Things to Do in Zadar in August

The Kornati islands are 89 mostly bare, wind-scoured limestone islets scattered across turquoise water. August is when the sea is calm and warm enough to swim in the hidden coves. You can snorkel over the pale seabed between stops. Most full-day boats include a stop in Telašćica nature park. The cliffs drop straight into the sea and a salt lake sits warm enough to float in. The barrenness is the point here. This is a stark, salt-and-stone landscape that looks like nowhere else on the coast.

Saharun (locally Sakarun) is a long crescent of fine white shingle and sand on Dugi Otok. Shallow, almost Caribbean-bright water laps the shore. It sits roughly an hour and a half by ferry and road from Zadar. August is ideal because the sea here is at its warmest and the shallow bay stays bathwater-calm. Pair it with the Veli Rat lighthouse at the island's tip, one of the tallest on the Adriatic at 42 m (138 ft). The walls are painted egg-yolk-yellow, said to be mixed with thousands of eggs.

Croatia's most famous national park, a chain of 16 terraced lakes linked by waterfalls and wooden walkways through forest, sits about 130 km (81 miles) inland from Zadar. The drive takes roughly two hours. August works because the long daylight lets you reach the park early and still have a full day. The cooler forest air and mist off the falls are a genuine relief from the coastal heat. The water runs an unreal mineral teal that photographs look almost faked.

August evenings are made for being on the water as the light goes gold. Half-day and sunset sailing trips drift out among the closer Zadar archipelago islands like Ugljan and Galešnjak (the heart-shaped island). They include swim stops in sheltered bays where the sea is warm into the night. Coming back into the channel as the sun drops behind the Velebit mountains, with the old town's bell towers in silhouette, is the trip people remember most.

Paklenica, about 45 minutes north toward the Velebit massif, is two dramatic limestone gorges, Velika and Mala Paklenica. Shaded canyon trails and Europe-well-known rock-climbing walls rise over 400 m (1,312 ft). August hiking here means starting at dawn to beat the heat. The gorge floor stays shaded and cool, with the sound of cicadas and the smell of warm pine resin the whole way up. It is the antidote to a beach-only trip.

The peninsula crams a Roman forum, the round 9th-century St. Donatus church with its uncanny echo, the Cathedral of St. Anastasia, and the marble-polished Kalelarga main street into a handful of walkable blocks. August walking tours hit their stride in the cooler early evening, when the stone finally stops radiating heat, the cafés on Narodni trg spill onto the flagstones, and you can fold in tastings of local Maraschino cherry liqueur (distilled in Zadar since the early 1800s), Pag cheese, and cured meats.