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Croatian coast, eastern side of the Adriatic Sea, looks like a thick succession of islands, in the centre of Europe, in the heart of the Mediterranean. There are 1185 islands, islets, rocks adorning the indented coast spreading in almost 6000 km. In ancient times, already, eastern Adriatic used to be one of the most important seaways, first land for Greek colonies moving northwards and later on, internal sea for the great Roman Empire. In Middle Ages, those waters were controlled by powers like the Venetian Republic and subsequently by France, followed by Englishmen and Austrians.

Today, this corner of the Adriatic is visited by sailors from all over Europe, looking for a impressive place to start crossing the sea, attracted by the length and variety of the coast, by the number and specificities of the islands, by the beauty of the towns and genuine atmosphere in which people can still live in a close symbiosis with sea and nature.


The islands
The islands of the Croatia Adriatic archipelago, first of all for sailors, have an ideal position, forming almost an uninterrupted line from Rijeka to Dubrovnik, distant less than ten nautical miles from one another. There are more than one-thousand five-hundred gulfs, ports, suitable for mooring, sailing or staying overnight. Those are ideal places not only for sailing, but also for cruises by a motor yacht or by a deep-sea fishing boat, everything being handy, and if you want you can pass the whole night sailing.


The Adriatic Sea
In case of bad weather, it is easy to find a place to shelter and mooring and wait for better weather conditions. The Adriatic is not a sea with particular perils, but it is important to know the winds and sail according to navigation rules: then sailing becomes a true pleasure. In the middle of the nautical season, navigational conditions, even by sail, are often favourable: mistral and north wind, as well as east wind, are the most frequent winds and are particularly good for sailing. In summer spells of south wind are rare and north-eastern wind is not that strong, but it is better to keep away from them.


The coast
The indented coastline, the streams and local winds make navigation interesting, never boring. To reach a destination it is usually necessary to adjust the route and the way of navigation. When sailing, you can sometimes proceed with the wind, whilst sometimes it is necessary to change direction and sail against the wind and cross a strait, a channel or a passage. This applies also to engine-powered navigation. Landscape changes continuously when sailing, in some places the coast is almost uninhabited and deserted, swept by Winter bora, whilst south areas are, usually, especially if moving deeper southwards, rich in vegetation. At moments, you sail close to thick pine groves "jumping" into the sea, at moments you meet Mediterranean macchia or uncultivated land. You can approach small Mediterranean towns or small fishermen's villages. Frequently you encounter villages of only two or three houses or beaches of various forms, as the one called Zlatni rat in Bol, changing its aspect depending on the direction of the winds.