Island Hopping in Croatia
Published by Gary Emich October 19th, 2006 in Swimming
For an open water swimming junkie such as myself (close to 400 Alcatraz swims sans wetsuit or fins, MB username:gemich), Swim Trek's "Croatia Swimming Adventure Holiday" was a vacation made to order.
The concept is simple: awake in the morning, eat breakfast and swim from one island to the next with a motorized boat escort. Eat lunch, rest and hike or swim in the afternoon.
Lying in the geographic center of Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, the 40 islands of the Sibenik archipelago are strung out like emeralds set in the sapphire waters of the Adriatic Sea. Combined with the 90 islands, reefs and islets of the Kornati National Park, the choice of swim crossings was endless. Best of all, the water temperature was a balmy 73 degrees and the water visibility was close to 100 feet – a wonderful change from the 57 degree San Francisco Bay where visibility rarely exceeds 3 feet...
The average daily mileage swum was approximately 3 miles. 
This may seem short for some and long for others, but the swims were nice and leisurely, if we tired or did not feel like swimming a particular leg we simply hitched a ride in the support vessel and soaked in the warm Mediterranean sunshine.
Later in the week, we swam around the barren lunar landscape of the Kornati National Park. Chock full with caves, grottoes, dramatic cliffs and startling rock formations, the islands are quite simply outstanding. We finally capped off the week with a swim under the magical waterfalls of the Krka National Park (a refreshing change from the week of ocean swimming) followed by a river swim in the clear waters of the Krka river.
This tour would appeal to the swimmer looking for a tranquil yet challenging week of island hopping in the exquisite waters of the Adriatic. There are no signs of mass tourism here; and a number of the islands we swam to are uninhabited. Those that are inhabited support small fishing village communities. Each has its own character and the feel and hospitality of the locals is second to none. If you want to get away from the beaten track, savor the laid back atmosphere of the Sibenik archipelago and experience some incredible open water swims, you should check out Swim Trek’s unique swimming adventure holidays. It's an experience you won’t soon forget.
MB Activity Links
Zlarin to Privic
Sepurine to Tijat
Kaprije to Zmajan (Lone Pine)
Swim Along Kurba Vela
Kaprije to Zirje
Down Along the Krka River
More photos
Lying in the geographic center of Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, the 40 islands of the Sibenik archipelago are strung out like emeralds set in the sapphire waters of the Adriatic Sea. Combined with the 90 islands, reefs and islets of the Kornati National Park, the choice of swim crossings was endless. Best of all, the water temperature was a balmy 73 degrees and the water visibility was close to 100 feet – a wonderful change from the 57 degree San Francisco Bay where visibility rarely exceeds 3 feet...
The average daily mileage swum was approximately 3 miles. This may seem short for some and long for others, but the swims were nice and leisurely, if we tired or did not feel like swimming a particular leg we simply hitched a ride in the support vessel and soaked in the warm Mediterranean sunshine.
Later in the week, we swam around the barren lunar landscape of the Kornati National Park. Chock full with caves, grottoes, dramatic cliffs and startling rock formations, the islands are quite simply outstanding. We finally capped off the week with a swim under the magical waterfalls of the Krka National Park (a refreshing change from the week of ocean swimming) followed by a river swim in the clear waters of the Krka river.
This tour would appeal to the swimmer looking for a tranquil yet challenging week of island hopping in the exquisite waters of the Adriatic. There are no signs of mass tourism here; and a number of the islands we swam to are uninhabited. Those that are inhabited support small fishing village communities. Each has its own character and the feel and hospitality of the locals is second to none. If you want to get away from the beaten track, savor the laid back atmosphere of the Sibenik archipelago and experience some incredible open water swims, you should check out Swim Trek’s unique swimming adventure holidays. It's an experience you won’t soon forget.
MB Activity Links
Zlarin to Privic
Sepurine to Tijat
Kaprije to Zmajan (Lone Pine)
Swim Along Kurba Vela
Kaprije to Zirje
Down Along the Krka River
More photos
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