Veli Rat on Dugi Otok island

Our series of articles about Dugi otok would not be complete if we did not also mention Veli Rat. It is the northernmost place on Dugi otok, and the main attraction is certainly the Punta Bjanka lighthouse, which, at 42 m in height, is the lighthouse with the tallest lantern on the Adriatic.

The lighthouse was, like many others on the Adriatic, available for tourist rental (an apartment in the lighthouse), but as tends to happen here, the state bureaucracy – which is full of talk of sustainable tourism – banned Plovput (the state company under whose authority all the lighthouses fall) from renting them out. Supposedly this will be the subject of some future legislation. We hope it will still be possible to rent lighthouses!

Dugi otok is wild. Its exposure to extreme weather conditions is obvious at every step, and so it is on this point too. The coast here is rugged, full of rocks worn smooth by the winds and waves that come in from the open sea. But even so, on both sides of the lighthouse there are a couple of small pebble beaches that allow you to enjoy the crystal-clear sea.

Behind the lighthouse sits the chapel of St. Nicholas. Together with the lighthouse building it forms a very harmonious whole.

In front of the lighthouse, from the very tip of the point, you can draw an imaginary line 2 km long to the north, to the wreck of the sunken ship Saint Michele (44.16880590687393, 14.818261497568901). Interestingly, the wreck of the ship lies in the shallows, only 900 m from the nearest coast of Dugi otok, and is a favourite summer attraction for the many tourists who visit it by boat and kayak. Diving around the wreck, with a sufficient dose of caution, is hilarious fun for children and adults alike.

You can leave your car in the shade of the pines very close to the lighthouse, and in the surroundings, as part of the local campsite, you can also find other tourist facilities such as a shop and a restaurant.

If you have taken a swim at Sakarun, it would be a shame to leave Dugi otok without heading 5 km to the northwest to the point of Veli Rat. The sunsets here are surely fantastic!