Croatia / Zadar
Plaža Šimuni
Plaža Šimuni is a 336 m-long pebble beach facing south-south-west, 3.3 km south of Kolan (Zadar, Croatia). The sea averages 24.5 °C in August, its warmest month, and 12.1 °C in February; it is 21 °C or warmer in June–September.
Average sea surface temperature by month. Current month outlined.
Month by month
October at Plaža Šimuni
Beach-day index 4.4/10 · Croatia median 4.4
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea °C | 13.2 °C | 12.1 °C | 12.3 °C | 14.0 °C | 17.5 °C | 21.6 °C | 24.0 °C | 24.5 °C | 22.3 °C | 19.8 °C | 17.4 °C | 15.0 °C |
| High °C | 7° | 8° | 11° | 16° | 20° | 25° | 28° | 28° | 23° | 18° | 13° | 9° |
| Low °C | 2° | 2° | 5° | 9° | 13° | 17° | 20° | 19° | 15° | 11° | 8° | 4° |
| Rain mm | 100 | 99 | 83 | 74 | 85 | 59 | 48 | 62 | 122 | 119 | 144 | 118 |
| Cloud % | 64 | 60 | 56 | 54 | 52 | 43 | 32 | 32 | 44 | 53 | 64 | 61 |
| Wind m/s | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.2 |
| Daylight h | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.1 | 12.6 | 11.1 | 9.7 | 8.9 |
| Record high/low | 14°/-9° | 16°/-9° | 20°/-8° | 24°/-1° | 32°/5° | 34°/8° | 36°/13° | 37°/11° | 32°/8° | 27°/2° | 23°/-0° | 16°/-7° |
| Beach index | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 4.9 | 8.7 | 9.3 | 9.2 | 7.4 | 4.4 | 3.0 | 2.4 |
Long-term monthly averages: air from NASA POWER (2001–2020), sea from NOAA OISST (1991–2020); records are the extremes of 2001–2020. How the index works.
When to go
The beach-day index peaks in July–August; July scores 9.3/10 with highs of 28 °C, sea at 24.0 °C and 48 mm of rain.
That matches the median for beaches in Croatia in the same month.
Across the year the sea averages 17.8 °C, cooler than 59% of the coastal beaches in the atlas.
November is the wettest month (144 mm) and July the driest (48 mm); the yearly total is about 1,110 mm.
Daylight runs from 8.9 hours in December to 15.5 hours in June; in mid-July the sun rises at 05:28 and sets at 20:43 local time.
Orientation, sun and shore
The shore faces south-south-west (195°). Open water fills about 44% of the horizon close by, which makes it an open stretch of shore.
The sun sets over the sea in October–March; in mid-December it goes down at 16:21 local time on a bearing of 237°.
Sunrise is over the sea in November–January.
Straight out to the south-south-west the next coast is roughly 200 km away, so waves are mostly wind-driven sea rather than ocean swell. The beach is on an island of about 283 km².
About 1 km offshore the sea is roughly 47 m deep and 94 m at 3 km, so deep water starts close to shore. Behind the beach the ground is about 22 m above sea level 500 m inland and 138 m at 1.5 km.
Within 1 km, the land is 52% tree cover, 21% shrubland and 13% built-up land (satellite land-cover map, 2021): a largely natural setting. Water makes up 49% of that circle.
- Tree 52%
- Shrub 21%
- Built 13%
- Grass 11%
- Bare 3%
Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m). Orientation from OpenStreetMap land polygons sampled in 36 directions; depths and heights from the GEBCO 2020 grid (about 450 m cells), indicative only.
Bathing water quality
The official EU bathing-water site “Uvala Šimuni”, 60 m from the beach centre, was rated Not classified for the 2025 season. It was Excellent in 5 of its 5 classified seasons since 2015.
- 2015Excellent
- 2016Excellent
- 2017Excellent
- 2018Excellent
- 2019Excellent
- 2025Not classified
Source: European Environment Agency, EU Bathing Water Directive assessments · national site profile. Classes are based on four seasons of bacteriological sampling.
The mapped beach is tagged as not allowing dogs.
OpenStreetMap shows no lifeguard station within 1 km. Seasonal lifeguard posts are often unmapped, so check on site.
Facilities within 1 km
- 18Restaurants, cafés & bars
- 5Public toilets
- –Showers
- 5Car parks
- –Lifeguard stations
- 10Hotels & guesthouses
- 2Campsites
- 2Grocery shops
- 1Water-sports spots
- 1Marinas & slipways
- 1Bus stops (1.5 km)
- 2Cash machines
Food and drink mapped within 1 km: 12 restaurants, 1 café and 5 bars. Accommodation: 10 hotels and guesthouses.
Counted within 1 km of the beach (bus stops 1.5 km) from OpenStreetMap features and Overture Maps places, release of 2026-10. Unmapped does not mean absent.
Around the beach
Marinas
- ACI Marina Šimuni 750 m N
Diving & boat hire
- Blue Way-Sail for a Day 580 m NW
Campsites
- Kamp Šimuni d.o.o. 700 m E
- Šimuni Camping Village 710 m E
Getting there
| Airport | Code | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zadar Airport Zadar | ZAD | 51.5 km | south-east |
| Rijeka Airport Rijeka(Omišalj) | RJK | 89.0 km | north |
| Pula Airport Pula | PUY | 94.9 km | north-west |
Straight-line distances from the beach; road distance is usually 20–40% longer.
Local transport: 1 bus stop within 1.5 km and 5 mapped car parks within 1 km.
3 towns and villages of 1,000+ people lie within 10 km (about 4.6K residents); within 30 km there are 9 (about 13.2K).
Map and nearby beaches
Loading map…
Open in OpenStreetMap · Directions in Google Maps
| Beach | Distance | Warmest sea | Length | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plaža Šimuni | – | 24.5 °C | 336 m | Pebble |
| Plaža Bošana | 5.0 km E | 24.5 °C | 44 m | Gravel |
| Zrće | 9.0 km NW | 24.0 °C | 774 m | Fine gravel |
- Plaža Bošana5.0 km ECompare
- Zrće9.0 km NWCompare
Data on this page
- Air temperature, rain, cloud, wind, humidity: NASA POWER climatology 2001–2020, 0.5° grid.
- Sea temperature: NOAA OISST v2.1 monthly normals 1991–2020, nearest ocean cell 12.0 km away.
- Beach outline, surface, rules and public facilities: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), feature w440597985; restaurants, cafés, bars and lodging: Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0).
- Towns and time zone: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Airports: OurAirports (public domain). Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations.
- Satellite view: Copernicus Sentinel-2 (ESA), scene S2A_33TVK_20260426_1_L2A.
- Orientation: OpenStreetMap land polygons (ODbL). Depth and terrain: GEBCO 2020 grid.
- Bathing-water quality: European Environment Agency (site HRBW1-COAST-HR4-4095).
- Settlements: GeoNames places with 1,000+ inhabitants.
- Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021, 10 m (CC BY 4.0).
- Search popularity: about 2.9K Google searches a month for the name (KeywordTool, October 2026).
Data compiled 2026-10-13. Something wrong? Report a data error.