Molat – Melada

The island of Molat is a possible stop for boaters that offers the tranquility of the wilderness, intense scents of rosemary, and that minimum of services to replenish the galley and continue one’s journey.

The ports are located north of Veli Rat at the end of a deep inlet occupied on the right by the liner dock. At the end of the cove is a 30-berth yacht dock with electricity, partly with dead bodies. Water is distributed at set times with time meters. At the dock is a store for supplies and a small building with toilets.

From orientation upon entering the gulf serve the pyramidal tower stone with a lighthouse on Bonaster Point and some small houses in the bay. Those approaching Molat by boat should pay special attention to the hidden rocks. At the mouth of the bay the waters are about 1.5 meters deep so it is recommended to pass only with calm seas.

From June to September every day of the week except Saturday and Sunday there is only one ferry connection from Zadar that also allows vehicles to be brought to the island. In addition to this there is a line that makes catamaran connections carrying only passengers.

Molat is an island not far from Zadar. Toward the northwest it is separated from the nearby island of Ist by the Zapuntel Strait, while to the southeast it is separated from Veli Rat and Sestrunj by a short arm of the sea. It has an area of 27.74 sq km and a coastline 48 km long.

It owes its name to the honey produced by bees that feed on the flowers of the rosemary bushes that grow on the hills and cliffs. The island is covered by thick Mediterranean scrub with bushes and along the coasts by pine trees. The coasts in the northeastern side of the island are low and full of bays and coves, while those in the southwestern part are steeper. A concentration camp was set up here from 1942 to 1943, receiving thousands of people before they were sent to camps in Italy.

The island has two mountain ridges in the midst of which lies the Zapuntel valley that reaches as far as Brgulje. The eastern side of the island, from which a long, thin promontory juts out, faces the Adriatic Sea, while the more indented western coast gives onto Quarnerolo.

The main settlements, Melada, Brgulje and Zapuntel are built on the modest elevations of the island.

The beaches are essentially of two types: rocky beaches with deep sea in the bay beyond the pier where the ferry docks facing south, and red sand and concrete in Jazi Bay facing north.