Between the white stone, tasty cheese and crystalline sea – the Island of Pag (Croatia)

The island of Pag has become our summer destination for the last few years. Before we were used to changing our vacation destination every year, but with Pag all changed. I guess we fell in love with this island and for 5 years already we have to spend there at least a part of our summer vacation.

Pag is one of the biggest Croatian islands, lying in the northern part of the Dalmatian coast. It has a surface of 284 km2 and on the southern part is connected with the main land with a bridge (while on the northern side, there are regular ferry lines from the mainland). Without any doubt the landscape of the island is unique. The island is often called the “rocky island” since a big part of it is covered with stones and resembles a stone desert. Only a smaller part is covered with Mediterranean macchia and rare trees.

Why do we love this island? Because it has gorgeous beaches, great cuisine and because it is not so far from our home, but still not so close 😊.

The main town of the island is the town of Pag (same name as the island), which is located on the southern part of the island. It is a beautiful stoned town, with cobbled streets, nice cafes, restaurants, and many souvenirs’ shops. It gets very lively in the mornings and in the evenings. We love to take an evening walk in the town and stop at our favourite Wine bar, where we can taste excellent local wines and get some great small bites (like prosciutto and cheese).

Talking about cheese…..sheep milk cheese is one of the most famous products from Pag Island. There are two (as I know) bigger producers and several smaller. I’ve tried different ones, and of course there are differences, but I can say that they are all great. If you have the chance to combine this cheese (of quite intense flavour) with fig or orange jam is just fantastic.

In the town of Pag you will notice locals selling laces. The story of lace making really fascinates me. Lace-making has a long tradition, more than 500 years. The laces were produced without any templates, it was just tradition and knowledge transferred from older to younger people and so on… I read that at the end of 19th century the laces were presented to the court in Vienna, and the royalty was so impressed by the grace of this work and the Pag women were supplying the court with their products. In 1906 a lace making school was established in the town of Pag and the laces were distributed all around Europe. The school operated until 1945, and reopened back in 1994 to educate local women with this tradition. In Pag town there’s a small exhibition presenting more than a hundred laces (some of them have been preserved for more than 150 years).

From the view point over Pag town, you will immediately notice big salt pans in the backdrop of the town. Salt production is one of the most important economic segments on the island. Pag island’s salt pans are among the oldest on the eastern Adriatic. The salt production on Pag island was first mentioned in the 10th century (telling that the salt on Pag was produce already in Roman times). Today the salt is still made using traditional evaporation techniques and contains all of the minerals from the clear seas of Pag Island.

The beaches of Pag Island are really beautiful. They are long and pebbled, with crystalline water. The only “negative” side is that they don’t have a natural shadow. So, if you are more sensitive (like we are) you have to pack your own parasol or any other “sun protector” ⛱️🌊🌞. I will just list some of our favourite beaches,....

Prnjica

Prnjica is on the top of our list. There are 3 smaller coves, not crowded and with very clean water. If you ask our son, he will for sure tell you that the best part of this beach is that sometimes local teenagers arrive in the cove with small boats and they sell-backed corn.

Cista

Cista is not far away from Prnjica, very similar beach with clear water, but is just more crowded. I’m guessing that is because there is a bar/restaurant on the beach (while the Prnjica is without everything).

Jadra

Jadra beach, is located right on the northern part of Stara Novalja town. It is a little bit different from the first two, since there are bigger rocks right when you enter the sea. We love that one because it is great for snorkelling.

Caska

I will also mention Caska beach, which is located on the east side of Novalja, in the vicinity of the famous beach Zrce. Caska beach is specific for its remains of the old Roman city, that can be found in the vicinity of the beach and underwater.

I’m mentioning just a few beaches, but there are numerous all around the island, for example the Rucica, or the Beritnica which are also gorgeous. Some of the beaches are accessible only by boat or walking.

I’ve mentioned the Zrce beach – famous party beach. I’m too old for that, so I can’t tell you much about it, just for the “old chaps” like me, if you are afraid that the island »is to loud for you”. I can reassure you that the party is going on the Zrće bay only and you can meet the “happy kids” in the town of Novalja, while the rest of the island is very calm😊.

One of the main reasons we love Pag is that we were able to find very nice and welcoming local people, who rented us an apartment just near the beach. We have only a few steps to the sea.

The view from our terrace is truly magnificent all day long. In the morning when we drink our coffee, in the evening when we watch the sunset and at night when we drink a glass of good, chilled wine.

My favourite activity is fishing with my son, we spent a large part of our mornings and evenings fishing, and preparing some fresh fish for dinner is just amazing 🐟🐟🐟.

I even caught a shark in my camera 😜

Well, sometimes we also make some BBQ meat 😊 😊 😊.

A real contrast to the rocky landscape is the north part of the island, the Lun peninsula. Here you will find a botanic reserve, with 80.000 olive trees. Among them there are about 1.500 wild olive trees with the height of 5-8 meters and a diameter of 20-80 cm. The estimated age of these trees is more than 1.500 years! This olive trees grove is the only one of that kind on the Adriatic and one of the three in the world. Because of its great botanical significance, it was protected in 1963 and proclaimed a botanical reserve.

I will finish this post with some additional words about the excellent gastronomy that can be found on the island. I’ve mentioned the cheese, the olive oil, the salt, … but you also have to taste their fresh fish, the lamb, wine, fresh vegetable and fruits... You can buy all the ingredients and make a great meal yourself, but I would definitely recommend at least few meals at excellent local restaurants that can be found all around the island. Our favourites are: a small taverna in Šimuni, offering fresh, home-cooked meals and a taverna, that is a part of a small boutique hotel and winery, that hosts also a one star Michelin restaurant (which I haven’t tried yet, maybe next year 😊).

As I always say, you need to leave something undiscovered, so you have a reason to return.

Thanks for reading,
feel free to leave a comment, I will be glad to reply to.
Best regards, @miljo76