Zadar and its charming old town
We spent 2 nights and 1 day in Zadar. The most fascinating part of the city is the charming old town, of course, connected to the land through a short bridge; while the rest of the city didn’t look very appealing.
We planned our trip as follows: on day 1 we visited Pag (see above); at night we visited Zadar; on day 2 we booked a sail in a catamaran (see below); at night we stayed again in Zadar.
The old town can be easily visited in 1-2 hours: it’s a very nice walk through the narrow alleys, Roman ruins, and medieval churches. At sunset make sure you are in the northern part of the island to enjoy the dusk and the music by the Sea Organ (an architectural-sound-art instrument which plays music by way of sea waves and tubes located underneath a set of large marble steps).
One day aboard a catamaran
Zadar can count on multiple beautiful islands: only arrange your transport and then enjoy spectacular bays, beaches, and panoramic views. Obviously, if you have more days to spend in this part of the country, you should visit all of them, Telašćica Bay, and Kornati islands.
There are two options to get to these islands: either you get a ferry or you book a sailing trip on a catamaran/speed boat.
We only had one day and opted for a cruise from Zadar to Telašćica Bay. Get Your Guide is the website we used to find our catamaran sail. It’s an internet booking engine that we really like a lot, it’s like the Booking.com for experiences-tours-visits. However, they are not responsible for the experience itself, they only collect all the offers. We have always found great activities on this website.
But this was not the case for our catamaran sail. I won’t spend many words on this. Let me just say the owner of the catamaran didn’t behave nicely to us and he really didn’t know how to treat his guests and make them feel comfortable. Probably, we could have taken the ferry, get the equivalent experience, and we wouldn’t have paid that much. Anyhow, we decided not to let the catamaran “accident” ruin our day, so once in the Nature Park Telašćica, we left the crew and explored the island on our own.
Telašćica Bay is one of the most beautiful and unspoiled natural harbors and attracts many boats. The immense area is a big archipelago, that will gift you with magnificent and breath-taking landscapes. Take a moment to visit the Jezero Mir (a seawater lake fed by the underground channels that cross the limestone and communicate with the sea) and the cliffs on the opposite side. Then choose a private spot on the shore and have a great swim in these crystal clear waters (just leave the port beyond you and walk north-west for less than 10 minutes).
Where to sleep in Zadar
If you are traveling on a road trip like us, you will need to think about parking. Generally speaking, finding a parking lot in Croatia can be hard, and once you find it it would be expensive. So for the entire duration of the trip, we chose hotels with private parking included.
Apartments Withlove Zadar
For our 2-night stay in Zadar, we found a super cool apartment right outside the old town. It’s almost impossible to find accommodation within the wall of the old town which offers also parking. So, considered that the bridge from the city to the old town is only 200 meters long, we agreed on sleeping outside the old town.
The apartment is called Apartments Withlove Zadar. Small but functioning, the design apartment was very neat and clean, with a wonderful view of the old town; the very friendly owners, let us park the car for free right under the house. The only negative side is the absence of an elevator… and the apartment is on the 3rd floor. So if you are carrying heavy suitcases like me, be ready to sweat.
Where to eat in Zadar
Talking food… We spent 2 nights in Zadar: one night we had a reservation and all went well. The second night we had no reservation… and it was a tragedy!
Kornat
For the first dinner, we found a lovely table at Kornat: ok, the furnishings do not fully reflect my taste; but the staff is very alert and careful with all the guests and the food was good. We opted for a fish to share and of course, the bill was a bit high but totally worth it! The fish was very good!
Al Pacchero
The second night we wanted to have a walk in the old town to find a new restaurant… Worst decision ever! Of course, there are tons of restaurants, some are good, some are not. However, there are so many tourists, that all the restaurants will be full. Maybe if you go for dinner at 7 pm you could be lucky and find a seat without a reservation. But if you like to have dinner later just like us Italians, let’s say at 9 pm, the search for a free table in a nice restaurant can be exhausting. And with nice I don’t mean luxurious, but at least not junk food
At the end of our wander, we ended up in an Italian restaurant: Al Pacchero. This tiny restaurant opened its doors only a few months ago; the interior is just for kitchen and toilets, as all the (few) tables are outside. The wait was worth it! Chefs are Italian and the recipes are Italian. And the food was very good! The salmon tartar was delicious! Highly recommended!
My opinion about Zadar
Apart from the thousands of tourists that occupy the narrow alleys of the city, Zadar is a nice destination for an afternoon/evening walk. The best part comes when you get on a boat and start exploring the islands surrounding the city.
Check the whole 2-week Croatia itinerary to discover other beautiful spots of this European gem.
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