The entrance to this large, well-sheltered bay, which extends more than a mile inland, is only a mile and a half from the entrance to Rijeka Dubrovačka and Gruz Harbour, where most of the Dubrovnik boats are moored. Only rarely do any of them come here to spend the night at anchor. They mostly arrive during the day and go back to their moorings at dusk. So Zaton is often the destination of sailors who want to visit Dubrovnik without mooring in the busy marina in Komolac, or on the equally occupied moorings on the bustling waterfront. There are all sorts of boats here, from yachts cruising the Mediterranean, even ocean-going yachts, to luxury and mega-yachts, which can provide sufficient privacy for their guests when anchoring here. You can reach the old city and the heart of Dubrovnik by taxi or bus in about 20 minutes. The entrance to the bay is 300 metres wide, where the depth is 32 metres, falling to about 20 metres in the middle, and between 5 and 10 metres nearer to the shores, so everyone can find their optimum anchorage. There are two villages along the bay – Veliki Zaton in the SW section and Mali Zaton on the NE side, and behind the houses, you will notice the main tourist road. By the shore of Mali Zaton, which is protected to the north by the steep hill, Zirine, with freshwater springs and old mill buildings at its foot, you will find some of the loveliest summer residences of the Dubrovnik nobility, those belonging to the Saraka, Sorkočević, Gućetić and Menčetić families. They sought peace and quiet here and found refuge from the summer heat in the breezes of the burina, which blows almost every evening in summer. When I arrive by boat here, I like to take a romantic stroll as night falls. There are several good restaurants, the most famous of which is Orsan, run by the Gverović family, on the SE shore of the bay. Ankora, on the opposite shore, in Zaton Mali, is also very good. You can anchor anywhere in the bay. Larger vessels tend to choose the middle section, where the depths are greater, and smaller vessels opt for the western section, in front of Veliki Zaton, which is well-sheltered from W winds, but is somewhat exposed to the jugo. In the inner section of Solina Bay, or in the most northerly arm, known as Batala, the depths are between 5 and 10 metres. The bed there is sandy and silty and provides good purchase. The bura can be strong in Zaton, because of the configuration of the terrain, reaching 2 or more levels higher on the Beaufort Scale than in the neighbouring bays.