Through the Kvarner Islands and Northern Dalmatia to the Kornati National Park

1 week ex Rijeka – departures on Saturdays

1st day: From 11:30 am to 1:00 pm, boarding time in the port of Rijeka; welcome and presentation of the crew and the other passengers. Shortly afterwards “Cast off!”, heading toward the island of Krk – with an area of 410 km˛, the largest of all Adriatic islands. We will moor in a bay to dive for the first time into the beautiful waters of the Adriatic Sea. Then we continue on to Krk, the capital of the island, or Punat, where we will moor for the night.

2nd day: After breakfast, we set sail towards the next island – Rab. After about two hours, we will drop anchor in a romantic bay – here you will have plenty of time for swimming and sunbathing. We will reach the town of Rab in the evening. The old town of Rab, with its impressive bell towers, stretches around a narrow, rocky promontory, flanked by water. Three streets pass through the old town – the “Lower Street” (Donja Ulica) with cafés and pubs, the “Middle Street” (Srednja Ulica) with boutiques, souvenir shops and ice cream parlours, and the “Upper Street” (Gornja Ulica), which leads to the four churches with their bell towers.

3rd day: We continue to the south. Today’s destination is Sali, the main town on the island of Dugi Otok. Dugi Otok, which means “Long Island”, is named after its shape – it is 45 km long and only a few hundred meters wide. The majority of the islanders live and work in Zadar, therefore in low tourist season it is very quiet on the island locations, while you can expect typical Mediterranean bustle on weekends, when “town families” return to their hometowns. Before entering the harbour of Sali, we will anchor in one of the many coves, to take a refreshing bath.

4th day: Surely the highlight of our trip! According to the Irish author George Bernard Shaw (who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925),”On the last day of creation, God crowned his work, and thus created, out of tears, stars and breath, the Kornati Islands”. The beautiful scenery, countless small and large islands (according to local lore “an island for every day of the year”), and the beautiful sea – all this makes the Kornati Islands a unique paradise. It is the largest and most dense archipelago in the Adriatic Sea – it comprises 147 islands, islets and reefs, with a total area of 69 km˛, spread over 230 km˛. They cover an area of 35 km of length and 13 km of width among the islands of Dugi Otok in the northwest, Zirje in the southeast, and Pasman, Vrgada and Murter in the north and northeast. From Sali we will head towards the “Proversa”, a narrow passage between the islands of Dugi Otok and Kornati, which is the entrance to the unique National Park. Passing countless, mostly uninhabited, islets we will reach the island of Mana, which on one side gently slopes into the sea, while on the other side it is marked by high cliffs. The ruins at the highest point of the island are not remains of historic times, but scenes of the movie “Raubfischer in Hellas” (“As the Sea Rages”), filmed here in the late 1950s, starring Maria Schell. In the afternoon, we’ll cruise towards north and anchor in one of the fishing villages of the Zadar archipelago – Dragove, Zverinac, Ist, or Molat.

5th day: We head towards the island of Losinj, which is not known only for its 300 cloudless or only slightly clouded sunny days per year, but also for being covered by dense pine forests. With a bit of luck, we will maybe spot dolphins playing in the waves; in the waters around the island of Losinj, there are more than 160 dolphins registered by the “Adriatic Dolphin Project”. After a swimming break, we will reach Mali Losinj, where we will spend the evening and the night.

6th day: Today we will sail to the neighbouring island of Cres, which is connected to Losinj by a pivot bridge in Osor. The striking feature of the island are the endless olive groves and the innumerable flocks of sheep. Needless to say, that roast lamb is one of the specialties of the island of Cres. After the obligatory swimming break, we will head towards the picturesque town of Cres, where we will stay for the night.

7th day: Time to say goodbye to Croatian islands: from Cres we will cruise along the eastern shoreline to Rijeka - not without taking one last dip into the sea. Overnight stay in the port of Rijeka.

 8th day: After breakfast, around 9:00 am, disembarkation.

 About half of the ships follow the route in reverse order: Rijeka – Cres – Mali Losinj – Zadar archipelago – Kornati National Park – Sali – Rab – Krk – Rijeka.