Visiting Kornati
Although signs at the motorway exit for Murter suggest it’s an easy journey from there to Kornati, visiting the park is more complicated in practice. There is no ferry or public transport, and no way to get around the islands without a boat. There are few accommodation options in Kornati; most overnight visitors stay on their own yachts. Unless you have an international captain’s licence, the only way to reach the park is on a tour. The best are the ones offered by the fishermen of Murter. Tourist boats also leave from Vodice,Pirovac and Šibenik.
Recreational fishing permits and scuba diving permits are each 100kn per day. These are the prices for tickets bought outside the park (see www.kornati.hr for offices); in all cases prices are more or less double if bought within the park itself.
With your own boat you enter Kornati through the straits of Opat, between the south side of Kornat andSmokvica. You will be accosted by park rangers on speedboats, who sell you an entrance ticket (250kn-1,500kn per boat). There are reception centres on Ravni Žakan and in the village of Vruje. Overnight mooring is possible in a dozen bays, at floating moorings marked by red buoys. Among the best bays are Lavsa, Levrnaka and Ravni Žakan. There is a marina on Piškera, open in summer.
The nearest departure points for an excursion to Kornati are on the island of Murter. If you take a stroll along the harbours of Jezera or Murter town, you’ll see boats offering day trips – there’ll probably be someone standing with a clipboard trying to sell tickets.
All offer a similar deal: entry to the national park; a journey around the most impressive natural sights; the chance to swim, and a fish barbecue. Most vessels are converted fishing boats, and many of them convert back in winter, when the tourist guides return to their true profession.