Most visitors discover the Blue Lagoon through Instagram and assume it's been a tourist destination for decades. The reality is more recent — and more local.
The fishing past
The three islets that form the Blue Lagoon — Veli Krknjaš, Mali Krknjaš, and the rocky outcrop of Balkun — sit in a sheltered bay on the eastern side of Šolta Island. For centuries they were used by Šolta fishermen as a safe overnight anchorage. The shallow sandy bottom meant easy mooring; the islets themselves are too small and rocky for agriculture or settlement.
The name Krknjaš is thought to derive from the Croatian word for the cormorant-like sea birds that nest on the rocks. The diminutive Krknjaši (plural) is how locals from Šolta and Stobreč refer to the cluster.
The Blue Lagoon name
The "Blue Lagoon" branding is relatively new — locals from Šolta started using it in marketing materials in the early 2000s, comparing the water's turquoise tone to Caribbean lagoons. The name stuck. Today most international travelers know the spot exclusively as the Blue Lagoon; older Croatian sailing charts still label it as Krknjaši.
How tourism arrived
The Lagoon's transformation from a quiet fishing anchorage into a daily destination for 30+ boats happened over a decade — roughly 2010 to 2020. Three things converged: cheap GoPro cameras, the rise of speedboat tour operators from Split, and Instagram. By 2018 the Lagoon was on most lists of "must-see in Croatia," and the boat traffic followed.
The Croatian Ministry of Maritime Affairs designates the immediate bay as a "no-anchor, no-jet-ski" zone in peak season to protect the sandy seabed. Tour operators (including us) are required to use eco-mooring buoys.
What you might not know
- The sandy seabed is a meadow of Posidonia oceanica sea-grass, which is a protected habitat. The patches of white sand between the meadows are what give the water its colour.
- On a clear day you can see the silhouette of Brač's Vidova Gora (the highest island peak in the Adriatic at 778 m) from the Lagoon.
- The water visibility is typically 12–18 meters in summer — better than most spots along the Dalmatian coast.
The Blue Lagoon is the centerpiece of our full-day Blue Lagoon tour, which combines the Lagoon with a second swim stop in Nečujam Bay on the same island.