Zadar Travel Guide (Croatia on a budget)

Zadar Travel Guide (Croatia on a budget)

If you’re planning a trip to Zadar, 
this video is for you. Use chapters to navigate as I explain what to see, what 
to pack, where to stay, and what to expect. First off, what is there to see in 
Zadar, is it even worth visiting? You can see all the main sites in Zadar in one evening, so don’t
expect to spend too much time in the old town, also the oldest continuously inhabited 
settlement in Croatia. You can see how close all the landmarks from tripadvisor are.
Here’s the church of St. Donatus, archeological museum, Roman Forum, Sea Organ, Greeting to the Sun. 
There is history to this place, but even if you choose to explore it all, you won’t need more 
than one day. I am joking, but I’m also not, when I say that the best way to see Zadar is from a distance. When you come to Zadar, you’ll find that the region has more to offer than Zadar ever could. This place is brimming with nature, the water is crystal clear and filled with 
multicolored fish, shipwrecks, sea caves, and hidden coves that invite exploration.
I was here in April so swimming and snorkelling wasn’t an option, so what could I do?
Around Zadar, you can find waterfalls, dramatic canyons, lunar landscapes, caves 
that have 20+ endemic animal species and much more. Just look at this salamander that only lives in the Dinaric alps,
is blind, and can go without food for 10 years. You won’t stumble upon it alone though, only with the help of a special guide that escorts you to its hidden 
den for the decennial tourist sacrifice. I’m just kidding, but you might however see bottlenose 
dolphins or loggerhead turtles if you’re lucky. There’s several national parks, such as Paklenica 
with its mountains and canyons, where you can find some truly unique flora and fauna… for 
example, kitaibel’s feather, Velebit degenia, Balkan snow vole which is still unstudied and is 
so rare there’s not even a good picture online, the endemic Velebit Leech, and many other 
curious things, just check their very informative website I’ll leave in the description, you 
might find something that interests you. Then there is the Krka national park which is 
beautiful in April, and if you come here on Easter Monday before 1 PM, the entrance is free. I’m going to make a video explaining everything I know about visiting Krka as the info online is scarce, Subscribe so you don’t miss it. Some people say Plitvice is much better than Krka, 
some say they’re somewhat equal. I haven’t been to Plitvice but what I’ve read is that if you are going to Plitvice before May, you’re running 
the risk of finding yourself in a snowstorm, as the lakes themselves are high in the mountains. On the other hand, the greenery was lush in Krka; it was warmer than Zadar by a few degrees when I 
visited, as inland locations typically are in this area, so going there if you find yourself 
in Zadar in April is really a no-brainer. Another national park that you might encounter as 
you research Zadar is the Kornati national park, inaccessible to visitors unless they 
have a boat or book an excursion, which we decided to skip because we weren’t 
going to swim in the cold April waters, and other than that there isn’t really anything 
special there to do that you can’t find elsewhere. Speaking of swimming, don’t go looking for 
sandy beaches in Zadar, and don’t be fooled by “Sandy beach” tags on the map. If you know 
what a sandy beach looks like, this isn’t it… Most of the shoreline looks like this.
Which is one of the reasons that a resort with its own man-made sandy beach cropped 
up and had immense success in the Nin area; it maintains the sandy beach for its guests and 
collects an entrance fee from everyone else. There is one, more natural sandy beach in 
Nin, called Queen’s beach, but to visit it, just like the resort, you would have to travel 
from Zadar, and if you don’t have a car then it’s a major pain in the ass, but we’ll talk 
about it in the transportation chapter. If you do happen to be in the Nin area, you 
might be interested in visiting Nin saltworks; it’s open throughout the year. You can pay 11 
euros for a guided tour or go for free on one of the open days during summer months or September.
If you’re interested in how sea salt is produced then there’s even an option to do some paid work 
for them… As in, you pay, AND you work… But if you’re interested in nature then it has some birds 
you could see there, most notably the tiny black winged stilt. Speaking of birds, there are also 
supposedly good birdwatching spots around Zadar, like here at the biggest lake in Croatia, 
vransko jezero, or here at Velo i Malo Blato, which has rock partridges that are relatively 
rare and that some people specifically travel for, but I haven’t been myself, so let me know of your 
experience there if you do! Velo i Malo Blato themselves are located on the island of Pag, which 
is known for its rough terrain and Zrce beach with its parties and festivals. The percent venue for 
rock partridges! Its also known for its cheese, but you don’t have to go there to buy 
it. We bought ours in Tommy supermarket, but if I remember correctly there was also some 
in Plodine. Alternatively, you can go to one of Gligora stores and ask to try them; they’ll have 
a sheep cheese, a cow cheese, and a mixed cheese. In the souvenir shops you will also 
find lots of lavender themed things, making you wonder if there’s anything special 
about Croatian lavender, and no there is not, but I bought one anyway. You can find lavender fields in plenty other European countries, 
but if you really want to see them in Croatia, Then you better travel to Split or Dubrovnik
because you’d need to go to the island of Hvar. But don’t go booking tickets to 
Split yet; there’s plenty of cool things to do in the Zadar region which 
I could never do due justice. Instead, I invite you to visit the single most useful 
website on the Zadar archipelago that lists all the attractions, trails and activities. 
I’ll leave the link in the description. So let’s say you have a rough outline of what 
you want to do. Let’s talk about preparing for the actual trip, and start with the weather. 
When travelling, I always use local agencies over the likes of AccuWeather, and I recommend the 
same in this case, too, which would be Meteo.hr When we were in Zadar at the end of April, it 
was 19-22 degrees Celsius with no wind during the day, very hot during the day, but pretty chilly in the evening. I 
was walking around comfortably in beach slippers, shorts and a t-shirt but by the sunset I felt 
pretty cold and had to put on a hoodie. There was some rain forecast every day but in the end there 
wasn’t any. Instead it was sunny all the time with UV index 7 so definitely pack sunscreen. Whether you pack a swimming suit will depend on the time of the year. April is definitely too soon, unless 
you book a hotel with a heated or indoor pool. When you look through listings you will rarely 
find information on whether the pools are functioning; as a general rule, don’t expect them 
to be before May and after September. There are some hotels that have heated pools, those will 
let you know right away. Also, try to book well in advance, because if you wait too long you’ll 
have to pay the same price for a worse place. It might look like a great idea to stay 
in the old town with a view on the sea, but notice the big road here; if you’re not passed 
out drunk, you’ll definitely wake up from all the car noises. You won’t hear any waves crashing 
against the shore here anyway. And as I said,  the old town doesn’t take much time to 
explore so you really don’t have to stay here. To get peace and quiet with a seaview, I 
advise you go further away from the city, like Petrcane or Ugljan island. Just avoid 
staying in Kali if you want to enjoy your holiday, and check available transport 
options before you commit to a place. This city might as well not be in Europe because 
public transport here is in a sad state. You can’t look it up on Google, the website of the 
bus company is a mess, and you can’t use their app unless you have a Croatian phone number. For intercity buses I have found buscroatia.com to be decent, But it won’t see inner city or suburban 
buses. For example, if you’re looking to travel from Zadar to Nin, it won’t find anything, 
so then you have to go to Liburnija-zadar.hr, click suburban, then find Nin and 
then try to figure out what it says. Just don’t try buying tickets 
online because… Well… Yeah… There is only one public transport option which 
has a reliable website with current schedules and online tickets, it’s jadrolinija.hr for 
ferries, which are very punctual to boot. There are only a few buses a day from and to 
the airport, but fortunately there are people with white vans that’ll take you to the city 
for the same price as the bus at 5€ per person, just make sure you get in the right one. Taxi in the middle of the day to the airport in April cost us 14€. For intercity travel you often have to rely on private companies and there aren’t many options, for example you can’t go to Paklenica on a weekend, you can go to Krka national park but 
have to return in the middle of the day at 3 pm. Your other option is to rent a car, there are lots 
of options here. The roads looked well-maintained though sometimes narrow, but it wasn’t often 
that you’d find a steep incline or a narrow road unless you took your car to one of the islands. 
You could also travel around in a taxi but be ready to spend your grandma’s inheritance 
on that. There’s no carsharing in Zadar. Now, If you’ve watched the video without skipping, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect. 
So let’s now talk about what not to expect. I already said this, but still, don’t expect 
sandy beaches and reliable public transportation. Don’t expect sandy beaches
Don’t expect reliable public transportation Don’t expect rides on public ferries to 
be enjoyable; instead, you’ll be like a sardine in a can. It’ll be very stuffy. Don’t expect sidewalks on every street,
even very close to the city center and on quays. Don’t expect to throw tea parties here, at least
not in the rentals that don’t have water filters. Like in most southern European countries, the tea
selection in stores is very poor. On top of that, the water is so hard and
there is so much calcium carbonate that you’ll have to clean the kettle 
after each time you boil water in it. But it’s not just tea; in one of our stays the coffee machine 
was completely clogged and unusable due to this… Also, don’t expect to be welcomed with open 
arms at cafes, hotels, Airbnbs, bakeries, or anywhere else. Zadar is probably 
full of nice and friendly people, but unfortunately we didn’t happen to meet them. 
I’m from a country where people don’t smile and “how are you” is passive aggressive for “you’re in 
my personal space”, but for me it was unexpected to see a similar attitude in a southern country. Don’t expect google or even signs at the doors
to be correct about the opening times of the shops, specially during holidays. Don’t expect restaurants to have websites 
or even active Facebook pages with menus. Don’t expect vegan food. In 2025, there’s no 
vegan aisle even in the big grocery stores, and not enough vegetarian options in restaurants, 
cafes and bakeries. There’s one vegan restaurant in the old town but if you’ve been a vegan 
for longer than a month it won’t impress you or fill you, for the price it’s a very 
subpar option. I won’t name it but once you see it you’ll know what I’m talking about. 
If you’re willing to temporarily expand your diet to vegetarianism then you might just 
survive on bureks, pizzas and home cooking. If you come in April or another off season month, 
don’t expect anything that’s catering to tourists to be open. Bike, kayak, boat rentals will 
not be operating without prior booking, swimming pools at hotels will be off-limits, tours 
will be cancelled, bus services will be reduced. For example, I showed you the timetable 
of buses from Krka a few minutes ago, where the last bus was at 3:20 PM. But just 
a few days later it seems the season begins and there’s an additional bus at 5. I might be 
saying something obvious here, but I still think it’s worth mentioning that you are always trading 
off something when you travel in the off-season. Okay, but now to less obvious things 🙂 As I was walking around the city I was always 
looking down into the water scanning for fish, and I found this place to be the most 
interesting; here, if you look down, you can see quite a few fish species even without 
any special equipment or having to wet your feet. For example I saw this little fish just sort 
of chilling on the rock, which reminded of the clip from one of the BBC documentaries where fish 
were throwing gravel at each other. I can’t really tell if it’s one of those sand spitting 
gobies but I like to imagine that it is. And here’s a very a shy fish for you.
Also, randomly, there’s a Sphinx statue close by. I guess, because, why not?
I admit, there ARE curious things to be found in Zadar itself. It is so old that 
nature seems to have started reclaiming it. On one of the pebbly beaches, you might see 
black spiky balls that resemble those you might use to exercise your feet. Don’t… Step on them, 
they’re sea urchins, and apparently some people eat them. If you touch it with a stick 
and it doesn’t move, then it’s dead and will be eaten by some seagull, and if it does move, then 
apparently you can try and put it back into water. Behold, the delivery vehicle 
of Croatian postal service. Also I found that like in other Balkan 
countries, in Croatia they also draw murals of deceased people on residential buildings, 
which is a sort of public mourning and a way to honor their loved ones. So if you do see 
some murals like that, you know what it is. But that’s it from me on Zadar. If this was a useful video for you, 
consider throwing a tip into my jar. And if you’re planning to go and have questions, feel free to drop them in the comment section and if you’ve been already, I’d love it if you shared your experience.

Don’t miss this video if you’re planning a trip to Zadar! In this guide, I’m sharing my experience with saving money, choosing accommodation, looking for sandy beaches, surviving as vegans, and much more.

If this video was useful, please drop a tip into my jar: https://ko-fi.com/bardr

Links from the video:
Zadar archipelago: https://zadar-archipelago.hr
Lukina jama research paper: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/6/726
Paklenica flora and fauna: https://np-sjeverni-velebit.hr/www/en/nature-and-cultural-heritage/animated-nature/animals
Plitvice in winter: https://www.lifeandventures.com/plitvice-lakes-in-winter/
Kornati National Park: https://np-kornati.hr/

Zadar buses: Liburnija-zadar.hr
Intercity buses: Buscroatia.com
Ferries: Jadrolinija.hr
Weather: Meteo.hr

00:00:09 What to See & Do?
00:05:45 What to Pack? / Weather
00:06:31 Where to Stay?
00:07:25 Transportation
00:09:05 What not to expect
00:11:34 Cool Things!