Blue Lagoon

A shallow, sand-bottomed basin in the channel between the two Drvenik islands. In sun it turns a turquoise that looks edited. It is the most photographed water in this part of Dalmatia, and the most crowded between 11:00 and 15:00.

The colour comes from the bottom, not the water: fine pale sand at one to four metres, which reflects light straight back up. That also makes it unusually easy swimming — you can stand in large parts of it — and a good first stop for people who are nervous in open water.

The catch is scale. Every excursion operator from Split to Trogir runs here, and in July and August there can be thirty boats anchored in the basin at midday. It is still beautiful; it is simply not quiet.

The fix is timing, not avoidance. Before about 10:30 and after about 16:30 the lagoon empties out, the light is lower and warmer, and it becomes the place the photographs promise. Every itinerary we run is built around those two windows.