Goli Otok

Goli Otok — "Barren Island" — became a political prison in 1949, after Yugoslavia broke with Stalin and Tito's government began jailing anyone suspected of Soviet sympathies. Conditions were brutal: prisoners were held on a nearly bare rock exposed to fierce winter winds, subjected to hard labor in the quarries and forced "re-education." Estimates of how many people passed through vary by source, from around 13,000 to over 16,000 between 1949 and 1956, when it stopped being used for political prisoners. After that it held ordinary criminals and later juvenile offenders until it closed for good in 1988.

Today the buildings are largely left to decay — faded propaganda slogans are still visible on some walls — and guided tours, often led by locals, cover the history in more depth.

Away from the prison site, the coastline is mostly bare rock and clear water, with a few decent anchorages: Vela Draga holds well in a sandy, vegetated seabed, Markonj Bay is a quiet cove reachable only by boat, Senjska Bay is good for snorkeling, and Tetina Bay sits calmer behind rocky cliffs.

These anchorages are best reached during a gulet cruise along the Croatia coast.