WATER SPORTS
Adriatic Adrenaline Adventure
The Croatian coast is one of the most attractive nautical destinations in the world, and its beautiful nature, pristine sea, small distances between islands and the mainland, as well as good infrastructure are ideal prerequisites for various sports and entertainment at sea, such as windsurfing, kiteboarding, kayaking and canoeing, deep water soloing, scuba diving or rafting. The Croatian Adriatic abounds in locations whose good position, ideal weather conditions, long tradition and high quality, and licensed schools, have made it a top destination for fans of extreme water sports. For example, the Zlatni Rat beach at Bol on the island of Brač has a long-standing reputation as one of the top windsurfing locations in Europe. Agencies and specialised companies across the Adriatic coast offer kayaking and canoeing tours to micro-locations, since the Croatian Adriatic is one of the most diverse and safest kayaking destinations in the world. When kayaking, your connection with the sea is intense and your freedom of motion unlimited, which allows you to approach any rock, cliff, beach or cave you see. The most popular paddling tourism offer on our coast includes kayaking around the Elafiti Islands near Dubrovnik, the southern slopes of the island of Hvar, or kayaking tours to the Kornati Islands. If you are a fan of paddling, we recommend rafting on some of the rivers by the sea. The Cetina River near Omiš is a popular rafting destination as is the beautiful green Zrmanja River. Deep water soloing on vertical cliffs of our islands, or mountain biking on the islands are only a few of the activities enjoyed by fans of extreme sports. This salty Croatian adventure is perfect for anyone looking to spice things up a bit, seeing that the possibilities for various sports are virtually limitless - and you can combine them with your sailing trip.
KAYAK
The kayak is a safe vessel with which you can cover great distances, and it will also take you to locations inaccessible with any other kind of vessel, and this is exactly why it has an increasing number of fans. Throughout the Adriatic specialised agencies organise half-day, full-day, and even multi-day expeditions with canoes. Although you can row wherever you want, some locations are especially popular. For example, the surroundings of Dubrovnik and the Elaphite Islands. Leaving by kayak from Lokrum or from Dubrovnik it is easy to reach Koločep, an islet known for its wonderful pebble beaches, then to Lopud, dotted with chapels and monasteries from the 16th century, and Šipan, once a favourite destination of Dubrovnik's aristocracy. By kayak from Dubrovnik you can also travel up to eight kilometres to the faraway cove of Zaton, where you can then swim in the crystal clear sea, jump from the rocks into the sea, dive and enjoy the beaches. The village of Sali on Dugi Otok is the starting point for kayaking through the Kornati Islands. This archipelago of 147 small islands and rocks is ideal to explore by kayak, to get to the hidden and shallow coves inaccessible by other vessels and to have a refreshing swim in the complete wilderness. The southern slopes of the island of Hvar are, due to their inaccessibility, steep cliffs and untouched nature, also a favourite destination for kayakers. Also increasingly popular are the environs of Split; leaving by kayak from Marjan you can experience the city's sights from the sea, get to the island of Čiovo, or go all the way to Trogir. Skradin on the other hand is the starting point for kayaking on the River Krka and Lake Prokljan, and also popular for this sport is the River Zrmanja which flows into the Novigrad Sea, with its perfectly clear water, magnificent, 200 metre deep canyon and magical waterfalls.
The first windsurfers came to the Adriatic in the beginning of the 1970s. These were mostly German and Dutch enthusiasts who sailed on their boards in locations which were mostly isolated at the time. This adrenaline sport soon took over the world and the local population along the coast. From Istria in the north to Dalmatia down south, the Adriatic coastline is brimming with excellent windsurfing locations. Cape Kamenjak, located on the Premantura Peninsula south of Pula, is a particularly popular site for windsurfers. The ground configuration ensures that it is always windy here, be it cold bora winds, which often reach up to 40 knots, or the mistral winds, blowing steadily day in day out throughout the season. Another popular Istrian site is Savudrija, with plentiful winds, and surfers often visit the protected Preluk Bay, situated between Rijeka and Opatija, as well as Baška on the island of Krk, for the beautiful beaches and, once again, for the reliable, steady winds. The most famous windsurfing location is Bol on the island of Brač, more specifically, the area surrounding the unique Zlatni Rat, a pebbled cape about a thousand metres long, lapped by the crystal-clear sea. Southern and western winds are the strongest here, making it a very popular location for windsurfing. Soft mistral winds in the morning, increasing in speed as the day passes, are ideal for beginners and more serious windsurfers. In summer, Zlatni Rat is visited by numerous global windsurfing stars and important international competitions are also often held here. Viganj on Pelješac is another destination not to be missed by serious windsurfers, where mistral winds usually gain great strength during the afternoon hours. Viganj is open for windsurfing throughout the year since the sea temperature does not drop below 15 degrees Celsius and there is always plenty of wind.
- A string of
- micro-locations offers excellent conditions
- for surfing; strong and steady winds and the warm climate are ideal for sea stunts
KITEBOARDING
Kiteboarding is an incredibly fast-growing sport with the number of enthusiasts growing with each passing day, and in 2016 it was introduced as an Olympic discipline. It is very easy to grasp the basic principles of kiteboarding, and the deciding factor is not strength, but skill and technique. In the beginning of the 21st century, there were only several hundred kiteboarders, while today the sport is practised in almost all countries of the world. Naturally, Croatia is one of them. Zlatni Rat, i.e. Bol on the island of Brač, has a long surfing tradition, and thanks to ideal weather conditions it became a popular destination for kiteboarding fans, who enjoy having a large and safe beach at their disposal. Local clubs and companies organise beginner courses and offer all the necessary infrastructure and technical support for more experienced kiteboarders, including highly trained staff. The large, shallow and sandy Ždrijac beach in Nin
WINDSURFING
Croatia Full of Sailing
near Zadar is another world-famous kiteboarding location. You will be welcomed by qualified instructors and professional training equipment - Cabrinha and Flysurfer kites and boards, neoprene suits and special kiteboarding trapezes. The channel between the Pelješac Peninsula and the island of Korčula is famous for its strong winds, which helps make Viganj and Kućište top destinations for kiteboarders from all over Europe. They are easily accessible by car or boat but, due to the crowds in the middle of summer, we recommend visiting them off-season, from April to November, when there is also more wind. Kiteboarders also visit the Neretva river delta, on the other side of Pelješac, where the vast shallows and sandy bottom have proven ideal for this sport. On the northern part of the Adriatic, the most popular kiteboarding site is cape Premantura, the very edge of the Istrian Peninsula.
RAFTING
Rafting is done on rivers, but due to the immediate vicinity of the sea and large tourist resorts on the Adriatic, rafting along the Cetina and Zrmanja rivers can be counted as activities at sea. Many will find that combining a summer sailing trip with a refreshing river rafting experience is a nice addition to their stay on the Croatian seaside. The Cetina River flows into the sea near the old pirate town of Omiš, only 30 kilometres from Split. Its rafting course is 12 kilometres long and stretches from the village of Penšići to Radmanove mlinice. The course difficulty class ranges between II and III (on a I to VI scale), which means it is relatively easy, does not require any special physical fitness training or experience, and is suitable for children accompanied by parents. You will pass through a magnificent canyon on the course, see dense forests, waterfalls, caves and watermills. You can also swim in the clear river waters, shower underneath the waterfalls at Studenci, dive into the water from nearby rocks and explore the caves. Its
extraordinary green colour, a beautiful canyon and a waterfall give the Zrmanja River its reputation as one of the most beautiful European rivers. In winter, it is wild and unpredictable, but during the summer it is quiet and peaceful, which makes it a great destination for rafting enthusiasts. The rafting tour starts at the village of Kaštel Žegarski, where the participants are provided with the necessary equipment and a short briefing on safety. Here, Zrmanja looks like a creek passing through a wide field, but the course soon becomes more interesting since it quickly leads to the Krupa River delta flowing into Zrmanja, and afterwards to the 12-metre high Veliki Buk waterfall, where guides lower the boats, and the paddlers have to slowly and carefully descend in order to continue their adventure. Zrmanja then turns livelier and faster, with many small waterfalls and various natural barriers. Even so, it stays quite safe and not that difficult (even for beginners) all the way to the end of the course in the village of Muškovci.
The Croatian part of the Adriatic is particularly attractive for scuba diving. The sea is pristine and crystal clear, rich with interesting underwater reefs, walls and caves, as well as unique flora and fauna. Add to this the numerous attractive underwater archaeological sites, boat (and aeroplane) wreckages sunk since ancient times till today, and it becomes clear why the Croatian seabed is a top scuba diving destination, equally interesting to serious divers and to amateurs equipped with only a face mask and a snorkel. The scuba diving season in Croatia begins in spring and lasts until November. Depending on the depth of the dive, you can expect underwater temperatures ranging between 13°C and 18°C. Attractive diving sites can be found all along the coast and the simplest way to visit them is through scuba diving clubs, where you can find equipment and expert guidance. There is over a hundred of such clubs registered in Croatia. The biggest diving attraction off the coast of Croatia is the wreckage of an Austrian-Hungarian liner called "Baron Gautsch", which hit a mine in 1914 and sank not far from Rovinj. The 84-metre long ship lies upright on the sandy bottom at a depth of 40 metres, and it now provides an artificial home to many species of flora and fauna. During the dive, you can see schools of picarels, red scorpionfish, white seabream, various corals and sponges. The eastern coast of the island of Cres is home to the Veli Ćutin and Mali Ćutin islets, with an attractive underwater wall, falling over 50 metres deep, and further south, next to the island of Premuda, there is a diving site with a unique system of underwater caves called the Cathedral (Katedrala), owing its name to its beauty and size. Not far from the island of Hvar, in the Paklinski Otoci archipelago, an excellent diving site is the seabed next to the islet of Vodnjak, with a stone obelisk called Kampanel (Croatian for bell tower) due to its shape. Worth noting are also several sites in the southern part of the Adriatic, such as the islet of Mrkanjac near Cavtat, the seabed surrounding the cape Lenge on the island of Mljet, underwater cliffs of the islet of Bijelac near the island of Lastovo, the seabed around the island of Vis, where there are numerous ship wreckages and dozens of World War II aeroplanes.
Attractive diving sites in Croatia offer colourful marine life and sunk wreckages dating back to ancient times