Zlatni Rat Beach

Zlatni Rat, which translates roughly as Golden Cape or Golden Horn, is a distinctive pebble beach located on the southern coast of Brač Island, Croatia, extending approximately 500 metres into the Adriatic Sea from the base of a pine forest near the town of Bol. Its shape — a narrow tapering spit with a notched or V-shaped tip — shifts slightly with each change in wind direction and seasonal current, a characteristic that makes it one of the most photographed and scientifically unusual beaches in the Mediterranean. The beach is composed of small white and grey pebbles that produce an intense turquoise and green water colour in the shallows due to the purity and shallowness of the sea. At its widest the beach spans roughly 60 metres and is backed throughout by a dense canopy of Aleppo pines that provide shade unusual on Croatian pebble beaches. The western side of the cape faces the prevailing Maestral wind and is internationally recognised as one of the premier windsurfing and kitesurfing locations in the Adriatic; equipment hire and lessons are available from operators on the beach during summer. The eastern side is calmer and more suited to swimming and sunbathing with young children. Bol town is a 15-minute walk along the coastal path and offers restaurants, accommodation, and the Blaca Hermitage road trailhead in the island interior. The ferry from Split to Supetar on the north coast of Brač takes 50 minutes, followed by a 60-kilometre bus or hire-car journey south to Bol.