Road Trip Island Adventure

Exploring wild nature, a high-end villa, a lighthouse, and pyramids

It is safe to say that islands are my happy place and so is being on the road. These two things combined make the best adventure ever! With over a thousand islands in my home country Croatia it is safe to say that there are many that I have yet to discover.

My friend Ana, her dog Klo and I often go on road trips, and we decided to explore one of the islands called Dugi Otok (Long Island) in the preseason. The best part about visiting islands from March to July is that accommodation is more affordable and there are fewer people. It’s perfect if you want a stress-free holiday.

Getting to the island

We like to take the old route because it reminds us of our childhood days when there were no highways. There is less traffic, and we get to enjoy the ride reminiscing about the old days. It takes longer, but it’s much nicer as you can stop on the way, and see places you wouldn’t if you took the highway.

To reach Dugi Otok we had to travel to the town of Zadar, which is in the middle part of the Dalmatian coast. That part of the country is particularly scenic and has inspired filmmakers to shoot some scenes in that area over the years. One of the films shot there was Winnetou The Warrior from 1963.

Passing through that area, it felt like we traveled back in time. It was as if no time had passed, and there was a sense of stillness in the air. Not like in old times when we all took those roads and met up with friends along the way.

Since that road takes longer than the highway we miscalculated the time and were worried we might not make it to the last ferry to the island. After a few hours on the old road, we rushed to the highway and got there just in time.

The ride on the ferry takes 1h 40 minutes and takes you from Zadar to Brbinj. Our accommodation was in Sali, which was on the other part of the island. Since this is quite literally a long island, like its name says, it took us around 30 minutes to get from the ferry to our little town.

We arrived late at night and crashed for the night in the lovely apartment we booked via Booking.com. It was a one-bedroom place, with a kitchen, a bathroom, and a balcony with a view of Sali.

Exploring wild nature and pyramids

The next day we started our exploration of the island.

Sali is a cute little town, with a few restaurants and cafes, a shop, and not much else. In May it was quite empty and calm, with only sailboats that stopped for the day. We didn’t spend much time there as we were eager to explore the island.

Looking at Google Maps I discovered that on the way there was a pyramid on the island! We drove on a dirt road and stopped where the supposed pyramid was, but couldn’t see it. I imagined it wasn’t going to be a big one like in Egypt but was surprised it was not visible from the road. We walked around to discover two small pyramids. I guess they made them a tourist attraction, but since we were there in May they weren’t open for visitation. Still, it was an interesting sight.

We decided we wanted to have our first swim of the year, so we went looking for a beach. The weather was nice, but the sea was still a bit chilly. Regardless, nothing would stop us from dipping in and relaxing on the beach. It was cold but worth it.

Our adventure continued in the Nature Park Telaščica. The ticket to enter was 30kn (approx. €4) + another 30kn for the car. You can drive up to a point and then continue into the park on foot. Since it is a nature park they don’t allow cars everywhere.

In the park, we discovered a donkey sanctuary, a spectacular view of the cliffs, and a salt lake! We decided to swim in this “lake”, which was basically sea water surrounded by hills. It was really lovely and warm, unlike the open sea.

After a long day, we decided to go to our apartment to rest. That evening we went to the most popular bar in Sali and one of the locals told us about a very special place — Villa Nai. This is a high-end villa built into the hill, beautifully designed and very pricy. Naturally, we had to check it out!

Extraordinary villa and the lighthouse

The next day we decided to explore the other side of the island, which seemed to have more sights. We drove to the villa, which was in the middle of nowhere. It is surrounded by nature, no neighbors, so it’s really private and quiet. There is a tennis court in front and the gate leads to the high-end apartments.

Although we rang at the gate to see if we could come in and visit, there was no one there. Even though we couldn’t get a peak inside it was impressive to see the construction. It’s definitely something you don’t see every day. The cost per night is a minimum of €720 and the price goes up, so not something anyone can afford.

The villa is near a town called Božava so we decided to check it out. It’s a lovely place, but it was totally empty at the time. We barely found a place to grab a coffee, as there was only one cafe that was open at the time.

What I found interesting there was an animal shelter that specifically helps cats. In Croatia, there is a big problem with stray cats, as well as owners not sterilizing their cats. Especially in villages and small towns, where cats go out freely. This results in many kittens that are hard to adopt, so these kind of organizations are essential. Not only do they educate people about the importance of sterilization, but do the work themselves and help with the adoption process.

We continued to the other side of the island to see the Lighthouse Veli Rat and the surrounding area. Sadly, we couldn’t go inside, but it was nice to see it up close. That’s the downside of traveling in the preseason, as most things are closed for visitors.

One last thing we had planned for our trip was to find a sandy beach. In Croatia, there are mostly pebble stone and rocky beaches, so I was determined to find at least one!

Finally, we discovered Sakarun Beach. The beach was lovely so we had another swim. Mind you, when you do find a sandy beach in Croatia you will most likely need to walk for a while before reaching deeper waters. Since it was a bit cold I appreciated the workout.

One of the things we did like about coming at this time was that there weren’t many people on the beach. This made our life easier as we had a dog who loves to swim. Usually, we’d have to find a dog-friendly beach, but since it wasn’t busy we could go pretty much anywhere.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing in the sun and enjoying the rest of our stay. Although this trip was short, we still managed to see lots of places and absolutely loved it.

From what we saw in those few days there is one thing for sure — this island is perfect for those who like wild nature. Coming in the preseason was great as it was really calm and relaxing, just what we needed.

This is a writing prompt response to the writing challenge of August for Globetrotters.

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