Croatia / Primorje-Gorski Kotar
Vela plaža
Vela plaža is a beach facing south-east, 700 m south-west of Baška (Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Croatia). The sea averages 23.8 °C in August, its warmest month, and 11.0 °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 Vela plaža
Beach-day index 3.7/10 · Croatia median 4.4
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea °C | 12.0 °C | 11.0 °C | 11.2 °C | 13.2 °C | 17.1 °C | 21.1 °C | 23.5 °C | 23.8 °C | 21.4 °C | 19.0 °C | 16.5 °C | 13.9 °C |
| High °C | 4° | 5° | 9° | 14° | 19° | 23° | 26° | 26° | 21° | 16° | 10° | 5° |
| Low °C | -1° | -1° | 2° | 6° | 10° | 14° | 16° | 16° | 12° | 8° | 4° | 0° |
| Rain mm | 101 | 108 | 91 | 92 | 105 | 79 | 62 | 82 | 140 | 132 | 156 | 123 |
| Cloud % | 64 | 60 | 56 | 54 | 52 | 43 | 32 | 32 | 44 | 53 | 64 | 61 |
| Wind m/s | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.8 |
| Daylight h | 9.1 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.6 | 11.1 | 9.6 | 8.8 |
| Record high/low | 15°/-15° | 15°/-13° | 20°/-13° | 25°/-3° | 30°/2° | 36°/4° | 38°/10° | 37°/7° | 30°/4° | 26°/-3° | 23°/-4° | 14°/-11° |
| Beach index | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 7.4 | 9.2 | 9.0 | 6.0 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 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 9.2/10 with highs of 26 °C, sea at 23.5 °C and 62 mm of rain.
That matches the median for beaches in Croatia in the same month.
At its warmest the water here is 0.7 °C cooler than the Croatia median for August (24.5 °C).
Across the year the sea averages 17.0 °C, cooler than 64% of the coastal beaches in the atlas.
November is the wettest month (156 mm) and July the driest (62 mm); the yearly total is about 1,270 mm.
Daylight runs from 8.8 hours in December to 15.6 hours in June; in mid-July the sun rises at 05:27 and sets at 20:45 local time.
Orientation, sun and shore
The shore faces south-east (125°). Open water fills about 22% of the horizon close by, which makes it a sheltered cove or bay.
At no time of year does the sun set over the sea here: sunset bearings run from 237° to 305°, behind the land.
Sunrise is over the sea in October–March.
The opposite shore is only about 12.0 km away to the south-east, which keeps the water sheltered from big waves. The beach is on an island of about 408 km².
About 1 km offshore the sea is roughly 35 m deep and 74 m at 3 km. Behind the beach the ground is about 9 m above sea level 500 m inland and 26 m at 1.5 km.
Within 1 km, the land is 45% tree cover, 32% built-up land and 18% grassland (satellite land-cover map, 2021): a partly built-up setting. Water makes up 40% of that circle.
- Tree 45%
- Built 32%
- Grass 18%
- Shrub 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 “Baška - Zablaće”, 260 m from the beach centre, was rated Excellent for the 2025 season. It was Excellent in 11 of its 11 classified seasons since 2015.
- 2015Excellent
- 2016Excellent
- 2017Excellent
- 2018Excellent
- 2019Excellent
- 2020Excellent
- 2021Excellent
- 2022Excellent
- 2023Excellent
- 2024Excellent
- 2025Excellent
Source: European Environment Agency, EU Bathing Water Directive assessments · national site profile. Classes are based on four seasons of bacteriological sampling.
OpenStreetMap shows no lifeguard station within 1 km. Seasonal lifeguard posts are often unmapped, so check on site.
Photos
From above
Facilities within 1 km
- 53Restaurants, cafés & bars
- 7Public toilets
- –Showers
- 2Drinking water
- 24Car parks
- –Lifeguard stations
- 58Hotels & guesthouses
- 3Campsites
- 5Grocery shops
- 1Bus stops (1.5 km)
- 8Cash machines
- 1Bike rental
- 2Viewpoints
Food and drink mapped within 1 km: 30 restaurants, 3 cafés, 17 bars and 3 fast-food outlets. Accommodation: 58 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
Attractions & museums
- Adriatic aquarium Baška attraction 730 m NE
Nature
- Gabar peak 1.4 km S
- Zakam peak 1.4 km N
Lighthouses & piers
- Puntarski mol pier 940 m NE
Campsites
- Baška Beach Camping Resort by Valamar 170 m W
- Camping Mali 170 m NW
- Camp Zablaće 290 m NW
Getting there
| Airport | Code | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rijeka Airport Rijeka(Omišalj) | RJK | 31.3 km | north-west |
| Pula Airport Pula | PUY | 65.6 km | west |
| Zadar Airport Zadar | ZAD | 108 km | south-east |
Straight-line distances from the beach; road distance is usually 20–40% longer.
Local transport: 1 bus stop within 1.5 km and 24 mapped car parks within 1 km.
1 town or village of 1,000+ people lie within 10 km (about 899 residents); within 30 km there are 20 (about 36.5K).
Map and nearby beaches
Loading map…
Open in OpenStreetMap · Directions in Google Maps
| Beach | Distance | Warmest sea | Length | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vela plaža | – | 23.8 °C | – | – |
| Plaža Oprna | 6.8 km W | 23.8 °C | 144 m | Pebble |
| Rajska plaža | 16.0 km S | 23.8 °C | 1.2 km | Sand |
- Plaža Oprna6.8 km WCompare
- Rajska plaža16.0 km SCompare
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 14.0 km away.
- Beach outline, surface, rules and public facilities: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); 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.
- Photos: Wikimedia Commons, author and licence under each image.
- 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 HRBWC-COAST-HR3-6147).
- Settlements: GeoNames places with 1,000+ inhabitants.
- Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021, 10 m (CC BY 4.0).
- Search popularity: about 8.1K Google searches a month for the name (KeywordTool, October 2026).
Data compiled 2026-10-13. Something wrong? Report a data error.