If you’re looking to visit Croatia but are not mad about the crowds of tourists, Zadar might just be a place for you.

I’ve travelled to Zadar for a couple of days towards the end of July 2022 for my cousin’s hen party. The trip was organised by Maid of Honour and because a good few of us have travelled with a specific purpose in mind (giving the best farewell to my cousin’s single life), it didn’t give a whole lot of opportunities to explore the area on my own accord.

Nevertheless it has given me a good idea of what the city has to offer and what I saw and experienced has left me on a positive note.

About Zadar

Situated on Adriatic Sea, within Dalmatian region, Zadar is the oldest, inhabited city of Croatia, with a population of approx. 80K. Filled with picturesque Roman streets, numerous, quiet beaches and incredible sunsets, a simple walk around turns into a great moment.

Make sure to also check out Zadar’s astounding sea organs consisting of chambers which resonate the tunes created by sea waves. As well as incredible glass plate installation just beside it, harvesting solar polar during the day to bring a light show to life at night.

We stayed in apartments on the outskirts of Zadar and even there had no trouble communicating with the locals in English, which always makes trip that bit easier.

Food, drink and pricing

Variety of food and drink offered in Zadar makes it easy to find something good for everyone and I found it to be relatively cheap too, especially the chow. Obviously each place serves different cuisine and might differ in prices, but I just want to give you an idea of it, based on my experience. The conversion to Euros is based on what google tells me on the day of writing this post.

We kept it simple the first night and went to Bez Burger right by the Roman Forum. With lovely view of the sea and the main square, starters up to 40 Kuna and burgers somewhere between 50-90 Kuna, I had a proper feast for about 17 Euro and tasty at that.

I paid similar amount for a grilled cod with veggies in a restaurant of the pedestrian Široka street, also beside Roman Forum. One of the most expensive main dishes they served were prawns for 200 Kuna (approx. 26 Euro).

Another dinner we had was in ‘Rafaelo’ just off Plaža Uskok and the gnocchi sauce was to die for. Even though the dish doesn’t look the most Instagram worthy or whatever, it was delicious, creamy enough without being too overwhelming and if I remember correctly, costed 100 Kuna (13 Euro), worth every cent.

I cannot live without coffee, so you can imagine how over the moon I was to find a little café serving Italian cappuccinos for 12 Kuna (approx. 1.60 Euro). Albeit smaller than usual size I’m used to, they were so incredible, I had 3 in a row.

For alcoholic beverages, my go to Whiskey with Coke, at its highest was 30-40 Kuna (4-5.30 Euro), with beer stealing the show, costing around 15 Kuna (2.00 Euro), all of these out and about.

Activities

There are numerous options when it comes to activities and mini adventures in and around Zadar. Especially for nature enthusiast as the city is located close by to major National Parks, e.g. Krka.

We decided to take it up a notch and go Kayak Rafting on the Zrmanja river, located around 60km from the city. With the transport to and from organised individually, it ended up being a whole day trip, with kayaking taking a little over 5 hours in total.

It is a guided tour, two people per kayak and included swimming breaks and actual waterfall jump, around 2 meter drop though so nothing too serious for inexperienced. Great fun for entire family but there are parts you have to walk around waterfalls over rough terrain, so make sure you got your water shoes with you.

Our trip ended in a camping site/resort near Muškovci village, with beaches, restaurants and beautiful scenery all around.

Airport

With all that fun done and dusted and my cousin’s single life bid farewell in further celebrations that do not belong on this blog, we headed for the airport. Word of advice, it is a small one. There is a nice restaurant with outdoor seating before you go through security checks and I’d recommend to avail of it if you’re hungry. Unfortunately, once you go through, the options are scarce, awful tasting and overpriced. It’s a small and packed area for international flights- during our trip majority, if not all, flights experienced some sort of delay. There is a smoking outdoor area there but due to the hot weather, it feels very stuffy. It has nice view of the planes though to keep you entertained.

And that’s a wrap on Zadar! Exciting first trip to Croatia with a good bunch.

This is also my first travel blog post, pretty exciting! I know there’ll be a lot to improve upon as I hope to write more of these so if there’s something you think I could do differently or you’d like to see more of, please let me know down in the comment section! Always appreciate the support.

Till next time!