Croatia · Zadar
Fontana
Zadar, Croatia
On the beach
Right now
Sample dataIllustrative conditions — the live Open-Meteo marine feed wasn't reachable, so these are deterministic placeholder values that will be replaced automatically once the feed is available.
7-day outlook
Sample dataModeled placeholder forecast for demonstration — will be replaced by a live marine-weather feed.
Sea temperature
Next 7 days, °C
Wave height
Next 7 days, metres
View as table
| Day | Sea temp (°C) | Wave height (m) |
|---|---|---|
| Wed 2 | 24.2 | 0.6 |
| Thu 3 | 24.0 | 0.6 |
| Fri 4 | 23.5 | 0.6 |
| Sat 5 | 23.1 | 0.6 |
| Sun 6 | 23.1 | 0.6 |
| Mon 7 | 23.5 | 0.6 |
| Tue 8 | 24.0 | 0.6 |
Water quality history
Official EEA classification, one rating per bathing season, 2015–2025 — real data reported by national authorities.
- 2015: Not classified2015
- 2016: Excellent2016
- 2017: Excellent2017
- 2018: Excellent2018
- 2019: Excellent2019
- 2020: Excellent2020
- 2021: Excellent2021
- 2022: Excellent2022
- 2023: Excellent2023
- 2024: Excellent2024
- 2025: Excellent2025
Excellent in the most recent season, and 10 of 10 classified years rated Excellent or Good.
- Excellent
- Good
- Sufficient
- Poor
- Not classified
View as table
| Year | Classification |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Not classified |
| 2016 | Excellent |
| 2017 | Excellent |
| 2018 | Excellent |
| 2019 | Excellent |
| 2020 | Excellent |
| 2021 | Excellent |
| 2022 | Excellent |
| 2023 | Excellent |
| 2024 | Excellent |
| 2025 | Excellent |
Typical sea temperature by month
Modeled estimatePlausible seasonal climatology derived from latitude, for illustration — not a measured average.
Monthly sea temperature
Typical range across the year, °C
View as table
| Month | Typical sea temp (°C) |
|---|---|
| Jan | 15 |
| Feb | 14 |
| Mar | 15 |
| Apr | 17 |
| May | 20 |
| Jun | 23 |
| Jul | 25 |
| Aug | 26 |
| Sep | 25 |
| Oct | 23 |
| Nov | 20 |
| Dec | 17 |
Location & nearby beaches
Nearby beaches
- Hotel Kolovare281 mZadar
- Arbanasi-Škola368 mZadar
- Kolovare-Mulić555 mZadar
- Bazen758 mZadar
Distances calculated as straight-line (haversine) from official coordinates.
Getting there & around
- By car: there's parking about ~400 m from the beach.
- Bus stop: Autobusni kolodvor Zadar, about ~450 m away.
Food, stays & town
- Nearest city: Zadar, about ~1.6 km away.
- 17 places to eat within 1 km Closest is Porthos, about ~40 m away.
- 3 places to stay mapped nearby Closest is Hotel ZaDar, about ~500 m away.
- 9 shops nearby, the closest about ~530 m away
What kind of beach is this?
This is a town beach, woven into the everyday fabric of a city or larger settlement — expect company on warm days, especially through July and August, alongside easy access to shops and services.
Estimated from OpenStreetMap surroundings data (ODbL).
- Families
Is the water clean at Fontana?
Fontana sits on a stretch of coast classed as a coastal bathing site, carrying an official EU Bathing Water rating of Excellent for the 2025 season. Under the EU Bathing Water Directive, national authorities test for intestinal enterococci and E. coli through the season and report the results the following spring — the 2025 rating was published in spring 2026, and 2026's won't follow until spring 2027. In addition to that yearly rating, some national authorities — for Croatia, IZOR (Croatia's Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries) — publish individual water sample results during the season itself, ahead of the annual report. It sits in Zadar. You can park about ~400 m away.
That rating has been consistent: every one of the 10 classified seasons on record has come back Excellent or Good. If you're timing a visit around water temperature rather than crowds, July–September is the safest bet, with August typically the peak — expect a cooler, calmer sea either side of that stretch.
That “Excellent” label comes from a full season of official water sampling, not a single test — it's one step on a four-point scale (Excellent, Good, Sufficient, Poor) reassessed once a year. Today's actual conditions can differ from the seasonal average, so for a live snapshot see the “Right now” and 7-day outlook panels above. It's been a consistently reliable spot too — the rating has held at Excellent for 10 straight years. There are 17 places to eat within a kilometre — Porthos is the closest, about ~40 m away.
Frequently asked questions
Can you safely swim at Fontana?
Yes. Its official 2025 EU Bathing Water rating is Excellent, the top classification, and 10 of the 10 classified seasons on record have rated Excellent or Good. It's also held steady at Excellent for 10 straight years.
How warm is the sea at Fontana right now?
The panel above shows a sample value of around 24°C. This is placeholder data shown because a live marine-weather feed wasn't reachable — it will be replaced automatically once the feed is available. That's the reading right off Zadar.
What's the ideal time of year to swim at Fontana?
July–September tends to be the sweet spot for swimming here, with sea temperatures usually peaking later in that stretch. That applies to the water around Zadar.
What's behind the water quality rating shown above?
National authorities sample the water for intestinal enterococci and E. coli bacteria through the bathing season and report the full-season results to the European Environment Agency each spring for the season just finished, which assigns one of four annual classifications — Excellent, Good, Sufficient or Poor — under the EU Bathing Water Directive. Some national authorities, including Croatia's IZOR, also publish individual in-season sample results ahead of that annual report.
How do you get to Fontana?
By car, there's parking about ~400 m from the beach. By bus, the nearest stop is Autobusni kolodvor Zadar, about ~450 m away. The nearest town is Zadar, about ~1.6 km away.