Zadar, Croatia

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Chrisoldskool

Original Poster:

73 posts

124 months

Tuesday 12th December 2023
quotequote all
Morning everyone,

Looking for abit of information/advice...

Looking to visit Zadar around June 2024, we have never been to Croatia, hoping others on here have been and can offer any advice or thoughts, where to stay, where to visit etc.

We will likely be staying 4/5 nights, is that enough? too much?

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

elise2000

1,536 posts

225 months

Tuesday 12th December 2023
quotequote all
Chrisoldskool said:
Morning everyone,

Looking for abit of information/advice...

Looking to visit Zadar around June 2024, we have never been to Croatia, hoping others on here have been and can offer any advice or thoughts, where to stay, where to visit etc.

We will likely be staying 4/5 nights, is that enough? too much?

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
We have a house in hvar and spend a lot of time in Croatia. Never visited Zadar though. If you want advice about anywhere else, just ask!

eps

6,397 posts

275 months

Tuesday 12th December 2023
quotequote all
We've been more down south in Croatia, so never been to Zadar either.

Croatia is an excellent country to visit.

One recommendation would be to get beach 'shoes' as most of the beaches tend to be stoney and there are quite a few sea urchins as well.

Other than that enjoy!! Try to have a 'peke' meal - we had one a couple of years ago, put on by the couple that owned the villa we were staying in. It was sensational!! Number 4 on this list https://www.timeout.com/croatia/restaurants/croati...

It's all quite chilled and rugged - the dalmatian mountains are quite stark.

The water was lovely and warm, we tended to do quite a bit of swimming and snorkelling.

Local bread is good to try as well.

elise2000

1,536 posts

225 months

Tuesday 12th December 2023
quotequote all
eps said:
We've been more down south in Croatia, so never been to Zadar either.

Croatia is an excellent country to visit.

One recommendation would be to get beach 'shoes' as most of the beaches tend to be stoney and there are quite a few sea urchins as well.

Other than that enjoy!! Try to have a 'peke' meal - we had one a couple of years ago, put on by the couple that owned the villa we were staying in. It was sensational!! Number 4 on this list https://www.timeout.com/croatia/restaurants/croati...

It's all quite chilled and rugged - the dalmatian mountains are quite stark.

The water was lovely and warm, we tended to do quite a bit of swimming and snorkelling.

Local bread is good to try as well.
Good point on the beach shoes!

And good suggestion on the peka- find a proper local village restaurant for this.

Mark-ri571

575 posts

113 months

Tuesday 12th December 2023
quotequote all
We visited Zadar on a cruise last year. Not sure about the wider environs but the town is fairly compact and didn’t see an awful lot to see. For all I know there may be plenty to see out of town.
A few pics I took



Evanivitch

21,606 posts

128 months

Tuesday 12th December 2023
quotequote all
Quiet, lovely Adriatic Coast town. Plitvice worth a visit to break up the week.

Chrisoldskool

Original Poster:

73 posts

124 months

Wednesday 13th December 2023
quotequote all
Thanks for all the replies so far,

Leaving from the Northwest it looks like Manchester Airport would be the airport to depart from, just wondering if Tuesday-Saturday may be a little too long?

It looks great from what i have seen online, and quite like the idea of somewhere different from the usual locations.

Happy to hear suggestions on other places that may be lesser known

Thanks

Evanivitch

21,606 posts

128 months

Wednesday 13th December 2023
quotequote all
Chrisoldskool said:
Thanks for all the replies so far,

Leaving from the Northwest it looks like Manchester Airport would be the airport to depart from, just wondering if Tuesday-Saturday may be a little too long?

It looks great from what i have seen online, and quite like the idea of somewhere different from the usual locations.

Happy to hear suggestions on other places that may be lesser known

Thanks
What do you want from your holiday? A few days kicking back doing nothing or vibrant culture and busy city?

The former is zadar, the latter is Split and Dubrovnik.

ghs456

4 posts

69 months

Wednesday 13th December 2023
quotequote all
I went to Croatia for a week in October including Zadar. You can probably see most of the actual city in 1-2 days as the main parts of interest are quite close to each other and the old city isn't 'that' big. If you have a car, would highly recommend going to Krka National Park for a day (about a 1hr15 minute drive from Zadar). The waterfalls and scenery are amazing, and you can take a boat trip from Skradin which takes you right to the main waterfall (after paying entry to the park the boat trip is included)

Again, if you have a car/time to spare also recommend a drive up the coast from Zadar towards Karlobag or Senj on the E65. Maybe not the quickest/best road ever to drive and you would have to come back the same way but stunning scenery as it follows the coast and Karlobag is a nice enough place to spend some time.

Boxster5

797 posts

114 months

Friday 15th December 2023
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We were in Croatia in September starting in Zadar for 5 nights followed by Cavtat for 6 nights then Trogir for 3 nights.
Of the 3 places we loved Zadar the most (Cavtat - too many Brits and too near Dubrovnik so overrun with cruisers, Trogir - near Split, nice enough old town but very busy with cruisers).
Zadar has a lovely old town which is worth a visit (we stayed in an Airbnb on the outskirts right on the waterfront).
We had a car and I would recommend a drive to Nin, also Pag Town both within easy driving distance. Not masses there but a nice drive and worth a wander around each.
A bit further afield but easily reached in around 2 hours heading towards Split is the lovely town of Primosten.
We didn’t like around Dubrovnik but if you happen to go there it is a stunning drive on the E65 across the Peljesac bridge (which avoids the small area of coastline belonging to Bosnia).
Some advice re driving - avoid Avia car hire like the plague (our Ryanair flight was delayed by 3 hours and they wanted to charge a late fee plus no cars in our group so additional cost for an upgrade - a terrible attitude with the hire car guy being very aggressive towards my wife - told them where to stuff their hire car). Car parking charges are prolific (a bit like the UK) with somewhere like Cavtat (where there is only one car park) charging 3 euros an hour. We managed to get a ticket in Zadar on our first morning as there was apparently no ticket visible (I know I paid and put the ticket on the dash - only possible way was I hadn’t locked the car [which I very much doubt] and someone else took the parking ticket - anyway cost us €11 daily charge which we had to pay at the parking fines office.
Petrol prices - everywhere (and I mean everywhere) price per litre is the same (was €1.58 u/l when we were there) - HOWEVER we topped up our tank on the E65 at a motorway services - €15.80 equals 10 litres - WRONG - by the time it was nearing 9 litres it was already heading towards €16 - so clearly the pumps are being manipulated.
A stunning country though and probably worth heading away from the crowded coastline if you can.
Zadar is much less crowded with a lot fewer Brits than around Split and Dubrovnik.
If we went back, it would be to Zadar, then perhaps head North.
Some nice restaurants if you’re prepared to hunt them out.

Craigyp79

596 posts

189 months

Sunday 17th December 2023
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Went to Zadar a few years back, lovely place and lovely people.

Very nice restaurant here, especially if you like seafood: https://restaurant-kornat.hr/