My pre-teen boys have introduced me to a new three strikes rule: The first time you go somewhere, it’s cool. The second time, it’s OK. The third time? That’s boring.
That is why they did not want to take Sarge to the village of Preko over the weekend. They deemed the beautiful little fishing town on the island of Ugljan “too boring” for a third visit. Sarge hasn’t been there yet, but we have. Twice. It is an idyllic little island a 15-minute ferry ride from where we’re living in Zadar. It’s everything I dreamed of last winter when I was freezing my tail off in the States – beaches with turquoise water; the remains of a Roman villa; pretty, narrow streets and stone houses; little to no wifi — the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
The last time we were there, we filled our time finding sea glass and skipping stones. Clearly, I need to introduce my boys to hard labor on this, their last week of summer break before their international school starts. Their European summer has been filled with such boredom.
I took their complaints as a challenge over the weekend and searched for an equally close island where we could go and hang onto the last bits of summer.
We found something new for all of us on the island of Pag, a kind of barren place that looks like not much more than sand-colored limestone mountaintops sticking out of the sea.
It had a few things going for it: 1) We could get there quickly by car from Zadar. There’s a bridge that leads to the island. 2) It has uncrowded beaches, even in August, except for evening “party” beaches, which didn’t seem to apply to us. And 3) Cheese. It’s known for its cheese, “paški sir,” a goat’s milk cheese said to be one of the best in the world. We had to have some.
Also, upon consulting my guidebooks, they all listed the same restaurant to check out. I decided we must visit Bistro Na Tale and have spit-roasted lamb, or maybe seafood.
So we set off, and we checked everything off the list.
1) The road to Pag is so interesting. We arrived on an arched bridge from the mainland, and I enjoyed spotting little prayer grottos property owners place along the road.
The landscape changes from bushes and trees and crops in Zadar to what looks almost like a desert on Pag, where salt fields line the water’s edge in big, rectangular plots. We tried some of the local salt at Bistro Na Tale, one of our first stops, where the lamb and seafood lived up to the travel guide listings.
2) The tourbooks also listed Zrće Beach in the town of Novalja as a popular spot. My GPS also listed it as “festival” grounds. I’m thinking that probably meant music festival grounds, and this would be the equivalent in the U.S. as a kind of Daytona Beach hotspot for Spring Breakers. Here’s a sampling of how that went down:
My 11-year-old: “Mom, I think we’re too young for this beach. I saw people making out.”
I thought about replying: “Honey, I think I’m too old for this beach. I saw people making out.”
Instead, I tried to explain why the 20-something girls next to us (not the lovely women in the above photo) had their bikini tops off and were taking pictures of themselves. I told him they were just European and it was a cultural thing, but taking selfies looking naked was a bad idea by any cultural standard.
On the family friendly side, we rented a little red paddle boat with a slide. It was great fun. The water was cold, and the beach was full of pebbles. I wonder which part of our trip the boys will remember!
3) Cheese. We had to make a couple of stops before we found a roadside vendor with a cheese sign who actually had cheese. The first guy was sitting in a chair next to a kiosk set up for wine tasting looking blissful as the sun was about to set. He looked like he’d had a few tastes. But no cheese. As we drove away, Sarge made up a story about what the guy must have told his wife about having to stay sitting by the coast selling the last of their cheese while he was really sitting there drinking the last of their wine. And that’s how we ended up buying cheese from a guy selling his wares of his white van. At least he had coolers. And samples of cheese and olive oil. It was good. We bought some of both.
Pag made for a great day, even if it was a little more educational for our sons than I had bargained for. Looks like we have one trip left there before they put it in the “boring” category. Somehow, though, I don’t think they ever think of Pag as boring.
Sounds like a lovely day trip from Zadar! When I was planning my trip, Pag was one of the locations I looked into, but the party reputation scared us away. We spent the day exploring Nin and the Queen’s Beach instead. If you haven’t been there yet, I highly recommend it 🙂
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Thanks, Grace. We’ve been to Nin, but only once – so I think I could talk them into going again!
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Wonderful place! Kids are so funny 😀 I’m sure they will appreciate all of this when they grow up, it’s great to create this sort of memories with the family!
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Thanks for reading!
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Great story! I am sure you are right. The boys may forget the cheese and the salt flats, but they will remember that beach for life.
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For sure!
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Oh dear, I could never live by the 3 times rule. Explore is about going back to places and finding more wonder in it! Beach time is to be enjoyed because you can’t have it all year!
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It would be tough for anyone to live by the 3 times rule. But there is a thrill in trying something new!
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I’ve never heard about this place. Thanks for educating me! That 3 strikes rule is also really funny (but true for most kids I’m sure).
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Croatia is full of places I’ve never been to, so it will take us a while to run out of strikes!
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Looks like such a beautiful beach to explore! I could definitely go back three times and then some!
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It is beautiful. My kids don’t know how lucky they are!
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What a wonderful adventure and a beautiful place to visit. A place my husband and I would love to visit.
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I hope you get a chance to travel here. It is a beautiful country!
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Oooh I wish I could try your goat cheese and olive oil! Pag is not a green place but it is still very beautiful.
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I’ll share, Jenny, stop on by 🙂
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Sea glads collection should be a hobby. Sounds so exciting
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Love it 🙂 And yea, sometimes I feel like your boys, I don’t always want to go to the same place more than once or twice.
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That looks like it was an amazing trip and you seem to have had such an amazing time! Love all the photos. Paddle boating and shrimp are my favorite things so I’m in for next time 😉
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Thanks, Cupcake! Join us next time 🙂
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You had you me seafood! Looks like a lovely place to visit!
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It really was. Thanks for reading!
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I totally agree with the three strikes rule. When I was a kid we used to visit the same places every summer. That is when i decided I would not be doing that ever as an adult.
Gayathri @ Musings Over Nothing
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It is definitely one way to see more of the world!
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What an amazing place to visit. It is so beautiful. Although I am glad I missed the selfie girl the rest seems like such a beautiful place! What memories you have made together!
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I have a feeling the selfie girls will stick in my boys’ memories for a long time. haha. Ahh, memories.
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Sounds like you have great travel companions. Love your story, compels me to blog about my travels too. Would love to visit Pag. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks for reading, Carlise!
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Seems like you guys had a nice time. I’ve never heard of this place. The shrimp dish looked amazing!!! And the ‘too young’ – ‘too old’ comments between you and your son was funny!
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Thanks for reading, Candy! Croatia is full of interesting places.
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Oh my Gosh your son`s remark about being too young for that beach is so cute. They do say the most adorable things.
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He’s a sweetie!
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IT looks like it was an interesting trip out to the Island. It does look beautiful. I’m not sure what I would say to my daughter at the beach as well. I agree, taking naked pictures out in public is not a good look for anyone.
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There are some crazy selfie takers out there. The mom in me wanted to intervene!
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What a fun trip with a family! It is really great to travel with kids. They can learn a lot of things.I hope i can visit here too with my family.
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I hope you make it here!
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Pag seems like a beautiful place!
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It really is.
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So fun to read about your experiences there. I’ve been to Croatia many times (have family in Zadar) and visited Pag while there a few years ago. I absolutely loved it and can’t way to go back!
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We have loved exploring this country!
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Sometimes that really makes us very hard to explain our children, but you really managed it well. Loved the lobsters looks quite yummy!
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Thanks for reading! The seafood here is delicious 🙂
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