The north coast of Dalmatia, Croatia, is the perfect starting point to visit all this interesting area has to offer. Today we give you a list of beautiful towns and villages near Zadar that are worth a detour.
Discover the beautiful towns and villages near Zadar without wasting a second of your trip
Croatia has that ability to make everything seem closeby. But that changes when you find yourself waiting for a bus that doesn't come or trying to make impossible combinations of means of transportation.
From Zadar, the options for reaching some of the most beautiful sites are plentiful, but public transport connections are more limited than you might hope. In addition, the timetables do not always fit your desired pace, although this is also true in many other places.
For this reason, at OK Mobility we recommend a rental car. If you want to improvise on your trip, stopping at viewpoints or taking detours, you will need a good deal of autonomy. One great advantage of this country is that the roads are well signposted and traffic is usually calm, with the exception of the summer months. And if you are not only visiting Croatia and its various cities, but the whole region, you can also return your car to our locations in Podgorica or Belgrade.
Beautiful towns and villages near Zadar
Nin
Only 10 miles northwest of Zadar is this circular town, surrounded by salt flats. It was the first capital of Croatia and still retains some of that air of grandeur. It is connected by a stone bridge and can be visited in a short time.
The Church of St. Nicholas is one of the smallest in the world and has Roman remains and a lagoon with shallow beaches, where you can walk through the water without going under. It is also interesting for its salt flats, where salt is still produced in the traditional way. You can visit it, see how it is harvested and purchase local products.
Pag
The island of Pag is connected to the mainland by an arched bridge. It takes less than an hour by car to get there, and although the landscape is arid and dry at first, everything changes once you reach the town. The streets are made of stone, life is very peaceful and the cheese-making tradition is deeply rooted.
In fact, Pag cheese is famous all over Croatia, and there are several cheese stands where you can taste it and understand why the sheep on this island taste more like salt than the countryside. To round off your visit, a visit to the Monastery of St. Margherita and a stroll along the harbour are great options.
Skradin
Another of the beautiful towns and villages near Zadar is Skradin. With its peculiar name, it serves as an access route to the Krka National Park, where there are several waterfalls. The old town has discreetly coloured houses and a quiet marina, but a visit is almost mandatory because here you can take a boat that is part of the entrance to the park and that will take you to the waterfalls. But if that doesn't sound like your thing and you can live without seeing these views, you can also reach Krka by road.
Novigrad
Novigrad is about 20 miles to the east, on the edge of an enclosed bay that looks like a lake, next to a fortress in ruins. You can get there and climb up to the fortress for free in only 40 minutes from Zadar. The town is small, but has an urban beach, several terrace bars and a mix of Ottoman and Dalmatian architecture.
If hiking is your thing, there are trails from Novigrad to the Paklenica National Park, although some of them require good physical fitness. You can also take a walk in the surrounding area and see how the landscape changes from the sea to the mountains in less than ten minutes.
Preko
The last of our beautiful towns and villages near Zadar is Preko, which you can reach via a 25-minute ferry. It is the main town on the island of Ugljan and has that atmosphere of a place where people live all year round, not just in summer. There are stone houses, a small Venetian fortress on top (St. Michael Fort) and trails that cross olive groves and orchards to other villages. A visit to this place can be done in less than a day.
These are just a few examples of the towns and villages you can visit. Each has its own particularities and, of course, its own charm. Best of all, they are a far cry from the big cities, with a more realistic view of what life is like in Croatia. To discover them for yourself, all you have to do is rent your car in Zadar with OK Mobility!
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