Things to do on Ugljan

Ugljan is the island closest to Zadar, reached only by small passenger boats and ferries from the port in the Old Town — there is no bridge or direct road link. The crossing to Preko, the island's main village, runs in well under half an hour and puts you among olive groves that cover much of the island's low ridges.

Just offshore from Preko sits the islet of Galevac, a short row or paddle away, and further along the coast the tiny inhabited islet of Ošljak, one of the smallest permanently settled islands in the Adriatic.

Ugljan works best as a slow half-day or full-day addition to a Zadar stay, or as one stop on a wider island-hopping route through the archipelago, rather than a destination that needs a whole itinerary of its own.