Sali

Sali is a place of long fishing tradition on Dugi Otok and a natural starting point for Telašćica Nature Park. Its summer calendar features Saljske užance, a three-day festival that includes the Tovareća mužika ensemble. Behind the settlement lies Saljsko polje, an old olive grove with trees up to 700 years old, designated a botanical reserve. This contrast of harbour, olive grove and nearby Telašćica gives Sali more to offer than swimming alone. Bicycles, scooters and boats can be rented in the village, making it easier to explore Dugi Otok. On a first visit, set aside time for the village and grove, and separate time for Telašćica. The 2026 Saljske užance took place from 7 to 9 August.

With 726 residents (2021 census), Sali is the largest settlement on Dugi Otok and the administrative seat of a municipality of 12 settlements covering 124.2 km². Fishing here goes back a thousand years: the oldest written Croatian record of fishing, from the late 10th century, is tied to the waters around Sali. The industrial heir to that tradition is the Mardešić cannery, founded in 1905 under the name Neptun, which started processing fish in 1907 and in the 1970s and 1980s ran three shifts with up to 400 workers and fishermen. The Homeland War all but halted it, but in 2017 it was taken over by France's Chancerelle and Croatia's Pilchardus, with multi-million-euro investment in modernisation, and Sali still produces tinned fish for export. Alongside fishing, olive growing sustained the village for centuries, and the shipyard in Sašćica bay carries on the maritime thread.