Blogs from Zadar, Dalmatia, Croatia, Europe
May 14th 2012
14thMay 2012 Monday Quieter night, the Bora is slowly subsiding, temp 16c early morning. After breakfast we headed for Zadar, the second largest city on the Dalmatian coast, extensively bombed by the Allies in Second World War. The old town is still partly enclosed by the medieval walls. The roman forum was pillaged to build churches near the site of St Donats Church. The church was dedicated to an Irish Bishop. Also around the old Forum are the Cathedral and a convent. The newer attractions are the sea organ where you can listen to the sounds of nature created by underwater pipes, and the newer attraction of the huge light sensitive dish which accumulates solar power during daylight and radiates a hypnotic glow at night. Bar B Q back at the van, still coolish, but according ... read more
September 4th 2011
The next day was headed to Zadar. We stopped in at Split, a massive shopping district on the beach, very touristy, but a beautiful spot all the same. We really only had a couple of hours there until we moved on to Zadar, but long enough for the boys to stock up on top of the range bb guns that are illegal in Australia but sold in every shape and size over there, the next few nights could get interesting ha ha ha. Zadar is similar to Dubrovnik in that the old town is fortified with walls and it’s got some roman ruins dating back well before the walls were built. Probably the best thing to see was the sea organ. As the waves crash in, specially crafted pipes act like an organ and as the ... read more
July 27th 2011
Hello all, apologies for the gap, internet on the island was predictably scarce. however good news I have some pictures for you since the laptop here in zadar is the best so far. transport to the hostel at pasman was suitably chaotic, albeit straightforward; first van, then tram, then bus, then bus, then ferry, then bus, then van, then walking. The ferry being the most enjoyable leg with amazing views of love island, a brilliant heart shaped island, and badly needed ocean breezes.The first obstacle - our accommodation wasn't at pasman but the next town over - mulyana (or something like that). Second was the lack of signs and English speaking townsfolk, eventually we found an American migrant who pointed us to a non-de-script housing block. From then on the island was amazing, the host Anna ... read more
Zooming to Zadar from Rijeka + limestone marble Split
Published: June 24th 2011Europe » Croatia » Dalmatia » Zadar
June 24th 2011
When I say zooming, these things are relative on Croatian buses. Just say 12.30pm bus from Rijeka (ticket bought when I arrived) took 4 ½ hrs to get to Zadar (about 200km?) which is about normal. You cannot exactly race around here too much and the travel-time has to be factored into your planning. Which is almost certainly why my trip down the Croatian coast will end at Split and then head inland into Bosnia-Herzegovina, where there will hopefully also not be the same public holidays! The trip to Dubrovnik from Split is 4 ½ hrs, some of which may have to be repeated coming back due to tortuous ways out of Dubrovnik, mostly involving very long bus trips (like 10hrs) to get reasonably in the direction of Vienna. Travel whinges aside, and they are obviously ... read more
June 18th 2010
Yet another Ryanair special! A cheap flight to Zadar and a self catering apartment (Apartmani Petra) for 9 days. Apart from Gerry doing a one day Island cruise we never left the immediate area and only once visited the old town by bus. We enjoyed swimming in the nearby little bay in the Borik area and sitting reading under the Scots Pines that lines the coast here. ... read more
August 31st 2009
Zadar - Day 9 (August 31) Bus travel again, but this afforded more great views of the Croatian coastline. From the bus station on the outskirts of the town we took a local bus to the harbour and old town. I‘m sure the locals just love it when a group of travellers with back packs cram onto their buses. This one was packed and most of our luggage was piled in the centre trapping one lady in, who panicked that she wouldn‘t be able to get out, and feell over bags and was caught by our leader who wa then stuck balancing bags and a lady. She needn‘t have worried as we all were getting off at the same spot. Nothing too hurt, just pride. We wandered through cobble streets to find our small local hotel. ... read more
August 25th 2009
It all went according to plan, it was quite amazing. Although they're were some dicey moments getting to Zadar. We met Son & Kevin when they arrived at Heathrow (I love airport arrivals) and we hung out with Odin for a while. We had a relaxing lunch in the airport waiting for our flight to Zadar. We first flew to Zagreb, which was delayed, and we would have missed our flight to Zadar had that flight not been delayed as well. We arrived rather late in Zadar but with the best meet and greet: Maja, her sister Marina and her Mom, Amira. Too fun! The best part, however, was our mode of transportation for the next 4 days: the people-carrier. Yes, Marina's poor duty for the next few days was to be the bus driver for ... read more
July 26th 2009
I followed Ivana down to Zadar for her flight to the Netherlands. She was enrolled in a summer exchange for two weeks in several cities around the country. I still hadn’t seen Zadar so I figured I could kill to birds with one stone and stay a night there. I stayed in a hostel, something that is not very cheap in Croatia, but manageable and a guaranteed bed. I left Ivana for her very first flight around 9 and made it to the hostel by 10 but check in wasn’t till 1 so I sat in the lounge and read. We had taken a night bus down to Zadar, so I hadn’t slept in over 24 hours, and was starting to feel it. When I finally got checked in, I was only able to fall asleep ... read more
July 22nd 2009
Saturday 11th July 2009 Woke up during night due to the VERY loud thunder and rain but turned over and went back to sleep fortunately!! Awake at 7am to be packed and at breakfast by 7.30am and we head off from Dubrovnik around 8am. We drive along the Croatian coast till about midday, nowhere to stop for a break but Damo manages to find somewhere around 11.30 for about 45 minutes and from this point we turn away from the coast and head inland along a brand new highway to Split. Most the view today is of rock and scrub hills, you couldn’t really grow a thing along this part of the Croatia it is ALL weathered rock with scrub on it. Our stop in Split is for lunch and we have 2 hours to walk ... read more
July 18th 2009
I am sitting on our balcony at the Villa Anton in Sukosan as I write this. It is a beautiful sunny morning and at 6 am the air actually feels cool! We arrived here yesterday afternoon once we finally got our rental car. For some reason, the agency wasn’t able to get our credit cards to accept a pre-authorization for damages. After an hour or more we were told that we couldn’t have the car if there was no deposit - even though the rental was pre-paid! We eventually got things worked out thankfully! The major highway from Zagreb to Zadar on the coast is new and very impressive. We went through several tunnels cut through the mountains. I clocked one to be 5 kilometers but there was another that was even longer than that. The ... read more
