Vela Rava 

The island of Rava is 16 nautical miles from Zara and it is, with its surface of only 3.62 km2, one of the smallest islands of the Zadar archipelago. The number of inhabitants is extremely low, just a hundred people, and the only inhabited centers are two small villages: Mala Rava and Vela Rava, linked by two paths. It is a wild island, totally devoid of automobiles: to move from one location to another, the inhabitants mostly use by land some old tractors or by sea small boats.

The island's main harbor, as well as the most sheltered, is Vela Rava.  Situated in the center of the island, it is located within the internal part of the Marinica bay, overlooking the island of Dugi Otok. The port of Vela Rava is  small but still very much appreciated by the yachtsmen of every nation, as it is considered very safe. In fact, when the south-west winds can be dangerous, blowing with too much energy, the harbor offers excellent protection against the bora (east northeast Wind).

Inside the bay and along the coast there are some small piers reserved for private boats. Within the port of Vela Rava the possibility of anchoring is reserved only to local boats; some of the buoys belong instead to Keko’s restaurant. An alternative could be the ability to moor with anchor and stern at the quay, on the outside position of the mandrel quay: the places available with this option are few, only five. The pier for yachts in transit is free but totally without any service.

Every day, twice a day, a ferryboat sails from Zara and therefore there is no space to moor inside the harbor. Such a ferry floats on the southern shore of the main wharf and any moored boats would hinder the maneuvers of it.

On the large main pier reserved for large boats, you can find an old school that is now in disuse, the post office of the village, and a small supermarket where it is possible to find and purchase groceries and other commodities.

40 meters away from the village there is the water reserve cistern, where the island's drinking water is kept, available in a very limited quantities. From the main quay, a little road leads to the village and by which, continuing, allows reaching the only other inhabited area of the island, namely Mala Rava. A second road leading to Mala Rava starts directly from the moorings.

The port of Vela Rava is devoid of any type of commodities but is anyway, appreciated by the yachtsmen thanks to the beauty of the island, rich in fig trees and olive trees.

What makes Rava a unique island is the so-called center of the world:  which is a large hole in the land where a gigantic mulberry plant had grown. Within this hole, islanders periodically drop some drops of olive oil with the conviction that this helps the world to rotate more easily.