Kornati National Park Boat Tour

The Kornati archipelago is a labyrinth of 89 small karst islands, islets and reefs scattered across 320 square kilometres of the central Adriatic — the densest island group in the Mediterranean and, since 1980, a national park protecting its extraordinary marine ecosystem. Most of the islands are uninhabited limestone humps supporting only wiry aromatic scrub and small numbers of feral goats, but the seas around them are unusually rich in life: dolphins, monk seals (very rare), tuna, and vast schools of mackerel. Access is by boat only, and the classic experience is a full-day organised boat tour from either the town of Murter (the traditional Kornati base) or from Zadar. Tours typically include a spectacular sail through the labyrinth of islands, several swimming and snorkelling stops in glass-clear turquoise coves, a visit to the 'Crown' (Kruna) cliff — a dramatic 82-metre limestone wall dropping straight into the sea, considered the archetypal Kornati landscape — and lunch at one of the tiny family konobas on Kornat, Ravni Žakan or Piškera islands, serving grilled fish caught that morning by the same family. The single most spectacular experience is a visit to the Magazinova Škrila cliff on Kornat island — an enormous natural stone slab that echoes musically when struck.