Punat - once a well-known shipyard for building wooden ships and a centre of a powerful steamship association - is today known in Europe for one of the largest and best-equipped tourist marinas on the eastern coast of the Adriatic.

Tourist activities commenced in Punat already in the mid-19th century, related to the Franciscan monastery on Kosljun, visited by many excursionists, among which Empress Karolina, the widow of the Austrian emperor Ferdinand I, then Maximilian Ferdinand, the younger brother of the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph, the Romanian king Karol I, etc. As soon as in 1908 the Bathing Society was established. However, the first hotel, Vila Lucija, was built by the local entrepreneur Nikola ic not before 1924.

Maintained beaches, rich vegetation, hotels, boarding-houses, vacation houses, and the all-year-round open marina as the central port for all those who enjoy beauty of the Croatian coastline, various sports and recreational opportunities (tennis, miniature golf, boccia, diving, yachting), domestic food offered in boarding-houses and restaurants, cultural offer - especially the one on the nearby Kosljun - account for Punat having developed into a frequently visited tourist centre.

Punat organizes traditional feasts Puntarska Night and the Fishermen's Night (in August), and the monastery on the small island of Kosljun hosts numerous cultural events throughout the year, particularly in the summer season.