Balun is one of the more northern Kornati islands, and the dive is a wall you reach by swimming southeast until the bottom falls away at about 20 m. Following it brings you to a ridge running south and then to an eastern section at 26 m, where a small terrace carries red fan corals and sponges at a density the rest of the rock does not match.
Where it is and how deep
43.8056° N, 15.2560° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Balun sits among the more northern Kornati islands, and the dive begins with a single heading rather than a mooring on the site itself. Swim southeast until the bottom falls away at about 20 m; that edge is the whole orientation for the dive, and once you have it there is nothing left to navigate. Take the wall with your right shoulder against the rock and follow it along the island.
The wall runs until it meets a ridge heading south, and past that the eastern section steps down to 26 m after a small terrace. The terrace is the reason to come: red fan corals and sponges packed onto it far more densely than anywhere else on the wall. It is also the deepest point of a short profile, so there is time to work it properly rather than push on, then turn and follow the wall back the way you came.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Kornati Islands: The park licenses diving Apr–Oct, warmest Jul–Sep; the bura wind closes the exposed outer walls at short notice.
Know before you go
- The wall is found by swimming out on a heading rather than dropping onto it, so agree the return leg before you go in and keep the rock on the same shoulder throughout.
Photos from Balun
sanja mm · CC BY 3.0
Dive videos
Island Balun / Kornati · Izidive.eu on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the dive at Balun?+
You meet the wall at about 20 m and the eastern section bottoms out at 26 m, just past the small terrace of red fan corals and sponges. No depth beyond that is published for the site.
Sources
- Balun (dive site) — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide
- Isole della Croazia — Wikipedia (it)
Photo credits
- Close-up of Balun island's pale limestone cliff on its southwest side, dropping into the sea. by sanja mm, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Balun island's low rocky profile seen from a boat on the open Adriatic. by sanja mm, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Kornati Islands
Red gorgonian colonies on the seabed instead of the wall
Reef
Uninhabited islet on the park's authorised diving list
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A step at 30 m falling to a fan-coral plateau at 45 m
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Yellow gorgonians on one face of the wall, red on the other
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Beginner platform above a gorgonian drop-off starting at 30 m
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Gorgonians in several colours at 35 m below a cup-coral slope
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A small sponge-lined cavern at 22 m off the lighthouse islet
One of nine zones where the park authorises diving
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