that a lot of crews will want to make a stop at this place. Over the years, the National Park has become quite crowded and they even started forbidding swimming in the water, which is unfortunate. However, that doesn’t take away reasons to visit Skradin and the National Park, especially if you’re on a sailing boat.

The reason for this is that the beauty of Skradin begins right when you start sailing in its direction, going up the Krka River, passing by Šibenik and under two bridges. 

As soon as you enter the Krka River there are a lot of mussels and oyster farms close to the shore. The most famous one is located right after the first bridge, on the same side of the coast as Šibenik, and you can simply stop by the wooden shed-looking shop to buy your fresh meal of mussels and oysters. The originality of this experience, together with the delicious taste of the meal, makes it a big highlight of the trip and a very cool feature of going to Skradin.

Continuing making your way towards Skradin, the landscape becomes incredibly scenic, as the vegetation gets greener and more abundant and the water colour changes to a lighter green. For me, sailing in the Krka River almost feels like entering an elf’s town.

When finally reaching Skradin, there are two options where to stop the boat: the marina and the city port. Even though I usually prefer city ports, in Skradin I prefer the marina, as the city port is very often occupied by big yachts. However, since it’s such a tourist attraction, a reservation for the marina is an absolute must, which can be done on their website. The marina cafe captures the vibe of the place perfectly with white sheets floating around, creating a very peaceful atmosphere and making it my usual stop for the morning coffee.

Skradin’s village is a bit different when compared to others in Croatia, as it has more colourful buildings in contrast with the typical light stone. As for gastronomic experiences, I recommend booking a table at the restaurant called Tony to try the famous Croatian dish, “peka”, in which the vegetables and meat are slow-cooked over open flames using a clay or wrought-iron baking vessel.

Overall, Skradin it’s a very good destination on its own, so I still enjoy sailing here even if I won’t be visiting the Krka National Park every time. The beauty of the village and natural surroundings makes it worth it and I’m always happy to return. □