Zadar
crewed overnight charter.

## Why sail Zadar

Zadar sits in the middle of the Croatian coast, which is the boring practical reason it works: you can be on the boat 20 minutes after landing, and within four hours of leaving the breakwater you're anchored somewhere quiet. The archipelago in front of the city is dense — Ugljan, Pašman, Iž, Dugi Otok — and the Kornati national park is a comfortable day's sail south. Nothing here is far. That changes how a week feels. You stop motoring for two hours to "get to" a place and start picking anchorages on a whim.

The city itself is worth a night at the start or end. Roman forum, the sea organ on the waterfront, ferries coming and going. It's a working town, not a film set.

## Where you actually sail

Most weeks out of Zadar settle into one of three loops.

The **inside route** runs down the Pašman channel — flat water, short legs, lots of fishing villages (Sali, Božava, Tkon). Good for first charterers, families, anyone who wants to swim more than they sail.

The **Kornati loop** drops south to the national park: 89 islands, almost no permanent population, dramatic bare limestone. You'll need a park ticket (buy it before you go in; cheaper that way) and you should book a buoy at Levrnaka or Piškera if you're going in July or August.

The **outside route** rounds Dugi Otok to Telašćica bay — a deep inlet with cliffs on one side and a salt lake on the other. It's the most exposed leg of any Zadar itinerary; pick your day.

Harbours worth knowing: Sali (Dugi Otok), Božava, Veli Iž, Tkon, Biograd if you need to provision properly. ACI Žut and ACI Piškera inside the Kornati if you want shore power.

## Season and winds

The charter season runs roughly late April to late October. Water's swimmable from mid-June. July and August are hot, busy, and the marinas fill — book the buoys ahead. June and September are the sweet spot: 25-28°C, fewer boats, the konobas still open.

Three winds shape every passage plan.

The **maestral** is the friendly one: a NW thermal that builds late morning, peaks at 10-15 knots in the afternoon, dies at sunset. Most summer days run on it.

The **bura** comes down off the Velebit mountains from the NE, cold and gusty, can hit 40+ knots in winter and shoulder season. Forecast-driven; if it's coming, stay in port or pick a sheltered anchorage on the south side of an island.

The **jugo** is the SE wind — warm, wet, builds slowly over a day or two, kicks up a real sea. Less dangerous than bura but more uncomfortable. If the barometer drops and the air gets sticky, it's on its way.

Get the forecast every morning. The local windguru and the harbour-master notice boards are both reliable.

## Charter types

We run 12 yachts out of Marina Zadar (formerly Tankerkomerc, still called that by half the taxi drivers). All 12 are bareboat — you or someone in your crew holds the licence and runs the boat. We don't currently offer crewed charters from this base; if you need a skipper for the week, we can arrange one day-rate locally, subject to availability.

Fleet is a mix of monohulls in the 38-50ft range and a couple of catamarans for larger groups. Specifics on each yacht live on the individual yacht pages.

Standard turnaround is Saturday to Saturday: check-in from 17:00, check-out by 09:00. Shorter and longer charters possible outside peak weeks — ask on WhatsApp.

## What it costs

Base weekly rates in Zadar are driven by boat size, age and season. As a rough frame: a mid-size monohull in shoulder season sits well below the same boat in the first three weeks of August. Catamarans run roughly double the monohull of equivalent length.

On top of the base rate, budget for:

- End cleaning and outboard — fixed fee per charter - Tourist tax — small per-person-per-night charge - Transit log — one-off, paid at check-in - Fuel — you return the tank as you found it - Kornati park ticket if you go in — daily, per boat, by length - Marina fees on nights you don't anchor — 60-150 EUR depending on boat size and marina - Provisioning — a Konzum or Tommy run for a week of breakfasts and lunches is manageable; dinners ashore in konobas are the realistic plan

For exact rates on a specific boat and week: price on request. WhatsApp us the dates and rough group size and we'll send a full quote the same day.

## A sample week

One honest version of a Saturday-to-Saturday loop, assuming settled weather.

**Sat** — Check-in from 17:00, provision, sleep on the boat in Marina Zadar. Dinner in the old town, 15 minutes' walk.

**Sun** — Short hop to Ugljan or Iž. Anchor for lunch, swim, push on to Veli Iž for the night. Easy first day to shake the boat down.

**Mon** — Down the Iž channel to Sali on Dugi Otok. Lunch anchorage at Mala Proversa. Sali harbour for the night — the fish restaurant on the quay is the one.

**Tue** — Into Telašćica bay. Anchor under the cliffs, walk up to the salt lake. If wind's wrong for Telašćica, drop south straight into the Kornati and pick up a buoy at Levrnaka.

**Wed** — Kornati day. Lunch at an anchorage, dinner at one of the konobas in the park (Stiniva, Lojena). Buoy at Piškera or ACI Žut.

**Thu** — Back north through the islands. Long lunch anchorage at Žakan or Smokvica. Night in Sali or Božava.

**Fri** — Last hop back towards Zadar. Anchor lunch off Ugljan, motor in late afternoon. Fuel up, last dinner ashore.

**Sat** — Out by 09:00.

This is one option of many. Stronger crews push further south to Murter and Skradin; quieter crews stay in the Pašman channel all week and don't regret it.

## Getting there

Zadar airport (ZAD) is 12km from the marina — 15-20 minutes by taxi, around 25 EUR. Direct seasonal flights from most of Western Europe through summer. Split airport is the backup, two hours by road.

Ferries from Ancona and a summer catamaran from Italy also land in Zadar if you'd rather not fly.

The marina is walking distance to the old town across the footbridge. Supermarkets, ATMs, chandlery and a decent bakery all within 10 minutes on foot.

Check-in is from 17:00 on Saturday. Arrive earlier if you want — leave bags at the office, go swim.

A crewed charter is the full sailing holiday with none of the workload: a professional skipper (and on larger yachts a hostess and chef) handles the sailing, the cooking and the logistics while you relax.

It suits families, groups and anyone who wants to wake up in a new bay each morning without lifting a winch — multi-day, sleeping aboard, the itinerary shaped around you.