Punta Rata Beach

Why it is worth your time

Punta Rata is the beach that put Brela on the world map: a white shingle point pushing into the sea like a tongue, with a pine forest descending to the very shore and water so transparent that the bottom is seen at several metres' depth. When foreign magazines chose Europe's loveliest beaches in the late nineties, Punta Rata was regularly at the very top, and it holds that name to this day. The shingle is fine and white, the entry into the sea gradual, and the pines do the work that on southern beaches is worth gold: shade three steps from the towel.

The beach is arranged without excess, with showers, cabins, loungers and bars along the promenade, but without music that would drown out the sea. In summer come before ten or after four; in the middle of the day the point can be full. The beach is reached by the promenade from Brela in ten minutes, and the car park lies above the road. If the Adriatic has a beach to see before all others, this one is on the shortest list.