Croatia’s coastline lays on the Adriatic Sea, the part of the Mediterranean just across our neighbour Italy. With 1,244 islands, islets and crags surrounded by crystal clear waters, Croatia is the perfect place for scuba diving.

The Kornati archipelago is composed with 89 of these remarkable islands. This national park is the perfect setting for you to get back in touch with unspoilt nature.

Diving within the Kornati National Park is an unforgettable experience. The geography of the underwater environment combined with abundant marine life make for exciting and unique dive sites. Unfortunately, diving in the Kornati National Park means adhering to strict guidelines set out by the Croatian government. A handful of dive operators are allowed within the park and all the dive sites of the Kornati Islands are only accessible by boat.

The underwater topography in the Kornati archipelago is as varied under the surface as it is above. Divers will delight in the caves, tunnels, crevices, sheer walls, cliffs and reefs. The boulders are covered in colorful soft corals and red gorgonians while plentiful small to medium marine life creates fascinating diversions. Because of its history and position, there are also a number of wrecks to explore surrounding the islands. Of these, the Francesca Wreck is the most popular as it is currently covered in soft corals but still very much recognizable for its former glory. As an added benefit to the adventurers among us, much of Kornati’s underwater environment has yet to be explored. It is known that there are shipwrecks hidden in the depths but dive masters are still searching for these potential new dive sites.

Diving in Croatia is possible year-round. However, it does get significantly chillier during the winter months. Average water temperatures in winter are 57 to 59°F/14 to 15°C while in summer, water temperatures reach about 73°F/22.8°C.

There can be large differences in temperature between one area and another thanks to freshwater springs upwelling into the sea in some areas, so water can be pretty cold even in the summer months.
You can dive in Croatia between May and November. It is quietest in September and October and the water is still warm then.