Day trips from Zadar
The Kornati by boat, Paklenica on foot, Nin in twenty minutes — Zadar is a base more often than a destination.
- The Kornati
- A full day by boat
- Paklenica
- 1 h by car
- Krka
- 1 h by car
Day trips from Zadar divide by transport: the Kornati by boat only, Paklenica and Krka by car in about an hour, Nin in twenty minutes and Plitvice in an hour and three quarters. Each is a full day except Nin, so from Zadar you do not do two on the same day.
The Kornati — a full day and only by boat
Eighty-nine islands, islets and reefs without permanent inhabitants, and a park reachable only by boat. There is no scheduled service: you go on a full-day excursion from Zadar or Murter, with lunch on board and usually a stop in Telašćica, a bay with a salt lake and cliffs that rise 161 metres above the sea and drop to ninety metres below it. This is a whole day and nothing follows it; if you want swimming with easy access, choose Ugljan or Pašman, which have a ferry.
Paklenica — two different days
A canyon in the Velebit an hour north-east, and in fact two trips. Velika Paklenica is the wider one, with a path along the stream, a mountain hut about two hours' walk in, and rock faces people climb — climbers and families both come here. Mala Paklenica is narrower, wilder and without infrastructure, and wants half a day's walking with not one bench. Both need proper soles; the ticket is paid at the park entrance.
Krka and Nin
Krka is an hour away on the motorway, and the ticket is €40 in summer and €20 in April, May and October. Swimming at Skradinski Buk is banned; from June to September it is allowed only at the marked spots at Roški Slap, Stinice and Pisak. Nin is twenty minutes north-west and something else entirely: a small town on an islet with the ninth-century church of the Holy Cross, called the smallest cathedral in the world, and salt pans working by the same method for centuries. Beside it is Queen's Beach, sandy, which is a rarity on this stretch of coast.
How long each takes
All out and back from Zadar the same day — a car helps everywhere except the Kornati
What does not combine
- The Kornati with anything. The boat leaves in the morning and returns towards evening; that is the whole day and there is nothing to add.
- Plitvice and Krka in one day. They are sold together, but they lie in opposite directions and each wants half a day of walking.
- Paklenica in flip-flops. The path is stony and breaks up underfoot; footwear really does decide how far you get.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How do I reach the Kornati?
Only by boat, and there is no scheduled service — you take a full-day excursion from Zadar or Murter, usually with a stop in Telašćica.
What to see with only half a day left?
Nin. Twenty minutes north-west, the ninth-century church of the Holy Cross, salt pans still working, and a sand beach beside it.
Krka or Plitvice from Zadar?
Krka, if you must choose: an hour's drive rather than an hour and three quarters, which leaves more time in the park. In April, May and October the ticket is also half the summer price.
Ready for Zadar?
Where to next
Where to stay in Zadar
→In Zadar you choose between an evening on the peninsula and parking off it — and that is the whole decision.
Šibenik · 68 km
→A cathedral slotted together from stone slabs without mortar, and seventeen Krka waterfalls upstream
How well does Zadar suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
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