It is no longer a secret that the Croatian islands are remarkable. But what is astonishing is that even locals like ourselves, born and raised on one of them, can be completely smitten by them. During the windy winters, it’s easy to forget in your warm island cocoon what else is out there, but then the summer comes and with it the time for boating, exploring, sailing, venturing into the blue!
Marina Punat to National Park Kornati
Last summer we were blessed by perfectly calm sees which meant that we could boat from the Marina Punat as far south as the National Park Kornati and back in a very short space of time, less than a week. The nicest thing about sailing is that you sleep on your boat and you don’t need to worry about bookings, routes or timing. In fact, time is non-existent on the boat. And the same holds true for some of these remote islands we visited.
The sea took us from Krk to a sleepy town on Cres called Nerezine which boasts a disproportionately large shipyard. From there we continued to Premuda, the last island in the west before the Italian coast, meaning you have a direct view of the sundown in the evenings – great for romantics. The island itself is a real curiosity, with most of the population gone and only returning in the summer months and elderly ladies in the only village on the top of a hill sharing stories of their long lives spent to 99.9% in one place while their husbands, sons and grandsons sailed the seas.
From there we moved only slightly towards the south to the island of Ist, a jewel for divers and a diving home base for our company. From Ist it’s not far to the longest island in Croatia – Dugi otok. Here are some of the most Caribbean-looking beaches I’ve seen on the Adriatic and it’s not an overstatement that this island was the place to be among many of our friends this summer. The southern tip of Dugi island is the natural park Telašćica, which despite it’s more famous neighbour attracting many more tourists, is probably even more worthy of your time.
Finally, don’t forget to pay the entry fee to the National park Kornati like we did – just because there is no fence, doesn’t mean it’s free access. On our way back to the Island of Krk, our favourite place of all was an unassuming island called Iž, the only one worthy of the Croatian tourist association slogan – Mediterranean as it once was.
Renting a Boat in Punat
Where to rent a boat in Punat on the island of Krk?
1- NAS Sailing rent of sailing boats, based at the address Obala 21, Punat
2- Korocharter rent of motor boats, based in Marina Punat
3- MPC rent of motor and rubber boats, also based in Marina Punat
4- Bartelo rent of motor boats, based by the bus station in Punat