Zadar and Silba are a catamaran ride away.
The catamaran that brings you here also takes you out for the day
The TP Line catamaran stops at the pier in Olib village. Silba is the next stop, about 25 minutes away. Zadar takes from 1 h 10 min to 2 h 15 min, depending on the sailing. On most days you can leave in the morning and come back in the afternoon; sailing times change with the season and the day of the week, so check the timetable first.
A Roman forum, medieval churches and stone streets.
The old town fills a small peninsula and is easy to explore on foot. In its centre lie the remains of the Roman forum. Built right on top of them in the 9th century stands the round Church of St Donatus, the largest pre-Romanesque building in Croatia: 27 metres high and today a concert hall.
The catamaran lands at the city port, a few steps from all of it.
Where the sea plays music and the pavement glows.
At the tip of the peninsula, architect Nikola Bašić turned 70 metres of waterfront steps into an instrument. Under the steps, 35 pipes are played by the waves, so the Sea Organ (2005) never repeats a tune. Sit down and listen.
Next to it lies the Greeting to the Sun (2008), a circle of 300 glass plates with solar cells underneath. It collects sunlight all day and gives it back after sunset as a light show. The same energy lights the promenade.
TipThe lights come on after sunset, usually later than the afternoon catamaran back to Olib. See them on the evening you arrive or leave through Zadar.
The island where everyone walks.
Silba is the catamaran’s next stop after Olib. Like Olib it has no cars, and in summer even bicycles are put away, so the whole island moves at walking pace.
Climb the Toreta, a stone tower with an outside spiral staircase that, as the story goes, a sea captain built for his love. Then walk to one of the beaches of this 8-kilometre-long island. Sandy, shallow Šotorišće is the favourite.
Good to know
Tickets are sold online by TP Line. Take the morning sailing, keep an eye on the time, and be back on Olib for sunset.
TP Line timetable and tickets ↗ (opens in a new tab) How to get to Olib