Šipkova Cove (Uvala Šipkova), Šolta

Šipkova cove (uvala Šipkova) holds the only sandy beach on Šolta, the island just west of Split. Almost everywhere else on the island the shore is pebble, gravel or bare rock, so a strip of sand here is rare enough that the island's tourist board singles it out. Photos taken by visitors and shared online have made it one of the better-known swimming spots on the island.

The cove lies on the island's northern side, on the stretch toward Maslinica, the village on Šolta's western tip. You can reach it by car or on foot. Several other small coves along this part of the coast can only be reached by sea, so Šipkova is one of the easier ones to get to without a boat.

Facilities are not documented, so assume a natural beach: bring water, shade and anything else you need, and expect it to be busy in the middle of summer, when sand draws families with small children.

Šolta is a quiet, agricultural island of olive groves, vineyards and dry-stone walls, with a handful of small villages. Ferries and catamarans from Split land at Rogač, and from there roads run to the inland villages and the coast. Maslinica, the nearest village to Šipkova, has a main beach that has been improved in recent years, with kayaks and small boats for hire to explore the islets off the cape. Other well-known swimming spots are in the island's deep southern bays, such as Šešula, Tatinja and Stračinska, and at Nečujam, the largest bay on the north coast.

A day on Šolta can pair a swim at Šipkova with lunch in Maslinica and an evening on the western cape, which looks out over the islets toward the open sea.