6-day Sailing Itinerary from Jezera
Jezera is a beautiful place to start the holiday, and you’re already a decent way from all the mess and noise of major civilisation – it’s a quiet town which is theoretically connected to the mainland, but which feels as though you could realistically be on an island in the middle of the Med.
You could easily spend a few days just exploring Murter island with your yacht – both Murter and Tisno are cute little towns, which are similar but different to Jezera, and there are more than enough beautiful beaches to fill your days. You could also head as far North as Zadar, a 3,000 year old Roman settlement, or South to Trogir, or, as we do in this itinerary, get out to the Kornati National Park and explore the 89 largely uninhabited islands there, which are off the beaten track and only really navigable with your own boat.
This is a 6-day itinerary because it assumes that, after checking-in and doing the shopping for the week, there won't be time to do any significant sailing. You’ll also need to get the boat back to Jezera on the Friday evening of your charter (so that our charter partners can check over the boat ahead of changeover day), and you’ll just be checking-out on the following day – so you most likely won’t get the chance to sail on a Saturday.
In total, this itinerary is 118 nM, which is roughly 20 nM a day. You should be able to sail at over 5 knots in your yacht or catamaran, which means that the sailing should only take you 4-5 hours a day. You could get out early and visit extra bays, towns and beaches en-route, or arrive early at your destination (when the marinas will be empty, and shops will be well stocked), or leave late after a lazy breakfast and doing some shopping – this is your holiday, so it’s as much about relaxing and having fun as it is about the sailing.
Day 1. Jezera to Skradin – 21 nM 
After working out which ropes are the important ones and checking that everyone is on-board, it’s time to switch on the ships instruments, fire up the motor, and get out of the marina. Jezera is a nice, big marina which is usually not too full, so it shouldn’t be a daunting getaway.
From Jezera, we’re heading in a south-easterly direction down the coastline, with the ambition of heading in-land and ticking off one of the highlights of the sailing area in the first couple of days. The prevailing wind will be landward, meaning it should be a simple case of using a reach to head up and down the coast.
Passing into the Sibenik channel is unusual for a coastal sailor, but don’t worry – the sailing is still the same. The channels you’re sailing down are a bit narrower (so there’s less scope for tacking), and there’s a road bridge to go under, but thankfully there aren’t any tides to worry about here, so there’s not much chance of ending up beached in the channel.
Skradin is a small village with a number of bars and restaurants, a small supermarket, and some local markets selling fresh fish and fruit and vegetables. It’s most famous, however, for being the starting point for a trip into the Krka national park, which is home to a magnificent series of seven waterfalls. You can walk or cycle to them from Skradin, but the best and easiest way to get to them is to hop on a tourist boat from the centre of Skradin village (they’re about every 30 minutes during the day), which will whisk you up the river. Once you’re there, there’s a small entry fee to be paid, then you can spend as long as you like wandering around their nature trail and viewing the spectacular falls. You can probably walk around it in an hour and half if you get your hustle on, but it depends how mesmerising you find the waterfalls, as it’s possible to lose hours stood in front of them! (There’s also a café and ice-cream sellers to help you on your way).
Skradin is a relaxed place to spend the first night of the holiday, and very well sheltered.
Day 2. Skradin to Kaprije – 21 nM 
From Skradin, we’re heading back down the in-land channel to Sibenik and back out to the sea. Once out in the open, you can weave your own way through the islands in a south-westerly direction, enjoying the thrill of being able to go in any direction you please, and not being stuck to a road or rail.
The prevailing wind should be coming straight at you so you’ll likely be beating against it as you work your way over or under the island of Kaprije, before following the coast round to find the sheltered town of Kaprije nestled in one of the bays.
Kaprije is a quiet village with a population of 143 people, who are predominantly farmers of vines and olives on the island – but there’s also a few places to go for something to eat or drink. It’s only one day’s sail from the mainland, but it feels as though it could be worlds away - and the local tourist board sell this as a place to go to really escape it all.
The local wine is very drinkable, and it’s obviously made all the cooler by the fact that it’s been made on such a small island.
Day 3. Kaprije to Piskera – 18 nM .jpg "Piskera")
From Kaprije, we’re going to make a foray into the Kornati marine national park, which is one of the jewels of Croatian sailing, and is an area of outstanding natural beauty. It was designated a national park in 1980, mainly to protect all the plants, wildlife and sealife that lives there – it may look like scrubland at times, but there are 537 species of plants on the 89 islands, as well as 750+ species of wildlife, and a sea teeming with coral reefs, dolphins, sea turtles and all sorts of other sealife.
There is a fee for entering the park, which is cheaper if you buy it in advance (if you buy from a ticket inspector, they usually charge about 50% more). The unwritten rule is that you’ll need a pass for every day you’re in the park after 4pm (the inspectors generally arrive in the early evening), so for our itinerary, you should only need to buy a 1-day pass.
From Kaprije, we’re heading in a west-north-westerly direction, and weaving through the islands on a reach or broad reach in the prevailing winds. Pay attention for dolphins and sea-turtles, because this is where they like to bob around!
Work your way through to the marina at Piskera, which is a relatively new marina, and was basically custom-built to make the Kornati islands a bit easier for sailors to enjoy: you won’t find a town in Piskera, though the marina does have a restaurant and a small over-priced shop (but heck, they had to get all their stock to the middle of nowhere), as well as the usual toilet facilities.
Day 4. Piskera to Veli Iz – 23 nM 
From Piskera, we’re heading northwards through the Kornati islands for the day, before ending up at the relatively developed town of Veli Iz. ‘Relatively developed’ because it’s basically a small fishing village, but after the last two nights in Kaprije and Piskera, Veli Iz will seem massive!
Kornati island is the longest and biggest island in the national park, and we’re following it northwards. The prevailing wind should mean this is a straight forward (and single tack) reach against the wind, then a bit of running as we wiggle through the islands, and then back to reaching after exiting the national park and heading to the island of Iz.
There are two towns on the island of Iz, and we’re going to the northern-most one, Veli Iz, which is the oldest of the two (with a Roman fort and a 14th century church), the bigger of the two (with more restaurants and café’s), and more hospitable for tourists. There’s also a supermarket (Sonik) on the island to get stocked up. Step off your yacht or catamaran right into a waterfront bar. Cheers!
Day 5. Veli Iz to Zut – 14 nM 
It’s only a short hop from Veli Iz to Zut. This is our shortest day, so, if you’re up for more sailing, you could also visit Sali, which is on the east coast of nearby Dugi Otok. This is a bigger town than Veli Iz, and has a better choice of shops if you’re in need of provisions. It’s also got a gelateria, which is enough of a reason to warrant a stop in my book, particularly as it is only a short detour.
We’re heading south to Zut, which should be a close reach against the prevailing summer winds. Zut is an uninhabited and tranquil island where you can enjoy getting back to basics. You’ll likely have much of it to yourself if you choose to go for a walk to explore its’ unspoilt beauty.
The sheltered bay here has been so popular with sailors over the centuries that the tourist board eventually decided to install a pontoon to moor up against – but aside from the mooring, there’s just two bars/eateries and a couple of small shops (but don’t rely on either being open), and nothing else.
Day 6. Zut to Jezera – 21 nM 
Disappointingly, from this world of being an intrepid adventurer, it’s time to return to the real world. Or, well, Jezera for now, and you can then move on from cute fishing village to an airport and back to the real world tomorrow.
Jezera is pretty much south-west of Zut, and there isn’t much to hit or worry about on the way. If you made an early start away from Zut, you might have time to look at Murter on the way, or there are some exceptional beaches on the west side of the island (which will likely have hundreds of tourists on them – this area is popular with land-lubbers too).
There’s a fuel station at the marina which you should visit before berthing for the final time. As you wait in a small queue, give thanks that you aren’t in Biograd or Trogir right now, where you can be queueing for over an hour in the fuel queue – this is one of the benefits of chartering from a small marina.
Return the yacht to the vague area where you found her, secure the lines, and then we’re done. If you haven’t had chance to explore Jezera, now is a good time to stroll to the old town, where it’s usually quite lively on a Friday night. You’ll sleep on board one last time, and then it’s time to check-out, and to wonder where your yacht, your home, will be heading with it’s new family next week.
Hopefully, you’ve had a perfect week of sunshine, sailing and exploring, and you’ve enjoyed seeing what nature has to offer. It was certainly a pleasure to sail with you. Hopefully the whole crew have gotten on together well, and everyone has had a great week, shared the workload, and you’ve all become better friends. Maybe you’re even planning on doing this again some time? Next week, when you’re missing the boat and feeling nostalgic, come and check out more destination guides on PlainSailing.com and start planning your next adventure!
Croatia doesn’t do extreme weather. In summer, it’s hot - but not too hot - and in winter, it’s cold - but not too cold. During the main sailing season in Jezera, you can expect temperatures to be above 20 degrees, so you should expect to be sailing in shorts and t-shirts (and not oilskins!). It peaks in July and August, but even then, temperatures are restrained and aren’t going to shoot up into the high-thirties – which means that you should be ok on a yacht or catamaran without air conditioning.
