Zadar, Croatia

We arrived Friday morning and went to the hostel (which one we really recommend: Backpackers home hostel), . After leaving our luggage, we went to Lidl to buy some food to make a picnic for Puntamika Beach (2 km from our hostel). It’s a very nice beach with stones (not sand) like in most of Croatia. The water is super clear and clean, and luckily, we didn't see any hedgehogs so we could swim without nautical shoes, so much better!!

After the picnic, swimming and sunbathing all afternoon, we decided to start walking to the center to see the sunset. They call it “The best sunset of the Dalmatian Coast”, and the best place to see it is in “The Organ Sea”. The sun seemed like a big ball of fire, accompanied by the sound of the organ that is given thanks to the incredible architecture made by Nikola Bašić, renowned Croatian architect. We enjoyed some delicious pizzas with beer at Crazy Pizza restaurant in the old town and then we went to sleep early, since on Saturday morning we had to wake up early to go to Kornati National Park.

We took a 8 hour tour to Kornati National Park. Kornati consists of 140 uninhabited islands, islets and rocks and are known for their rock shape and high cliffs. The excursion included breakfast, free water all day and lunch. On the way to the park we enjoyed a sandwich with a coffee, which was super necessary since it was very windy and we were a little cold. Despite that, we really enjoyed the beautiful view from the boat, saw many little islands and incredible landscapes. After sailing for 3 hours, we arrived at our destination. We couldn’t get to “Tureta Fort” (maybe 40 min climbing) because the excursion didn't give us time to continue climbing, so we got to the middle and then we went back down and got to a nice and small church full of history, called “Our Lady of Tarac”.

We continued our trip and had lunch (pasta/fish with salad) with the gentle movement of the tide and the strong wind caressing our faces. We arrived at the “Telašćica National Park", which is a natural park that covers the 10 km long bay of Telašćica, one of the largest bays in the Adriatic. After a short walk, we arrived at Lake Mir, a salt lake located in the southern part of the park. We relaxed and sunbathed on the shore of the lake, eating some fruits and enjoying the quiet environment. Then, we returned to the boat to start our way back to Zadar. It was very nice to return lying on the floor of the boat, covering ourselves from the wind but the sun hitting our faces, drinking a delicious coffee and surprisingly after the shout of a child, we got up and saw the dolphins playing with the track left by the boat.

Once we got back to the hostel, we took a shower and quickly went to the old town by bike, since we had a reservation at a very nice restaurant, called “4 Kantunas” which is usually full of people. We cycled through the old town and we could see the sun hiding between an orange sky and the mountains. Sooo.. To start we ordered two Croatian beers called Karlovačko; I ate a quinoa burger with vegetables and chickpea hummus (veeeeery tasty) and my boyfriend chose crunchy octopus with barley and vegetables. For dessert we ordered our favorite, chocolate souffle with vanilla ice cream and raspberry topping.. mmmmm, just perfect!!

The last day we visited different beaches by bike; first we went to Diklo beach, it’s like 4 km away from the hostel and its a very nice place, luckily we brought water and snacks because there was nothing nearby to buy. Then we went to Borik beach, it’s the only one that has sand, I’m not gonna lie.. it felt sooo good.. Besides that, we also enjoyed some food in “Famous Beach Bar & Grill”, a nice bar with a great view. The last beach that we went, was Kolovare beach, this one is in the center, and there are many people who don't prefer it but we truly enjoyed it because it’s long, the stones are small so they mold to your body and is in the center, which was our next plan.

After finishing our beach day we went for a walk to the old town to buy souvenirs and see the Cathedral and the Roman forum. It’s a city that catches you and makes you fall in love, immerses you in history and in a warm atmosphere that is difficult to let go.