Brbinj

Brbinj is a small village on the northeastern coast of Dugi Otok, in the Zadar Archipelago, sitting between the neighbouring villages of Dragove and Savar. According to the 2021 census it has only 70 residents, down from 76 a decade earlier and far below historical peaks recorded as far back as the 17th century.

The village is first mentioned in a written record from 1195. Its parish church, dedicated to Saints Cosmas and Damian, dates to the 14th century, and on the outskirts of the village stand the ruins of Soppe Castle, a 16th-century summer residence built by the noble Soppe family of Zadar. Electricity only reached Brbinj in 1964, and the village school, opened in 1900, has since closed as the population declined.

The best-known anchorage nearby is Brbinjscica Bay, southwest of the village, ringed by steep cliffs and sea caves and considered one of the more sheltered stops on this stretch of coast. A Jadrolinija ferry connects Brbinj to Zadar several times a day. Quiet and largely untouched by tourism, Brbinj is worth a visit if you're chartering a gulet in Croatia looking for a genuinely low-key stop on Dugi Otok.