Five hidden beaches on Island Pašman

Just across the channel from Biograd lies Pasman — an island most people sail past on their way somewhere busier. That is exactly its charm. The ferry from Biograd to Tkon takes barely twenty minutes, and on the far side you find pine forests running down to a sea so clear it seems lit from below, and beaches you will often have nearly to yourself.

Why Pasman stays quiet

With no airport and only a small bridge linking it to neighbouring Ugljan, Pasman has stayed gentle and low-key. The villages are tiny, the pace is slow, and the coastline is fringed with shade — which on a hot Dalmatian afternoon is worth more than any beach bar.

Five coves worth finding

• Just south of Tkon. A string of gentle, shallow bays right off the ferry — the easiest swim on the island and ideal with small children.
• Banj. A long pebble beach backed by pines, shallow and calm, with views straight across to Biograd.
• Zdrelac. By the little bridge to Ugljan, where the channel water runs cool and astonishingly clear.
• Mrljane and Dobropoljana. Quiet village beaches with soft, sandy-bottomed shallows that stay warm late into the day.
• The southern shore. For the truly hidden, follow the tracks toward the island's wilder south side, where pine coves are reached only on foot.

Bring water, a hat and swim shoes for the pebbles — and the less you plan, the better Pasman treats you.

End the day with a grilled fish supper in one of the village konobas, and watch the lights of Biograd come on across the water. That is Pasman at its best: nothing to do, and all the time in the world to do it.