A pharmacy team visits 15 small island communities four days a week. Prescription and over-the-counter medicines come to the waterfront, provided the order is placed in time the day before.
A pharmacy visits 15 small island communities
Zadar County operates a mobile pharmacy on the water together with Ljekarna Zadar and the Ministry of Health. A pharmacist travels with the boat crew to communities that have no permanently staffed pharmacy of their own.
The published summer timetable lists 15 island communities. Prescription and over-the-counter medicines can be dispensed aboard; a technical connection to CEZIH allows Croatian electronic prescriptions to be processed.
Monday: Vrgada, Rava and Mali Iž
On Mondays, the official timetable gives stops in Vrgada from 08:30 to 09:15, Vela Rava from 10:30 to 11:15, Mala Rava from 11:30 to 12:15 and Mali Iž from 12:45 to 14:15.
The windows are short. Anyone collecting medicine should not wait until the scheduled departure time to reach the quay and should check for weather-related or operational changes before setting out.
Tuesday: Ošljak, Ist, Olib and Silba
On Tuesdays, the route starts at Ošljak from 07:40 to 08:20. It continues to Ist from 09:30 to 10:30, Olib from 11:00 to 12:00 and Silba at the Mul landing from 12:10 to 13:40.
Silba appears a second time later in the week at a different landing. The place name alone is therefore not enough; the quay listed in that day’s schedule matters too.
Wednesday: Sestrunj, Zverinac, Božava and Veli Iž
On Wednesdays, the boat calls at Sestrunj from 08:15 to 09:15, Zverinac from 09:35 to 10:35 and Božava from 10:45 to 11:45. The timetable gives the day’s longest stop to Veli Iž, from 12:15 to 13:45.
The route links several small island communities in sequence. Weather or operating delays can carry over to later stops; the published timetable is not live tracking.
Thursday: Rivanj, Molat, Premuda and Silba
On Thursdays, the timetable lists Rivanj from 08:00 to 08:40, Molat from 09:10 to 10:10 and Premuda from 11:00 to 11:50. Silba follows at the Žalić landing from 12:10 to 13:30.
The official table publishes specific tours from Monday to Thursday. A general sentence on the same page says trips run every day except Friday, but the days and stop times actually listed are the dependable basis for planning.
Order by noon on the previous day
Medicines should be ordered by telephone by 12:00 on the day before the trip. Zadar County gives the number 091 3029 306. Ordering early helps the team ensure the required item is aboard before departure.
Simply arriving without an order does not guarantee that a particular medicine will be available. An electronic prescription does not remove the logistical lead time for a multi-hour island route.
CEZIH and temperature-controlled storage make the service possible
According to the county, the boat is connected to Croatia’s CEZIH health system. Medicines are kept in air-conditioned or temperature-controlled areas so that the prescribed storage conditions are maintained at sea.
This makes it a genuine mobile pharmacy, not simply a parcel delivery trip. The timetable page does not explain which costs a foreign insurer covers or how a foreign prescription is handled in an individual case.
The pharmacy boat is not an emergency clinic
The service dispenses medicines according to a timetable. It replaces neither emergency medical care nor a medical examination and does not sail on demand for acute cases.
Call 112 in an immediate health emergency. Anyone who routinely needs medicine should use advance ordering and the scheduled stop; anyone needing medical advice should contact a doctor or pharmacy.
The project is a finalist — not yet a competition winner
On 14 September, the county announced that the pharmacy boat had reached the final of Croatia’s Best EU Project competition in the contribution to the local and regional community category. Public voting ended on 15 September.
The finalist place is confirmed; no victory had been published by the editorial deadline. For island residents, the operating supply service matters more than the award in any case.
The published summer timetable ends on 30 September
The official page identifies the stated times as a summer timetable through 30 September 2026. That does not automatically mean the service ends afterwards; October and the rest of the season require a newly published schedule.
Later journeys should therefore not rely on the September times. The county page and Ljekarna Zadar are the appropriate sources for the then-current position.
What is confirmed — and what remains open
Fifteen island communities, specific Monday-to-Thursday routes, advance ordering by noon the previous day, dispensing prescription and over-the-counter medicines through a CEZIH-connected system, and the published timetable through 30 September are confirmed.
A follow-on schedule from October, prices, handling of foreign prescriptions and reimbursement by foreign insurers remain open. Weather-related and operational changes must be checked immediately before using the service.
Evidence
Sources & date
Sources support the facts. Planning notes and recommendations are Golden Beach editorial assessments.
- Mobilne brodske ljekarneZadar County · 3 July 2026; timetable checked 17 September 2026operators, CEZIH service, medicine storage, 15 island communities, advance ordering, telephone number and summer timetable through 30 September
- Mobilna ljekarna – brodica Zadarske županije u finalu izbora za najbolji EU projektZadar County · 14 September 2026; checked 17 September 2026finalist place in the contribution to the local and regional community category and end of public voting
