Region in Croatia
Dalmatia – Zadar
- Best time to go
- May, June, Sept, Oct
- Part of
- Croatia
The Zadar region is northern Dalmatia: Zadar's old town on its peninsula, a coast of sandy and pebble beaches from Nin to Pakoštane, and a scatter of islands from Pag to Dugi otok.
Behind it all rises the Velebit range, with the gorges of Paklenica National Park, while the flat farmland of Ravni kotari and Vransko Lake, Croatia's largest natural lake, lie just inland. Distances are short, so you can mix city, sea, mountains and islands in a single week. The sunsets over the islands are famous for good reason.
Things to do
Don't miss in Dalmatia – Zadar
- Watch the sunset from Zadar's waterfront, at the Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun.
- Spend a day in Nin, a tiny town on an island in a lagoon, with sandy beaches, healing mud and the little Church of the Holy Cross.
- Hike or climb in the canyons of Velika and Mala Paklenica, in Paklenica National Park above Starigrad.
- Take a boat to Dugi otok for Telašćica Nature Park, its salt lake and cliffs, and the white sand of Sakarun beach.
- Taste Paški sir, the sharp sheep's cheese of Pag, and see the island's lacemakers at work in Pag town.
- Watch birds or cycle around Vransko Lake Nature Park near Pakoštane.
- Try maraschino, the cherry liqueur that has been made in Zadar for centuries.
Getting there
How to get to Dalmatia – Zadar
Zadar Airport (ZAD) is at Zemunik, about 10 km east of Zadar. The A1 motorway reaches Zadar from Zagreb in about three hours and from Split in about an hour and a half. Car ferries and catamarans leave from Gaženica port in Zadar for Ugljan, Dugi otok, Iž, Molat, Silba and Olib, and another car ferry crosses from Biograd na Moru to Tkon on Pašman. Pag is joined to the mainland by a bridge in the south, and a car ferry runs from Prizna to Žigljen in the north. Vir is reached by bridge.