Ugljan and Pašman: the islands opposite Zadar and the busiest crossing in Croatia

Ugljan and Pašman lie in sight of Zadar and are joined to each other by a bridge, so in practice they work as one long island with a single road down the middle. Everything reaches them by ferry, and the crossing from Zadar to Preko runs more often than any other in the country.

Two islands, one road, three ramps

The D110 is the only through road and it covers both islands: 41.6 kilometres from the ferry port at Tkon on Pašman, through Pašman, Mrljane, Neviđane, Dobropoljana and Banj, across the Ždrelac bridge to Ugljan, then through Ždrelac, Kali, Preko and Sutomišćica to the ferry port at Muline.

The bridge matters more than its size. The Ždrelac bridge is 210 metres long and it is the reason a car landed at Preko can be driven to Tkon. It is also a single point of failure: if it is closed, the two halves become separate islands again.

Three ways on and off. Zadar to Preko is the frequent one, with up to twenty-nine sailings a day in July and August. Biograd na Moru to Tkon takes about twenty minutes and serves the southern end. Muline is the quiet third option.

A boundary worth stating: the A1 through Lika, the Maslenica bridge and the coast road belong to the Zadar entry. This one begins at the ramp and stays on the islands.

The damage patterns of these islands

On the ramp, in the queue. A frequent ferry means a queue that forms and clears many times a day. Contact with the ramp edge under the front bumper, kerbed wheels while manoeuvring and low-speed contact between cars in line are the most common findings from any island journey.

The village sections of the D110. Kali and Preko are fishing villages whose lanes were not laid out for two-way traffic. Mirror contact, wall marks at a fixed height with stone dust in them, and reversing damage in passing places dominate here, and almost all of it happens below walking pace.

Scooters, quads and bicycles in season. The single road carries hired two-wheelers, delivery vans and cars heading for the ferry against the clock. Overtaking on the straighter stretches between Preko and Ždrelac is where the faster events happen.

Where the vehicle gets inspected

A car that cannot be driven leaves the island on a ferry, and the crossing is part of the recovery. Ask which port is being used — Preko to Zadar is the usual answer, Tkon to Biograd for the southern end — and where the vehicle will stand once it is on the mainland.

We come to the vehicle. The order matters: photographs where it stands, before it is moved to the ramp or loaded, then the inspection. Zadar is close enough that an inspection is usually possible within two days once the car is off the island.

If damage is noticed only after the ferry, say so plainly and date it. Ramp contact and loading marks have a characteristic pattern and separate cleanly from road damage, so an honest sequence is easier to support than a tidy one.

Frequently asked questions

My car was damaged on Ugljan and will not start. What happens now?

It is recovered onto the Preko ferry and taken to Zadar, where the mainland part of the claim continues. Ask the recovery operator which crossing is used and where the vehicle will be stored. Once it stands somewhere reachable, an inspection is normally possible within two days.

Is a claim from Pašman handled differently from one from Ugljan?

Technically no, because the two are joined by the bridge and share one road. The practical difference is which ferry the vehicle leaves by: Tkon to Biograd from the southern end, Preko to Zadar from the northern. Note the crossing you used, since it appears on the recovery paperwork.

A wall in Kali marked the side of the car. How is that assessed?

By the height of the mark, its direction and the material left in it. Stone leaves a different trace from another vehicle's paint, and both are visible until the car is cleaned. A photograph taken on the spot, with the corner or wall in the same frame, settles most of these cases without further argument.